The Road to IRONMAN: Going Long and Training Mistakes

Mike Drak, Author and Senior Contributor for Booming Encore, has publically shared his goal to complete the IRONMAN race in Cozumel in November, 2022. He is currently undergoing an agressive training schedule and shares updates with us on his progress. 

Last Saturday I completed a 75 km Ride for Cancer training ride. This was my longest ride up to that point was a sole 40 km outside because of all the bad weather we had.

My initial plan was to do the 50 km shorter training ride but I was having so much fun riding with a group again I got a little carried away and it ended up costing me large.

Things were going well until about the 45 km mark when we hit a number of steep hills and reality hit me square in the face.

Those extra fifty pounds I put on during the pandemic and while writing the books cost me dearly but it was a needed wake up call. I’m thankful for that ride because it opened my eyes and I know exactly what I need to focus on to get ready for Ironman Cozumel in November.

The following is what I learned from that ride;

Lower Back Pain

Going up those steep hills carrying that extra dead weight caused me some serious lower back pain for a few days. The good news is that it’s preventable and I’ve started a regular stretching and strengthing routine focusing on my hamstrings which are always tight and my hip flexors.

Fuel/Nutrition

The morning of the ride was cold and I ended up only consuming 1.5 bottles of straight water plus a cliff bar (260 calories).

This was a big mistake as it was far short of what is required to fuel a 6 ft 2’- 250 lb person over a challenging 75 km bike ride.

On any ride longer than 2 hours you need to eat. We have enough naturally stored glycogen to provide energy for short rides, but not enough to support a strenuous 75 km.

Dehydration

My failure to take in sufficient fluids (one bottle per hour) put a lot of stress on my body and caused me to become dehydrated. Between that and not taking in enough carbs towards the end of the ride I started “bonking” and take it from me “bonking” is not a lot of fun.

When you place yourself in a deep hole it takes a long time to get back to where you were.

Dehydration delays recovery which is key especially for an older athlete like me and I ended up losing several precious training days until I felt normal and could train again.

I can’t afford to lose any precious training days with only 6 months to go to Ironman. From now on when I train long I will make sure I’m adequately rested, hydrated and my glycogen stores are topped up.

Riding in groups is fun

Even though I ended up hurting I had a lot of fun riding with other people. While it wasn’t a competitive ride they share their energy, encouragement and help push you along.

In addition to the two day Ride to Conquer Cancer event I’m going to add additional charity rides and runs to serve as stepping stones to my Ironman Goal.

This is going to be an awesome year and it’s just starting!