My feeling exactly when I signed up for Ironman CDA - a little buyers remorse, a little fear, and the feeling that my balls were trying to hide in my stomach in some sort of primative defense mechanism - they've been there for nearly a month now (is this normal??).

I have adopted a coping mechanism that includes buying books on running, buying books on Ironman, creating spreadsheets to identify exactly which bike is the best bike for an Ironman based on reviews, cost, perceived aerodynamics, material and "cool factor". Ditto for race wheels. My hope is to eventually spend my way to a successful finish. With enough aero equipment I believe it is theorhetically possible to finish the bike before I finish the swim (aero wheels save 30 minutes, aero water bottle saves 25 minutes, aero frame saves 2.5 hours, etc), then I can just pose my way through the run...

I should know by May whether this approach will actually work, if not, I suppose I will have to start training...

Feel like you are on a roller coaster? Just closed the gate and started going up that ratchety climb that brings you to the point where you are about to be hurtled toward the earth at increadable speeds? Well GOOD FOR YOU!!! I have only dreams about doing an IM right now, but you're livin' it baby! You've got your carrat - so start the training! The Pain Train's comin'! WOO WOOOO.... WOO WOOOOO.

I'm sure you'll do great - hey try to hook up with Team In Training. You have to raise cash for it, but it goes to the treatment of Leukimia (I think).

26miles at 3mph = 8h40m

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Animal!!!

Hey Marko, I'm right there with you, man. Against all advice that you should take a couple of years to work up to an Ironman, I succumbed to the temptation (and my friend's dares --> he's tackling the UltraMax Iron distance in 2 weeks, having started training this year, and racing only once in his life at the HalfMax earlier this summer.)

I'll be at IM Moo next year (my second year as a triathlete). I've done a few sprints and internationals, and I'm hitting a Half IM to finish the season. Then, it's time to work on conditioning for Moo next year. You can do it, man. See you there.

Steve

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Steve Perkins

I understand where you're coming from. I was there exactly 12 months ago. If you think it's bad now, just wait until your taper when you'll be freaking out about whether you've done enough training or not.

Here's what I suggest. First, get your wife on board. Explain to her the time and training that you'll be doing. If she doesn't go for it, give it up now - it's not worth the hassle. Second, make sure you're fully recovered from this race season before starting on next season - you've got 12 months. Third, do not injure yourself. Lastly, don't peak too soon.

Looks like you passed the bug onto me, but I can't sign up b/c it's SOLD OUT. :-(

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New rule for ST users to make this a better place:
When someone asks for ADVICE, don't be a douche. Give advice or STFU.

"The Pain Train's comin'!" I love it! It ran my a$$ down on Sunday at FirmMan.

Another thing about T'nT that I wanted to mention is that you get something like 35% off on the Orca Predator 2 wetusits.

One caveat, though. My wife is doing the MS Challenge Walk this weekend, and raising that much cash can be tough.

Fear not Marko16. If you thought it would be easy, then you wouldn't want to do it. Plan your season, train to your plan, trust your training, and never give up.

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Marko,

I feel your pain! I signed up for IM Wisconsin on Tuesday. I've never done a Triathlon, run a marathon, and I don't really swim. Can I do the swim with "water wings"? I do have 23 years of cycling experience though.

Can anyone suggest a good book on tri training? I just purchased PC Coach training software/Mike Pigg's program. Has anyone out there had success with that plan?

Mike

From experience, I can tell you it takes about 6.5 hours to jog/walk 26.2 miles.

This was my IM CdA "run" time this past summer and it sucked!

You will be fine -- fear is a great motivator! On race day remember to ALWAYS feel like you have plenty left and as Slowman has said before -- ride as if you will have to get off the bike and run at any time. I foolishly rode my bike with 11-21 in back and 53-39 in front on my 650c Cannondale. I wasted my legs on the hills (and in the heat) and could barely run a step on the run. There were other factors, but I'm sure my bravado inspired gearing didn't help things.

Oh, and I must have forgotten how bad it hurt because I've signed up for CdA next year. It just can't be THAT hot two years in a row.....

Buy The Triathlete's Training Bible. It's excellent, and you can use it to put together a training plan that will get you from today unitl race day.

I use PC Coach with my Polar HRM, but I haven't bought the Mike Pigg plug-in yet. I'd be interested to hear how you like it. I am very happy with the main PC Coach training logs and charting/graphing capabilities.

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Instead of TNT, I would suggest http://www.januscharitychallenge.com/

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

If you are interested in the Mike Pigg software, send me a message with an offer, I won 2 copies of it this year.

{Can anyone suggest a good book on tri training? I just purchased PC Coach training software/Mike Pigg's program. Has anyone out there had success with that plan?} reply

Gale Bernhardt's book, Training plans for multisport athletes. There's a reason why her article, 13 weeks to a sub 13hr Ironman is the most popular article ever in triathlete magazine. I used it last year at IMFL and even with bike problems, finished well under 13hrs.

Good luck!

Mike:

I know these are not new ideas for books, but I thought you might like a perspective of both books from someone who bought both.

Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel - Excellent training book. It gives you a LOT of information on how to train, how to eat and why you do it. The idea of the book is to guide you through setting up your own annual training plan. Sample ATPs are provided along with lots of suggested workouts. It has been immensely helpful to me in planning my 2004 plan.

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes by Gale Bernhardt - Another excellent book. Not nearly as deep or technical as Training Bible. However, the book includes several plans for the beginner, from sprints to Ironman. The focus is not on creating your own plan, but using one of the pre-built plans, and tailoring it to your needs. I'm currently using a modified version of Gale's Half IM for beginners for a race in October.

If you can get only one, get the Training Bible. It has more diverse workout suggestions, and will help you more in the long run. That being said, if you aren't interested in the more technical aspects, and only want a plan to follow, get TPfMA.

Good luck at Moo. See you there.



Steve

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Steve Perkins

Dude, if there is one book you HAVE to buy for IM training its "Going Long" by Gordo Byrn and Joe Friel. That book is the best thing currently made specifically for IM. Training bible is too general for Im but definitely give you an insight into training principles regardless of the distance.

I'd agree with that. I own TTB, TPfMA, and Going Long, and I think that they all offer important information that makes them, if you're like me, comprise the core of your triathlon library.

The main things that Going Long address that the other two don't are things like the mental part of endurance sports, dealing with salt tabs and such, and detailed pacing strategies. I bought Going Long a couple of weeks before my first Half IM this year, and I found the sections on pacing and the mental game exceedingly useful.

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Welcome to the Dark Side!