How many years have you been training?

7 months of training
(Sept-Dec 2018)
(Jan-Current)

Train for 15 hours a week for about two years and then do an Ironman.

I did something similar in 2016 /2017 with ATX HIM in Oct. and then subsequent IMTX in April. It’s completely doable. I’d get a coach if you can. If that’s not an option jump into a full IM plan - Beginnertriathlete.com, etc

+1 for the coach to ensure you build efficiently.
Don Fink plans have different intensity levels based on training time available.

That seems like a huge amount of training to get to your first Ironman??

He is obviously trolling. 3-4 months of training is more than enough if you're not severely overweight (if you know what you are doing).

This is slowtwitch. Starting advice is to spend 4 months in a wind tunnel testing socks before you think about starting training....

Key question is what's your goal? Finish? Finish in less than XX hours? What were your times for the half (each discipline) and what's your biggest worry - what would stop you finishing?

Biggest difference for me is the time on the bike between half and full. Need to get those long rides in to test nutrition. Running- to be fair you can 'finish' on half running and then march the second half of run. Won't be pretty but you'll get there.

Ignore him. Not sure if he's kidding or not, but it's nonsense.
Really, without knowing the sort of training volume you were doing for the 70.3, how comfortably you finished, and how quickly you recovered, it's impossible to give a simple and direct answer. However, assuming you have some training volume under your belt, finished the 70.3 in reasonable shape and recovered well, it seems reasonable to carry on to a full IM. Given you're feeling the itch, it's likely your 70.3 went well?!

If there's 4 months between the 2 races and you pushed yourself pretty hard in the 1st one, I think you'll probably need at least one week doing very little, if anything, and then at least one more week of relatively low volume and intensity to recover before getting back into any hard training. Then you'll want 2-3 weeks to taper before the IM. So I would say you have 12 weeks to increase the training volume and get yourself ready for full IM. If I was you I'd also be more cautious ramping up the run than the bike or swim just to be on the safe side, I rest usually aim at volume increases of about 10% per week on the run. I can manage bigger increases on the bike and swim.

How quickly did you recover from Oceanside? Back into training full after a week or did you need more time?

Honest advice would probably be to wait until next year, but it's certainly doable this year. It depends on you and your ability to handle the load mentally and physically.

It's just a lot of money and one can easily get burnt out. IM training is a totally different level than HIM training. Dont want to drop hundreds if not thousands only to come up injured or just mentally exhausted to the point of not getting your best training in. It was a 3 year journey before I did my IM. And I dont see myself doing another one for a long time due to the insane schedule I had for 4 months. I'll still attempt 1 or 2 HIMs a year though.

If you do keep going, a coach is really helpful. If you have the funds, it's worth it for such a huge part of your life during that time.

It's certainly doable. If you can afford a coach, get one. a coach can work out a plan that works with your time available, gets you ready for the race, but also helps reduce chance of injury.

Easily doable.

I went from couch potato (never done a triathlon before) to a 12hr ironman in 10 months. 3 months was me just riding aimlessly.

I followed Matt Fitzgerald 12hr IM plan from TrainingPeaks. I have a coach this year because I noticed gaps last year that I believe a coach can bridge.

But at the end of the day if you can put in the time you will survive, and if you have a time goal get a coach to help achieve it.

Contrarian view.

Take it slow.

What was your time at Oceanside? What if you spent 3 months training for the next HIM and trying to break your previous time (or position in AG due to different courses) by 30 minutes or 10%?

My opinion - triathletes escalate distances too quickly...HIM is already a big deal..focus on getting faster at this distance..leverage some of your EXPERIENCE you just gained.

IM will always be there (it'll be there in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023....)....but will you burn out if you do too much too soon in 2019?

I went from HIM Waco in Oct. '18 (1st 70.3) to a Marathon in January '19 and then jumped into full ironman training for the April IMTX. It is doable but you have to spend tons of time (10-15 hrs / wk) training. The process has been riddled with injuries and setbacks which I probably wouldn't ave had if I built up from a solid core / base from the gym. Be prepared for plans to get changed or derailed. It is MUCH tougher than HIM training.

I do generally agree that triathletes jump distances rather quickly. Myself I moved along rather slowly before I jumped to full distance. It's certainly doable for this person. They've built up some fitness with their HIM training and now with 4 months to the full they can continue that fitness. For me, if I decided to proceed in this situation, I get a coach. But your point is valid. It can be easy burn out. I think it's different for each person. I'm always amazed when people are doing 2-3 IMs a year or a crap load of HIMs or both. I can't mentally handle that. Some people can.

I finished in 6:45.

I was hoping for just below 6hrs as that's what my training numbers pointed to. My legs gave me a difficult time during the run as I kept seizing up. Uncle Garmin tells me my average HR throughout the race was in zone 3.2.

My advice would be to focus on breaking 6 hrs in HIM first.

Ouch. Then I´ll take back my advice. I thought we were talking 5-5.30 for a half. 6:45 will probably not translate into an IM under the cutoff time. Hate to break it to you, but I don't think an IM will be a nice experience for you right now. I did my first IM after 6months of tri and it took me almost 11 hours. The back half of the marathon was a nightmare and it felt like it would never end. Your call though :)

I would agree with this advice. You are looking at a 14.5-15 hour Ironman at least based on those results. That will be a long day at the office....sounds like you need to build your base more and get a few more 70.3's under your belt, however this also depends on what your goals actually are...ie just finish versus a specific time goal.

I would agree. Work on HIMs. Once you can go under 6, ideally around 5:30, then build for IM distance over a period of about 5-6 months.

It sounds like you should train for a couple years.

If it's not impolite to ask,
what was your time.
And what is you AG.

If you went under 5 hours, you're already able to do an IM (but slower)
If you went 6 hours or so, you are half way there, do what you were doing, but slightly slower and longer. you can finish (but not race)
If you went 7 hours or more, you will need a coach and a min of 12 hours a week.
8 hours...not this year and not Mt Tremblant..

Good luck.

As others stated, get better at the HIM mark...looks like you had some fitness gaps during the first go-around and you can get better...don't get me wrong, 6:45 is great for a first time! Become a 4:45-5:30 HIM and then you'll feel "ready" for the next level.

For what its worth, I practice what I preach, I went my first HIM around ~5 hours last year but don't even feel close to being ready for a full. I can't imagine that pain and want to stay in the sport...so might do a full in the next few years.