Picked this book up from my local library and finished it last night. Just wondering what others’ thoughts on the book are (especially those of you who have done an ironman)? Perhaps less controversial then the iron war book at least! I thought it was well written and kept me interested throughout. I certainly identified with the peoples’ obsession that various aches were going to turn into serious injuries right before the race.
I’ve been listening to the audiobook of it in my car on may way to & from work. It’s definitely entertaining - a bit too focused on the 17 hour cut off throughout, but good stories along the way. Lots of it seemed to be cut & paste from training blogs, but that’s OK. One annoying thing on the audiobook though is that the reader says “triath-a-lon” throughout the whole book.
My wife gave it to me for Christmas, I’m about halfway through it and enjoying it so far. A couple little irritating errors pop up…such as someone having a swim where they average 2:00/100m in the pool which the author says predicts an ironman swim of just over an hour. Clearly I need to find whatever wetsuit they are wearing so I can turn my 1:30/100m pool pace into exiting the water right on Andy Potts’ heels! Good stories though for the most part. Makes me realize the majority of obstacles I encounter that get in the way of training are pretty minor compared to what some people fight through…such as the one poor woman in the book who can’t seem to go for a ride (even on the trainer!) or a run without crashing and fracturing something.
I thought the book was brutal, especially for someone who has done or knows what a triathlon consists of. It almost seemed anti-climatic and didn’t bring back any of the feeling I had after finishing my first Iron.
Better to spend the time on the bike trainer than to spend it reading this book…my opinion
My opinion after reading the first two chapters is that it’s more for non-triathletes to read than triathletes…
I got this for Christmas but haven’t had time to start it yet, so I’m interested to see these opinions.
I’ve read that the iron war book is very controversial (if not factually incorrect?), so I haven’t gotten it. Is it worth the read?
What other good Tri related books are there? I’ve read Macca’s and enjoyed it.
I just finished the book and I thought it was a good read. I think it is geared for the new triathlete or someone who has a busy life outside of triathlons. It was interesting to read the stories of the characters in the book and I did find myself kind of rooting for them. It basically shows that the “everyday” person can complete an Ironman. I know some people do not like all of the special interest stories in the Kona coverage,and I would like more pro coverage, but it is always remarkable to read and hear the stories of some of these people and see what they have had to overcome. It really does make my training easier and makes me bitch less, well until I am in a workout and I forget! It is a quick read and every time Steinberg got to the finish of one of the characters and wrote that Mike Reilly said “…,you are an Ironman”, I could not help but think how it’s going to feel when he says my name followed by that phrase.
I know I’m digging up an old thread here (after a search). Picked this up in audiobook format (something new to listen to for my long runs), and having just finished it,I was wondering if anyone is aware of any kind of follow up or ‘where are they now’ type of thing Steinberg has done on the individuals profiled. Curious about whats happened to them in the 8 years since the profiled period.