Two-time Ironman World Champion Chris "Macca" McCormack is one of the most well-loved professional triathletes in the sport. He’s known as much for his tell-it-like-it-is interviews as his track record on the course. And the Australian’s track record is incredible, even among his world-class peers: He’s won 76 percent of his career events, taken a world title in three different decades, and has broken 8 hours in the Ironman four separate times.

After 20 years in the sport, the 39-year-old athlete has seen it all. Which is why we were honored when McCormack offered to coach a couple of lowly amateur triathlete Men’s Health editors this season. We'll be checking in with the Team Clif Bar athlete regularly—soliciting his insight, advice, tips, and motivation, and passing them along to you.

About the trainees:

Men’s Health Senior Editor Ben Court has completed 12 Olympic-length triathlons and one half Ironman. When his son was born 3 years ago, Court took up bike racing. He returned to triathlon this year and is currently training for two Olympic-distance races. His weakness is running.

MensHealth.com Senior Editor Amy Rushlow has completed two marathons, four sprint triathlons, and countless running races. She was sidelined by injuries in 2011, and returned to triathlon in 2012 slower than ever before. She’s determined to turn her times around by the end of the year. Her weaknesses: swimming and her finicky stomach.

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Coaching Session #1:

Macca’s Race Prep Advice

MensHealth.com editor Amy Rushlow chatted with Chris McCormack two days before racing the Steelman Triathlon in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, as McCormack was getting ready to leave for training camp in Kona.

Amy Rushlow: This has been a brutally hot summer. I train during lunch and find myself getting lightheaded or just not going as fast as I know I could. What are your tips for training in the heat?

Chris McCormack: Start your hydration about three hours before your workout. It takes a fair amount of time to muscularly hydrate. Stick with your electrolyte drinks. The key with hot riding is as close as empty of a stomach as possible. Whenever you have a heavy meal and then go training an hour later, you’ll feel hot an uncomfortable. If you go training at lunch, have breakfast and then nibble a bit.

During the ride, stay as cool as possible. Use multiple drink bottles and use one to douse your skin.

If you’re doing it a lot, you do get acclimated as you go. That’s half the reason I’m going to Kona for a training camp, to get used to those conditions myself.

AR: As far as the electrolyte drinks go, how much sports drink should I drink beforehand? Or should I use those low-calorie electrolyte tabs?

Chris McCormack: I mix mine with a little more water than the recipe calls for. So if it calls for two scoops of the powder, I’ll use one and a half.

Be careful with the calorie-free ones if you have stomach issues. They’re sweetened with that sweetener that’s not natural, and your stomach gets confused. Those calorie-free drinks can play havoc, so if you have stomach issues, don’t go near the calorie-free stuff.

AR: This week before my race has been an athlete’s worst nightmare. I’ve been stressed, I haven’t slept more than 2 or 3 hours a night, and of course I have to get up at 4 a.m. on Sunday. What should I do tonight? How do I do damage control two nights before my race?

Chris McCormack: Tonight’s your key night of sleep. Tonight, sleep as much as you possibly can. Don’t set an alarm. Usually the night before the race, that sleep’s irrelevant. Just chill out, don’t force yourself to wake if you don’t have to.

You can have the worst week ever—and for a lot of us pros going into these big races like Hawaii, our week leading in is horrific with so many commitments—and you’ll be okay. It’s usually two nights before the race that’s key. (Are you a side sleeper or back snoozer? Here's What Your Sleep Position Says about You.)

AR: My weakness is swimming. I’ve been a natural runner my whole life, and I love the bike.

Chris McCormack: You’re just like me. We’re exactly the same.

AR: Ha! Except that you’re three times faster than me. But yeah, swimming is the worst. I get in the open water, and I forget everything I know. I know you probably don’t have this problem, but what tips and mental strategies do you have for not freaking out during the swim?

Chris McCormack: If you have a favorite side that you breathe to, start on the side where you breathe and look at the people. So if you breathe to the left, start on the right side so that when you’re breathing, you’re looking at everybody so you know where you’re going.

Pick a side any side, and it gives you the freedom to move to the side so you’re not in that squish. A lot of people who get in the middle of the swim pack get in a mosh pit. If swimming is a weakness, you feel much more comfortable if you’re in control. And when you’re in that fight, you feel like you’re never in control.

In the race, it’s all hectic in my head, and I’m just trying to calm down that hectic, nervous energy. So as much as possible, tell yourself to calm down. You want to keep your heart rate down as much as possible, so keep that calmness and trust that the people in front of you are going the right way.

If you can get control of those thoughts, you will naturally swim quicker without any extra effort. (Click here for a video of 3 Instant Swim Technique Fixes every triathlete needs to make.)

AR: I know one of your mantras is “embrace the suck.” I love that. What does it mean to you?

Chris McCormack: I think anyone who does any type of sports, especially endurance sports, at some point in that event for all of us sucks. You think, “What the hell am I doing? This is terrible.” And that is the key, I think, in the race, for everyone. You talk to someone after a race and they don’t tell you about the good points, they tell you about the difficult times. And that’s the hook. That part that sucks, it’s actually the best part, it’s the most critical part of the race. I say the best way of dealing with that is to embrace it. Say, “This is what I do it for.” And when you take a positive mindset with that single point in the race, that suck part, and you embrace it and it becomes easier, and the result becomes better. It’s what I do it for. This sucks, but you’ve gotta love it. Don’t quit—embrace it.

The results: Amy slept for 14 hours that night and finished her sprint triathlon with a personal best time on the bike and run. The swim sucked, but she embraced it.

Coaching Session #2:

Macca's 3 Best Bike Tips

Men's Health editor Ben Court chatted with Chris McCormack several weeks before racing the Quakerman Olympic+ triathlon at Lake Nockamixon, Pennsylvania. Macca was fresh off a win in the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Spain.

Ride faster race-splits

“Triathletes like to grunt—they want to grind a big gear. But that can sap your legs of strength later in the ride. That’s why I tell myself to change to an easier gear—no matter what gear I’m in—during the first third of a race. Even if I feel like I’m in a good rhythm, I’ll change. Doing that brings up my cadence and makes my legs feel fresher. Plus, if you have an efficient pedal stroke, you can still maintain your speed. Obviously, you have to work with the pace you’re aiming to maintain, but if you pedal an easier gear earlier on, it gives you more options later in the race when your legs are screaming. Often, I’ll take a Clif caffeine shot about half way through the bike portion. I feel good instantly and can push again. It refreshes me mentally and is part of the successful routine I’ve developed.”

Build serious leg strength

“The biggest bang for your training buck is to do hill repeats. Sorry! Find a 1-mile hill with about a 5-percent gradient—not steeper because you want to be able to climb it seated. Then do repeats, pushing the biggest gear you can—it should be one gear bigger gear than what feels comfortable. Your cadence may drop as low as 50, but the aim is to keep seated—in the aero position if possible—and keep churning. Also focus on pedaling in circles and keeping constant tension in the chain as this will help with your efficiency. Start with a 15-minute warm up and then do as many repeats as you can in 15 minutes; then cool down for 15 minutes; Work up to doing 45 minutes of repeats. These are best done in the off season because it takes months to build leg strength.

Forge speed stamina

“No shocker here—you need to do high-intensity intervals. Brace yourself. I do a session with four 12-minute bursts done at the fastest, hardest pace I can hold with 6 minutes of recovery spinning between each set. This should be sloppy hard, so I usually do it indoors on a trainer because the last 12 minutes I’m really suffering and things can get messy. I do this workout every 14 days in the off season. It yields massive improvements.”

The results: Macca’s tip to shift into an easy gear during the first half of the ride really helped. Speeding my cadence up gave me a psychological lift and helped keep me fresh—critical, because this tri’s Olympic-length ride was 36 miles over rolling hills. I also popped a couple of Clif jello shot blocks and that perked me up mentally (a deer racing across the road also helped). I struggled on the run—see the next entry for Macca’s running tips—but still managed to finish in the top five for my age group and am psyched for my season-closing sprint tri in October.

Check back for more tips from triathlon champion Chris McCormack as Amy and Ben finish out their race seasons. Visit the for workout plans, race-day tips, and all the gear you need.

Ben Court Ben Court is the Deputy Editor of Men's Health.

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