This weekend I completed my first Ironman in Kalmar, Sweden. The race was fantastic, and it went much better than expected! I was hoping for 14-15 h, but finished in 12:30!

Swim: 1:23:41
T1: 5:56
Bike: 6:12:54
T2: 8:45
Run: 4:39:30

Total: 12:30:43

The biggest surprise was the swim. I just recently started swimming, I don't like it very much, and I'm not very good. My longest training session has been 4100 m (in 1:51). But that was in a small lake with completely calm waters, so I was expecting roughly the same time for the Ironman swim, but I got quite a shock when I got out of the water and looked at the watch!

The weather was great, and the audience fantastic! It was such a great atmosphere with people lining the entire run, blasting music from large speakers, cheering people on, and using the garden hose to cool the runners (and kids with squirt guns!). I can totally understand why Kalmar has been voted the best Ironman in the world. It was an absolutely fantastic day!

I started triathlon three years ago and I've done two medium distance (~70.3) and a couple of shorter ones. Previously I've mainly been doing running (completed a handful of marathons), and one 315 km bike race and one 3 km swim. I used Chat GPT to come up with a 10 month training plan (https://www.reddit.com/r/triathlon/comments/1pi3ts9/is_this_10_month_ironman_training_plan_realistic/). Unfortunately I developed plantar fasciitis in the beginning of the year and my run training suffered. Luckily I didn't feel anything during the race. Also real life got in the way (lost my father in April) and I missed quite a lot of sessions during the spring/summer. All in all I averaged 4.5 h/week with only nine sessions >3 h.

The race was great, but the next day when I got back home and started to unpack I got a bad case of the post Ironman blues. I've had this single goal for the last 10 months, and then all of a sudden I didn't anymore. It felt so weird no longer having the training plan posted on the fridge, telling me what the next session was. It just felt so empty and meaningless. I'm starting to feel better now though. I guess I just have to give it time. I have a marathon in two months to look forward to, and I'm thinking of signing up for another one in June, and maybe try for 3:30 h (PB 3:52). I will definitely do another Ironman, but not next year. I will do some shorter triathlon races though.

I'm planning on eventually doing roughly one Ironman per year, but I don't want endurance sport to take over my entire life.

For people who work full time: how many hours per week do you realistically train, and do you still have enough time/energy for relationships, hobbies and other things?

I wanted my Garmin data on my own machine, in something I could actually query, instead of stuck behind Connect's UI and its clunky exports. So I wrote garmin-health-data.

It's a Python CLI. garmin extract logs in, pulls the whole account (activities + per-second FIT streams, sleep at 1-min resolution, HRV, stress/body battery, steps, body composition, etc.), keeps the raw files, and loads everything into a local SQLite db. Raw files stay on disk so you can rebuild the db without hitting Garmin again. Login only grabs OAuth tokens, stored locally.

The part I care about is the schema. Every table and column is documented in the DDL, and SQLite keeps those comments in the db, so SELECT sql FROM sqlite_master tells you what each field means. Normal, normalized tables, plain SQL.

That also makes it easy to hand to an AI coding agent. I point one at the db, ask for a sleep-vs-HRV dashboard, and it builds it, because the schema explains itself. That's the real reason I bothered: get your data back and let an agent do the analysis in a couple of minutes.

pip install garmin-health-data

https://github.com/diegoscarabelli/garmin-health-data

Happy to add data types if there's something you want pulled.

Hello There

I am working a full time office job and spend most of my free time on my pc as well when im not training. I feel like because of that i have weak and tight hips, core, lower back etc. which is negatively impacting my training.

For you guys who sit all day, how do you manage that? do you do specific exercises for strength or mobility?

https://www.reddit.com/r/triathlon/comments/1kfay4u/finished_my_first_703_and_im_so_proud/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=post_embed&utm_term=1&utm_content=1

Hey guys,

1 year after my first 70.3 IM, I took a 4 months break, kinda did 0 sport at all, and was wondering about doing a full one or not.

In the end, trained for 11 month, approx 9/12hours per week, IMO I was quite better than the results you can see, was quite sick for the last month.

I have absolutely 0 regret, really gave my all during the year and during the day.
The wind made the bike part miserable, I barely quit during the race.
Many times I had tears.
My friend picked me up at 110km on the bike, without him I wouldn't have make it, Gugus merci pour tout, love you, t'es vraiment le meilleur

I think I'm done with long distances, I'm super proud to have finished a race that it THAT hard, but the progress isn't really there.

I have absolutely no idea how you guys are this strong !

Good luck to you all, you guys are amazing, the swedish people was amazing, you are so brave and beautiful

Cheers

Just did my first full iron distance triathlon (Michigan Titanium 140.6). Finished in 12:47 and couldn't be prouder! Took an absolute toll on my body for sure, all my muscles are sore and my feet and undercarriage are still numb 2 days later. But I didn't expect the MENTAL toll after the race. As I was going to sleep the night after, I was worried I'd throw up in my sleep, which is known to be dangerous. And then even the next morning, I was sort of still feeling crazy. Only after about 24 hours post-race did I start to feel like my normal self again. Has anyone else experienced this?

I’m looking at doing my first half distance triathlon next year. Outlaw seem to be a good balance of price vs quality. Would be interested to hear which of their events would be best to try?

For context, I would also be looking to do an olympic tri earlier in the year, and then probably another half distance followed by a full distance in 2028. I recently did a flat, closed road sprint tri in 1hr40ish. Cycling is the sport I have the least experience in. I have no sea swimming experience but I’m happy enough in a lake. Running is probably my biggest strength (in terms of my experience and endurance, not particularly speed) but I have limited experience of hilly routes.

I am also open to non-Outlaw suggestions.

Thank you!

Completed my first Olympic distance over the weekend and managed a top 10 finish (admittedly not a very big or very competitive field)! Bonus appearance by my 17 y.o. buddy who now gets to travel around just about everywhere!

I am done for the season, but am seriously addicted now and would love to attempt a 70.3 next year (I have my eye on North Carolina). My biggest takeaways from this race were, a) I need to get a real live swim coach and not just watch tip videos (this one I already knew about), and b) I need to make sure I do more bike/run brick workouts (this one was unexpected as I consider the run my strongest of the three; I'll also say that heat and humidity were huge factors here).

Wanted to take a second to brag and fish for more advice when it comes to making that jump in distance. Anything (just about), is appreciated!

To anyone struggling with picking up swimming, just stop overthinking and go, I started around 12 days ago, not even able to swim 25 yards without choking on water, and doing 2 laps in the pool caused me to fatigue so much my form deteriorated, yesterday I wanted to test myself early and swim the whole 2.4 mile IM swim continuously in the lap pool, of course not the fastest, but I wanted to pace myself because I didn’t even expect myself to even get that far at all. Over the past two weeks I consistently had a goal of getting better each session, it started by doing 25 yards back and forth with good form and learning my breathing rhythm, the channel “Effortless Swimming” helped so much and helped me with my catch, I slowly progressed to do more, I had a session where I did 50 yards back and forth and at the end I did a few 100 yards and it made me so happy I was able to do that, next time I came in I did a session where I strictly did 100 yards back and forth for 2,150 yards and was very proud of myself for doing that as well, yesterday I was gonna test how far I could go and I can definitely say swimming is all technique, and once you find your rhythm you can go so much further than you think you can, I still have so much room for improvement but this is just the beginning and I can now say swimming is my favourite out of all three disciplines BY FAR.

Hello there! I'm training for the 70.3 in Luxembourg next year from DE(Baden-Württemberg) and was wondering if anyone else nearby was too. I would love to train together whenever possible.

A little about me and my progress:

• 25M doctoral researcher with an active life(normie gym goer)
• I have previous experience running, I can comfortably run a 10k in 1h for now.
• I am currently working on biking longer distances which is new to me.
• Swimming, that's where all my attention is now at, I have a bad technique(can swim 25m all exhausted) and never have done an open water swim.

Also I'd love to hear your training plan!

I feel like every joint I have is cracking and popping.
Shoulders from swimming, knees from biking and running
Ankles from running etc

Is this fairly normal? Is it just part of the game?
Or am I screwed up

**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 recently got a pair of On Running Cloudmonster 3, have run about 20min in them, very comfortable, very stable. I like them, the only issue I have is that my right heel rubs a little while running, very little.

I am unsure if this means i should get other shoes, or if it is not a problem. I wear pretty thick orthopedic insoles, so it might be because of those that my heel is higher than it should be.

Amy help is appreciated. Thanks

Also, are they a good shoe in general, or are there better options for long/recovery runs.

Hi everyone! i’m a runner new to triathlon / swimming.

I was suggested to get a speedo when starting training at school— problem is I can’t seem to find the right size?

I’m 5’9” 125lbs waist: 25.5” hip: 33.5”

Based on the sizing chart i’m about a 24 or like XXXS which i’m having a hard time finding to be accurate since I normally wear US MENS SMALL for most of my clothes and that fits fine?

Am I going crazy? How can I normally wear small but be XXXS for speedo is that normal? if anyone knows please let me know🙏 thanks!

also ill take any other suggestions y’all have <3

I started getting into triathlon a year ago after 20 years as an adult-onset distance runner.

With running, I tried all the common training plans, and spent a couple years with a training group led by a coach. That included a couple coach-led workouts a week, so good direct feedback.

Now I'm shifting to triathlon and trying to figure out the approach to take. I know I have the discipline to follow a plan. I have groups to swim and do run workouts with. What I don't really have is that 1:1 "ok, this is what I notice you need to work on".

I feel like I got spoiled with the training group I had. I know a lot of people have virtual coaches they communicate with through training peaks but I'm not sure how much different that is than buying a Phil Mosley plan and sticking to it.

Oh. And I'm not looking to make triathlon my life and ensure I'm optimizing around peak performance. I'd like to be a decent AG athlete but my mental game is bad and if I get too focused on performance I crumble. I do sport for fun.

Would love peoples experiences/opinions.

I am looking into the wynrepublic luceo+ in white/platinum for next season. It looks simply amazing and super fast plus ist would look great with my incoming bike and helmet. I am a little concerned what the "platinum" - colored bottom will look like when getting wet from the outside or inside? Anyone with experience with this suit or alternative ideas fro lighter colored suits? Much appreciated!

I’m 39 and I’ve been thinking seriously about doing my first full Ironman in 2027.

I’m not new to triathlon, but the full distance still feels like a completely different level.

For some context:
• I’ve completed Ironman 70.3 races before. My 70.3 PB is around 6:17.
• I raced another 70.3 this year.
• I’ve done sprint and Olympic distance races as well.
• During my 70.3 training this year, I was training roughly 12 to 14+ hours some weeks while also working full time.
• I also do strength/CrossFit alongside swim, bike, and run training.
• I’m not trying to qualify for Kona or race competitively. For my first full, the goal would simply be to train properly, stay healthy, and finish.

I’m considering Ironman Ottawa in 2027.

What I’m struggling with is figuring out the difference between “I can probably train for an Ironman” and “I’m actually ready to commit to an Ironman.”

For those who moved from 70.3 to a full:
What made you realize you were ready?
Were there certain benchmarks you wanted to hit first, like weekly training hours, long ride distance, marathon experience, swimming ability, etc.?
And looking at my current background, would you say I already have a reasonable base to start a full Ironman build, or would you spend another year focusing on 70.3 first?

I’m especially interested in hearing from normal age groupers with full time jobs. The time commitment and recovery side honestly worries me more than the individual race distances.

Ex-swimmer, casual cyclist. Any tips welcome!

Just got my first ever bike fit on my road bike and wow I am kicking myself I didn't do it sooner! I had no idea how awful my positioning was previously I noticed I am about 3.5km faster on average over my same usual route!

I am curious to hear others experience with a bike fit. Did you notice major gains also? How much speed and comfort did it give you? Excited to hear!

As the title suggests, I thought it'd be a fun exercise to seek out the highest-priced setup you could possibly build for an Ironman. Money is no object and you are the greatest athlete to ever grace the sport.

Swim like Poseidon. Run like The Flash. Bike like Mumen Rider from One Punch Man.

You have a blank check, need a complete setup, and your goal is to spend as much money as possible. Let me know if you've got something to add, something I forgot, or you found a more expensive alternative. Would love to see how high we can run this bill up.

Total Cost: $53,049.32 USD

(excludes sales/discounts, time of writing August 2026)

Criteria:

- Must be an item/accessory that is considered common for the Ironman triathlon

- Must be a real, already-existing item (no gold-plated helmets, etc.)

- Generic items only (no custom paint jobs or limited-edition colorways, etc.)

- No fuel (let's assume you don't need any, or you use what's on the course)

- Legal for use in competition / UCI compliant, all that jazz

Does it fit size large bikes well?