Kona or Bust Week 12 - F.A.Q

Kona or Bust Week 12 - F.A.Q

Since starting this journey to Kona to compete in the Ironman World Championships I’ve been asked a bunch of questions regarding my training, diet, the trip itself, and everything in between. I’ve complied some of the most frequently asked questions and answered them below.

When is the big day? 

October 11^th. As of RIGHT NOW it is 81 days, 12 hours, and 35, 34, 33 seconds…away. Holy crap!

And this is your FIRST Ironman? 

Yes, this will be my first Ironman. I’m not sure what has held me back from signing up for one before now. This was by no means my plan either. Qualifying for Kona in St. Croix’s 70.3 was beyond my wildest dreams. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to attempt an Ironman until the opportunity was placed in front of me. My only hope is that my efforts can match the magnitude of the race and make everyone around me proud. I have a lot of friends and fellow Cyclonauts gearing up Ironman Lake Placid this weekend and I can honestly say I am beyond humbled by their willingness to sign up a year out and train with purpose for a year.

How long will you be in Hawaii? 

I will leave on Tuesday October 7^th, race Saturday October 11^th, and return Thursday October 16^th. Yes, I will have a vacation. My mother and youngest brother, Brendan, and I will travel out together. My Father and oldest youngest brother, Kieran, will meet up with us the Thursday before the race. This has the potential to go as most Kelly Family outings do…disastrously. ;) I’m hoping the magnitude of the event for them and me will sink in quickly and it will be smooth sailing. Keep your fingers crossed!

How much will this trip cost? 

Too Much! Travel expenses to Kona and Mont Tremblant alone are enough to break the bank. If you then include registration fees for both races, bike shipping, food costs leading up to, during, and after, accessory expenses (race helmet, new wetsuit, potential purchase of a skin suit, sneakers, the list goes on). For all of you that have donated to the fundraising page my college teammates set up I cannot THANK YOU enough!

How different is your training now than past years? 

It is incredibly different. In years past I would have a plan; swim, bike, run 3-4x/s a week. What I did within those workouts would depend largely on what I was preparing for, how I felt, or what everyone else was doing. Now, every workout is heart rate and time based. I don’t have “easy” workouts. I still get 3-4 workouts of each discipline in but every day and every workout are planned to the minute.

What does a typical week of training look like?

For example this was what I did this past week.

Mondays – Off

Tuesday – Run (Track) 55 minutes; Swim 45 minutes

Wednesday – Bike1:20 (I did this one of the trainer so I could TRY to get my heart rate as high as I need to without worrying about stop signs, pot holes, or asshole drivers)

Thursday – Swim 60 minutes; Bike 1:30-2:00

Friday – Swim 45 minutes; Run 1:05

Saturday – Bike 3:30-4:00; Run 40-50min; Swim 30 (I’ll be honest this week I did not swim. I was beat and summoning the energy to get an easy 30 minute swim in just wasn’t going to happen.)

Sunday – Run 2:10; Bike 50minutes

Do you feel ready? 

No, not yet, but I will!

Do you have any upcoming races? 

Kona is my A race, but before then I have the 70.3 World Championships in Mont Tremblant, Canada on September 7th, and the Mascomaman Half I have coming up this weekend. These races will be a good gauge to see where I’m at and where I can push or where I need to hold back.

Have you lost weight? 

Yeesss…. And I’m not that happy about it either. Don’t get me wrong it’s kinda cool to see my body change as I go deeper and deeper into my training. My body is changing to make me a more efficient triathlete; leaner and lighter. What sucks about it is that I’ve always carried around muscle and I can see and feel the areas that are no longer the same size. Most would be happy about this. To me, I’ve always been proud of my “mass”. Rest assured, once Kona is over you will see me throwing weights around as soon as I’m fully recovered.

You can’t eat a turkey sandwich anymore? WTF? 

I can, but I choose not to. Why? There’s too much to get into for this blog, but here’s a teaser.

Food combining - No proteins with carbs or starchy vegetables! Eat fruit alone. Make sure you have plenty of healthy fats. Drink plenty of water. Veggies, eat them! A lot! And while you’re at it make sure you get your greens. Veggies combine well with both carbs and protein so get after it. Don’t forget your superfoods either. Chia seeds, hemp seeds, and coconut oil.

More to come on this, I promise.

When do you sleep? 

Never. 

I’m kidding, but it seems that way. Life is crazy and training for an Ironman doesn’t help but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’ve never been one to take naps, nor can I shut my brain off before 11pm even when I’m dog-tired. I get as much sleep as I can. Try to steal an extra snooze out of my alarm if the dog isn’t demanding food or a walk. I’ll also take an unscheduled rest day if my body or mind just isn’t feeling it that day (even if it is killing me inside).

If you have more questions don’t be afraid to ask. Maybe I’ll post another FAQ when we get closer to race week!

To all of the Nauts out there racing Lake Placid this weekend BEST OF LUCK! I’ll be routing for all of you and keeping my fingers crossed I’ll have a friend or two joining me in Kona!

SK