Signed up this year but since 2008, 3. So one every 3 years or so. I can't imagine doing one (or more) every year.

2001,03,04,05,06,07,08,2010,2011 (Kona), 2012

I thought I’d stop at 10 but my Cycling is the best it’s ever been. So toying with a comeback.

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2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017 and signed up for 2018.

For me, four in a row was a stupid decision. I took time off to travel, have knee surgery and focus on shorter distance tris. I'm back now, but won't do one in 2019.

4 to 6 per year. Fun stuff!

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Team Kiwami
Instagram

I've only done three, but two of them were back to back (July and October). I figured I might as well since I had the distance-specific training in already. The 3 month break was perfect for recovery + a short build + a taper and actually I PRed the second one which I wasn't expecting. If I spent that much time training again, I would by all means do a couple in the same year. Lately I've just been doing sprints so I can have my weekends again.

That makes sense. Not sure I want to do 2 in a year still. But I’m happy to do sprint distance this year and other events. I’m still swim/bike/run 5-6 days a week but time wise not nearly for as long other than an occasional long ride.

understandable. I enjoy the bike the most and want to work on that a little more this year. I might just plan on a HIM next year and go from there. Or I may end up just signing up for another Ironman

Pro?

I did my first last year too, after about 6 years of HIMs (one per year). But I've signed up for the same IM this year too, so will repeate and am also toying with Roth for next year, so might be three years in a row. I'm tired though.

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My race site: https://racesandplaces.wixsite.com/racesandplaces

Just for fun...in a convoluted sort of way :)

Wife and I travel via RV with the dogs, so it's usually a nice road trip, plus we have some friends in New Zealand, so it's an excuse to visit them when we go over to race IMNZ.

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Team Kiwami
Instagram

I swore off full distance races after my first Ironman in 2010.

Did my second in 2012 as well as my third and fourth.

Since then, I race anywhere between 4 and 6 ironmans per year now.

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New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

Nice. My wife likes the idea of an RV with our dogs. I like it other than the driving part

I half-heartedly said I would do only one ironman. I also previously claimed I would never buy a TT bike. So I say these things but don’t necessarily mean them

I did three Ironman races last year - one to KQ (South Africa), Kona and a race to KQ (Argentina) for 2018 - and it mentally broke me.

While I was excited last year to do the three races in 2017 and they were in fun destinations, it took a lot out of me and the 2018 season has got off to a slow start, getting very sick in January and now being injured.

The sickness and injury are not directly related to the stress of racing but I do think it was too much to handle with balancing work and the rest of life.

I’m signed up for two Iron distance races this year - Challenge Roth and Ironman Hawaii - but I’ll likely take a year or two off the full distance after this year.

Never.

Ive done 4 in 3 years. Honestly the hard work pays off. I like seeing the progression... I went from barely under 13 hours to an 11 hour ironman. This year i have goals to go around 10:30 or under. On the plus side my wife and 6 year old daughter enjoy attending the races. I believe it has been a lifestyle change for me. I went from 255 lbs to now 178 lbs. I feel I am now leaving more of a legacy now then I was before much triathon/long distance journey began!

I did one in 2017.

My wife made it clear to me that i'm not going to do another one this year!!! (her exclamation marks)

I'm up for another one for sure. I loved the sense of having that level of fitness and i enjoyed the training and focus.

In the meantime 70.3's and sportives are allowable.

2012, 2015 and 2018. I would do more if I was single.

I don’t feel like my wife would be happy with me doing one every year. She was fine last year allowing me to achieve that goal but I’m sure she wouldn’t like me doing that every year unless I was attempting to KQ or something like that.

2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 (x2), 2007.....2014, 2015, 2016 (x2), 2017.....signed up for 1 in 2018, Kona 2019.

Started triathlons (at age 28) in 1992, and didn't do my first full until age 36. In 2019, I'll be 55.

Hope to continue doing at least one a year for as long as I can.

2 things I've noticed over 2+ decades of coaching athletes.

Many IM focused atheltes don't race enough and when they try to race more they chose to race half's and fulls. Usually this is great for a year, maybe 18mo and then they tend to break.
They'd be much, much better off adding in 4-6 sprints or olympic distance races in vs adding in another half to race more.

Many IM athletes lose a lot of top end speed. Might behoove them to take a year away, race sprints/olys but have a bigger focus being on getting their 10k run times and 40k TT times as low as possible.

The best way to go fast is to go fast

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

^^^^ THIS IS SOLID ADVICE!!!! I am in total agreement, as the variety keeps some speed and top end which many pound out of themselves with constant IM/70.3 training.

2008 - Florida
2010 - Coeur d'Alene and Arizona
2011 - Regensburg
2012 - Cozumel
2013 - Sweden and Cozumel
2014 - Florida
2015 - Louisville
2016 - Switzerland
2017 - South Africa and Texas
On deck:
2018 - Norway
2019 - Lanzerote and Kona

Future interest - Santa Rosa, Wales, Austria, Estonia and New Zealand.

I think I fit into this description

I guess I’m getting faster then because this is my year away. ;) probably not as this is my fun and relaxed year after my first IM last year and really 4 straight years of progressively more structured training. I have a handful of sprints scheduled this year and some gravel bike events but my training has been pretty relaxed. Add some intensity when I feel like it. Or just keep it relaxed when I don’t.

I've done 2 halfs and 1 full a year for the past 4 years. I just enjoy the training...well, at least biking and running. Swim training for a full tends to beat me down.

I'm planning to do IM Boulder next month, which will be my 17th IM in 15 years (and I missed a few years due to a serious illness) and 5th in 25 months. I think I'm just now starting to reach the point of being burnt out on the long stuff and starting to think about going back to shorter distances for a while. I have a VERY supportive SO and no kids, so that's made it doable for me, even throughout the 13 years when I had a high-stress job that involved long and inflexible working hours and a lot of travel.

are you a fast swimmer? I'm a MOP at best for HIM/IM and the swim training doesn't bother me. I guess I've resigned myself to the fact that in order to improve my swim by any significant measure, I'd need to spend a lot more time in the pool in the offseason and it's just not where I want to spend the majority of my time. I don't mind swimming 2-3 times per week but I don't think I'd enjoy swimming 4,5,6 times a week.

for me, I've been fortunate to always live places that at least have a handful of sprints/olys nearby and they're inexpensive and fun. I wouldn't want to drive a longs ways to go to a race of that distance. And IM distance training is really a lot of time. I would break if I did those every year. I did a 2.4 swim event, a 10k run, 5 sprints, 1 Olympic, 1 HIM, and 1 IM last year and it was just a ton for me. For me, it was just all one big leadup to my first IM but no way I would do that volume again. That's not a lot for some people but for me it was a lot of racing. I'm definitely not IM focused for sure.

Not a fast swimmer, although I guess it's all relative. 0:34ish for HIM, 1:08ish for IM (assuming wetsuit). I swim 2-3 times a week, although I try to make it 3 during primary HIM or IM training. 3500m 3x a week just gets very old to me. And when I need to make a training sacrifice, it's usually swimming.

I've done one so far. Cost is prohibitive so I have to take off this year. But next year moving forward I would like to do one a year until I start getting close to the magic number for Legacy. Then I'll start doubling up. MAYBE, and it's a long shot. I could do one year with 3. But that would require some cash windfalls, a lot of sweet talkin' the SO, and a total beat down on my body. That would only be reserved for padding my legacy time.

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

This...and more of this.

My 2018 schedule:

2 Sprints
2 Oly
2 Half IM

mix in some 10k and 5k foot races...as well as doing some serious speed training and you have my year.

Not to mention I have set new PR's for my Sprint Tri (1:01:21), 5k (17:26), and Open Half Marathon (1:24:56) times so far this year...1 attempt each. But I am new to all of these sports...so PR's should come often.

At one point, my wife raced 5 full Ironman races in 25 months. Looking back I don't think she would recommend it.

About 1x a year, although I took a break last year due to some life stuff. I have done 4 so far, and once I get 6 in, I'll accelerate to 2-3x year.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Can we please stop using the term 'full'? a full triathlon is one that you do the entire swim, entire bike, and entire run, regardless of the distance. The term full can scare away new comers as they think the 140.6 is the ONLY distance triathlon - thus easy to blow off tri that they have no time to train for it

OK. I stand corrected. To this date, I have completed 4 WTC branded Ironman(â„¢) distance races, and planning to do 8 more until I get into Ironman Hawaii also known as the Ironman(â„¢) world championship via the legacy program. My lawyer has approved of this statement.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

I’ve one a year for 11 straight years. The thing that enables me to not burn out is to treat it as a lifestyle. If you listen to all of the experts here on ST, they’ll tell you that you have to have x volume, x number of shorter distances races leading up to the IM, etc etc. I think doing those things, though may make you a lot faster, is the best receipe to burn out over the long haul. You focus so much on racing and being at x heart rate that you don’t get to enjoy the process like a hobby should be enjoyed.

I’m sure there are folks on here who are bad ass full time training and doing IMs for longer than I have who would disagree with my method ... but it’s just different strokes for different folks.

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

I always try to do the full distance but I've DNF'd a few times.

I did IMFL each of the last 11 years. For some reason, I have not signed up for it (or any IM) this year. Not sure if I will. If I do, that will lead to the legacy thing and probably 3 more races. I'm 58 and just not sure I want to continue doing that distance.

I spent 4 years doing tris before doing my first one. Then I did one per year for a couple of years, but the last 3 years I have done two per year. While I could certainly squeeze in a third, my performance would suffer. I kinda like doing one early season, and one late season. I mostly enjoy the build up to it, with the exception of maybe the last 3 weeks of the cycle.

I am up to 9 so far, with IMTX a few weeks ago being #9. I'll probably be doing #10 at IMLOU later this year but I haven't decided yet. My fitness is in a place that I can make that decision in early September and then just build up some long work over the 6 weeks before the race.

Basically if you are in a good place fitness-wise, and injury-wise, you should be able to do multiple IMs in a year if you want to.

I did Chattanooga in 2016 and thought I'd be one and done at the 140.6 distance. Last year I intended to race a bunch of short stuff and finish up the year at NOLA 70.3, but every race I signed up for was either cancelled, weather shortened, or I had to skip because of real life stuff. After the cancellation at NOLA, the peer pressure of a bunch of my teammates going to Texas got to me and I registered for IMTX this year.

Somewhere around mile 10 of the marathon, I pretty much decided I'm not doing another full until I turn 50 (four more years) and that'll be the end of doing 140.6s. I'm also doing two 70.3s this year (Honu and Augusta), and possibly NOLA depending on how I feel after Augusta. I want to get back to chasing a BQ again (I'm a runner that does triathlons for fun, not a triathlete), and just race shorter stuff next summer.

Full Distance Triathlon??? aren't all triathlons full distance.... Sprint, Olympic, half and Ironman????
so maybe not IM Texas!

27 Full (really full) distance since 1990, with 28 on the horizon. Usually one a year. I few years with 2, and a few with 0. For me it is a lifestyle and I really can't relate to being burned out . . . I really enjoy the training and the events themselves.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

synthetic wrote:

Can we please stop using the term 'full'? a full triathlon is one that you do the entire swim, entire bike, and entire run, regardless of the distance. The term full can scare away new comers as they think the 140.6 is the ONLY distance triathlon - thus easy to blow off tri that they have no time to train for it

While you may disagree, full distance is the common term for 140.6 and is corroborated by wikipedia which refers to a 140.6 distance triathlon as "long distance", "full distance", "140.6" (total miles traveled), or "Ironman Triathlon". Wiki further states that "Triathlons longer than full distance are classed as Ultra-triathlons." Completing a sprint, oly or half does not make those distances a full distance triathlon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triathlon


Edit to add this article on "full distance" finishers and they aren't talking about short course. https://sports.abs-cbn.com/...ome-walks-life-39251

wikipedia is user maintained content and not authoritative. i guess you dont care about the growth of the sport if you want to maintain this ideology.

^ this all day long. Adjusted my race schd to this last year (2 x HIM + 4 x Oly, lowest distance load ever), and made a real difference. That came after burnout two years prior on schd of 4 x HIM + 1 x IM and my slowest run splits in years (ever, actually). Backed off of that load and took three years off the IM distance after doing 1/year and saw a BIG jump in performance/improvement.

+1 to the comments "I would do more IMs if I were single" but don't tell milkman :)

You had better write RDs around the world about their incorrect use of the term 'full distance' triathlon if you are going to try to change the accepted colloquial usage. Wiki may not be authoritative but it does represent the common usage of the term whether you like it or not. Meanwhile, instead of telling everyone on ST they are wrong here's a recommended first target for your worldwide campaign to change the definition: the Michigan Titanium which they advertise as "Michigan's only full distance triathlon." http://www.mititanium.com/
RACES
Full Tri – 2.4 Swim, 112 Bike, 26.2 Run
Full Relay – 2.4 Swim, 112 Bike, 26.2 Run
Full Aquabike – 2.4 Swim, 112 Bike
Full Duathlon – 112 Bike, 26.2 Run
Half Tri – 1.2 Swim, 56 Bike, 13.1 Run
Half Relay – 1.2 Swim, 56 Bike, 13.1 Run
Half Aquabike – 1.2 Swim, 56 Bike
Half Duathlon – 56 Bike, 13.1 Run
Olympic Tri – .93 Swim, 24.8 Bike, 6.2 Run
Olympic Relay – .93 Swim, 24.8 Bike, 6.2 Run
Olympic Aquabike – .93 Swim, 24.8 Bike
Olympic Duathlon – 24.8 Bike, 6.2 Run

One and done... for now... like you the training time was the killer, the wifey wasn't too happy about that. So back to olys and halfs next year...

Ugh. Probably can blame IronBrand for trademarking Ironman and 140.6.

I did my first sprint in 2008... Somewhere along the line I made it a goal to do a half by the time I turned 55, and a full by 60... Both achieved... I'm signed up for IMAZ this year, so now the 'goal' is to complete a full every two years, and have a 'recovery' year between... My other goal is to "tri-till-i-die". So we'll see how that progresses as triathlon is a lifestyle...

BTY. Full-Half-Olympic-Sprint... I have a suspicion that the only people getting their jammers bunched up on terminology are those who've not done a full and feel slighted by the term... If you're not a 'one-and-done' individual, relax. You're a triathlete...

I have done 2. One where I set my own course up - just to see if I can do it. The other, I paid for an official race, where I went 3 hours faster. To me 140.6 is not interesting. Less competitive compared to shorter races

One IM every two years since 2009. So 5 total. That was as much frequency as I could take. I really enjoyed those in-between years when I didn't have to do all that long riding. I might do one or two more tops but not even every two years anymore.

Perhaps he doesn't agree that calling IM distance full has any of the negative effects you claim. I sure don't

The "Full" is intended to be in contrast to "Half". It doesn't require a decoder ring to understand that and it doesn't drag down the sport in the least.

Ironman does not have a registered mark for "140.6". That is a generic that can be used by anyone. But you are exactly right that enforcement of their IP is why full distance has come to mean the Ironman distance. Independent RDs cannot refer to their 140.6 races as an Ironman race. And even though Ironman does not own the word "Iron" they will bully small RDs with cease and desist letters if they dare call their 140.6 an Iron distance race. So even large competitors like Challenge refer to their 140.6 as full distance events (see their website here: http://www.challenge-family.com/races/).

Ironman's registered marks and designs are listed here: http://www.ironman.com/...q.aspx#axzz5FsKmOEt7

You will see that 140.6, Iron, and Iron distance are conspicuously absent, but that doesn't stop their legal department from trying to keep others from using anything with the word Iron in it by threatening lawsuits.

6 per year!?

I am always amazed that people can do more than 3 (pro or AG) and still keeping a balanced schedule, progress in sport, and maintain their health. Kudos to you.

What are your goals within racing, why do so many each year?

This is more a blanket question to those that do 3+/year as I am genuinely curious.

I don’t like to train much or long hours. I also recover quickly. I do the sport because I like to compete. I have seen steady growth from racing so much also. Racing is a good way to build fitness.

Goals in the sport are to break even at races I start, and to get faster. I’m built for the longer stuff, and to make a top 6 at any 70.3s these days, you need to be going 3:40s consistently. I am just not that fast.

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New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

I don’t mind 2-3 hour rides but when it starts getting up to 4+ hours is mentally more challenging for me.

One per year, most of the recent years, but not every single year. I think I'm done. What did me in was the 6 hours lost to bike rides every single weekend when I could be doing other things. And all the pounding from 2 hour runs. Seems like every time I extend the runs much past 1.5 hours I end up with repetitive stress injuries....

Did 4 HIMs last year and a full. Doing just 2 HIMs this year and a whole lot of sprints.

Yeah. I like the HIM distance since I don’t have to do those crazy ass long rides

this lol. did imtx this year as my first full. talked about doing Wisconsin this year. wife threatened to divorce me so it'll be 70.3 for a while for me

I've been averaging 1 every 2 years. We have a sailboat and the summers I'm training for the IM we don't get on the boat as much as I'd like.

I finished 13 IMs and had DNFs 2 in the 12 years I did IM. I did the first one with the goal of just finishing. All the rest but the final one when I knew my IM days were probably done were attempts to KQ or racing in Kona (3). I was single with no kids. I loved the training for seven years or so then it slowly wore me down. Haven't done anything longer than a sprint tri in the past 10 years and don't think I'll ever do another tri longer than Oly distance. Still have the urge to run marathons, although I've only done one since my last IM finish.

If you just want to finish IMs and have the $, I think you could finish several each year for a long time by keeping a decent fitness base in the off-season then pacing the IM conservatively. I don't think that requires much more training than trying to be competitive at shorter distance tris.