The 2015 Melbourne Ironman was an unforgettable experience for the participants and their cheering families and friends.

As your fellow triathlete brothers and sisters shared their Ironman Lessons from the Filipino Contingent to Malaysia Ironman 2014 the 2015 Melbourne Ironman finishers wanted to also help those doing Ironman events in Taiwan, Japan, America among other countries this year.

We will start with the inspiring story of Miguel Feuermann today, the funny and cool experience of Sidney Maderazo tomorrow and the other Ironman finisher’s who know that to “Share your knowledge…is a way to achieve immortality.” – Dalai Lama.

Ironman Tips from 2 Time Ironman Miguel

Here are some pointers…

Arrive to race site as early as possible to get acclimated as best one can.

1. Believe on the taper period.

You may feel the urge to do a lot more, believe me there is no need. Your body will thank you for allowing it the
time to recover prior to race day from all the training sessions. You will thank yourself with a better finish at the end! Check out how fit and strong the local Aussies are!

2. Research everything you can about the race location as possible.

Weather, history around the race date, elevation, etc. You can try and simulate this wherever possible and be best prepared. Several friends got wetsuit rashes at the neck. Had they wore it several times before, they would have realized this ahead of time. Carry as much lubrication as you can! I swam at home one a week with my wetsuit. Sure I got funny looks but I’m the one laughing now with my finisher medal around my neck. I was able to learn how careful you need to be while putting in your wetsuit. Imagine the anxiety on race morning if you
didn’t experience any of it!

3. Don’t get overly exited with what the rest of the 2499 other athletes are doing.

We are all different and with different training approaches. Try and tune off Facebook and anything else that will add unnecessary stress.

4. Leave expo shopping for either Thursday before race or Monday after.

No need to get tired close to race day!

5. Read the athlete guide from top to bottom.

I printed it and had all my notes questions to ensure I didn’t miss anything.

6. Have an swim, bike and run checklist on your phone

I use it while packing. I left for my first ironman without my goggles! I realized this when I was about to
check-in! Too late. Lesson…if the checklist says goggles, get them and don’t do anything else other than put them in the bag. I checked the item off and got distracted doing something else. As far as the list was concerned, I had packed them!!!

Don’t sweat it too much! Race central is a triathlete shopping mecca! If you forgot something as I did before, it is available there.

7. Co2 cartridge

If you use them, make sure you practice on spares and be willing to waste a couple of them. You didn’t sign up to your ironman race to practice. That’s why they call it a race! If you never changed a flat, make sure you practice this too! If you have valve extenders, make sure your spares are also set up with the corresponding extenders.

8. Try and find out what nutrition they will be providing at the aid stations.

Good if it is available locally so you can try it out and see if it suits you. There is no need to carry the supermarket with you. Carry enough to get you to your special needs bag plus one! Just in case. Stopping for 1
minute in an Ironman bike leg of 6 hours is nothing! I had the rest of my gels + an energy bar and a pain reliever cream in case I needed it.

For my run, similar and with my prescription clear glasses as I was going to finish just after sunset. Running with my dark glasses would have been like running blind!

9. Attend the race briefing if it is your first for sure!

10. Swim before race day if you are at all anxious about it as it will calm you down.

This beautiful race morning picture from the lovely and talented Esti Feuermann

11. Arrive to transition as early as possible on race day.

Usually I bring my pump. This time I decided I didn’t want to carry and burden my wife with
it. There are plenty of volunteers around with them but in order to get it done quick, you have to be early before the rest all want to pump! Don’t go to the max as mentioned on your tires! Specially if it is a hot day. I heard tires popping as I was running to my bike! Not a nice way to start the race! I run to my bike barefoot and put my shoes on next to my bike as I had a long distance from the tent but was right next to the bike exit.

12. Dress for Comfort.

I decided this time I was going to run the marathon in exactly the same clothing I normally wore during my training. As such, I changed into my very comfortable running shorts and shirt in transition and still managed a
low time! Nothing like the fell of clean comfortable clothes to start a run with! Probably my best advise for this distance!

Ensure to triple check your bags before you hand them in as you will not have any access to them until you see them on race day! Careful with gels…place them in a zip lock bag in case they explode, it happened to me
and the cost of the gear was a nice sticky mess!

Cheers!

Miguel Feuermann
Director for Property Management
Shang Properties – Philippines

The Final Word

Thanks for sharing Miguel. I know you drew incredible strength from your beautiful wife and daughter who delighted in your success. You all deserve great success and more. Cheers mate.

Name Country – Div – Gender Overall Swim – Bike – Run – Finish
Feuermann, Miguel PHL – 171 – 1078 – 1247 – 01:12:20 – 06:13:54 – 05:16:40 – 12:57:17
Davis, Chad PHL – 180 – 1118 – 1291 – 01:25:45 – 07:28:50 – 03:55:16 – 13:07:24

Originally from: http://ap.ironman.com/triathlon/events/asiapac/ironman/melbourne/results.aspx#ixzz3VUGBLxlo