Strongly disagree with this statement. He is a teenager, some are more mature then others, but still a teenager. You can't just say it is his responsibility when he plans to engage in something so strenuous and serious as Ironman distance. There is a risk of long term damage and who is going to pay for it? Do you think his dad would just say, well kid, it is you responsibility? No, that is not going to happen, he will be his parents responsibility. His decision to do something doesn't affect just him, it affects his parents too, very much. Dad very much has a say whether to do IM or not.

What long term damage do you envisage may occur?

Yes, he's a teenager, but he's also an adult (under most jurisdictions), so the final decision is ultimately his responsibility. Unless his parents are paying the entry fee or his race entry legally requires a parent to countersign (doubtful of that), the most they can offer is informed discussion and opinion.

It's a swim, a long cycle and a probably a slow marathon with some walking. There's higher risk of injury in plenty of other sports.

An adventurous life is a fun one.

Hey Andy,

This caught my eye. I did my first Ironman when I was 18. I had just graduated high school. Of course, my parents and I had a similar conversation you are having.

For me there was absolutely no health issues after and it actually set me down the path I am now on. If I hadn’t taken that journey I may not have fallen in love with triathlon and call it my job. The one thing I did after that race was take a full month easy to let me body and mind recover. Everyone is different but if your kid is keen and healthy I would say you let him go for it.

Yo Yo Yo,
Sam

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Sam Long
AKA The BigUnit
IG: @samgolong

Yeah burnout is the issue. If he wants a long career in triathlon, it might be best to limit the amount he races and at least wait 3-4 years before he does IM. So many people get into the sport, love it, train/race obsessively and follow the same path, sprint/OD/70.3 then IM then they quit the sport after only 3/4 years. Nothing to stop him doing a full health-wise, but you want to hold him back to ensure he has longevity in the sport.

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There are 18 year olds in military boot-camps putting their bodies through consistently more stress than an age group triathlete training for one Ironman finish. Then they get to go out and kill people for a living.

People just love to overstate how difficult finishing an Ironman is.
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BAM!

Close the internet

Post says it all

But how many years of training did you have till then, and were you just barely breaking a 20 min 5k?

Seems quite unlikely that an 18-year-old who finishes one IM burns out from tri in the next 3 or 4 years, at least from repeated IM efforts, unless dad Andy has lots o' disposable income. Anyone here read about how expensive it is to do IM these days?

Really? Have you ever been to boot camp? To a very physically fit person, in the US at least, military boot camps are pretty damn easy (actual physical load, sleep and other crap is another matter).



Never done an Ironman. But l have done lots of half-lMs. I guess float-coast-walking a half IM might not be hard. But racing one at the redline in 90 deg temps is pretty difficult. I can't imagine a full IM is easier. I've also watched some full IMs in person as well. People crossing the line in the first 25% of the pack look and act very, very, very spent in ways that you rarely see. But YMMV.

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Yeah the current U.S. Army boot camp requirements (for men) are a 2-mile run in 16:36, 35 push-ups in 2 minutes and 47 situp in 2 minutes.

And sometimes "military push-ups" are cringey.

He must be conflating boot camp with some of the elite schools for specialists.

Wow! He just freaked out that you took time to respond! Thank you! Such great advice. One difference with him and you is I suspect you were going for a time goal at 18, where he just wants to finish. He's fast, but not likely future pro fast like you. Long in the future I think he's in the 10-11 hour area, if he still wants to do this in 10-15 years. He's in it purely for the love of the event and experience, which is so cool. He's got that secret sauce ability to run 25k and not really be tired that night or the next day, wanting to go again. Usually it's me advising him to take a day off after a big day out, but it's his choice.

I've told him already, his body won't allow real training beyond walking for 2 weeks, and he should extend that to 6 weeks of recovery for mind and body, with only super easy Z1/Z2 shorter activities from week 2-6 depending on how he feels. It's good for him to see you took a month off to recover, because that's key.

Thanks again for taking time to share your thoughts! Best wishes in racing and life.

-Andy

haha yeah good point. Forgot about the cost factor.

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Why is it you assume that this 18 year old is going to "race" this Ironman? His father has plainly said he just wants to finish.

and as far as Boot Camp,yet another time that most here on ST think the world stops at the US border.

Christ,when I was 14 I was at a boarding school that put us through more physical training than most triathletes I know.[/quote]
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Has your son done any triathlons yet shorter than the IM length? If yes, how many? What distances? What was his reaction to those?

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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My son's cross-country teammate was signed up to run IM Boulder when I did it in 2015. I knew his dad was a strong bike, and the kid was a MOP XC runner, and I figured he would do fine - this was in May just before they both graduated.

Turns out he finished in about 9:20 and took 9th overall - you may have heard of him. Sam Long?

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

Nice! It was great to hear his opinions earlier in this thread. Meant A LOT to my son that he took the time to do this.

To another poster, yes, he's done the smaller races, loves them, but he's all about non-drafting and longer distances.

Example, for a challenging workout yesterday, he Zwifted (flat course) 100k at his edge of Zone 1 at 29kmph average- followed immediately with a 2.5 hour low Zone 2 half marathon distance. A personal day he made up, for fun. My only advice is carefully have him follow the 80/20 training method, most work super easy to build efficiency.

That's the purpose of this thread, is it safe for his developing body? I think so now, based on everyone's feedback, as long as he has the drive and stays low HR in most of his training.

His Ironman goal is finish. Not place. Finish, like me. Enjoy the experience, because it is one like no other...

Thanks again for everyone's feedback!

I ran my first full marathon at 13 years old and did an Ironman attempt at 18 years old. I certainly had the training base for it. I was training near twenty hours a week. The attempt was a DNF as I panicked in the swim from the cold water and spent the bulk of the day in the medical tent due to low body temp. I raced seemingly countless races between 13 and 24. I honestly don't know that my training was any more or less extreme then some of my friends who were competing at a high level around the same time.

Building a local race calendar with a cohort of competitors that I knew well was way more fun, and much more affordable, than going out of state for an IM. I would encourage him to put his energy into shorter local races. Mindful local races are much less abundant these days.

You've got kids - some teenagers - finishing on the podium (and winning) the most guelling race on the planet TDF; so why not?

esleach1 wrote:

You've got kids - some teenagers - finishing on the podium (and winning) the most guelling race on the planet TDF; so why not?

I know, it's crazy these kids finishing on the podium in the grand tours.