Andy Potts Shares Two Tips for Ironman Training

March 23, 2018

Training for an Ironman requires a lot of time and dedication to bring your body and mind to a place that can maintain a high level of performance. Andy Potts has been training for Ironman races for about 15 years now. He’s completed more than 200 triathlons, has been an Ironman Champion 7 times, and Ironman 70.3 Champion 28 times. Over the years, he’s learned a thing or two about Ironman events and now wants to share his knowledge with you. Here are two quick tips on Ironman training from Andy Potts.

Ironman Training Tips

Tip 1: 70.3 Ironman to a 140.6 Ironman

Transitioning from a half Ironman to a full Ironman is going to be taxing on both your body and mind. Jumping from 70.3 to 140.6 is going to be tough, especially the further into it you get. But, the biggest challenge on race day is going to be mental. Andy Potts recommends staying mentally engaged and letting yourself know that you put in the work and you’ve got this. Be aware of potential obstacles and know how to overcome them. Focus on your breathing techniques and eliminate negative self-talk. Studies have shown that your mental strategy has a huge effect on your athletic performance.

Tip 2: Open Water Swimming

Your first time in the open water can be very disorienting and it takes some time to get accustomed to the environment change. One of the biggest differences between swimming in a pool and swimming in the open water is tempo. Tempo is your stroke rate or how fast you’re turning over your stroke. For example, Andy Potts aims for a right fingertip entry to right fingertip entry of 1.5 seconds. Andy does have long arms though so yours might be faster or slower depending on your size and technique. Training your tempo in a pool will translate over into the open water. However, because the ocean is constantly moving, know that you have to keep a higher tempo in the open water to achieve the same results you would be able to achieve in a pool.