Approaching middle-age, putting on weight and brand new to the sport of triathlon, I went from a short sprint triathlon to Ironman in four months. With three sports; gear selection, nutrition and training plans are key to your success and in my case required detailed research and consultation.

What I found was that much of the material available already assumed a certain level of knowledge or capability, or was just too broad to be of practical use. This book is about practical leanings, tips and advice for beginners or those new to the sport of triathlon and helping set them up for success.

This book tells the story of my journey including such things as the look of disbelief and responses from family, friends and work colleagues when they heard I was going to do an Ironman, saying things like "You know you have to be fit to do that?" and "I really don't think its a good idea, why would you put your body through that" through to getting the wetsuit shop to actually sell him a wetsuit, not believing he was capable of swimming in the first place, let alone doing an Ironman, along with all the tips, recommendations and advice he gained along the way. When you decide to take on an Ironman, the financial and time investment is significant so you really don't want to slip up due to mechanical or bio-mechanical failure.

Fortune definitely favors the prepared when it comes to doing an Ironman. Read this book to understand why the Ironman triathlon is a heart rate day, understand the arguments for electronic gears on a tribike, find out how many grams of carbs you need per hour and where best to find them, race prep on the day and how best to set up your training plan and monitor it.

I have tried to share all the things I believe helped make this journey from zero to Ironman in 4 months possible. The Ironman is an extreme athletic event including a 3,8km swim, 180km cycle and 42km run.

You will move 226km in a single day and are unlikely to be able to do this in any training session prior. If you prepare properly both mentally and physically, anything is possible.

This book is about hopefully getting you set up in the best possible way and helping you make Ironman a pleasure to participate in, as well as a success. .