Crazy to try for an IM?

One question you might need to answer first would be could you get into one this year still.  Most full IM sell out a year in advance.  You can probably find a non NA sports IM still open.  Depends on if you are willing to travel.

Have you bonked while training? Try doing the bike/run portion of your half as a weekend brick to see if you can make that before you go for the IM.....

Go do western australia ironman in early dec!!!! I did that this year after doing my first 2 HIMS.
It is probably the nicest swim out there with a very flat bike and run. PERFECT for a first timer, plus you have ALL summer AND fall to train. Of course it is a might far to travel!!!

If you feel it in your heart then go for it. A LOT of folks here will disagree with this but I feel you have to go with what YOU feel inside.
Here's my story. In 2006, my first year of triathlons, I started that season with the sole purpose of completing my first iron distance race. I chose Silverman (Las Vegas). All iron distance races are hard but I guess this is one of the hardest. I chose it because of location and timing NOT the course.

To prepare, in addition to lots of training, I did 2 sprints, 1 olympic and 1 half iron distance.

All my times were slow. My 1/2 iron distance was extremely slow at 7 hours and 47 minutes. I was happy enough with that even though I came in last place in my age group and ALMOST last overall(hey, I at least made the 8 hour cutoff).

Any way, I posted the ? to this forum as to whether I should do Silverman. All but maybe one or two people said NO WAY! You are Crazy! so on and so on!

But I decided to go with my heart and sign up since that was my goal all along. Long story short, I started Silverman and finished the swim in just under 2 hours. I have a BIG phobia of open water and it was a very choppy (2' waves consistently) swim. About 275 signed up and only 207 made it to the start line. Of those 207, I believe 14 people (approximately) either quit or did not make the swim cutoff. To put that in perspective, Ironman Wisconsin (2200ish starters) had maybe 4 to 6 swimmers that didn't make the cutoff in 2007 which was a calm and beautiful day in Wisconsin. I'm not as sure about how many in Wisconsin didn't make the swim cutoff but I heard it was very low. I was SO happy to have completed such a hard swim that it was worth the entry fee alone to accomplish that.

The next hurdle was bigger. The first 50 miles of the bike were into a 20 to 30 mph sustained headwind. It was hard (both mentally and physically). By mile 30 I realized I probably wasn't going to make the bike cutoff and I actually shed a tear or two during that time. They pulled me from the coarse at mile 85. I thought I was going to be a blubbering mess when I was forced to get off the course but I was surprisingly happy. I wasn't anywhere close to making the cutoff. Just knowing I tried and knew then that I would try again was very comforting. Like my husband said before I signed up, "so the worst case scenario is that you will have to tell people you didn't finish the hardest iron distance race in North America. If you can live with that then sign up!"

If you are as slow as me you have to ask yourself how you will feel about a DNF. Of course I was disappointed at not finishing but I absolutely LOVED that race and plan on trying again in 2010 (the year I turn 50). Currently, that race does not sell out and it is in November and is truly one of the better races out there. Redman is in Oklahoma City in September and it also does not currently sell out. Please note that both of these races are non-MDOT races if that matters to you. The 2 I mentioned have both had glowing reviews. Redman would probably be better for a first time iron distance race. The only thing that the MDOT races have over the smaller individual races is the crowds cheering you on. At Silverman, there were a lot of places that I was completely on my own.

In 2007 I completed a 1/2 ironman in 7 hours 7 minutes. I cut 35+ minutes off of my previous time which was great and 30 of those minutes were off of the bike. However, I did have a much nicer bike for the 2nd 1/2 iron distance race.

With all this said, 2008 is my 3rd triathlon season and I am doing Ironman Wisconsin in September and am just wanting to finish in less than 17 hours. I do not plan on a DNF for this race. I would love to finish in 14:30 to 15:59 but would still be OK with less than 17 hours. I just don't want another DNF.

Good luck in whatever you decide and please take what everybody says with a grain of salt and make the final decision ultimately yours!

A) Yes, it's crazy.
B) I'm doing it - more or less.

This is my first season as a triatlete, and I'm doing a HIM in July and then an IM in November, and a couple of other races in between. The only thing is that a full IronMan in at the beginning of September might not give you enough time between the HIM and the IM. Basically, right now, I'm just preping for the HIM, and then start the 4 month IM training program in August.

Damn after reading this thread I want to do an IM .... LOL

I went couch to IM in three seasons. Sprints the first year. Sprints, Oly, HIM the second year. IM the third year.

It can be done.

I did 2 sprints last spring then signed up for the full IM which I did in October. If you have the time to train for it then you should consider it. It is a huge time commitment but when you cross that finish line something special happens.

Since you would not be able to get into an IM branded race this year here is a site for independent IM distance races. I did the Great Floridian and loved it. It was an amazing day!

Good luck with your decision

http://www.k226.com/calendar.php

I had never ridden a bike or run over 4 miles before January of this year. I am booked for Boise 70.3 on June 1 and the Vineman IM Aug 2. Don't be a pansy... just do it.

2004,  two sprints

2005,  one sprint and one olympic

2006,  one IM and one HIM        (I was able to do the HIM 3 weeks after the IM)

2007,  one HIM and one IM

Edited by BellinghamSpence 2008-04-09 7:30 AM