Alright here's the dilemma. I am 18 and am training for IMCDA which I know a lot of you will argue that i'm too young which I partially agree with. But the main reason I am going to do it(CDA) is I will be ending my triathlon career for 2 years to serve an LDS mission. So I want to do something big before I go on my mission. I leave when I turn 19. But my question is whether or not an Ironman will be detrimental to my Oly distance speed in the long run. Will long and slow IM training hinder my fast twitch muscle capacity for life or just for a season? Because when I get back from my mission I want to get back into the olympic distance for quite a while before moving up to the IM again.
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Re: Is an Ironman bad... [Spiderman]
[ In reply to ]
Spiderman,
I wouldn't worry about the impact on your Long Term Oly speed. Honestly, you'll have no trouble regaining speed.
The REAL issue is whether your younger tendons/joints have enough miles to SAFELY train for IM. Endurance athletics are essentially cumulative. However, if you have a good coach and pay attention to injury indicators, you should be fine.
Enjoy the race and good luck on your mission...Hopefully you're as gutsy as the LDS guys I saw trying to recruit when I was in Vatican City...Now THAT took ba11s!
http://wattieink.com/elite-team/
Raising funds to help wounded veterans and racing RAAM 2013 with http://team4mil.org/
"If you are gonna charge... CHARGE HARD!"
I wouldn't worry about the impact on your Long Term Oly speed. Honestly, you'll have no trouble regaining speed.
The REAL issue is whether your younger tendons/joints have enough miles to SAFELY train for IM. Endurance athletics are essentially cumulative. However, if you have a good coach and pay attention to injury indicators, you should be fine.
Enjoy the race and good luck on your mission...Hopefully you're as gutsy as the LDS guys I saw trying to recruit when I was in Vatican City...Now THAT took ba11s!
http://wattieink.com/elite-team/
Raising funds to help wounded veterans and racing RAAM 2013 with http://team4mil.org/
"If you are gonna charge... CHARGE HARD!"
Re: Is an Ironman bad... [Spiderman]
[ In reply to ]
go ahead and do it. It will not hurt your longrange speed and it will definitly make you psychologically a different person, a better athlete.
I did my first ont at 19 and 11 years later and 12IM behind me I never had any problems with knees, tendons or stuff like that.
But you need to consult someone that knows Ironman training for young athletes, because you can hurt your young legs if you do it wrong!
good luck
I did my first ont at 19 and 11 years later and 12IM behind me I never had any problems with knees, tendons or stuff like that.
But you need to consult someone that knows Ironman training for young athletes, because you can hurt your young legs if you do it wrong!
good luck
Ordinarily, I would say, "no - an Ironman for anyone less that 20 years old is too much". However, your circumstances are a bit different in that you are doing it once than taking off for what sounds like two years. I would still be leaning towards saying, "no", though. At 18 you still may be growing and the type of training required for an Ironman may result in permant damage to the growth plates at the ends of your bones. Think about it very carefully.
How about a 1/2 Ironman?
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
How about a 1/2 Ironman?
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog