You are definitely not a bucket lister as you plan on staying in the sport. Bucket listers get into a sport just do do "X" then stop. For example:

Get into running just to do a marathon or ultra then stop

Get into triathlon just to to 140.6 then stop

Congrats on your 140.6 finish!

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"Just don’t abandon everything you’ve ever learned because of something someone said on the internet." - Eric McGinnis

I assume you did the HITS MF's race???

If so, you know what doing the distance is like. What might be curious or interesting is doing an Ironman branded race to experience the pomp and circumstance that goes with having 20x the people racing.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'm thinking the same thing. The results said there were 13 people in the full race. That just sounds painful.

I've done one IM and that was it. I'd love to do another but I am with you, the ROI on 70.3 is much higher. I have fun racing and training but I like to have fun outside of SBR. I found with 70.3 I simply have more fun both in and out of the sport.

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Rodney
TrainingPeaks | Altra Running | RAD Roller
http://www.goinglong.ca

You sound pretty smart to me. It took me 15 IM's to figure out that 1 is enough. Enjoy the sport at whatever level and intensity works for you.
/

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Gary Mc
Did I mention I did Kona

Same for me with running. I finally did a marathon last year. Partly to prove I could, partly to quiet people who kept asking me when I was going to do a marathon. Came up with a plan, training went great, race execution spot on, BQ'd and then chose not to race another marathon.

Sure it was nice (ish), but I can race a ton of half marathons and 5K's per year versus putting all my eggs in the marathon basket. That doesn't make us traditional bucketlisters.

For Triathlon I still do Sprints and love them. The thought of longer isn't really interesting to me, yet.

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Ian

it was the HITS MF event - I purposefully chose it as I know the roads, knew it would be a smaller event as my first try at the distance, and $200 to see if I could do it is a lot less than $675 etc for an IM event. Also 20 people started the full distance with a couple dropping out and a couple planning on not completing the run from the start. It wan't as lonely as I had first thought - the first half of us were not too spread out and with a 2 loop bike and 4 loop run course you saw a lot of each other. And I can say I was 5th overall and 1st in my age group LOL (definitely pink)


I did want to give a shout out to HITS and Mark Wilson for putting this on - their whole weekend is a good operation and yes parts of it are small but that also means very personal and when you are trying something out for the first time that goes a long way.

Now sign up for a WTC IM distance race so we can properly call you an Ironman. (pink)

Give it some time. Your perspective on the 140.6 distance may change as the pain dissipates and fond memories endure. I finished my first one with a big smile on my face, motivated to do more. I've managed to do it a second time, but I don't see myself doing another ironman for many more years due to the time commitment and my rising expectations.

That being said, you live in Houston and it really is a pretty active and great tri community here. If you think you're going to be sticking with the sport, it can be a great lifetime sport and social scene. If you wanted to, you could race a few times a month and still miss out on some races without ever having to drive more than an hour. In years when I was actively racing, the hardest part was deciding which races I wasn't going to do!

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-Andrew

i was very careful not to use that term to describe myself - I know some people (companies) can be very protective of that term ; )
anyway - saying I completed a "140.6" will often lead to the question "what is that?", followed by the answer "here, let me tell you, (in great detail)" (pink)

Houston and the surrounding areas do have a lot of great races - I typically race in 8 or 9 a year never having to travel far.
Onurmark and Out-Loud put on great local events.

I'll give you 14 days before you sign up for another IM. :)

2nd. If you have the time to train for IM distance and the motivation(after your body heals), then you'll be planning next season already. I had the same feeling last year after my first IM (IMMT). Now I am in for IMMT 2015 to train smarter and finish faster.

Something wrong with that? Unless you're a pro, this is all for fun.


It's nice to think you want to do multiple IMs, but given the nature of the time and energy investment, it's somewhat like saying you want to have six kids.

You'll stop when you've had enough.

And there's nothing one with one IM. Or one kid. Or zero.

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Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

This!!! I'm glad I waiting a little more than 14 days because I got hit by a car about 25 days after (and Whistler will likely never sell out). But I can't wait to get back for another crack at it. After number 2, I'm not so sure I will do 140.6 anymore. Probably 70.3 and Olympics so I can race more. Maybe if my 3 year old follows through with her "dream" of being an Ironman (in 20 years) like daddy like she claims, I'd jump back into a full.

Congratulations! Time to step up to http://www.ultra515texas.com/ for your bucket list... right in your area!