Ironman Revisited is happening this weekend on Oahu, combining the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 112-mile circle island road race, and the Honolulu Marathon as originally done in 1978. The event raises funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. On Sunday thirty athletes, each with their own support crew, will set out on the original journey. In conjunction with the event, six-time Ironman Hawaii Champ Dave Scott put on a two-day clinic in Waikiki. He won on Oahu in back in 1980 prior to the race’s relocation to the Big Island. Twenty athletes, including participants of Ironman Revisited, showed up to suck all the knowledge possible from the legend. Dave left no question unanswered, covering topics ranging from whey vs. soy protein to how to get abs of steel like those on Bob Babbitt. (Whey wins and Bob wasn’t giving up his secrets, or posing for pics) In 6h of clinic time my IQ quadrupled. While doing drills in the ocean, I learned that I swim all wrong. And how to fix it – here’s Dave showing us how not to swim:

Dave shared the formula he uses to calculate calories required for recovery. Using Friday’s 18 mile run and my ~700 cal/hr burned at a 7:15/mi pace, he helped me calculate that I had spent nearly 1500 calories on the run. I had taken in 500 calories while running, leaving me with a 1000 calorie deficit upon completion. Dave recommends consuming 60% of that deficit within 45 minutes to an hour of finishing – and finishing means the minute I stop running, not after I stretch, shower, make the kids waffles.. Ideally, recovery calories should come in a 3:1 or 4:1 carb:protein ratio. Which left me with a goal of consuming 600 calories in the 45-60 minute recovery window, with 125-150 of those calories coming from protein. Now, I may swim all wrong, and apparently my run form is appalling as well, as I found out during the run drills, but if there’s one thing I’ve got down, it’s the recovery drink. Dave asked what I had after my run – and I told him the same thing I always do – a little gatorade endurance on my way down to Jamba Juice, where I order the Protein Berry Pizazz with blueberries instead of strawberries. What does Dave have to recover from a two hour workout? A Jamba Juice Protein Berry Pizazz with blueberries instead of strawberries. And he has them add a scoop of peanut butter & a carrot. I’m doing one thing right! Dave also emphasized that while 30 min is often recommended for optimal refueling for recovery, the range varies greatly from person to person, and many will gain benefits from eating up to 2-6 hours after very long or intense training.

Another scoop straight from Dave: He’s not quite ready this year, but look for him on the starting line in Kona next October. When speculating on his time, the numbers that came up would put him in the top 10-20, easy. 50-54 is in for a shock.

If you get the opportunity to attend a clinic with Dave, take it! But know that if he tells you to go underwater and hold your breath before he has you demonstrate something for the group – look out – he’s not saying nice things about you while you’re under.

Clinic attendees Stephan Reinke, me, Dave Scott, Raul Boca & Amy Bennett shortly before making the man ride around the park on Amy’s 15 year old Dave Scott bike, which she paid thousands for on ebay (or might have found at Goodwill). Stephan is coming off a 51 minute swim at Ironman Austria and Dave didn’t like his form either – somehow that comforted me a little.