My advice.
Do as many Sprint and Olympic distance races as you can/year. You will know when you are ready to do a HIM.

What makes you want to do a half?

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My first two triathlons were a half and then an Ironman. Do what you think is realistic and what you will enjoy most setting the goal for and training. I started triathlon with the goal of doing an Ironman and became hooked on Ironman racing.

Do what you enjoy. I ramped up fairly quickly to half and full distance (first ever tri was Olympic, did a half less than a year later, a full a year after that) for the simple reason that I get more enjoyment from both training for and racing longer distances than I do from sprints. I seem to have more natural ability for endurance than I do for speed. I prefer biking and running to swimming, and longer events give me more time to make up for my weaker swim. I'm quite injury prone when doing shorter, faster run training. And I really can't be bothered to practice transitions, which are more important in shorter racing.

Equally I know people who much prefer the shorter faster events. You can be competitive on a lower training volume. You can race more often. And if you want to be competitive (podium, KQ, etc) at the longer events then getting fast at shorter distances first is probably the best route.

My 2c.
The training to do a competitive Olympic won't look an awful lot different to a half.
When I moved up my swim and bike didn't change. My run volume went up by 20% or so. If I'd been smart I would have waited longer (than 3rd year of tri).
Unless you're thinking about getting a podium make sure your training is enjoyable or you'll burn out quickly.
Love long training - great do that
Enjoy training with other people- great.
Love smashing intervals - perfect

There's loads of different ways to train for triathlon. They all work. Try as many different one as you can.
Try lots of small races and discover what works for you, make friends, make mistakes

First time out here and very impressed with the responses. Some forums regardless of interest seem to have an air of arrogance where if you are not an expert then don’t bother posting. I do not get that vibe here which is cool.

I want to do a half iron to prove my mettle. I also want to be smart so I can enjoy (as much as possible) the experience. Part of the doubt factor is how bloody fit triathletes are. I ran a half marathon 15 seconds slower than my full marathon pace (due to high heat) and still finished in the top third. I was very happy with my Olympic time and was in the bottom third. I will never threaten a podium so there is no reason to compare to others but I do find the difference quite interesting.

Either way I will continue to tri. At times by the end of a half marathon I am just ready to be done. However I will never forget my first tri. I was towards the end and still really enjoying myself even though I was working hard. Of course there was beer beyond the finish line which helped!

Don't know if you single, married, with kids etc. I would say look at what you are capable of training for at this point in life. I trained for a couple of HIM's and then went for the IM (will be doing Chattanooga on Sunday). My life for this season allowed it. I know for me after all of the training I have done, life just won't really allow me to train for maybe one HIM a year, at best now. Most of my racing this next year will be all local sprints. I am excited about that. I love the go as fast as you can it hurts and if it only hurts you aren't going fast enough type racing.

If life allows it, go with what you really enjoy racing. Or simply challenge yourself, to YOUR goals.

My .02

Anybody can go long. Not everyone can go fast. Fast impressed me more than long. My last 5 tris were 4 HIMs and one IM. I’m doing a sprint series next year.

Good luck.

Agree
+1

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This is the best response yet. Your lifestyle will dictate whether or not you are able to or not. I firmly believe that anyone can do a HIM or even a full IM if they have the time to dedicate to it. I signed up for a HIM then completed a Olympic which ended up being followed by another Olympic before my HIM. If you feel you are ready to take the jump, find a HIM plan and stick to it. Your body will follow your mind’s lead.

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Team Zoot

Speed!

Pick a distance and get faster at it. That's actual improvement. Going farther, like half and full distance, just means you had more time to prepare than the next guy. But similar to what someone else said - going farther doesn't make you a better [tri]athlete than going faster.

There are people doing half and full distance mighty fast, but for the average family guy, Olympic should be the triathlon gold standard. The importance of the swim is not diminished. The run is long enough to get your attention but not too long to train for on limited time and/or physical capability. The bike is short enough to be fast. The overall race is short enough to go HARD, but long enough to see monster time improvements as you improve.

I think that if you're in triathlons for performance in Ironman (ie. qualify for Kona) then it's best to take a long term perspective and focus on short course racing and single discipline blocks of focus. Then, slowly build up to the half-Ironman and then Ironman. Ideally, you want to look at a 5-year preparation before doing an IM.

If you are in triathlons because you like the longer distance and just want to complete one, focus on distance and give yourself lots of time to do your first one well. It will never satisfy you if you enter one and get it done without preparing properly so better to take at least a full year, preferably 2, to build up (assuming you are already reasonably fit and can swim). Then you are doing something you enjoy but still getting the most out of your Ironman.

+2. Get fast and then, if you still want to, go long.

Take your time and build up slowly - as others have mentioned here - anyone can go long, but learning how to race and being fast (as fast as YOU can be) is really much more fun.

Take it slowly to avoid burnout - I have a friend who is in his first year of the sport and did an OD (barely under 3.5 hours), did a HIM (barely under 8 hours) and now is doing a IM...I really do not understand this approach and fear he will burn out. I doubt he'll be around the sport in 2020 (I hope I'm wrong!).

Just registered for the sprint distance race. I am an old dude with little kids so I want to stay in shape but not miss out on the kids growing up. I can still challenge myself to improve my time and the training will fit into my schedule. Some day I will do a half iron but I will work in building my base first so race day is a good challenge rather than just something to get over with so you can post the accomplishment on Facebook.

Short on time? Learn to love HIIT.

Not sure where you are starting, but I'm a fan of time-crunched folks being a little skinnier. It's free time off your bike time and run time. Uphill on the bike and even flat on the run, it's a pretty direct correlation. You might not have the time to train up to a monster split on either only on power/volume........but, if you can stand to lose 10 to 15.........do it.

I'm faster now running at 150ish lbs with very little run training (cyclist) than I was 180ish lbs and training for two 1/2 marathons a year. Literally right now off the couch I can go crank out a 5k or 10k faster by far. 30 lbs is a LOT. I'm a whole 1:30 per mile faster at both 5k and 10k paces.

I can easily maintain an optimal weight with little to no extra time commitment. Just consistency and will power.