70.3 Question...am I and idiot??

I'm getting some popcorn ready...looking forward to some of the responses

Just tell her how great you will look in the wedding pictures after doing the 1/2!!!!!!!!!!!

How's this -

As long as you protect your wedding tackle sufficiently you'll be fine...

Mind you, you'll be married so probably won't need it anyway.

Well, I'm getting married in 3 weeks and I just finished Eagleman 70.3 last weekend. My Fiancee had the same concerns, that I would be hurt, broken, sore, tired, etc..  Honestly, at the moment I'm really glad I did it but I still have over 3 weeks to finish up last minute prep for the wedding whih will be more then enough time. With one week to go that would be kinda tight, but if you are well organizied and have everything done before hand, then why not??

It will definitely be a stressful time and you will have a lot on your mind but my dad told me"You should start this marriage the way you want to live it." and I definitely want to be doing tris for years to come, so it was a simple choice for me.

The injuries hopefully won't happen and the soreness will go away after a few days, but definitely before the wedding, and with the proper training this should be minimized. Unfortunately, with all of that said, only you can make this decision as it will be affecting you and those around you. Good luck with the training if you decide to do it and what race are you thinking of?

HA, I did that and I got the I dont care what you look like response....

Funny ... I am getting married three weeks after my first HIM! And we had friends last year get married two weeks after a HIM (her first, his second - HIM's that is) but they both did it.  The friend admits that it was a little crazy to train and plan a wedding but they managed.   I am the bride and I chose it and it's different because my fiance is doing it too.  We're just like that - we met at a marathon training group and he proposed to me at a HIM last year. :D

Just wondering why you need to do the one a week before your wedding?  A few weeks or a month would be different but there are lots out there. You probably have to travel at least a little bit to get there ... and frankly it doesn't sound like your fiancee is on board. It's going to be a stressful time (fun, but stressful) and you don't need to add that to her plate.

Now it would be completely different if she wanted to do it too!! :D

Edited by juniperjen 2010-06-17 10:52 AM

Yeah, didn't think about the numbness that can come with the "package" had that problem on my last Olympic; but i was hoping a new saddle would help that....

Im looking at doing the Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston....

I think it depends on your fiance's personality and what kind of wedding you're planning.   Yes, you'll be sore and tired after the half and you'll probably just want to relax for a few days afterward.  The week before a wedding can be stressful, especially if you have relatives coming into town.

ETA: If you do it, don't forget sunscreen. You don't want to look like a beet in your wedding pictures!!

Edited by vball03umd 2010-06-17 10:54 AM

I say do it unless your Fiancé is really really against it.  If she is, then start off the marriage right and cave in. 

The only real injuries I've had from racing have been from my one and only bike crash.  The road rash is no fun for the next week but it won't show in your tux. You might not look too good on your honeymoon, but "better-or-worse", right?

You'll recover in a week so I also don't think you'll be too sore by the time of your wedding.

This is assuming that you've trained properly for your HIM and are not on the verge of getting injured at that time.  You wouldn't want to limp your way down the aisle.

With proper training you would be fine. However, with all the wedding related things to do in the months before the race, getting in the proper training could be a serious challenge. It's all that stuff that tends to create lots of stress. If it were me I'd skip the race. There will be plenty of other races, but hopefully only one wedding.

Fixed that.  Seriously, a marriage is never about caving in to someone's orders.  That goes for being male or female. 

^^^ If that were true then you could show up for the wedding in a Hooters t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops.

My thoughts are you are much more likely to get injured during training than during the race (assuming you trained sufficiently.)  If you can handle the proper training volume with all the other time commitments with wedding planning, then I'd say do the race.

You might be a little tired or sore afterwards, but that shouldn't stop you from making phone calls, running errands or other wedding prep stuff.

Edited by Tundra_Man 2010-06-17 11:29 AM

It depends if your male or female.

If your a male do it. All you have to do is show up.

If your a female, no. You will be way too busy mulling over minute details that really won't matter in the 'Big scheme of life" but your relatives will somehow remeber forever.

Every family gathering I attend I have to hear about how someone was offended or slighted at our wedding 16 years ago.

Excellent response.

As long as you do the HIM to finish, and not as a race, you should be fine.  If you try to race it, you may be out of sorts for weeks.

Change the wedding date, duh!

Your girlfriend is right. You've little choice but to postpone the wedding. Good luck at the race.

(this note is from the perspective of someone married 8+ years)

There are 2 people right here on BT that are doing IMLP in July and getting married right afterwards! (Like not at the finish line, but only a day or two afterwards!)

Jazz & Yeats.

There's a HIM Austin a few months later.......

HA, HA, HA!  Funny that was my first thought too......

(Married 5 yrs.  Still MANY lessons to learn.)

I'm going to say bad call running the HIM. If she were into tris as well it might be different, but it sounds like she is not. Triathlons are the most selfish thing I am involved in, I spend a lot of time training (away from the wife) and a lot of money on races, equipment, etc.

I am reminded every Saturday morning when I sneak out of bed and am gone on a bike ride for 2+ hours that I might be the one who is working hard, but my wife is the one making the sacrifice. Everytime I go to a race, my wife is sacrificing her time and assistance to go to the race with me, help carry my gear, stand around and cheer for me, and wait for me at the finish line. Race days are all about me, and I know it takes a big personal sacrifice on her part to encourage me to race.

All that being said, marriage is about compromise, you can't do everything you want whenever you want anymore and anyone who tells you different is either single, or failing at a relationship. You have to take her needs (time) into consideration.

This is a perfect opportunity for you to show your love and serve her needs by sacrificing your race so that you can focus on the big day and focus on helping her with the details as much as possible. There will be plenty of opportunities to race, and everytime you do race it will be a sacrifice on her part. This is your chance to sacrifice for her, I wouldn't pass it up if I were you.

And as we all know, if you are meeting her needs and she knows that she is more important to you than yourself, she will be much happier to support you and ecourage you when it is your big race day.

My $.02

If you're well trained you will be fine -- I don't recall the recovery from any of my HIMs taking very long. 10 days to recover? I really think you'll be okay.

ditto the SUNBLOCK comment!!

as far as injury goes.. well, it's possible to get into a car accident on the way to work, fall down stairs at home, etc. you can't lock yourself in a bubble just because you are getting married.