READS

Will McGough Lyons Press

Swim, Bike, Bonk

MOST PEOPLE DON’T make an Ironman race their first triathlon, but that’s exactly what Will McGough did in 2017 when he competed at Ironman Arizona. McGough managed to cram the entire Ironman experience into a window of just over three months. I’m not joking, either. McGough wasn’t an avid marathon runner or cyclist who turned to the sport. His first workout as he prepared was a six-mile run on July 31, for a race that took place on November 19. After his first few runs he’d reward himself with a gin and Gatorade.

An award-winning travel and adventure writer, McGough provides an insightful and entertaining description of his journey. Honest and frank to the extreme, you’ll cringe at some of the all-too-real descriptions of the saddle sores he endured on the brand-new bike he purchased three-weeks into his training, and of his application of Chamois Butt’r during the race.

Swim, Bike, Bonk is a well-researched account of everything McGough learned during his abbreviated time as an Ironman in training. The book provides lots of valuable insights on Ironman – living in Hawaii, McGough was able to take in a trip to the Ironman World Championship on the Big Island, providing insights on the sport’s biggest event. A forward by Gordon Haller, the winner of the first Ironman race in 1978, aptly describes the difference between Ironman racing then and now.

McGough’s book provides a surprising amount of helpful information without reading like a how-to book. Newbie triathletes will learn a lot about the sport just reading his story. Family and friends who are trying to figure out what the heck is going on with the new Ironman in their life will both be entertained and enlightened by the book, too.

Since he has no skin in the game – this book wasn’t written for or endorsed by Ironman, McGough isn’t a coach and he’s not trying to sell anything (other than the book) – McGough has no qualms questioning and detailing every aspect of the Ironman process. He provides a list of exactly how much it cost for him to do the race and a training log of all the workouts he did to prepare.

Swim, Bike, Bonk will hardly be the key to qualifying for Kona, but that was never the goal. It does provide an entertaining and frank outline on what it takes to become an Ironman. Doing an Ironman isn’t easy, and it’s often not pretty. McGough captures all of that spirit in style.—KM