How to go from Ironman to Ultraman? 10 tips to get it

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Marlos López Bonilla, one of the best Spaniards in the distance, gives us his 10 best tips to move from Ironman to Ultraman.

There are many long-distance triathletes who begin to think, little by little, whether or not to give the jump to ultra-distance, and to ask themselves how the Ultraman would take place; if it would be enjoyed more or less, if it would have better or worse results than in the Ironman, and above all; the million dollar question: Could it ?. That is why we present 10 very basic advice and aspects to keep in mind if the Ultraman goes through your head.

1º CHIP CHIP; (THE ULTRAMAN IS NOT AN IRONMAN), THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENCES:

Although it is obvious, the Ultraman is very different from the Ironman; the distance marks the differences and conditions the difference of characteristics between IM and UM. The UM are 515 Kms; the IM 224 Kms; And from there comes everything else, from then on we started talking ...

When we refer to the first advice to "change the chip" it is keep in mind the differences to raise everything differently from the beginning in the UM: the requirements to participate (You must do an Ironman before), the duration (cutting times of 12 hours), the distribution of the tests (3 stages are in 3 different days), the number of people to participate (between 30 and 50), the use of a computer between 2 and 4 people (with whom you have to coordinate) ... etc;

are different aspects of the competition that will change the chip in terms of training planning, logistics, training organization, material to be used, coordination between triathlete and team ... etc, etc ...

2º PLAN: CHOOSE THE RIGHT DATE FOR THE ULTRAMAN WITH ENOUGH TIME TO BE ABLE TO TRAIN IT, IF NOT… YOU WILL NOT ENJOY IT!

Let's not forget that everything that is achieved with effort and sacrifice is savored better and is worthy of greater reward, if you do not enjoy along the way ... this does not make any sense!

If you do not train enough you can do a lot of damage. We know that this is also a truism; only here the consequences of poor preparation can be multiplied by 1000.

Plan ahead: We all know that both for IM and UM the preparation time depends a lot on the training base we have, but very likely a medium long distance triathlete would have to start training him at 9-10 months, and of course advisable to put in between an IM, in fact you must remember that to make a UM You must do an IM within the 18 months before going to the UM.

3º TRAINS MORE AMOUNT BUT ALSO; MORE QUALITY:

Your participation in the Ultraman will be the result of the training you have done throughout the season. Do not do those "milkmaid accounts" in which many have the error of falling, type; "If for the IM my long runs are between 20 and 30 Kms, correct ... For the UM I have to do 60 Kms runs" ... That approach is a big mistake.

We could talk about many important points, but I will insist on recommending Do not go crazy with distances: Demos more priority to quality in training versus quantity (Not because the 3º stage of the UM is 84,4 Kms you have to do a long roll of 30 every week), the work of technique and strength have the same, or more important than resistance training.

4º FORM A GREAT TEAM:

Make YOUR team; Organize them in your own way, communicate continuously and create a special bond; without them you will never be Ultraman. They will give you the food, they will change the cans, they will heal you, they will escort you ... Your life depends on them, and your defeats and victories will also be theirs.

5º ORGANIZES WELL THE FOOD IN THE TRAINING AND IN THE COMPETITION.

As we are saying; in the UM everything is magnified, so if in an IM the feeding is important; in a UM more, there are many more possibilities of a bad or good nutrition; worsen or improve performance.

6º CHOOSE THE PROPER MATERIAL (NOT EVERYTHING THAT SERVES IN THE IRONMAN, IS THE SAME UTILITY IN ULTRAMAN).

Think that there are things you need in an IM that you do not need in a UM, and vice versa. That is why it is good not to try to extrapolate the material from the IM to the UM.

7º BOTIQUÍN, TO MORE KILOMETERS; MORE POSSIBILITIES OF ACCIDENTS OR INCIDENTS.

In an IM or consider bringing a kit since there is no assistance team, the precautions that you must take must be taken before departure. In the UM apart from those precautions also you have to carry a good medicine cabinet and make sure that you have a team behind you that is assisting you. In the UM multiply the kit of a normal race by 100.

8º WORK YOUR HEAD AND SEEK YOUR MOTIVATION, YOU CAN BE SERVED BY THE SAME MOTIVATIONS AS AN IRONMAN OR YOU MAY HAVE TO LOOK FOR OTHERS.

Work the mind in terms of motivation, imagining the entrance to the goal throughout the year; It can be something common or similar in IM and UM, but work your mind as to visualize how you are going to face certain problems, that is an exercise also common in the two distances, but of greater importance in the UM for the same main reason why it changes everything: More km, equal to more chances of problems arising!

Remember that the main reason why you will be mentally strong will be if you think you are well prepared. So to be strong of mind; The physicist trains.

9º LOGISTICS IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN IM, DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING WHEN IT WORKS!

Do not forget that an Ultraman not only have to think about the logistics for me as a participant (as it can be in an Ironman where I only care about my participation), but also for your team, and what is more important; coordinated with your team.

10ª ENJOY THE MAGIC OF ULTRAMAN ... THAT DOES NOT HAVE IT IN AN IRONMAN! "ALOHA-OHANA-KOKUA".

It is advisable to accept it, and keep in mind the words that give meaning to the UM since its inception. These are the three Hawaiian words on which UM is based and gives meaning:

-ALOHA = LOVE

-OHANA = FAMILY

-KOKUA = HELP

Just completing that distance is practically magic, but it's magic especially because there are situations that only occur in a UM ...