Talking to other athletes (pro and amateur) and poking around on message boards, one of the most common things I hear when it comes to Ironman training is people saying “I don’t want to train for Ironman because it will make me slow.”  This statement drives me crazy, and it’s time to rant about it…

We bought a studio! Sorry, let me rephrase…QT2 Systems, LLC bought a studio! A cycling studio. Ok, so I’m a little late with this. We bought it a year ago. It is exactly what we always wanted to do, but simply never saw as a feasible option, because the start-up costs would be such a tremendous obstacle. Well, sometimes feasibility has a way of working itself out. Somebody builds it out, exactly as you would have wanted it, creates a business around it, runs it, and then comes to a point where life simply takes them in a different direction than originally planned. That’s pretty much how we found ourselves with a studio.

Ironman training and racing can bring with it, a dark side, and bright side. Both a beginner, and seasoned veteran, should be aware of both.  The demands of Ironman changes lives, but it is the responsibly of coach and athlete, to ensure the change is going to make the life during and after Ironman healthy. The health of the athlete should be physical, but also mentally and socially.  There will be a time, when swim/bike/run will not be part of the prescription for the day.  Hopefully, this isn’t during a training block, but it ultimately will be a prescription someday once the athlete moves on from the Ironman lifestyle.  As I navigated through my own racing career, and continue to navigate life without Ironman training in it, the bright and dark lessons learned along the way have become clear.  I move athletes through training to gain faster splits, but also pay close attention to the impact this training has on the circle of life that surrounds them.