1st IM vs. 2nd IM

but even if you break it by 1 minute you are living the life described in your sig line.

Go for it.

1st one I went into with 5 months of focused training, lofty goals and an attitude that I had to perform well.  Had a crappy race.

2nd one (I had already signed up before even completing the 1st one ... in fact it was only a month or so into the training when I had paid for the 2nd) I had a whopping 6 weeks of focused training - no that is not a typo - no goals other than staying within my limits on the bike and enjoying the day.

Ended up going 15 minutes FASTER on the 2nd one on a tougher course in epic conditions.  Go figure!

What did that teach me?  Race, enjoy the day and go with the flow.  I race a heck of a lot better when I relax and put no pressure on myself.

Did my first one last year, and doing the deed again this year.  Although I set goals, I am with Rick in that I will just try to train as well as I can, and take what the day gives me.  Yes, I want to improve on my time from last year, but  I realize anything can happen on race day.  So I go in know that it going to be fun, relax and have a great time. 

I also agree with Joe that its a huge acomplishment and I like to see what I can get out of myself. 

With that said, I do agree that motivation will be different this season.  Not sure exactly how, but it WILL be different.

I feel the same way.  Knocked out my first one last fall.  Right now, I want to do another one, but I'm not sure when.

I felt that most of last year I was focused on the IM, and had to skip or miss several other smaller races due to training.  I plan to focus on shorter races and unless the bug bites hard later this year to do another fall IM, plan for one next year.

 Why did you sign up for this IM?  Was it the location?  Is the terrain challenging?

 The bottom line is you need to answer the question or you may have a very hard day come race day.  That was my experience.

 Now I am headed to my 5th one this year and the reasoning is to put up a PR, enjoy racing with my friends, and enjoy racing on a different continent.

 Something to remember for us amateurs: we paid to do this race so keep it fun!  If you are not having fun with your hobby, time for a new hobby.

My first IM was IMFL in '06. I trained enough to get by, but not enough probably to do really well. I had a mechanical issue on th ebike that probably cost me 45 minutes, but otherwise, the day went off perfectly. I wasn't racing, just trying to get through. And in th eend, I'd imagine it was just about as easy as an IM can be. I finished in 12:24.

 My second was this past November at Beach-2-Battleship. For it, I trained much better, incorporating more high-quality efforts on the bike and run in training, and I swam much more purposefully in training. I had specific time goals and, on th erun, I wasn't afraid to hang it out there because having finished one previously, I knew that even if I didn't finish this one, I was still an ironman.

The result:

So for me, my first was simply to do it. And for my second, to do it right.

(shhh...don't tell anyone, but it was point-to-pont and with a current)

doesnt' matter to me,,, that is still pretty sweet