From Olympic to Half Ironman

Did my first at Ralph's this spring. Great experience after 20 tri's and 5 olympics, but the thing
that got me was nutrition. Didn't drink or eat enough of the bike or in the transitions. Dehydrated
on the first lap of the run and did the "death march" the rest of the way. I finished, but I found
out that you really have to plan your nutrition as much or more for this distance. You can do a
sprint on nothing and survive an olympic on very little, but half on up requires some dedicated
planning to nutrition. My advise is to forget the speedy transitions on your first one and really
eat and drink in T1 and T2 when it is easy to do. Also, make sure you empty at least two large
bottles on the bike. A guy I met before the race told me it took him 18 halfs before he felt he got
it figured out. Since he went out and won the 50-54 age group with a sub 5 hour time and qualified
for Kona, he probably knows what he is talking about.

Good luck and treat it as a learning experience. I'm looking forward to my second one this
November...a little smarter than the last I hope.

Later...

"Cow Parsley Man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I want to move up to Half Ironman distance next season from Olympic distance,

I found the Olympic distance very enjoyable, more agreeable to me than the thrash of the sprint
distance.

Can anyone remember their move up to this distance, and recall their experiences?

What areyour top 5 tips? - I'm only looking to finish - not race anyone. I can only train before
work 5 days a week, but boy am I determined.

Thanks

Cow Parsley Man

Gosh Tri Geek

Many thanks for the advice - I had the feeling nutrition played a big part in halfs, I'll do what
you say and train sensibly thru the winter

Thansk

Cow parsley man