Mikhail Ivanov moved from Russia to Colorado with his wife and 9 and 1 year old children in early 2014.  He is a 36 year old triathlete who has been racing for 4 years.  He had limited  running experience and no cycling or swimming experience before he started triathlons.

It’s a small triathlon community in Russia with limited warm weather for training.  With all the indoor training time he calls himself a strong “balcony rider.”  While in Russia he was able to train for Ironman Austria in his second year of racing, finishing in a time of 10:26.  In 2014 he went 10:00 at Ironman Boulder and then, after Ironman Tahoe was cancelled just minutes before the start, he went to  Ironman Chattanooga one week later and went 9:36, earning a spot for Ironman Hawaii in 2015.

During the interview we talk about his training and racing experience, things he learned at other Ironmans, and how he put it all together at Ironman Chattanooga.  His target heart rate on the bike for his last Ironman was zone 2-3 using Joe Friel heart rate zones, taking in 300 calories per hour during his 5:10 ride.  His goal during the race was ‘not to slow down at mile 18’. As a result he raced conservatively, and his last 5k of the marathon was faster than his first 5k.

Mikhail uses pickle juice as a concoction to avoid side stitches during Ironmans.   When he races he takes a bottle of pickle juice with pickles in it.

If you’re interested in the research on cramps and pickle juice, check out this http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/phys-ed-can-pickle-juice-stop-muscle-cramps/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

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