Should I bail on IM Moo?

Triathlon Forum
1

OK fellow ST’ers, I need some serious advice…the last day for getting a partial refund from IM Wisconsin is tomorrow, and I’m not feeling at all comfortable with my preparation, and I’ve never gone IM-length before. Here’s where I’m at:

-Completed a 14 mile run back in May…9:45ish pace…last time I’ve been able to go that far

-Did the Rock and Rollman HIM in 6:05…averaged around 11:30ish miles on the run. Bike was OK at 19mph for a pretty hilly course.

-The heat and humidity down here in Florida, plus evacuating for hurricane Dennis, and some other self-inflicted training day losses means I have yet to go on a 100 mile ride. Have gotten in 2 70 milers, a 66 miler, and a couple of 50 milers, plus the HIM.

-Latest run to date was this morning…ran 7 miles before having to walk a bit…got in 10 miles altogether at a 10:00 min pace (I punished myself for walking by running a lot faster than I normally would). I think that maybe my workouts over the week kind left me a little thrashed. Also, I just plain suck when it gets hot and humid.

-Haven’t swum in a week because my chlorine allergy (or whatever it is) had me completely blocked for 3-4 days…gonna try to get in the pool next week to see how it goes. Before that, I was comfortably swimming 1500 in about 31 minutes (in a pair of very draggy shorts). Had also gotten in several 2000 yard swims, and a couple 3000 yarders earlier this year.

My goal is to finish…anything sub 16:59 will be gravy. But I also want to quasi-enjoy the experience, and not be heading out on the second loop of the run completely dreading it. What say you experienced IM’ers out there? Should I go and see what happens, or would I be fooling myself thinking I can finish? I appreciate any advice you guys can send my way…

Spot

2

Spot…don’t sweat it. Go and do your best. My first Ironman, my longest ride was 4.5 hours and my longest run was only 1:20 (although I did run a marathon 17 weeks out also, on a max long run of 1:20).

If I can give you any advice between now and Aug 29th or so, just bike wherever and whenever you can. That means riding to work, to the grocery store, to the corner store etc etc etc. All these little trips will add to your bike fitness. Forget about run fitness. It is useless if you get to T2 shelled. Work on the bike now. You can pile on mega bike miles if you like and recover quickly from workout to workout, but there is no point piling on run miles. You’ll just fry yourself.

85% of the field barely holds a 10 min per mile pace (4:22 marathon). If you can come in to T2 fresh, you’ll do enough 10 min miles to get you some way down the road. Remember…you get the the first 10 miles off the bike for free. Then you can walk/shuffle the rest. You don’t need a lot of run specific training to do that.

Seriously, finishing Ironman is all about the bike. No amount of run fitness will help you if you get to T2 fried. Of course, if you want to go to Hawaii, then its all about the bike-run.

3

Dude, you are all over it…you NEED to go race…I will buy you beers at the finish line! Even if I have to wait till 3am for you…

4

Spot,

I’m having the same feelings you are. I did the Racine HIM and bailed a few miles into the run because it was so hot and I didn’t want to kill myself so close to MOO. I also don’t think I could have finished even if I wanted to. I think if I don’t go to MOO I will feel even worse. I have a baby due in November and look at this as my last chance to do this for a while so I will do whatever it takes to get to that finish line. As long as you keep move to the finish line on the 11th you’ll do it!!! Good luck and I’ll see you at the finish line.

5

You are in fine shape. You would be nuts to bail.

Quitting is forever.

6

Spot - I was asking myself the same question and contemplating ALL the very same stuff - our situations are similar except you have actually done better/more running then me. I am taking the others advice (thanks you guys) and am going to stay the course and not bail. I am having some personal issues that are dragging me down even more than the fitness but I think keeping this IM is key! So I am in and you need to be in too! I even bought a t-shirt from the sub17 website to help me keep with it. I have done an IM before, was probably a tad better trained than I will be for this (but mind you only a tad) and I did 15:44 BUT I enjoyed every minute of it! And that is my goal at Moo as well - just have fun and enjoy. So stay with it Spot - I am going to…

Miss September

7

Spot,

IMHO you should do the race. Your training is light but if you are injury free and motivated to finish you will be fine.

I’d use the race as recon for future IM races. Wear your HRM and pay close attention. Stick to an aggressive hydration plan (meaning more than you think you’ll need) as IM-Mo is typically hot. Map out your fuel needs and stick to your plan.

With 1800+ racers you may be tempted to go at a pace above your training level. Avoid this at all cost. Swim relaxed, ride steady, eat, hydrate and when you get off the bike, focus one the first mile and block out the rest.

Best of Luck !

8

I’ll echo what everyone else has said…do the race. You mentioned your goal is only to finish, and frankly, depending on if you would categorize yourself as someone who can “tough it out”, I’ve seen people do IM’s without anything longer than a 10 mile run (of course, this is not optimal, but it’s just to prove it can be done).

Looking at the race, if you break it down and can manage to even keep up one day per week of long swimming (I’d recommend you to go find some open water and swim as you won’t suffer from your chlorine allergies), I know I swim about the same for 1500 meters and ended up swimming 1:23 at IMC in '00, and 1:17 at IM Cali in '01. So you should be able to meet the swim cutoff with ease.

I second the motion to get on your bike. Ride when you can, wherever you can. Bike fitness will not only help you get to T2 sooner, but do it without the same energy expenditure. Let’s say you swim at 1:45, take 15 minutes in transition, do a 8 hour bike split, and another 15 minute transition, that gets you out on the run course at 5-5:15pm.

Then it’s simply run until you can’t…walk until you can run a little…run some more…walk more. You should be able to finish a marathon in 7 hours.

For reference, before my first IM (Canada 2000), I did NO 100 mile rides, and no run longer than 14 miles. I moved from Chicago to So.Cal the month before the race (thus starting a new job, trying to sell the old place, find a new place, and find places to train). My training dropped significantly. I finished Canada right at 14 hours and change (I did make it just out of town to about mile 7 of the run before I had to walk). For my 2nd IM, I believe I only did one century ride, one swim of about 2 miles, and no runs longer than 16 miles. I did do 3 56milex11 mile bike/run bricks at faster than race pace the month prior, and it made my “cruising” seem quite easy on race day (knocked an hour off my Canada time).

Lastly, I had a friend who only averaged about 75 miles on his bike PER WEEK, but then went out in August before IM Moo '02 and did 2 century rides (no buildup, and his back and knees started to suffer for it). He had never swam more than 30 minutes, and I believe his longest run was 10 miles. His training was a joke.

Then there he was, hitting the t intersection on the IM MOO run course with one hour to go, and he had been walking 20 minute miles. Life would be close. Luckily, I had to get back to the finish line, so he picked up the pace and followed me (I was spectating, but who knew cough, cough he might begin running to follow me? ;-). He ended up finishing at 16:40’ish I believe…so just remember ANY running typically is faster than walking.

I’ll let all the experts give you advice on your training plan, but anyone doing MOO who contemplates dropping out now (with their only expectation to finish) has plenty of time to get in some decent training as long as they realize it’s not going to knock 5 hours off their overall time in the next month :wink:

Good luck…and go for it. When you finish, get pissed at yourself for not doing the training you COULD have done, and decide to do it again, this will all be an excellent learning tool :wink:

9

OK, I’m in. Thanks for the words of encouragement. Maybe that’s all I needed. I was going to do the race with a buddy, but he dropped out this morning, citing work/family/training issues, and then with my shitty run this morning, I started to feel like maybe I should to…the thought of a hot and humid marathon was starting to fill with me dread. I think all of you have given good advice, especially the bit about the bike…its something I should have realized myself…I signed up for IM Wisconsin after being able to complete my first HIM last year (the Great Buckeye Challenge) after not having run or swum at all for the 7 weeks prior to the race due to a back injury…I figured that if I could finish a HIM in 6:15 without doing any running at all for 7 weeks prior, then with some training I should be able to finish a full IM. What I did do with those 7 weeks, though, probably should have taught me the lesson about the bike…I biked pretty hard (even took some vacation time and used it to ride hard), and I was able to do the bike portion easily and enter T2 pretty fresh. And although the second lap of the run pretty much sucked big time, I was still glad I did the race.

Alright, so time to get serious. Time to buy a bike case for the flight up. Time to start hitting the bike hard. Time for…a beer…hey, I ran this morning! :slight_smile:

R10C…Sierra Nevada Pale Ale should go down nicely…see you at the finish…and it just maybe 0300!

10

Dude,

I did a 100mile ride the other day in like 6hrs 15mins and it was nothing. I did a 16mph pace and was fine.

Having SEEN you at the R&R man… I know you go fast! So… I would do it, but really force yourself to go slow. like… 16mph (slower) on bike, and go 11/12min miles on “run” and walk every other mile or some crap.

You can do it George!
Trae

11

Spot…I’ll be seeing you on Sept 11th, my friend.

Point your ears back, do what you can…and come ready for the day of your life…finish or no finish. Although, from what you wrote…barring injury or illness, Mike will be calling your name!!!

12

I did my first three IM without more than a half under the belt–Not much biking. Go, have fun, smile a lot and focus on how lucky you are.

13

Am I the only one questioning if 9:45/mile pace is racing?

I would say get out there and put some more effort into training. Maybe concentrate on some shorter races until you get to the point where you feel like you are in a race.

I’m sure your heart is into it, but maybe the distance is a little more than you can handle right now.

14

Don’t bail, you are ahead of me in training last year and I did a 14:50. I did alot more cycling though, and it’s a tough bike course. I never really was fully prepared and only began to rest on Sept 1. I’d try to do some big stuff for a couple of weeks and rest. This little break may make you stronger. Getting out of the lake is half the battle.

15

I’m sure its not racing to you, but I’ve never been, and never will be quite likely, a very fast runner. I do triathlons to challenge myself and to give my training a goal and a focus. So, no, its not racing…its just doing, and that’s enough for me.

16

Who are you to say if “SPOT” can handle his quest to be an IM finisher? It sounds like he just wants to finish the race and in my book, that’s a good enough reason to participate in an IM event. Some people do it to race and some do it to challenge their inner self. Cut “SPOT” some slack and offer some encouragement.

17

What is your goal? If it is simply to finish then it sounds as if you are quite capable of doing that right now. If you’re looking to qualify for Kona then it doesn’t sound as if you’ve done enough. Know thyself and proceed accordingly. IMHO the first time is just that, the first time and finishing seems to be reward enough. After you complete your first (with much walking during the last half of the marathon if you’re anything like me) you’ll tell yourself how much faster you can go the next time if you just, “insert lessons learned regarding race strategy here”. That you possess the fitness to contemplate this decision is a blessing…appreciate that fact.

Miguel in the 'No…El Tribato.

18

And get a nose clip for the pool - no allergies for me since I did.

19

Any body can finish an Ironman. My encouragement is to become more proficient at shorter races and then move up. Your goal should be to finish the race while running the marathon portion. I congratulate you on your quest to do an Ironman, just that 11:29/mile for the run on a 1/2 ironman is walking speed and a 6:05 half ironman total time is a time that should tell you that you are not quite ready for the full Ironman distance.

I am one that believe entering an Ironman should have qualifying times. Be it at the Olympic or half Ironman distance. I no longer participate in triathlons because of bad knees, but still coach distance runners. I am honest with them about their abilities and what they should expect with their training.

While Spot has the desire to finish one, he/she shouldn’t be happy with just finishing, but finishing while competing/racing during the event.

20

“While Spot has the desire to finish one, he/she ***shouldn’t ***be happy with just finishing, but finishing while competing/racing during the event.”

Why not? Why does the goal of merely finishing an Ironman bother you so much? Do my goals and motivations matter, or am I doing triathlon to please you? I think you should worry more about yourself, and a lot less about other people. Please explain to me why you shouldn’t do an Ironman unless you are going to “race” it.