How has the event changed since 1980?
DS: People don’t wear tube socks, and they don’t tape their feet on their bikes with duct tape like I did in 1980. A friend actually taped my feet onto my pedals. It was the most severe pain I had from 56 miles on. It cut off my blood flow. I couldn’t wait to get my feet out of my shoes. Technology has changed a tad, and athletes now have a better understanding how to train. They appreciate all of the components of training from massage to recovery to diet to training periodization to weight training. I think I was a bit ahead of my peers when I started doing the Ironman in that I had been an endurance athlete for a long time. I didn’t perceive the race as a survival event in 1980. Even then, I felt I was going to race this thing. BB: You have clearly been a leader in incorporating nutrition into your training. What major advances in nutrition have taken place since you started competing? DS: From my perspective, the biggest advance has been in post-exercise nutrition. When I started i
