First IM advise

Enjoy the journey! 

You probably already have everything you NEED to train/race, so what would you WANT? 

If you're prone to overtraining, a coach comes to mind. 

When you say nutrition, what have you tried, and what are the results? 

I'm doing my first IM this year also, so I am not one to give advise.  However, I would agree with the previous advise on overtraining and a coach.  i would and humbly suggest a heart rate monitor or power meter to decrease the urge to go too hard on the easy days.  Best of luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I hope we can say together in 2011 that we finished our races.

I seriously doubt you are overtraining.  In fact, I bet you will discover that you have never done even close to the amount of work it takes to do an ironman. 

But I don't doubt at all you push too hard in the training that you do, and that you end up injured or burned out and your consistency suffers and you never get really really fit the way you could if you had a more conservative approach.

I've been SQUARELY in that boat with you, including with the food (and I assume resulting weight) problems.  Ending that cycle of stupid training coupled with overeating, and doing it MONTHS before your ironman, is the secret.  Even though Sandusky feels a long way away, it isn't.  Especially if you need (like I did) to make some lifestyle changes and begin conservatively building a base so that when the real work of ironman starts your body can handle it.

Good luck!

I agree on the shoes.  Find the ones that work and that you like now and buy two or three pairs.  Shoe companies tend to change models and make slight modifications every year or two and sometimes the new models don't feel the same.  

The sooner you figure out nutrition, the better.  If you knew what worked for you now, that would be something because it can add up.  I used Infinit on the bike and shot blocks on the run.  Every time I ordered new Infinit, there went $50.  

Tires and tubes are a good idea, too.  And if you don't have a gym membership so that you have access to a pool, that would be a good thing to ask for.

Best of luck.  I did my first IM at Florida last month and had a blast.  I will be back for more. 

Woohoo congrats!!

The things I experimented with or changed from HIM to IM were:

Shorts: I knew my little Zoots I wore for Olys and HIMs wouldn't cut it on a 7-hour ride. I invested in the DeSoto 400 mile shorts and love them. Lots of other brands out there for distance riding.

Nutrition: Look for the Infinite sale (if you want to try it) - I can't remember when it is, but they have a day where you can get it for 40% off (then 30%, then 20%, etc.). Their servers crashed last year, but it's worth it if you can get in on the deal. BT has a discount code for performance members, too.

Wetsuit: I probably didn't *need* to, but I invested in a full-sleeve (I already had a sleeveless). It was way more comfortable and I liked having the coverage on my arms.

Normal stuff: Your normal stuff will get so many more miles on them, so just be prepared to replace them more often. Tubes, c02s, goggles, sunscreen, body glide, chamois buttr, running shoes... 

And detergent.  I did so much laundry it was silly! So maybe stock up on stuff like running socks or cheap technical tees so you don't have to do laundry so often.
 
 

Become fanatically devoted to consistency.  That's the best advice I can give.

X2

You can absolutely over train. I did. Listen to your body. I ended up taking a week off half way through my training and I really think it was the best thing I ever did.

The best advice that I can give anyone is to tell you that it is ALL mental. While you have to put the time and training in and dial in your nutrition, you have to learn how to be stong mentally. I have done 1/2's where I told myself I couldn't do it the whole time and ended up being miserable. It took me a while to figure it out but I eventually got it. I spent a lot of time before my first Ironman training mentally. I bought books on Navy Seals to see how they did it. I read stuff on positive thinking etc. I really spent a lot of time on this prior to my first Ironman and it made all of the difference inthe world. It became a much more enjoyable race and I smiled the whole time instead and telling myself how "impossible" it all was.

PS - here is one of the books that I read called the Triathletes guide to mental training. It gives you some good suggestios on positive thinking etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Triathletes-Mental-Training-Ultrafit-Multisport/dp/1931382700/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1291500557&sr=8-2

Good Luck!!!

I did IM Switzerland last year and it was my first IM. I had an excellent coach who advised me to stay comfortable. There's no point in going out and buying brand new gear if what you've got is good enough. If you can do a 1/2 IM in your kit - it's fine and there's nothing wrong with wearing older trainers as long as the cushioning is still ample. Don't worry too much about an aero position on the bike - again get comfortable. The training that you will do will prepare you and yes it is hard but if you do it properly (online coaching can be great) race day will be a breeze. Go in with the attitude that you are going to complete the event (without walking maybe) and I am sure that you will do fine! Good luck with it all and jsut keep putting 1 foot in front of the other!

I did St. George last year (first full IM) and made a number of mistakes.

The biggest was with nutrition. I spent the first 60 miles on the bike under-eating while pushing too hard. Ultimately totally bonked at mile 10 on the run (tunnel vision, thought I was going to pass out). It was only heavy doses of coke and chicken broth that revived me enough to start running again.

So, anything that makes eating and drinking easier is worth it. Bento box is a must. And I bought a speedfil after watching Michael Weiss win at St. George with one. Very easy to fill, and drink valve is right by your face.

Next time (St. George again), I'm going to go easy on first 30 miles and consume as many calories as I can. Just settle in and get some food down.

I did wear compressive leg sleeves because I'd had a bad case of shin splints last winter (trying to cram too much running too quickly backfired). They really seemed to help-- no leg pain, and I recovered pretty quickly. Because of that I went into the race undertrained for the run, but it didn't matter because it was the food that really limited me. So, i'd recommend those. This time though I'm just going to wear them under my wetsuit so I don't have to struggle getting them on in T1.

All told I think you're better under-trained than over-trained or injured. Good luck!

My 2 cents. Sandusky was my first IM and I though it was absolutely great. I wouldn't start stocking up on stuff until you know what you want. I think you should take the time to figure out exactly what you want this is true for nutrition and equipment. Try as many different things as possible to be sure you have the right combination. I thought I liked hammer products until I tried gatorade rain on a long ride. Even if you think you have what you like change it up and make sure. Don't be afraid to try somethng that doesn't work. Just do your experimenting early in the cycle. Don't be afraid to add in treats to keep you motivated. I used fun size snicker bars. To a certain extent when you are riding for 6 hours calories are calories everything doesn't have to be "good". Try pretzels, fig newtons or fig newmans and plenty of salt. Have fun.

Kevin 

Congrats on taking no your first IM. There are lots of great advice up there. One thing I will add, that I have not seen posted is that, unless you are a very good runner and have a great base, its a good idea to practice speed walking or at least be comfortable walking fast. I just did my first IM in Cozumel, and walked a fair amount of the marathon. I caught up with a friend who was having cramps. We began to walk together and I realized how much faster he was walking. I think if I had walked "faster" during my walks I would have  gained half an hour.

Good suggestion.  Most people walk at some point during the "run" of an IM.  Even though I had done 10 stand alone marathons before my IM, I knew I would not run all of it in the IM.   I trained to do a 4/1 run/walk.  My walk portion was pretty fast, so I was able to maintain just over 10 minute miles for  the first half of the run.  I did slow down a little after that, but even then, my walking was faster than what some people were "running". 

X2 excellent advice. Moving from sprint/oly means you will being a lot more of what you are already familiar with. But the long rides are different from a comfort point of view, so shorts are really important - go with the desoto 400 milers. The other area that I just couldn't seem to get right was nutrition, until I discovered Infint. I bought their standard formulas for IM distance biking and running and it worked like a charm. One less thing to worry about - so KISS on the nutrition (i.e. Keep it simple).
Good luck.