First IM- your thoughts? (Page 2)

Hey guys and gals, thanks again for the input. I'm still on the fence to sign up for the Nov. 7th IM.  I just did my first Olympic yesterday- 2:37:22, 1st in my AG (30-34) and 25th overall out of 111.  Again- I have done the two HIM's earlier this year, so the Oly distance wasn't "unknown"- I just had skipped from sprints to HIM's.  Looking for any and all feedback, advice, experience still.  Thanks

"Hey guys and gals, thanks again for the input. I'm still on the fence to sign up for the Nov. 7th IM. I just did my first Olympic yesterday- 2:37:22, 1st in my AG (30-34) and 25th overall out of 111. Again- I have done the two HIM's earlier this year, so the Oly distance wasn't "unknown"- I just had skipped from sprints to HIM's. Looking for any and all feedback, advice, experience still. Thanks"

Congrats

If you have to ask should I do an IM , then my answer is no. Not to be a downer, but if you dont have the confidence to think you would finish, then dont try. A large part of the process of training is to give you the confidence that you will.

I have finished 6, my first time I did have some doubts about the time, but I knew dang well that unless I had a severe crash or problem, I would finish.

Maybe you are asking how fast you can go in an IM, they are a different animal with a lot of highs and lows, only you know that answer.

Find a plan, follow it, and have reasonable expectations about the finish for the first one.

I'm no expert.  I was on the couch in September 2008. My RA had taken a turn for the worse.  Decided now or never - and jumped.  I'll do my first IM in 5 weeks and 6 days.  In the last 11 months, I've done my first Oly, first HIM, first Mary, first 1/2 Mary.  I've qualified for Boston, and got hardware in my first Oly.  I've achieved much more than I thought possible when I started this, and I have no regrets.  Sore legs, yes.  Regrets, no.

What will my time be?  No clue.  I started out with a goal of don't DNF, and I'm setting my sights higher now.  It won't look fast to anyone but me (and my hubby!) - and that's okay.

If you want this, and it sounds like you do.....go for it.  Support of your SO is huge, also - thank her lots!

IMWI, here I come!

OK, again- thanks for all of the input.  An update- I did a sprint tri on saturday (12th overall, 2nd AG) then did the Assenmacher 100 bike ride (100 Miles) on Sunday.  I had never ridden over 65 miles in training for the two HIM's I did earlier this year, and hadn't ridden over 2 hours for a few months.  I finished the 100 miles (moderately hilly, windy, and 90 degrees) in 5:41:26 including several "pit" stops and fuel refills.  Legs felt heavy afterward, probably had something to do with going hard for a little over an hour the day before in the sprint, but felt good enough to go swimming the rest of the day with my 3 girls and wife.  So, with this latest input, what do you think?  I, personally, feel that I can finish the Beach2Battleship Iron distance race on Nov. 7th, given the next 12 weeks of training specififically for it as I have outlined above.  What do you think?
Thanks,
Ben

Ok BTer's- I know this is beginning to be a long read, and I thank those that take the time to read and give advice.  So, I did sign up for B2B full Iron (nov. 7). 
I have done a long ride each sunday for the last three weeks starting with a century, then an 80 miler, then a 90 miler.  My long runs are up to 12 miles (I do them on Fridays and have been adding one mile per week as suggested earlier), and I am averaging about 150 miles/ week on bike, and 20 miles/week running.
Swimming- with limited time and it being my strongest discipline, i have neglected the swim.  I have swam 2 miles once or twice weekly in a continuous set (usually around 57:00- 61:00).

Any advice on my current "plan", how to continue, things to do/ not do, etc. in order to finish as comfortably as possible.
You people are great- thanks again.
Ben 

It sounds to me like you're in good shape, especially with the long rides you've been doing and your general background.

I just finished my first year of triathlon with IMLou.  Decided to jump into IM right away due to 3 kids under age 5.  Felt like I'd never have a better chance.

I kept my volume pretty low all year (8 hrs/wk average: 6/wk in off season, 12/wk in summer).  Just before the taper I added in some big (for me) weeks of 17, 15 and 14 hours.  I felt like those large volume weeks were critical for me to get "over the hump" and ready for an IM distance event.  During each of those weeks I rode over 200 miles, most of it at or faster than IM pace, and included a couple long runs (~17 miles) on the days following long rides on very tired legs.

During the IM, the only significant surprise to me was how hard the run was.  I hadn't felt that pain at any point during training and was physically and mentally unprepared for it.  I had to take a walk break a few miles into the run to psychologically recover.  After that I was (barely) able to run the rest of the marathon.

If I were to do anything differently, I would look for a way to simulate that pain in training.  Maybe some long bricks consisting of a hard ride followed by a longish run?  That's something I'll be trying to figure out for next year.


Edited by wiky 2009-09-07 11:33 AM

^^^^Good advice.