I'm surprise no one has mentioned yet, but join a local tri club. There is a wealth of info there and lots of people of all abilities to train with. It's a good starting point. They can even recommend some good coaches for you.

My local tri club had, that I know of, 2 newbie triathletes who eventually became a pro triathletes. One was even borderline olympic material before injuries set him back. They came is, fresh out of college, as D-1 athletes and wanted to keep that competitive spirit alive so they started learning the sport from the bottom before their natural talent lead them to become the top of the sport.

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

There's some great advice in here. Having gone from D1 wide receiver and sprinter to Kona in a relatively short time period, I thought I'd share a few insights.

First, you're an athlete. Yes, a fast twitch athlete, but obviously talented with solid work ethic. You're also young, so you'll adapt well to the new training. The "standard" time frames for improvement don't necessarily apply to you, so respect them but don't be limited by them.

Second, you're used to very structured training. A coach isn't necessary (I used Be Iron Fit's competitive plan/self-coached to a solid first IM), but can be a great asset once you have a solid base built up. Find people to train with - the team aspect makes things more fun.

Third, swimming is likely going to be your biggest hurdle. A good swim coach can be hard to find but is worth every effort. I still swim like a football player with taped ankles and wish I'd started with some good eyes on deck.

I assume you want to compete vs. complete. My advice would be to find a swim coach/swim with a master's program and start getting easy miles in on the bike and run. Plan on getting "fast" at the "shorter" distances before you go long - specifically, start with sprints and Olympics and then be competitive in the 70.3 before signing up for a 140.6. I jumped into the IM distance a little faster and it "worked," but I think I would have been better served in the long run by sharpening things up in the short distances first.

Feel free to message me with any questions - happy to help.

Mostly good advice here, I would put things in this order;

1. Swim with a coach as much as you can tolerate
2. Lose weight, don't lift weights. Top guys your height weigh under 165, try for 185 at least, take you time though.
3. Do a sprint tri first, 2nd, and 3rd. Move up once you get a bit faster and can train 10+ hours a week
4. Stair step in race distance, to coincide with training hours increases
5. After you have done a ton with the swim coach, if in the budget, get a tri coach that you mesh with, not all will
6. In a couple years of unintereputed training and racing, see how you do on long training days with nutrition, that is the real key to doing successful ironman.
7. Virtually anyone who was/is and athlete "can" do an ironman. I would hope that your goal would be to compete in one at a higher level than the 17 hour non AARP racers. It is no fun to suffer twice as long out there as the top guys, be the guy that nails it after a couple/few years of pursuing your goal, with a real plan in place...

Good luck, keep us posted on your decisions, plans, and weekly/monthly breakthroughs, they will be fast and furious this first year!!!

welcome. you're going to do great. and you came to the right place!

i race the ironman 11 years before you were born. i'm still as eager and enthusiastic today as i was then, 37 years ago. if that qualifies me to render and informed opinion, i have 2 suggestions for you:

1. completing the ironman was one of the defining moments in my life. that established, god didn't create the ironman. god created a you, the man, with 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 lungs, a brain, a heart, and the capacity to cover the earth using means of locomotion and survival granted no other creature. use this capacity you have, and don't limit yourself to an event produced by a brand. for example, our headline today. or, things you may do for which there is no entry fee, and no rules. so, by all means, the ironman is a worthy goal. i did it, and i highly recommend it. just, it's a big world, and every day, with every training session, you're building a tool to explore it.

2. stay out of the lavender room.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Best of luck and welcome to the sport. what's your experience in swimming? thats the most daunting for many. get comfortable in the water and get a few lessons or hook in with a master swim program. nail down some good technique and distance in the pool then take it outside for some open water.

Good luck!

Dont overspend. I started this year and it was overwhelming all the shit that you think you need to buy. Some things you can do cheap but others the cheap option ends up being a mistake.

sorry about the double post, but i forgot the most important thing. congratulations on overcoming the substance issues. that mental fortitude will do you well.

also, through your NFL connections, do you know hines ward? he is a triathlete, competed in the world championship a few years back. he may be a great resource, not just from knowing triathlon, but coming from football training to triathlon.

^^This. Both of these!

Sign up for races, make the commitment.

Training works best when its built to target races. It's also just good to race to see what's working and what needs work.

You could sit with a coach and get help picking target races or pick races, then pick a coach to get you there. That's what I do. I sign up, then buy a training plan. There are many people on ST that say you don't need a coach but I personally think it's worth the money. The most valuable thing I get out of it is the endurance build strategy, it's all part of the structured work outs. It also took me a while to figure out what it felt like when I over trained. Being able to talk to my coach about that helped me take a break and correct course.

Good luck!

Mate, well done on finding your sporting mojo again. And I think you'll be thanking your Lord for that.
Above is about the best advise, as you trained and played a sport for a long time that involved a team, and a team of people can be incredibly motivating and supportive.. Triathlon can be an incredibly lonely sport at times.
Where possible, spend your training time with people.
Try not to become one of "those triathlon guys " see YouTube for a whole range of "Triathlon Guy" videos.

BTW, I've done over 30 IMs from my first in '85, and rocked it through to 2012. Then it was solo training as most of the training group had changed course or redirected their energy. For Kona '14 I trained predominantly solo, and other than one IM 6 months later... that's it for triathlon.
Have been going to a gym since then doing combat sports type classes & weights. Everything is more enjoyable with people.

I would definitely echo this sentiment. I think you'll find that you really like the shorter distances also.

Also, welcome!

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

Another thing I'd echo is that a swim coach will be nearly essential. It's an entirely different discipline than probably anything you've ever done, for several reasons. The first is the incredibly high resistance of water, which means that efficiency is crucial, otherwise you're fighting and going nowhere. The second is that your breathing is inherently restricted. In opposition to what most of the others are saying here, I wouldn't worry about getting a tri coach yet; you can improve run and cycle fitness by yourself pretty easily. I'd get a swim coach.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

It's a good job you've found religion you'll be doing a lot of fucking praying. I do and I am about as anti-religious as they come.

Hey man, welcome aboard!

This crazy world of triathlon we inhabit is very addictive, and you don't have to be fast to enjoy it.

I would echo a lot that has already been said before but jumping into Ironman straightaway is quite a big ask, don't get me wrong, it is totally doable and lots of people do it but before your dive right in work your way through the distances. Try a sprint tri, then build from there. You have to enjoy doing it otherwise you can come to resent the long training rides/runs/swims.

Learn to love it, start short, go longer and enjoy the journey. Triathlon is not just about Ironman, you can go shorter or much much longer its up to you, just learn to enjoy it.

Not sure if its been mentioned before with all the mentions of coaches etc but do you want to finish or place? That will have a big impact on your approach.

As for your size, I would love to be only 215lb. I'm 6'4" former rugby player with an average racing weight of about 235lb, MOP (in an average field of competitors). Given your background in elite sport and training I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine.

Good luck!

Really appreciated reading this post from Slowman. Agree with both.
But, pay attention to #1. For me, my goals occasionally have a race in it (next big race is in 31 days... IM Florida). But my ultimate goal is to remain active and healthy over the next 2 - 3 (or 4) decades and be able to do stuff and see stuff that I otherwise might not have been able to do or see.
Cheers,
Brian

I would just encourage you to take your time. IM is most likely a 2-3 year journey for you if you want to avoid overuse injuries.

Either get a coach (highly recommended) or read Matt Dixon and Joe Friel’s books. Maybe set a goal of a couple Olympics next season (see if you even like the sport), upgrade gear and go for 1-2 70.3s in 2020, and IM in 2021.

Awesome! I coached a former pro football player and a couple D1 bball players.
You guys have ALL the speed and power, but need to translate that to endurance.
It can be done. Just takes patience and deliberate training intention.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

I coached a 10 year NFL defensive lineman to a 4:45 half, he started out just like the forum said. You can do this as well.
Learned to swim from a coach.
Changed his body composition from 300plus lbs to 240#.
Sought professional advice on bike fitting.
Hired a triathlon coach to help with the journey, though many resources exist as stated esp Matt Dixon's approach.
Start at shorter races and build up in distance if that is your thing.
Have a long term outlook.
Best of luck...

https://www.instagram.com/...igshid=1sblohneo23oh

Griff did a race in Cuba a while back, his wife's family is well plugged into the triathlon scene. (His mother in law is a partner in our local Tri shop) ...


And another vote for getting a swim coach or joining a Masters swim club ... usms.org

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http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

You mention track but you did not say what events. I am going to assume 200m or less. But if you did 400''s and 800's (which I assume is unlikely if you also played D1 football), then you are in a great starting position.

Run often, run in short bursts, do a lot of riding, learn to swim, lose 35 lbs if possible and then suddenly you're an Ironman machine. Walk lots to build the foundation in your feet to do lots of running as you have to transform to running volume if you are going to do an Ironman. Also for swimming you MAY need more shoulder flexibility which you may not have from playing football. As swimmers we need hyper flexibility to put our body into a good streamline and get a good catch. If your shoulders are that flexible playing football, you'll probably get them ripped apart in a lot of tackles, so I suspect you don't currently have the shoulder coupled with chest and lat mobility to swim well. Also you likely don't have swimmer ankle mobility either....if you did, you'd proably be twisting your ankles every football game in a pile up with opponents.

Hoosier!

You've had lots of good advice already but in case you ever get frustrated with your swimming or question your ability because of your build this is Eddie Hall, Worlds Strongest Man swimming. Yes he has a swim background and yes it was sprinting but still...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGtag2ezJwI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWydd-t7DsA