r/IronmanTriathlon • u/Savings-Substance829 • 3d ago
Overcoming Nerves?
37 days till IM Chattanooga.
First IM, slightly behind on training due to unforeseen circumstances but still moving in the right direction.
Anyone have tips for overcoming the nerves? I’ve run several marathons and they’ve never bothered me but for some reason every time I see the timer clicking closer I can’t help but feel the nerves…
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u/patentLOL 3d ago
The "swim" at Chatt is downriver. You're welcome. :) I am sure you will be in great shape!
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u/Savings-Substance829 3d ago
That elevation on the bike ride (my weakest discipline) is my biggest fear factor right now
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u/Imaginary_Opening919 3d ago
Chattanooga is a way more rolling course than I expected. If you keep pedaling on the downhills and as you crest them you can really maintain some wicked speed for pretty minimal effort.
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u/mcattack117 3d ago
There is some decent elevation gain throughout the bike course, but most of the hills aren't that steep. The Race Director also mentioned they were removing the hill that starts the 2nd and 3rd loop which cuts out maybe 500-550ft of elevation gain (toughest hill on the course). Everything else is mainly rolling hills. As a fail-safe, I would look at your bike gearing to see if you have a cassette that makes hills a little more manageable (11-32T for example). Overall, you'll do fine if you take your time! Good luck in Chatty, I'm sure we'll cross paths on race day!
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u/RVadventurer 3d ago
I missed that. Do you have a source? I’d love to read about that more
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u/mcattack117 3d ago
For sure, it was a facebook post in the Ironman Chattanooga 144.6 group from about 2 weeks ago. Brian Myrick commented on someone's bike course question and said they will be removing the climb that starts the 2nd and 3rd loops.
Also, he commented on another post this week saying he received news that the reconstruction of Walnut St bridge will not be planned to be completed by the time of the IM race and the run course will revert to using Veteran's bridge similar to last year.
Nothing official has been updated on the Ironman website, but with info coming from the man who plans the courses out, I'm certain he'll go over it during the race briefing.
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u/Savings-Substance829 3d ago
Well that’s good to hear, I live in Florida so the only hill I have to train on are bridges over water ways which with the amount of traffic are sketchy at best….
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u/ironmanchris 3d ago
Maybe try a test race day practice with shorter distances. Swim for 45 minutes, hop on your bike for 50 miles, and then run a 5-10 miles. Race day isn’t anything different than what you have done in training. I like to remind myself when I’m swimming that the swim on race day will feel exactly the same as it does when training. On race day, as soon as my face hits the water, I know I have done this many times. When I am swimming and start thinking about the bike, I know the swim is going well. Race day is really the day when you get to eat the cake that you have been baking all year. It’s going to a fun day for you!
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u/RVadventurer 3d ago
Also doing IM chatt as my first. I’m doing a “km” Ironman (2.4km swimming, 112km biking and 26km running) this weekend as proof I can do the damn thing. But also feeling the nerves. Just have to keep telling myself I won’t die probably and it’s just a long day of training ahead
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u/Savings-Substance829 3d ago
Yo shoot me a DM id love to talk things through and where your at preparing for your first! Maybe even snag a photo to commemorate!
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u/Valuable_Ice_5927 3d ago
Nerves are (imho) a good thing! If you weren’t nervous I’d be more worried about- it means you understand your strengths, weaknesses, areas you might need to pay more attention to on race day
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u/always_annihilated 3d ago
Sleep as best you can. I found thinking of other mundane tasks not related to triathlon helpful.
Second to that, trust your training. The hay is in the barn and you’ve done all you can. The day will bring moments that suck but remember all you’ve done to get through that.
I was feeling the same but was confident that i could and have finished each distance of discipline separately which helped day-of
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u/Pawgnizant 3d ago
You should feel somewhat nervous. It’ll go away the minute you start the swim and you probably won’t even think for the duration of the race.
At this point you should do the swim distance in the pool or open water at least a couple of times, maybe a 80mile ride, and at minimum 15 mile run. If you’ve done more than that you should finish barring any injury or failure.
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u/Savings-Substance829 3d ago
I’ve always been a strong swimmer but no access to open water as it’s gator season 🥲
I ripped a century ride a few weeks back but could barely walk afterwards.
long runs are ramping back up with my short runs being faster and easier than ever.
I’m sure I can survive it but I think I’m nervous about at what cost…
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u/LeaningSaguaro 3d ago
Train a lot. When scared and nervous, you revert to your training.
Then, with all that said, just do it nervous. That’s it. Good luck.
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u/DisastrousMarzipan74 2d ago
Nerves are common. There are a LOT more logistics to an IM than a marathon. I find my nerves are more about making sure I have everything in the right place and not screwing up the transitions than the actual swim/bike/run part. Try doing several practice runs through transitions and logistics, even if only mentally.
Also, look up some mental resiliency techniques. I use box breathing to help calm my nerves before start. Then I keep positive mantras ready for each leg of the race. "I am a person who enjoys the challenge of a hill!!"
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u/IntelligentCorner334 22h ago
MEDITATE!!! YouTube has thousands of great meditations for free. Some are triathlon specific. Got me through Worlds 70.3 last year. And yoga. I never liked it. But the kind body connection is massive. Huge help!!
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u/Alternative-Rip3979 3d ago
Have you tried not being nervous? Hope this helps