Sometimes I learn the hard way. Having been through the “old-school” path of working up through the triathlon ranks to the Ironman distance, after sixteen years I’ve made my fair share of mistakes.

Some say that the best way to be successful is to learn from your mistakes. Others believe learning from failure is overrated and you should emphasise learning from your successes instead. I’ve formed the opinion that if you attempt to learn from all experiences – positive and negative – you’re on the right track.

As you may know, Ironman can be a fickle beast. One minute you feel on top of the world, the next you’re scraping the bottom of the energy barrel. Little errors produce little effects. Little effects gradually accumulate and have the potential to ruin your day.

I have selected five mistakes I’ve made in Ironman racing – some big, some small – but all have impacted negatively on my racing at some point. Own their own, some of these mistakes might not amount to much, but when you combine a couple of them you suddenly have a recipe for a bad race.

Training Too Hard During Race Week
This is a rookie mistake that some athletes make year after year. The temptations of Ironman race week can be too good to resist and who doesn’t want to get out and be part of the buzz? Swimming, running, cycling – the town buzzes with fit athletes, primed and ready to go. Save your hard efforts for race day. There are few things more disheartening in this sport than having your best run two days out from race day, and wondering where it went come marathon time.

Not Trusting My Body’s Signals
Plans are awesome. Plans allow us to stay on track and work towards a goal. But plans are not meant to be set in concrete – an Ironman plan needs adjustable scope (i.e. an ability to cater for unforeseen events). Your greatest asset on race day is your body’s ability to read it’s signals. If your body is telling you that you need more fluid than you planned – get it in. If your body is telling you your goal pace is too fast – slow down. By all means, follow your plan – but adjust it “on the fly” and listen to your body.

Believing What I Read, Not What I Do
The triathlon world is jam packed with advice. Some of it will work for you. Some of it won’t. Make sure your preparations and race day decisions are based on what you know works for you. Just because your favourite pro athlete says it works a treat doesn’t mean it will – for you. Find out for yourself before race day and trust your choices.

Neglecting The Bike
For a well balanced athlete, an Ironman bike leg comprises more than 50% of total race time. Knowing that, it is obvious that being strong on the bike can be advantageous. This can be easily overlooked though when trying to improve your run split. Concentrating more on run training must equal a faster marathon split – no? Each athlete is presented with a big opportunity to get to the run leg with fresher legs – in fact, that opportunity is 180km long! Being a stronger cyclist allows you to start running with fresher legs and is one of the rare situations where cycling actually improves your running!

Being Blasé About The Course
Pay attention to course maps and elevation profiles. Even small changes to a course you think you know can impact greatly on your performance if you are ill prepared. I made this mistake the first time I raced Ironman Australia at Port Macquarie. I had made a reconnaissance trip to check out the course almost a year prior but failed to take the undulations of the course into account when training. Needless to say, I realised 5km into the bike leg that I had underestimated the course and failed to give it the respect it deserved. The following year I fixed that.

Ironman racing can really be about limiting the number of mistakes you make along the way. You know how to get from A to B – that part is simple. It is how you limit and manage the inevitable hurdles you face on race day that determine your success. Go forth and conquer!