Message to First time IM peeps at IMCDA
So, if you are like me, you are starting to get nervous. Training is starting to slow down (watch what you eat), you are starting to read the race execution guide so you know what you are going to do and you just can't wait to get there and get going.
So, a quick back story on when I first joined EN. In 2010 my 15 year younger than me cousin coninved me to sign up for IMCDA. I had never done any lenght triathlon before, not even a sprint. I only had a mountain bike that I never rode and I had never played wall tag in a pool before. My wife was still in the hospital with my son who she had the night before. Since no one was home to talk some sense into me, I signed up for CDA and promptly went, "what did I just do?" So I started to look around for info. I bought books etc and then found EN. After several months of digesting info here, I decided to sign up for a 1/2 IM. With all the info learned through EN, I showed up feeling like I knew what I had to do. The race went well and I set a PR (yeah yeah, it was my first race). By the time IMCDA came around a few months later, I showed up knowing what I needed to do. I had no choice but to trust the EN system (And I was worried Rich would punch me if I didn't, or worse yet, make me do push ups). I had an incredible race. I followed the plan, adjusted where I needed (based on what others had said in the forums) and finished strong. Without the help of of EN, I would have NEVER done as well as I did. I probably would have hated it and never done another triathlon. And my cousin (who had done 2 prior to that race), I beat him by an hour after passing him on the run because he biked too hard.
So, why am I typing all this? If this is your first Full IM after doing 20 1/2 IM's or your first IM after doing a couple 1/2 IM, you need to trust the system that Rich and Patrick have set up. It works. It sucks when people are flying past you in the first part of the bike, but you will see most of them again. Go through the Race Execution page (http://members.endurancenation.us/R...+Execution and set up your plan (hopefully its the same as your Race Rehersal (with your needed tweaks). Trust that plan. Don't be nervous because you have a great plan, where most people in the race don't.
I hope everyone goes out there, gets passed by 40 people on the bike in the first 10 miles and then passes them back on the end of the bike or the middle of the run!