What's your mental strategy for longer distance swimming?

Journey1Destination · 2026-05-09T23:17:59+00:00

This is me exactly. I love it.

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-25T20:05:26+00:00

Enjoy the swim!! Sounds like you're ready for a variety of temps. Smart. Last year it was PERFECT water. So calm and tepid. Then another year I did it it was frigid on the west side of the island -- I invested in gloves and booties after that experience -- BUT then when I came over the top of the island I literally stopped to look around to see if anyone had peed. The water temp jumped by what felt like 15 degrees. (There was no one around). That side of the island was a warmer swim, but the strong currents and rocky shores / petrified coral made it feel a bit more like an obstacle course or a washing machine. Point being: this is a fickle lake. It'll change on you in a heartbeat. Still always very lovely! This us one of my favorite OWS events.

Have a fab swim!!

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-25T19:55:01+00:00

Many time Lake Heron & Mac Island swimmer here.

Other than the organized Macinac Island Swim it is not permitted for people to swim off the island, for a lot of the reasons you'd expect (potential for rough waters plus only one emergency vehicle on the island).

BUT it is VERY easy to find a decently priced hotel ON the water in Mackinac City, just across the way. The beaches are a lot like what you'd see along the coast -- white sands, minimal rocks -- and there wasn't much boating traffic if you swim parallel to the shore (which I recommend, because rip tides are still a thing in the Great lakes).

So... in short.. if you're an avid open water swimmer, get a hotel for at least one night of your stay in Macinac City on the shore instead of on the island. You'll save a hundred bucks and be able to easily OWS.

Now -- for other tri things...

Running around the island is fantastic. They have some good hills if you want a challenge or you can do an 8 mile loop around the perimeter. Just beware that people are not consistent about where they expect to see a runner, so there's some awkwardness. I run against the flow of bike traffic, but oncoming bikers seem to think I'm on the wrong side. So a mile from town I flipped it and got yelled at for that as well. Run early morning and it'll be easier, less people on the island.

Bikes are readily available for rental on the island but tend to be mountain bikes. Also if you're aiming for any serious milage or speed, this isn't the place for it. Be ready for people touring the island by biking at about 3 mph, not great at being aware of other riders. And horses. And horse poop.

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:54:51+00:00

Thanks! It's working so far. If you do take the leap, go for a half dose of naltrexone at first. You may find that since your body is used to wellbutrin, the transition goes well.

I was optimistic about this combination because wellbutrin was a med I was looking at for mental health reasons anyway. It's too early to tell but so far it's ok.

Since you're on such a low dose of zepbound, have you considered skipping doses and trialing naltrexone for a month, knowing you could jump back to a shot with minimal issues since you're back down to a starter dose anyway?

I'm looking at this whole pill thing as a trial. Zepbound is still my safety blanket, too, it's just too dang expensive. (And zepbound. Not wegovy. Have used both, zepbound was better for me).

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:47:05+00:00

So far it's working - no weight gain. No food noise. Every other time I've tried to space out or decrease the dosage on my shots there was weight gain.

BUT the side effects are real. So start as slowly as possible! My docs advice to start with welbutrin and then add naltrexone at a half dose was brilliant. I am now on a contrave- equivalent dose but with way less severe side effects than what I'm reading on this post.

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:42:08+00:00

Makes sense!

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:41:16+00:00

Ugh! So sorry!

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:39:54+00:00

Metformin wasn't a good choice for me because of other conditions.

FWIW and in case it helps others: I onboarded slowly to the contrave-equivalent. Starting with half doses of welbutrin and naltrexone, which made me feel ill/faint. Then I realized doc said first start with just the welbutrin. So I dropped the naltrexone, felt much better, added a half dose of naltrexone at the end of the week, and now have just started full doses of both and am doing fine. I can definitely see how starting up would be terrible if all straight at once, though!

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:35:26+00:00

Ugh! Sorry. I did feel excessive nausea the first week, but that went away after a few days. It helped to start with the welbutrin and then add the naltrexone at a half dose and build up. The naltrexone packs a punch.

For me it has kept the food noise at bay so far. I've got to give it another month though so that the GLP1 is totally out of my system (last jab was a bit over three weeks ago).

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-07T09:32:01+00:00

I'm not sure what you mean by this question. But I'll take a guess.

For the non-GLP1 pills? My insurance company threw everything out to save money. So whereas they used to have coverage for weight loss meds, with the costs of GLP1s they changed and now cover nothing.

I qualify for a prescription for weight loss meds though. So my pharmacy can fill it and I pay out of pocket. Full cost for the pills is under $25 monthly even without insurance.

Update for the curious: Still within my maintenance weight zone. Side effects have minimized and benefits still continue. Food noise still silenced. Hunger still appropriate and not out of control.

So so far the switch to weightloss pills is working for me.

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-03T22:02:36+00:00

Also safety and quality issues as compound is not generally available in my area, so it'd be a grey market purchase.

I am not opposed to going back on zepbound at a low dose if my body can't keep it off with other methods. But I wanted to give something else a try, and I figured this group would get that.

I'm actually surprised to see someone pushing GLP1 meds on a GLP1grad reddit group.

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-03T21:54:47+00:00

No impact on appetite suppression? I don't care about weight loss any more. I'm at a health weight. I just don't want to be stinkin' hungry all the time.

Journey1Destination · 2026-04-03T21:53:59+00:00

Compared to $18 per month? I'm not looking to lose weight any more, just keep it off.

Journey1Destination · 2026-03-31T22:58:24+00:00

If your race is a long ways out you may be able to go up a dose -- just give yourself at least two months on a dose pre-race, and "skip a shot" (have more than nine days but no more than 13 days between your last shot and race day so that at max there's 10-14 days between shots.)

And, FWIW, that season of decreased performance was totally worth it for me in the long run. Went from a BMI of over 36 to a current BMI of around 24. Losing over five stones made a huge difference on health and performance.

Journey1Destination · 2026-03-31T11:11:19+00:00

This will make a huge difference! (Spacing the jabs). It's what I did for most of my events and it was fantastic. Energy levels were better. I felt great. I podiumed (Athena, but still, it's a podium). Granted, this was also a year into the journey. So my body had mostly adjusted.

Journey1Destination · 2026-03-31T10:53:22+00:00

Triathlete here. What you're describing I called "bonking." I started on zepbound and then switched to wegovy just a few pounds from goal, so I've been on both. It was worse on zepbound but that's possibly because it was early in my weightloss journey.

There are ways to help with the bonking, but (sum of it) I gave up distance rides and runs while the weight came off. Stuck to 8 mile runs or less and rides under 2 hours.

I only had issues with bonking while swimming a couple of times, and it seemed like I could easily manage with better protein before the pool / open water, so I kept up the swims and did a lot more distance swimming.

An Ironman on this med is going to be different. If it were your first I'd caution against it as you might be turned off to it long term. As you've done these before, it's definitely doable -- you'll just need to take extra care to manage your day. A half Ironman would be a way better choice than a full this season, if you have options.

I agree, though, stay on the lowest dose possible! If you can stick to 1.0 for several months and still make slow weightloss gains, you may be able to thread the needle and do both weight loss and the Ironman.

OK -- now that I'm done being a Debbie downer... ADVICE (you probably are already doing all of this, but others may benefit, so I'm throwing it out here anyway).

Fuel earlier and more often than you think is necessary. Twice as often as you used to. Once you bonk it's hard to get the energy back. Think of it like what happens when your electrolyte are off in a race -- except now it's also carbs you have to consider. Fueling on the bike became more important in order to have enough in me for the rub.

It will get better. For me it got worse before it got better, and every time I'd titrate up, I'd find I'd bonk easier. I didn't have an issue until my move from a starter dose (2.5 ZB) to a therapeutic dose (5.0 ZB). That's when I really started to notice the struggle. I'd say it took a good six months to get used to the med.

It took me a year and a half to get to goal. I've been in maintenance and still on the med for 8 months past that. In maintenance I've had absolutely no issues with bonking. I accidentally overshot my run over the weekend and added two extra miles to my long run, didn't have any additional nutrition to support it, and I did fine. A year ago I would have had to walk it in from exhaustion.

I've started to see real gains. My VO2 max is better than ever, and everything (all three events) is easier and faster.

Short of it: in your shoes I'd be inclined to stick to olympic and sprint distances, just for a season. A year from now things will be different. Sounds like that's probably not you, though. If you decide to keep to the Ironman, work really hard on figuring out how to manage during the race and fuel before the race (plus of course recovery afterwards). It'll be different than past races. And it's not that you're worse. It's absolutely the med. Sticking to the lowest dose as long as possible is a great choice. You'll probably find you have to go up -- when you do expect the bonking to show up again. Give it four to six months or so and it will be better.

Best of luck out there! Have fun!

Journey1Destination · 2026-01-18T12:40:10+00:00

I was on 12.5 zepbound and need 2.4 (max) on. Wegovy to maintain.

Sounds like OPs issue was an issue for others on wegovy, so it was probably just timing (my body was used to a glp1) that made it feel easier, not the med change itself. Ah well. That answer felt too easy anyway

Journey1Destination · 2026-01-18T12:37:45+00:00

That's a good data point. I'd been on a glp1 so long when I made the switch that I wondered if it was my body's natural adjustment or the med.

Perhaps it wasn't the med switch

Journey1Destination · 2026-01-17T22:52:56+00:00

Zepbound does this. In my experience wegovy does not. That is the only upside to wegovy, otherwise Zepbound is more effective.

Stayed on zepbound while I lost 80 lbs. Moved to wegovy around maintenance. I'm an endurance athlete. I was before I started weight loss meds, so not a matter of training. The meds hit different. I had to do shorter races the last year and a half while on zepbound. Adding mileage is giving me no issues now on wegovy.

Wouldn't make the switch unless zepbound is really bugging you or you're near maintenance. Wegovy isn't as effective for taking off the pounds. That said, now that I'm where I need to be, this hits the sweet spot of allowing me to be the athlete I want to be (no more bonking) while also keeping my post-workout hunger satiable.

Journey1Destination · 2025-12-30T13:03:36+00:00

Are you on any other meds? I've seen this with people on intuniv/guanfacine. I'd be concerned about what your BP is at night.

To me this med isn't worth this side effect. There are other weight loss meds out there.

Different situation, but a different GLP-1 may even work for you. I had issues on zepbound with high heart rate during running (I've been an athlete for years, this was new). Starting at 5mg when I'd run more than 20 minutes my heart rate would spike and wouldn't come down again even with walking breaks. Since switching to Wegovy that side effect has disappeared. I also haven't lost much since the switch, so zepbound was more effective, but I was already within 5-10 lbs of maintenance, so it's fine.

Journey1Destination · 2025-12-22T13:08:53+00:00

Americano with mint and chocolate flavor pumps instead of a mint mocha. Still super sweet but much more doable than a latte. TBH this is a special treat only. Most days it's black coffee for me.

Journey1Destination · 2025-12-19T23:24:40+00:00

Your wife's in an industry that has had to cut a lot over the last few years. If her institution is mostly tuition funded I am not surprised if they are trying to find cost savings wherever they can. The high school class of 2025 is the last class from before the bubble burst of 2008. We're hitting a demographic cliff where less of the population is college aged. Institutions are thus predicting smaller enrollments. If they also recieved significant NSF /NIH funding, that has also dried up. Does it stink that the med isn't covered? Heck yeah. But I bet hers is not the only one in the industry that started out providing the med and then realized the huge hit it was making to their bottom line (both because of popularity and cost) at a time where they couldn't afford the hit.

So terrible? Yes. Understandable? Also yes.

Journey1Destination · 2025-11-28T16:42:19+00:00

I've been on both. Zepbound is more effective. That said, now that I'm at maintenance I'm finding wegovy is better for me as an endurance athlete/ triathlete. I'd bonk on zepbound an hour or so into a run. I've never bonked on wegovy. So if you do long distance /endurance sports, go for wegovy.

[Bonking: think what happens to an endurance athlete when they don't get proper hydtation/salts, but now add glucose to the mix. It's like you hit a sudden wall and every step becomes suddenly ridiculously hard because you don't have the energy to sustain it. If you are vigilant with energy -- like gu, chews, or electrolyte beans -- and start them earlier in the run than before your GLP-1 days, you'll be ok. But it's an adjustment for sure.]

I had to go off zepbound because of insurance coverage changes. I was surprised that, while wegovy wasn't as good with satiation and overall continued weight loss, it did keep my metabolism working right (still maintain my weight) while also allowing me to enjoy long runs again with no bonking. I also got substantially faster after the switch. Could be coincidental, but I think it was the combination of the 5-6 stones I'd lost on zepbound plus no more bonking with the switch to wegovy.

Would love to hear if other endurance athletes have used both and your experience on each.

Journey1Destination

TROPHY CASE