Thanks to everyone for all these responses. Some of the last few posts said that I am too much in awe of the Ironman, and that you can be ready for anything in 8 months, etc. Well, I understand that training hard can get you ready for it - but even so, it SHOULD be something that one is “in awe of” - otherwise, what’s the point? Should I just do a double ironman (these exist, right?)?
I am no elite triathlete, and if I ever do an IM, I will not be competing for a win or top AG spot - but I agree with what Kona1969 said - if you get to the start line and are so inexperienced that you are not reasonably confident that you can finish the distance, it could be that you are there to soon. Slick said “What I loved about doing the Ironman as my first tri was that it was a huge unknown. I had no idea if I could even finish or what it would feel like. That was cool.” No offense, but to me, that is not cool - at best it is adventurous; at worst it is reckless and dangerous. I just think the IM demands a more serious attitude. Slick said he was pretty fit beforehand, but to most people, an Oly race or even a sprint beforehand offer the same sense of unknown and at least part of the sense of accomplishment. In this entire thread, no one has offered any reason for jumping in at the IM level except varieties of “do it now cuz you could get hit by a bus tomorrow” and “who are you to tell me what to do”. So I still don’t know why the rush to do IM.
No offense, but to me, that is not cool - at best it is adventurous; at worst it is reckless and dangerous. I just think the IM demands a more serious attitude
Please. Reckless and dangerous? Maybe you should break out of your “can’t do” attitude. Look at some of the training our armed forces go through, particularily the marines and special forces. Makes the Ironman look easy. Why all the fear of challenging yourself? Look at any great success and you will find someone who was willing to take a risk and test the unknown. Ironman is just a good mental and physical test, nothing more. Stop being so dramatic about it and just do it!
Somebody cue up that Teddy Roosevelt quote. Pretty much sums it all up.
Read a little more carefully. Cholla stated that sprint and oly distances were for beginners and I replied for him to tell that to Walton and Lindquist.
I’m with Slick on that question, I have a check list of “dream” events to do and an IM is in it. The timing is good for me to put lot’s of training hours in triathlon for 8 month so I decided it was the best time for me to do it. Like Andrew, Short distance dont interest me at all so I’m going for the big one (even if it’s not as big a double, triple or even deca IM …see http://www.triathlon-levis.com/triat/accueil.htm for a double). I’ll never be a dedicated triathlete since I like too many sports…but hard training will always be part of my life. On my check list are climbing Ama Dablam (Nepal), running the Sand Marathon, doing the Eco Challenge or Raid Gauloise, etc. All of those ask for hard training and training for either of them is usefull for the others.
My point is that to do an IM in your first year is a personnal question. What are you willing to pay vs what do you want to achieve. I dont want to invest more than a year, so I cannot, even with my background, hope to “race” an IM, but I sure can hope to finish it in a decent time with good form. So that’s what I’m aiming at. And who knows, I may get addicted and do it again… For you, it seems that your dream was triathlon, you got into it. Next, you wanted to go faster and now you are considering to add IM on your checklist. That’s great, but this is YOUR list. Everybody as is own and what is important is that when you put something on the list, you do what is necessary to check it. The right time to do it is also personnal…but at one point or another, DARE!
andrew mentioned my niece. let me tell you all about her. she is 23 y/o and did MOO last year - finishing in 12:50 -something. she did not prepare for the the race at all, by nearly any reasonable standard. she had never done any race of any sort in any sport whatsoever her entire life. she spent the summer as a sailing instructor in madison, living on a porch. she rode my wife’s hand me down c-dale touring bike ( 1982 vintage, the first c-dale ever made_ around campus for transportation. she came up here in july to see her aunt because she was not sure how to actually swim, she had not been in a pool - only swimming from boat to boat on her lunch hour. she got some cast off shoes from my wife at that ime too - because she thought she might know where the run course for MOO was and figured she would maybe go try jogging on it (!!!). the week before the event her mother surprised her by cashing in a bond and buting her a litespeed sienna and a wetsuit and a blue zoot tri suit as a present. talking the weekend before the event. she promptly decided to get a map of the MOO course and went out to ride it for the first time - she crashed in the rain on the huge downhill and rode back to town bleeding like a civil war casualty. she rested a day and then went out on the wed before the race and again crashed at speed - this time over the bars on some railroad tracks. some may have sen her wlking around MOO with road rash over much, if not most of her body. a few jaded alitist scum tri-heads were heard sniggering at her in her tri-suit. the truth was she was thought that perhaps there was some sort of “qualifier” or something she might have to do before the race for start waves or something - she was clueless. she thought the free energy bars and water were too cool - she did not own a water bottle at the time or ever, in fact. she thought she would have to carry a fanny pack with food from home, or stop along the way and buy some during the event. i am not making this up.
so, on race day for her first ever event of any sort she showed up full of scabs, on a new bike, with old running shoes, possessing absolutely zero clue of what she was about to do. armed with only youth and a sense of adventure she went 80 min swim, 6:20 bike, and 5:00 run. many will say this was pure folly -and so it was. it was also a life changing event for her, and her uncle for one thinks the change is for the better. this year she has moved in with us for the summer to train and work. buoyed by her ridiculous effort last year she wishes to learn about adopting a lifestyle around active sports. no longer scattered and aimless she is confident and directed and fit. she beams with enthusiasm and can-do attitude. i agree with cholla that IM is a big deal - or can be. but i think the shape of the “big deal” and its effect on person are thiers to direct, or to be surprised by. i think chola should do one sooner and not later, myself.
But then again I am one of the IM survivors that Cholla seems to disdain. Seriously none of us is getting any younger and who knows if your current state of enviable physical condition is going to last. Illness and injury are part of life. Suppose you are unable to run for whatever reason a year from now. It seems likely you would regret not ever completing that last 0.6 mile after 140 previously. It’s a great feeling that lingers like few I have ever experienced.
I therefore agree with ttn that Mr. Cholla should do his IM soon. Just my unsolicited humble opinion.