I think you made a really wise choice! Kudos! The pressure is great from others to do an IM, but you're the one out there. Make it a lifestyle, build some years of base and you'll be very glad you did. Getting to the point where one can actually race a 70.3 is good point to step into the further distance. I waited a long time to do my 1st IM, and have been forever glad I did.

Build slowly. I'm envious of your support group, but be your own judge as far as when the time is right. The step from 70.3 to IM is a huge one. Enjoy the journey....it's there for a long time if you love it.

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

Congrats on the 15 lbs. and keep us posted with your race results! It is definitely a lifestyle!

About the video, it was recommended by several people on Slowtwitch (you could do a search and find the posts). There were two reasons I bought it. First I'd been plagued by lots of running injuries (stress fracture, splints, calf injury, hip soreness). My guess is it was due to transitioning from high volume (IM training) to short course where I was only training speed/tempo. Second reason, I'm approaching 50 and have never done functional training. So I decided to give it a shot. It was like $20 on Amazon, I think??

Long story short...I reset my running. Stopped cold turkey for 3 months to allow all the injuries to recover + physical therapy, lots of swimming and easy cycling. Then started with 10 mpw and gradually added 10% every week. I started doing the video once per week and it was humbling at the start. It kicked my ass! I kept with it every week, not noticing any changes...UNTIL I started running again. I really could feel I was running more "upright" without even trying. Also the push off seemed effortless (maybe due to the shitload of squatting you do in the video). Now I'm around 30 mpw (working up to 50 mpw) and my running feels totally effortless. It's pretty cool. I'm sure it's due to the consistency of my running again, plus the strength factor of the video.

As a side effect, it is also toning my upper body. My girlfriend has been commenting about my chest and arms. Swimming can only do so much, but all the curls, pushups, etc. that you have to do in the video have made a difference in my upper body.

For $20-ish dollars it was a good investment to me!