By Dave Scott

His record is intact; his reputation, international. Dave Scott, known as "The Man," is at home in Hawaii. He's appreciated, admired, and respected. These years, when he comes home to Kona, he doesn't race. Yet he's approached more times in the days leading up to "The Race" than Mark Allen. Mind? Not Dave Scott. He loves talking about the Ironman. He knows every bend, every hill, by heart. "I've spent enough hours out there," he says. Here's how he explains the Ironman course.

The Swim
Seed yourself as high as you possibly can. In other words, get up to the front as quickly as you can. One of the biggest problems is that people, especially new people, get overwhelmed with all the pre-race hype and hoopla of the Ironman and go out way too fast.

Make sure you breathe every stroke to begin with. Don't go 30 or 40 meters without a breath. You'll build up blood lactate, your heart rate goes up and you'll feel terrible the whole swim.

It takes a long time to get warmed up, and I think a lot of the amateurs don't warm up at all. They think that they'll warm up during the swim. It's important to swim for 15 to 20 minutes before the gun goes off.

The Bike
Get your legs spinning during the early miles of the bike. But in order to spin, you have to be warmed up. It's best to shift into a mid-range gear and keep your cadence at 80 rpms because you've got a big hill coming up real quick, one that usually takes most people five minutes to climb. Palani Hill can be just horrendous. It's tough, but everybody has to do it. Be careful not to go too hard.

When I was racing--and I don't think I'm any different than anyone else, I climbed that hill slowly and let my competitors go ahead of me.

There is a second critical part: from the top of Palani Hill to the Keahole airport. It's only eight miles, but that's the time period where you really have to establish the pace that you'd like to hold. The next 20 miles to the Sheraton, you just have to relax and get into your rhythm. This section is relatively easy, and some people have a tendency to ride too hard.

From the Sheraton to Kawaihae (about 10 miles) come the steeper hills. There are three that are pretty significant. They aren't very long, but you have to get out of your saddle and gear down just a little bit. You need to be careful at this point. Most of the amateurs are about 90 minutes into the bike course, and it's the first point where they feel a little bit of fatigue. You need to take in more calories, more food and more fluid.

Another section to watch is where you go around the bend at Haena Point (about seven miles to Hawi) and on into the headwinds. The road is only about a 4 percent grade but the winds make it seem like much more. The climbing is not severe, but psychologically it's hard. You really need to stay focused.

The Turnaround
Once you make the turnaround, you go like a fury downhill for seven miles. You want to make sure to keep your legs spinning, particularly if you worked hard on the uphill and built up a little bit of lactate.

On the section back to Kawaihae, the wind is never favorable and often it's a cross-wind, too. I have never ridden that section with a tailwind behind me. Most people are about three hours into the race and that's where they will show the first signs of physical fatigue.

The really hard part is the turn to get back on the main highway. It's only five minutes of climbing, but it's so easy to lose your concentration.

In training, I used to ride this section back and forth and really get accustomed to keeping my speed and my focus. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the racing. But you've still got 40 miles to get back home.

Kapalaoa is a three-mile climb. However, it can become pretty significant because it comes about 70 miles into the the ride. It's a critical point, and you have to have enough fuel left. And if there is a headwind, that three-mile climb almost feels as long and severe as the climb to Hawi.

The Return
Corning back in, I never really kept track of where it was or how far it was or how long I'd been out there. I was always aware of who was behind me, Mark Allen or whoever.

These final miles from mile 75 to the airport are relatively easy if you've taken in enough calories and stayed hydrated. From the airport to the Kona Surf, it's 15 miles. Most people don't think it's that long. They think when they pass the airport, they're almost home and the race on the bike is over with. Yet, you;ve still got eight miles on the Queen K. Highway and seven more miles in town. If you're riding at 18 mph, those last 15 miles are going to take about 55 minutes.

Be very careful from the airport on in: Alli Drive is really deceptive. At 105 miles, those little hills become bigger hills. You can either hold your speed or lose a tremendous amount of time. It helps if you can use the crowds to excite yourself but not lose focus. Just looking for a friend, that's energy-costing to do that. I would try to block things out; if you take in everything, it will drain you.

The last hill is absolutely murderous. It's the steepest hill of the whole course and it's just 200 meters long. Make sure you stay in your lowest gear and climb up really slow. I always felt like my legs were empty at that point. I rode hard on Alii Drive, but I was really careful at that last hill.

The Run
Coming down to the transition at the Kona Surf, it's hot. You're down on that asphalt parking lot and there is no wind; the buildings block the ocean breeze. Make sure to get enough fluid before you start the run.

The first part of the run is as the bike--dreadful. The section from the transition going up the Kona Surf, taking a right down into the Pit, back up the Pit, to the Kona Surf and the golf course, is about 2.5 miles. You have to remember that you are going to be about 30 seconds to a minute slower per mile on that first two-and-a-half miles. So, if you think you can hold a seven-minute pace, you're going to run a 7:30 to 7:45 here.

Heart Monitors and Stride
I don't think that athletes should wear heart monitors while racing, but a lot of people do, like Paul Kiuru. I think that they should take them off. Don't worry about your pace. Instead, try to relax your body. Think about your breathing and take short little strides because you're real tight when you get off the bike.

Chop your steps going up to Kona Surf, chop your steps going up that hill coming out of the Pit. In training, the hill doesn't seem like anything, but in the race it is. Once you get to the golf course (2.5 miles), you can start running faster, although your rhythm probably won't be established for between 15 or 20 minutes for the top-pros and 35 or 40 minutes for some amateurs.

Alii Drive
Coming down Alii Drive, you've got about two miles where the road goes slightly downhill to the beach. Let yourself relax. This forces your legs to turn over a little bit faster and attain the speed you want to hold for the race.

This was the point where I always allowed my body to relax and established my pace, whether I was in front or behind.

Be careful going up Palani Hill at about nine mile. You should run up the hill fairly slow, or you'll burn too many calories and your legs will be sapped with fatigue. Once you're finally out on the Queen K Highway, it's actually easier.

The Natural Energy Lab
The Energy Lab section is mostly downhill, two miles down, two miles back. If you have the opportunity to run fast on the downhill, take advantage of it: It's a golden opportunity. Also, there are two turnarounds down there, so you can see your competitors. See how they look to you--is their race over or are they fairly fresh?

At about 15 miles, you can allow yourself to pick up the pace a little bit. If you run a seven-minute pace, maybe you can start to run a 6:55.

The hardest part of the Energy Lab is the last about 500 meters coming back up to the highway. It's fairly steep. Take care not to lose too much concentration coming back up the hill because a lot of spectators congregate there. If you have the support of the crowd, there is a tendency to go harder. But you can't do that; you can't afford that.

The next four miles out on the highway are easy. But you have to concentrate and hold it together. The excitement of the Ironman wears off pretty fast when you're out there on the Queen K. All the hoopla of the preceding week, the start--it's all gone.

I think people should visualize the race in segments. First, you do one segment, then you're into the next. Those are the people that are going to be successful out there.

Still, I don't think that a lot of people really have the perseverence for this distance. There aren't too many people capable of riding really solid through the whole bike. And there is only a handful of pros and amateurs that can run this race well. I think 90 percent of the field has great difficulty on the run.

Island Energy
I don't know what it is about this island. I always have more energy when I'm here. I run faster; I feel good when I swim in the ocean. I hardly slept the last few days, but I still have lots of energy.

I don't know if it's necessarily from the people, because people come up to me saying, "Dave, this," and "Dave, that" and "Sign your autograph" and so on...I don't know.

I feel like it brings back new energy to me, like when I was racing. It's still there. Maybe I'm not as fast, but I can still race here.