Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 6)

Great job putting it into words!

I remember laying there in bed the night after I signed up for my first IM.  It's not fear, but close.    This is a big part of what makes being an Ironman so cool.  You change so many habits along the way.  From what you eat, when you sleep, and what you think is completely normal and fascinating conversation.  You steadily increase your hours and you keep thinking "wow that was a tough week", and then a few weeks later you look back and think "60 mile ride followed by 5 mile run?  simple."  You end up pushing through the last month of hard training and you are really exhausted, but then you taper.  You show up on race day ready to see what you've got.  I'll never forget that feeling when I was standing there on the beach with the national anthem playing because I couldn't believe how far I had come and how much of myself I had invested in the next 12 hours of my life.   Folks talk about the electricity or the nervous energy that is in the air right before the gun goes off, and it's because everyone else was feeling what I was feeling.  After 6 months of tough work outs and all those changes you went through.  It all comes down to one day.

btw, that feeling on race day also explains the IMKY addicts that are contemplating whether to give into their addiction or seek professional help.

I'm stoked you are racing!

cool

cool

cool

Are you going to the club holiday party?

I love open water swimming, but I have to admit, a non wetsuit IM swim does scare me! Its a long way to not use a pull buoy!

sdanaher - 2009-12-02 10:18 AM

brown_dog_us - 2009-12-02 9:58 AM

sdanaher - 2009-12-01 12:29 PM I need someone to get me to pull the trigger.  I'm nervous over getting the training in. 

I told my wife that and she replied "do you know yourself?  You'll get it in".

I considered that her implicit approval. 

What are your goals for an IM?  Is it to finish or break a certain time? 

If it's to finish I think it would be easy to train enough.  Here are some times for each part that will get you in under 17 hours:

Swim- 2:50 per 100 yards for a time of 2 hours

Bike- 14 mph for a time of 8 hours

Run/walk- 15 minutes per mile for 6 hours 33 minutes

If you can do both transitions in 20 minutes total yoo will finish at 16:53.

 

Since you have been working out pretty good this year, I'd bet you just need to increase your long stuff and get some structure/consistancy to be a few hours below the cut off.

Yeah, I mean... when you put it all together like that.  It really doesn't make it feel un-doable.

I guess I just need to look at it is, can I afford to add a couple hours to my long workouts on the weekend and maybe change what my shorter workouts during the week look like.

I don't think I'd be worried about "finishing" notwithstanding poor nutrition, idiocy, etc. 

I think I'm pretty convinced - I know I WANT to... but that pull the trigger moment can be hard

The fact that the trigger pull is hard for you tells me you will do just fine!  I think for a first time IM there needs to be butterflies!!  That is what gets you out of bed on cold mornings to go swim or run and that is what compells you to go on long, lonely bike rides when you can't find anyone to go biking with you. 

Having courage does not mean that one is never scared.  Having courage means doing something despite being scared!  I don't know anyone who has ever done an IM who went into it w/o a modicum of fear....but it's a good fear.

OK, that was my best motivational speech!  Now go sign up before it sells out!

~Mike

What's everyone's training look like right now...with the holiday's I find it hard to get the training in.

But this is what I am doing right now.

2 days swim 2000-2500 yards

4 days run... long run on weekend

2-3 days of indoor bike trainer+ weighs

This race is still open!  Why?!?!  And why am I back on this thread again?!?!

My training is in a holding pattern until after the first of the year.  I haven't fully recovered from B2B, and I have a marathon this weekend.  I doubt I finish the marathon, but it's paid for so I might as well get in a nice jog.

If you want to go hard in your HIM I would make sure it's about three months out.  I did one last year 5 weeks out and was fried going into it.  It ended up being a nice training day, but at no point was I really racing.

 edit: Doh! This is Doug accidentally using the Misses account.