Ironman world record-breaker Lionel Sanders on his history-making Arizona performance

The fastest Ironman in history takes your Qs on his record-busting race, nutrition and Canadian legends

How did you build in training over the five weeks from Kona into Ironman Arizona [where Lionel broke the Ironman record with a 7:44:29 time]? MARK FORD, VIA TWITTER

I didn’t change much but the biggest thing was that I increased the mileage of my long run as well as my long ride. After a 1hr swim, I was able to get up to a 40km long run after a 5hr long ride, which was inside of a 7hr long day. I also increased the length of my interval workouts, with a reduced intensity, ending with a 30km run with a peak workout of 4 x 5km, and 3hrs on the bike with a peak workout of 2 x 1hr at tempo pace.

You talk on your website about “going through the door”, i.e. pushing yourself to your absolute limit. How will you know when you’re through it? HANNAH GOSSARD, VIA FACEBOOK

I’ve no idea what it’ll feel like, if it’ll feel like anything at all. I dream that it’ll be this amazing experience that I’ll never forget. It doesn’t really matter, though, as it’s more about the journey that gets you there than the final destination.

You pack in a lot over a year. But for 2016, you cutcu back. Why was this? AD DAM THORNTON, VIA FACEBOOK

I ddidn’t really cut back on the nu umber of events; I just cut ba ack on the number of full Iro onmans. In 2015, I did four full Iro onmans and in 2016 I only did tw wo. But I still did eight 70.3s. Iro onman is extremely taxing on the e body and takes a long time to recuperate from. 70.3 allows me to push the upper limits as high as I can. With a proper endurance phase in my season, it worked out well as I still had a lot of speed and hadn’t logged much fatigue due to really long workouts throughout the year.

What do you eat after finishing a full Ironman? Full blow out or targeted recovery strategy? BEN ADAMS, VIA TWITTER

After an Ironman I usually eat whatever I’m craving. I’m a firm believer in that your body tells you what you need. I tend to crave high fat, high sodium type foods, which would make sense because I sweat a lot. On the other hand, after a 70.3 I find myself craving this type of food less and will reach for something healthier like quinoa or a rice bowl.

What does your ‘off-season’ look like? JANE FISHER, VIA TWITTER

I don’t really have much of an ‘off-season’. This year, I took one week completely off immediately after Ironman Arizona and then I went to the Dominican Republic for a week’s vacation. I’m now easing back into things very slowly and won’t start getting into very high-end workouts until February or March, and don’t start really ramping things up and pushing myself until July.

Simon Whitfield, Peter Reid, Lori Bowden, the Puntous twins... Canada has a great tri history. How inspirational were these athletes to you? NATHAN GRANT, VIA EMAIL

Simon Whitfield has been a huge inspiration for me. He always provided a lot of insight into how to properly prepare for the sport. He’s encouraged me many times to stick with it, and told me that I had what it takes to compete with the best long before I had posted any significant results. When an Olympic champion speaks, you listen!

“After an Ironman I usually eat whatever I’m craving, which tends to be high fat, high sodium type foods”