Those athletes who want to choose to challenge themselves are always looking for the next big race or competition. While training on your own is fine for a while, you can become tired of simply racing against your wristwatch.
As a result, numerous road races have popped up to help gather together athletes for the joy of the contests. But for some, the typical 5K races and triathlons just aren’t enough. This is why Ironman triathlons were created – to test the limits of the human body and to push athletes from their extraordinary milestones to nearly incomprehensible levels of achievements. The Ironman is not for the faint of heart or for the beginner, to be sure.
What Happens During Ironman Triathlons?
Just as with a typical triathlon, the Ironman consists of swimming, biking, and running. And while the setup is the same, the actual lengths of each of these segments are where the similarities to everyday competitions end.
Ironman Distances
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In the Ironman, the swimming portion is 2.4 miles
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The biking portion is 112 miles
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The running portion is a full marathon, 26.2 miles
This is an intense and extremely challenging event which many participants do not finish. Held in the warm climate of Hawaii, the Ironman triathlons can be not only a test of training, but also a test of one’s own determination.
Who Should Try the Ironman?
If you’re an athlete who has already completed several marathons, some longer biking competitions, and other long endurance challenges, you might be a good fit for the Ironman.
But even superior athletes will need to spend a lot of time training to prepare for this event. This is not an event for those who are new to running or to competing as the conditions are challenging and the risk of injury is high for those who are not well prepared.
How Does One Train for the Ironman?
To get ready for Ironman triathlons, you will want to begin be building up the fitness routine you already have in place. This will help you to improve your current fitness levels, while also helping you to improve your endurance and stamina. It can be helpful to follow a typical marathon training routine a well as to add in days for biking and for swimming.
But at some point, you will also want to add in days where you have multiple sports to train on. This will help you to learn about how to transition well from one sport to the next, without wasting energy or losing focus.
As you can see, training for Ironman triathlons is going to take up a lot of your time. You will need to spend many hours a week on your training as well as on the proper nutrition to support your body during this intense regimen. But the end results of making it to the finish line of the Ironman can be well worth it. Few people can honestly say they have been able to complete this contest and the bragging rights alone might be incentive enough to try.
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