5 months to an Ironman. HELP!

Hi guys,

I’ve recently decided that i want to do a Ironman Triathlon sometime soon. And the Ironman that’s the most accessible and most practical for me to attend would be Ironman Langkawi(Malaysia).

I have had no prior experience in doing Ironmans. The furthest distance that i’ve gone up to would be the Olympic Distance. Swimming would be my main weakness, followed by cycling (lack of power), and my best event would be running. I have swam more then 3.8km once in my life, and that was in a swimming pool when i was 12 or so. I’ve biked more then 180km on a few occasions, however i’ve always gone rather slow and with certain rest stops or extended coasting periods. I’ve never taken part in a marathon before, but I’ve run up to distances of 60-odd km. Never tried doing them all at one shot though http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif

My problem here is that my fitness level has slowly deteriorated over this year, and i have not swum for over 10 months. I need to certainly get more practice in the pool. Any workout suggestions? I easily get tired from swimming too much though.

My main problem with the bike would be going to slow. I’m rather skinny, and not much muscles, so i don’t have the ability to power away on the bike. I can maintain an average of 20km+ but only get up to higher speeds in pelotons and cycling groups. I’m starting a heavy weight regime to help increase my muscle mass, but the problem with my past weight regimes is that i don’t see any results and get discouraged quickly http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif . I’d also get bored from cycling too slowly for too long. Any workouts that help increase anaerobic power for the bike?

The run isn’t much of a problem, i can easily do 10km runs under 50 mins with no training and little effort(i know its rather slow, have not been running much either), and if i train i reckon i should be able to do a marathon in 4hrs? But another problem with me is that i also get bored with running long distances. I always need a friend or my i pod for company.

Does anybody have any specific training suggestions for me? I’m basically an ectomorph, skinny, and with a current low level of fitness. Also do you guys think it is advisable for me to do an ironman due to my lack of experience with this distances? Any help would be much appreciated.

I’m rather unable to resist the allure of the Ironman event.

As Oscar Wilde once said, " The only way to resist temptation is to yield to it" http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

Cheers!

Praks

(Also posted on other forums)

Are you actually signed up/are there slots available?

Hi guys,
I’ve recently decided that i want to do a Ironman Triathlon sometime soon. And the Ironman that’s the most accessible and most practical for me to attend would be Ironman Langkawi(Malaysia).
I have had no prior experience in doing Ironmans. The furthest distance that i’ve gone up to would be the Olympic Distance. Swimming would be my main weakness, followed by cycling (lack of power), and my best event would be running. I have swam more then 3.8km once in my life, and that was in a swimming pool when i was 12 or so. I’ve biked more then 180km on a few occasions, however i’ve always gone rather slow and with certain rest stops or extended coasting periods. I’ve never taken part in a marathon before, but I’ve run up to distances of 60-odd km. Never tried doing them all at one shot though http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif
My problem here is that my fitness level has slowly deteriorated over this year, and i have not swum for over 10 months. I need to certainly get more practice in the pool. Any workout suggestions? I easily get tired from swimming too much though.
My main problem with the bike would be going to slow. I’m rather skinny, and not much muscles, so i don’t have the ability to power away on the bike. I can maintain an average of 20km+ but only get up to higher speeds in pelotons and cycling groups. I’m starting a heavy weight regime to help increase my muscle mass, but the problem with my past weight regimes is that i don’t see any results and get discouraged quickly http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif . I’d also get bored from cycling too slowly for too long. Any workouts that help increase anaerobic power for the bike?
The run isn’t much of a problem, i can easily do 10km runs under 50 mins with no training and little effort(i know its rather slow, have not been running much either), and if i train i reckon i should be able to do a marathon in 4hrs? But another problem with me is that i also get bored with running long distances. I always need a friend or my i pod for company.
Does anybody have any specific training suggestions for me? I’m basically an ectomorph, skinny, and with a current low level of fitness. Also do you guys think it is advisable for me to do an ironman due to my lack of experience with this distances? Any help would be much appreciated.
I’m rather unable to resist the allure of the Ironman event.
As Oscar Wilde once said, " The only way to resist temptation is to yield to it" http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif
Cheers!
Praks
(Also posted on other forums)

Paulo?

.

There are slots available as far as i know, will be signing up by this week.

You have plenty of time to get fit. If you really want to enjoy the experience, I would recommend getting a coach to help you sort through all of this.

Huh?

praks, if you are just trying to survive it…why do it so soon? I’ve heard it said it takes a couple of years of training to get in good enough shape to begin training for an Iron distance. I honestly don’t think it’s advisable to attempt on Iron distance without some expectation of being able to finish within the allotted time allowed. Too much chance of getting hurt to try and cram for this test, it’s not a test you can fake. If you aren’t prepared, you will fail. Train, race shorter distances, see how your body and mind respond, then decide if you have what it takes to begin to train for an Iron distance. You can probably do it, but, not with the attitude and background you state you currently have.

Sure you can do it. I started preping for IML in December. 1-2 days a week in pool-When I started I could not swim a lap without resting. I was pitiful. Worked up to avg w/o of 2-3000 yds. Spent 2-3 days/wk on the bike and did not run much. And i am big-6’1-215lbs. I do run ultras and actual races were my only run training. Couple of 50-k’s, 1-100, 2-40 milers. You can do it. You won’t win it but you can finish it. If I can anyone can.

“I’ve recently decided that i want to do a Ironman Triathlon sometime soon.”

Why???

By your own admission, you don’t possess the fitness to do it, nor do you possess a particularly strong desire to do the mostly solo training. You can’t swim well, you can’t bike well, and your running isn’t all that great either - although you like to run. Is it your goal to just do enough training to finish in a mediocre time? Is striving to be mediocre a worthwhile goal? Why not train for a decent HIM time and then if that race goes well, build from there? What is the friggin rush to do IM?

Do you get some special award for 11 hrs vs 16 hrs 59 minutes. No. I hope you guys that train 15-20 hours a week aren’t married with kids. If so, your kids don’t know their dad. they just know he is a triathlete.

“Do you get some special award for 11 hrs vs 16 hrs 59 minutes.”

No, I guess not. Do people get satisfaction from getting a college degree with a D- average as opposed to a B average? You still get the paper to hang on your wall. It doesn’t indicate your grade. Why settle for being mediocre? Why not take whatever time is necessary to put forth the very best effort that you’re capable of? Is there some time crunch that says a person MUST do an IM going from almost zero in 5 months? Why go into something like this if you can’t put forth the time and effort to do your best?

I’ve been doing tri for about 6 years. I have not done an iron distance race yet. Not because I think I couldn’t do it, but because I can’t do it at the level of performance that would give me any satisfaction. I would never be satisfied to just go out and strive for a BOP finish when I know I’m capable of much better results. I guess I don’t understand how people plan for just barely making it to the finish. I guess if the goal is set low enough it’s easy to achieve.

“Do you get some special award for 11 hrs vs 16 hrs 59 minutes.”

No, I guess not. Do people get satisfaction from getting a college degree with a D- average as opposed to a B average? You still get the paper to hang on your wall. It doesn’t indicate your grade. Why settle for being mediocre? Why not take whatever time is necessary to put forth the very best effort that you’re capable of? Is there some time crunch that says a person MUST do an IM going from almost zero in 5 months? Why go into something like this if you can’t put forth the time and effort to do your best?

I’ve been doing tri for about 6 years. I have not done an iron distance race yet. Not because I think I couldn’t do it, but because I can’t do it at the level of performance that would give me any satisfaction. I would never be satisfied to just go out and strive for a BOP finish when I know I’m capable of much better results. I guess I don’t understand how people plan for just barely making it to the finish. I guess if the goal is set low enough it’s easy to achieve.
My goal would be just to finish. The other distances are getting boring. Thats why. And i really start working hard if there is a clear goal in front of me that motivates me i guess. Thats why. =)

You may want to reevaluate the name and tagline you are using on this forum…

You’re gonna have to suck it up, but 5 months is a long time – you can pull it off if you put your mind to it. Buy “Going Long,” shorten up the basic plan in it, and get going today. Get on your bike and stay on it! Good luck – let us know how it goes…

I would suggest you don’t overthink it. Just make a point to get out and train just about every day. Swim, bike, run as much as you can w/o physically or mentally breaking down. When you get really tired, take a rest day/easy day. Slowly build up the length/distance of your long swim, bike, and run workouts each week until you are up to the 6 hour bike, 2.5 hour run, 1:15 swim thresholds (not all in the same workout!) Just getting out and being persistent right now should net you good fitness gains. Enjoy your Ironman!!

You’e asked a complex question there. A big one.

Can you get fit enough in 5 months? Yes, will you be fast at the race? That’s probably a “no”. But you can do it in good health and good spirits.

You need to ask yourself if you have the time adthe desire to put in the tie required to do it. If you’re looking to get through it, your average week would probably be around 10 hours. With light weeks being 6 to 8 and a few heavy weeks close to the race getting up around 20 hours. Do you have that kind of time?

If yes, then you can move on to what sort of workouts to do.

A couple of things.

  1. Traditional strength training in the gym has not been shown to improve cycling performance in trained athletes, that is probably why you haven’t seen an yresults from it.
  2. Anaerobic endurace is not your limiter in triathlons. Or rather, for 97.6% of us it is not the limiter.

For swimming you’ll want to find a masters swim or triathlon swim group nearby.

On the bike, there are things you can do to mix up your training to target your specific needs; but most of the issue is you need to put in the miles, or hours to get faster at your ironman pace.

And you say you have the run covered.

Now, is singapore the same temperature as malaysia, the heat is usually pretty intense for that race.

You cna get a better handle on this through a coach, or get a copy of “The triathlete’s raining bible” and step your way through the planning section. You can do pretty much the same thing with “Serious Training for Edurance Athletes”.

I would think you CAN be ready, but before you shell out the money and sign up, I’d suggest you seriously think about whether you really want to do this. There’s a lot of alone time out there when training for an IM, and you need to be okay with that. It helps if you like being alone with your thoughts (in my opinion), and it sounds like you get bored rather easily. So, just something for you to think about. You also said you get discouraged quickly - so you need to be prepared for the fact that one can put a lot of time into training, and still see verrry slow improvement. At least that’s how it’s been for me - the linear progression I thought I’d see didn’t happen, and that can be pretty frustrating.

Thanks for the constructive advice guys.

I think i’m going to go for it. I might need a coach though, any good recommendations for online coaches?

Thanks!

“I have not done an iron distance race yet. Not because I think I couldn’t do it, but because I can’t do it at the level of performance that would give me any satisfaction. I would never be satisfied to just go out and strive for a BOP finish when I know I’m capable of much better results. I guess I don’t understand how people plan for just barely making it to the finish. I guess if the goal is set low enough it’s easy to achieve.”


Well I do understand what is like striving just to get a finish. It ain’t pretty out there late at night. There is no one out there just for a stroll. On my race there was a guy who had degenerative hip disease. He physically could not run. He came in 16:59. I spoke to him at the awards and was in awe. For him it was a focus on what he could do, rather than what he couldn’t. Out the BOP are where the good stories are. I was told I could never run again, after two severe knee injuries. I couldn’t swim more than 50 metres. There are other simpler stories of people who were simply out of shape, and took on a big challenge. Everyone has their own story and their own motivation.

I do understand why for some people just to finish is an audacious goal, but are still prepared to take the risk. I guess that is why I am an Ironman are you are not.

“I guess that is why I am an Ironman are you are not.”

You couldn’t just let this thread die - could you? Well then let’s have at it!

OK, am I supposed to be impressed by people pushing themselves to do things that may be doing more harm to their already physically challenged bodies? If you’ve ever read anything I’ve written about the annual NBC sob story coverage of Kona you’ll know that I think much of this stuff is as entertaining as a circus side show.

Here’s the thing though. What I wrote in the posts above was aimed at the OP. Here is a person without physical disability or otherwise handicapped - that I know of. Why does such a person need to be in such a hurry to do an IM only to finish with a mediocre time? Why not take the time required to do the best race the OP is capable of?

As for the people you seem to be describing - even though I think what they’re doing is not the wisest choice, they do deserve some kudos for their determination in the face of long odds. However, with IMs being so popular they sell out within hours, I think it’s somewhat deplorable these people are taking spots from others who would actually go to race, not just to finish. Couldn’t these people be satisfied if they did one of the smaller non-IM races where they wouldn’t be depriving actual racers of a spot?

Furthermore, it has been debated and eaten to death on the issue of whether IM is even all that difficult to finish. So what we now have is people who strive for mediocrity, achieve it, then proclaim it is some fantastic achievement. But what it really is to many on the outside is a mediocre accomplishment in an insignificant event.

OK- Flame away!