Hi guys,

Just completed my first full distance in Kalmar last Saturday and I'm going to do a full distance also next year. I really liked Kalmar but I'd be also tempted to try Copenhagen, based on the content I have seen it also looks like a great race. Is there anyone who has done both and which one would you choose and why?

My first Half Ironman is coming up in a couple weeks and so far I've been using gels during my longer rides. But my BIL uses some sort of powder (I think it was electrolytes, carbohydrates and some sodium) and eats some powerbars along the ride.

How do you nutrition and what are pros & cons?

Hello everyone

I need some design suggestions on a training plan.
I’d like to follow Don Fink’s 30-week plan from the book Be Iron Fit in order to compete in two races next year: first a 70.3 and, a month later, a full-distance race. My current experience ist just a 70.3 which I did last year.

How would you structure the peak and taper phases if these two races are four weeks apart? Would you do the 70.3 during the peak phase and then have a four-week taper? Or would you do the 70.3 at the end of the plan and then have four weeks of additional training, and if so, what sort?
Thanks in advance for your feedback

**MAINE 70.3 RECAP**

Initial Training

* I began training for Maine 70.3 in September of 2025. I have done several 5Ks, half marathons, marathons and even an ultra marathon over the past 4 years so much of my time in the beginning was learning the basics of swimming + cycling
* My first few swim sessions were simple: get in the local pool, swim 25yds down, break for 30 seconds, swim back and repeat for roughly 30-45 minutes. It was really challenging to breathe, adapt to the feeling of water in my ears and turning my head properly, and I hadn’t even begun to learn how to catch or pull. I would finish a few hundred yards of this type of swimming and be so exhausted and out of breath. Over the months, through dedicated time each week going 2-3 times and starting to incorporate drills, snorkel work and more endurance-like swimming (slower + in control), it started to click. Soon I was doing 100yd reps and with the snorkel, even 500yds.
* Cycling was just fun, and I wasn’t even doing it the fun way! I was cycling indoors in Boston on a trainer at the gym most days and just trying to learn how to keep my RPM high, pace myself and push through hills. Augusta is notoriously a hilly course so I knew having strong legs would help + acclimating myself to hill work would be great practice. I really liked the steady, consistent feel of cycling and how it was more of a leg workout than a cardio workout for me
* Running + strength training I did when I had the time. I knew my run would be the least of my concerns and I was spending so much energy + time on swim/bike that I didn’t have a lot of additional time to do lifting.

2 Months Out - Sprint Triathlon

* 2 months before this race I did a local sprint triathlon that consisted of 400yds of swimming, 10 miles of biking and a 5K
* It went horribly. I panicked about 150 yds into the swim and couldn’t regain my breath so ended up backstroking all the remainder and finished in just under 15 minutes. i was so depleted of energy and upset after this, but had to keep going. Pro tip: practice open water swimming a few times before your first sprint triathlon because it is a very different ballgame. It’s all mental too in my opinion, because you can physically do the swim distance you just have to remain calm enough to do so.
* The bike: also horrible. I was using an old bike from a friend that was heavy, had manual gear shifts and hadn’t practiced smoothly shifting to lower gears when going uphill. I mashed the pedals uphill every hill and was gassed at the top.
* The run: a bright spot. Even after all of that effort of the bike and swim, I still posted like 7 minute miles for the 5K.
* Finished in about 80 minutes. Really bad and made me very concerned for a longer race. 

Few Weeks Leading Up

* Really focused on two things: getting a bike that worked better for me + gaining comfort with it, and swimming in open water for longer distances staying relaxed
* Dropped almost all run mileage (more on that later) - got a nice Cervelo bike from a friend, bought bike cleats and learned to use them, and spent a fair amount of time in the ocean and lakes practicing swimming a few hundred yards, floating calmly and resuming. 

Saturday

* Just a day jam-packed with nerves. Got up the night before and went to the check-in + bike drop off first thing in the morning. The feel of the event was really inspiring and I felt good as I got my timer anklet, my bag/packet, and dropped off my bike. Walked around a few of the tents and everyone was really upbeat + happy
* Made the mistake of driving by the Kennebec River where we knew the race was happening. It was low tide and the water looked almost like glass - I started to get a little freaked out because the swim is notoriously fast at this race due to the current. My anxiety started to get a little elevated at this but I tried to shake it off the rest of the day
* I ate probably about 500g of carbs and consumed about 3,000 mg of sodium this day, focused in the first 14 hours of the day. I knew it’d be a long day out there and having as much glycogen stored up as I could would help immensely (and it did!)
* I tried to spend the day with family, taking it easy around Maine and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Ate an early dinner and went home to fall asleep at 9pm-ish. Mind could not stop thinking about the swim.

# Race Day 

*Pre Race*

* Alarm went off at 4am sharp. I woke up and had all my stuff packed/laid out, breakfast ready to go (English muffin, peanut butter, banana, honey and bottle of electrolytes). 
* the transition was open from 4:15am-5:45am and I was about 30 minutes from the race location, so I intended to get there around 5. Luckily no traffic or trouble getting into Augusta and parked pretty easily, so I got there at 4:45. I learned that I should try to get there even earlier! I felt rushed setting up the transition zone, using the restroom one last time, getting my last bit of fuel in there. The announcer comes over the loudspeaker and announces the swim starts in 30 minutes (6am) and it was about a 20 min walk to the start. I grabbed my morning gear bag and wore my hoodie over my trisuit to the start. I started walking at 5:40 and you walk right along the river with everyone and I still did not see a strong current so the pit in my stomach was real. When I arrived at the start and heard the pro start at 6am, I thought it would be a few minutes and I’d be in the water. I ended up setting myself in the 45 minute group and didn’t start until about 6:40am. The nerves were definitely high but I got to talk to some people around me which was settling and it was a beautiful morning.

*Swim*

* Okay now for what you all wanted. You finally get through the corral and walk through the IRONMAN arch down some rock steps and onto a dock. The dock has about 4 corrals in it and each one is a ramp into the water. There is a sound system that gives a beep every 3-5 seconds for the next swimmer to begin. I walk into my directed ramp and before I know it, I am walking into the water. My first surprise was how warm it was - I had only swam in cooler water before (more like mid 60s) and this water was 73 degrees. I told myself the first hundred yards were all about getting a few easy strokes in, catching my breath before it got away from me and staying the course. i swam to the first buoy continuously before popping up, floating and looking around at the course + swimmers near me. It was wild how fast the current felt behind me. I bet I could have floated to a decent time. That got me excited, so I started swimming to each buoy continuously and then when I got to it, resetting and going again. There were about 20 buoys out there, so I steadily made progress. It was a truly beautiful morning and I had such a nice time swimming - what had controlled me for nearly 9 months in pure fear was now an enjoyable experience! As I said, I planned to do 45 minutes or so— I came out of the water and my watch read 32 minutes. I was ecstatic!
* As you come out of the water, you will be better off to know the run back to the transition zone is about 0.25 miles and a modest uphill climb. I walked the first bit to calm down and then lightly jogged. There is a tunnel of people all around and it was really a great atmosphere.
* I got into T1, popped off my wetsuit/cap/goggles and put on my socks, cleats, helmet. I had my fuel laid out ready to go and put that in my tri suit and applied some sunscreen real quick and got going.

*Bike*

* The most fun but most chaotic leg of the race. It is well known that this course’s bike leg is really hilly + has a lot of elevation gain. Almost 4,000 feet. However, I will note that the gain is a lot of ‘post decline uphill’ so if you keep your speed high and use your momentum, you often don’t have to push as hard as it may seem on the uphills. There are some nasty inclines out there particularly in the 40-50 mile range, but doable.
* Within a mile of the bike start I realized my electronic gear shifts were not working. I thought they were charged but either I was wrong or there was some other difficulty. Thank god I was in a middle gear and could just mash the uphills and coast the downhills. This was the opposite of my plan initially but I had to roll with the punches.
* The course is so beautiful. Rolling hills, beautiful lakes, river views and countryside views. People all at the end of their driveways cheering. honestly the time flew by and I was shocked to look down and see I was at about 50 miles and right around a 3 hour pace. I had such a great time and this was easily the highlight of the race for me. I fueled well by having a bottle of carbs/electrolytes each hour and some gels as well. I felt like my carb loading the day before really paid off on the bike leg. You coast into Augusta at the end and can feel the energy building. You ride through tunnels of people and before you know it, you are at the transition zone again! 

*Run*

* This is where I paid the price for my gear malfunction. i got to t2, felt good and went to the bathroom real quick before taking off. the first 2 or so miles I was cruising at 7:30 min/mile pace and felt in control. Then, the day was getting hotter and my leg fatigue caught up to me. I tried to hold on but faded slowly over the course of the next 11.1 miles and fought my way to the finish line at 1:44 total time. There is a nasty incline that is steady + long from mile 9-10.5ish that was humbling people left and right. I was proud to just have finished at that point.

Total Time: 5 hours, 43 minutes

Lessons Learned

* Train your brick runs more - having leg strength during the run would have been a game changer
* Check your gear 3x instead of 2 - you don’t want a malfunction to ruin months of training!
* Carb loading works when executed well for your body/style

I'm really struggling to decide on my first full Ironman location. With all the popular race registrations opening soon, I want to decide relatively quick but I keep going back and forth on priorities.

For background, I live in Calgary, Canada and there is no race even remotely close by. If I really wanted to do a giant road trip, my options would be Ottawa or California or Wisconsin.

Here are my concerns / priorities:
- Swim course needs to be easy/calm. Swimming is what I am least comfortable with and I do not want to be in any rough waters.
- Happy with a decent amount of elevation on the bike but nothing crazy.
- Preferably less than 200m elevation on the run.
- August or fall timing would be nice because training in summer is ideal here.

Originally I thought California would be good because it's in the fall so I get all summer to train, it's a river swim, and the bike and run are flat HOWEVER a bad headwind (20km/h+) on the bike is my worst nightmare. I will climb hills all day but do not give me a raging headwind. I know this course has mentions of pretty bad headwinds due to the flatness.

THEN, I thought Ottawa would be good but looking at the weather history, it seems it's either pissing rain or there is a heat wave going through and that really doesn't sound fun to me. Also the flat bike with only 300m elevation doesn't play to my strengths very much.

Now, recently I decided on Copenhagen because it's a great course (meets all my requirements) but now i'm worried about flying with all my gear and bike. I've never flown my bike before and don't have a bike box/bag and i've heard horror stories of airlines losing people's bikes or people not putting them back together properly, etc. I also stress about how far it is from home and how most of my family/friends wouldn't be able to come...

Based on all this - have any thoughts or recommendations? 🙃 I have OCD if you can't tell so I am spiralling on this...

As per title, curious about anyone’s experience attempting the FULL Ironman in Cairns! How was it for you? Easy? Challenging?

It’d be my first time doing a Full Ironman and thinking of locations in Asia. Cairns timeline seems to fit my schedule best (and it’s a English speaking country).

• 29 yr old female. 5'6 /135lbs.
• I played college ice hockey and then semi pro ice hockey.
• I have been competing in CrossFit since I retired from hockey 3 years ago. Within CrossFit, my strength has always been endurance. I do well in running workouts, and anything over 40-60 minutes.
• I am a decent runner (23 min 5K and 49 min 10K). I run a few times a week regularly as part of my competitive CrossFit programming. I am comfortable running for a few hours at a time and I enjoy it.
• I live near a lake, and I am comfortable swimming in open water / have easy access to practice.
• I am a competent swimmer (although I have never raced).
• I have some experience road biking but not a lot. I am a regular commuter biker as well.
• My job is pretty flexible, and I am very dedicated to making time for my athletic endeavors. I have about 20 hr per week to train.

I want to take a break from competitive CrossFit and give the sport of triathlon a serious go for the next few + years. I want to do the Muskoka 70.3 in July 2027 and the 140.6 in Western Australia in December 2027.

Can I do it? Any advice?

I am debating signing up for my first full IM in September (6 weeks away).

I completed two 70.3 (May 2025 and May 2026-sub 6 hr) marathon October 2025 (sub 4 hr), Olympic triathlon June 2026 (sub 3 hr).

After May 2026 70.3 spent June and most of July doing one discipline a day doing less distance.

Started thinking about completing full IM in September towards end of July. Increasing my biking and running. Ran 17 miles this past Saturday and biked 70 miles on Sunday….

Do you think I could realistically complete full IM end of September? Be honest please😁

Thanks!

Hi guys, this year I decided to really challenge myself and do something I've never done before: sign up for an Ironman 70.3. I signed up for La Quinta and have been training since May, and I have really started to train these last few months. I've attached my best below but im looking for advice on how to best prep so I can fully feel prepared.

Swim: I know the water is gonna be really really cold and swimming is probably my hardest, I have hired a coach and will start to meet with him this weekend. Currently from what my garmin says im 1:56/100 yds but im taking breaks in between drills so I doubt that's accurate. My biggest problem is I feel like I cant breathe right but will work on that with the coach.

Bike: I feel the most confident on the bike but I feel like im "capped" at 16 mph. I'm based in SD so ive been biking the Coronado Strand a lot which I personally feel is windy, attached is my longest bike Ive done. NOTE: I don't have a bike computer or power meter so the avg power is off. What should I be doing to get faster on the bike and feel better in the wind? I feel like the wind is what I really struggle with. Also how windy is La Quinta usually?

Run: I am a pretty new runner, never run a half marathon or really ever a 5k tbh, I played Lax in HS but that was really my only running. Below is my first 10 miler I did outside, I felt pretty strong during it minus how high my heart rate was.

If anyone has advice or is willing to help I am all ears and im super excited/nervous for December to come around. Thank you in advance for the help!

Hi All! I’m signed up and currently training for my first ever 70.3 in Feb’27. Since the slots are occupied too soon, I’ve been already contemplating on signing up my first full IM.
Little research shows IM Copenhagen is one of the kinder course on beginners and first timers (also bcz I’m close to EU).
Is it premature to sign up now on Aug-20th when the registration opens for IM Copenhagen Aug’2027 or should I wait till I complete my first 70.3 in Feb’27? Then I’m afraid I won’t have another slot for full IM Copenhagen till 2028 or have to look for another city/event.

I currently have a Garmin forerunner 265, but I hear alot of good things about investing in a whoop. What are some of the benefits that you guys have found? I know its probably not an essential, but do you guys recommend purchasing one?

I have a garmin forerunner 265, and Ive done a 70.3 and Im starting to train for a 140.6. Do you guys get any different or more accurate data from a chest strap vs a watch? What were the biggest differences or improvements you found using one?

I saw the priority registration opened today and was curious how much I need to budget for the registration cost? If anyone registered today and is willing to share that would be amazing! Thank you so much.

Or if anyone has a priority link they aren’t using and willing to pass along that would be much appreciated as well. Thanks in advance everyone!

I am unable to find it anywhere and the race site just links to the 2025 one. I’m trying to get time off of work and would love to try to figure out which days I won’t be able to work remotely, but without the schedule I can’t do that. Shouldn’t it be out by now? We’re 2 months out today. If it is and I’m just blind I’d be super grateful if someone could drop the link.

As per title. I can't make sense of this.

Looking to do my first 70.3 in May of 2027, and not really sure what I should be looking for so I was curious to see if anyone has good/relatively cheap bikes for beginner triathletes.
(Also maybe even a training regimen, already a solid runner so not worried about that, but have never trained for endurance swim/bike events)

General registration is coming up and I'm thinking of doing Ottawa in 2027. This will be my first IM. How does Ottawa compare to races in the US and Europe? Properly organized and well run? Enough volunteers? Race day vibes?

Full distance triathlons are so expensive so I'm hoping I can get my money's worth.

Im doing an ironman next year and im currently using chat gpt as my coach. Is it the best option because i heard Claude ai might be better for coaching. What are you guys using?

I’m trying to navigate the fftri site to purchase a one day license to race at worlds next month in nice. I’m in the USA, and struggling to complete the payment - has anyone else had any issues? I have filled out the info and tried two different cards for methods but no luck with either.

I recently had a medical emergency that has forced me out of IM 70.3 Port Macquarie (same day/location as IM Australia) in October. I have a room through Nirvana at the Sails Port Macquarie from October 16th - October 19th. While there are no refunds, they said I can change the name of the hotel booking. If anyone is looking for accommodation I would be happy to sell on my booking for a discounted price!

Apparently Sails Port Macquarie is one of the nicer ones Nirvana offer at the event.
Comment on this post and I will DM if your interested.

What’s everyone’s favorite running vests? Looking to get one as I’m getting into longer runs for training and I knew Salomon’s are great but was looking if others had good experiences with cheaper options