TIPS FOR IMC (written from Pro)

[runningwild]

It's funny, I often wondered when doing such long events, what athletes did when they felt the urge! Now I know.  Like Sandy said, looking at it in the context of the race, I can understand why you wouldn't stop to use the porta potty!  I'm not sure that I could make myself go while running/riding.....that would be something I'd have to learn to do I think.

Kudos to you all, you never cease to amaze me!!

[Sandy]

I have never been in the position to NOT stop at a porta pottie in a race but maybe that's why I like trail running...who needs a porta pottie!

[Allan]

I like most of Johnnyos advice but would recommend being conservative on the downhill after Yellow Lake. When I did the race in 1999 I saw a guy hammer past me as I was conservatively braking at around 65km/h and he lost control and had a brutal crash (he jumped right up afterwards and waved me on so he must regularly take big risks and crash!). At this point in the race, you have only a short distance to go and most of it is easy downhill so just think about relaxing and transitioning into the run.

As for peeing on the bike ..... I have never done that in 21 seasons of racing including 6 IM races. Pee while you are swimming and take an extra 30 seconds to go in T1 before you get on the bike. It will be hot enough that unless you overhydrate on the bike or have a really small bladder you should be fine. Go again in T2 and then you're ok until the finish. My disclaimer for this is that I am usually under 5:20 for the bike ride so if you're out there for over 6 hours then it might not be possible. If that is the case, I would pick a spot where I could do a stop and go quickly and go that way. I've seen people standing up trying to pee on their bike and they end up riding so slowly while doing this (I don't know many who would actually practice this so it would be hard to get really good at it!) and weaving all over the place so a quick stop and go won't hurt your overall time too much.

Remember to forget that it is a race until you are halfway through the run. If you race people on the bike it will be a long day, just take it like a long training ride. Last summer, my bike ride at IM Louisville was the easiest one that I've ever done in an IM and I followed it up with my fastest IM marathon .... kind of makes sense but it is hard to do when you're excited to get hammering on the bike with all those people around you. Also, Johnnyo says take in coke often, I would wait until the 2nd half of the marathon (I wait until 20 miles) since you can end up getting a sugar high and then crash before the next aid station if you're not running fast enough.