General Discussion Triathlon Talk » When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM? Rss Feed  
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2012-10-18 1:42 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
yazmaster - 2012-10-18 12:58 PM

Sub 8 hours per week training for an sub-10 ironman finish is really on the pointy end of things. You're either really talented, or have a significant background in one or more of the sports that allows you to shortcut training for one or more of the sports but still be FOP.

 

I'd bet that if you took 100 BTers and asked them to do the same, probably maybe 3-4 of them, if even that, would accomplish a sub-10 IM on 8hrs/week. If you discount the ones who have either been collegiate endurance athletes or have already gone sub-10 or low 10s very recently on much higher volume training, it'll probably be even fewer, like 0-1 people.

 

When I train for Olys, I'm about 10hrs/week, and at peak, essentially every workout is a quality workout, be it swim/bike/run. A lot of serious suffering. I trained so hard that I got an irregular heartbeat since I was stressing my body so hard. Even with that quality, I doubt I would even have been able to pull of a 14 hour IM with my complete lack of distance training.

 

Heck, an 80 mile bike training ride takes nearly 5 hours for me - at 8hrs per week, that leaves almost no time for anything else!

I agree with almost everything here.. put i would question the idea that every workout being hard makes it quality.. I bet if you made some of those efforts easier you would have better results and do less harm to your body.

 

to the OP, you're ready when you stop thinking of reasons not to do it.  If you can think of reasons not to do it now, just wait until you have to wake up at 6am to do a 100 mile training ride and you are already tired.



2012-10-18 1:44 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
I didn't, and I shouldn't have, but I did.
2012-10-18 1:47 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
trishie - 2012-10-18 12:38 PM

When my husband said he wanted to have a baby and I said I wanted to do an Ironman first

Seriously, like others have said, there isn't a "perfect" time for most of us -- most non elites have family, job, etc. commitments. It's a matter of having enough time and money and energy.

This is pretty much where I am at. I have wanted to complete an IM since I started tri in 2008. Did my first HIM in 2009, then got married and didn't do much in 2010. Had a decent year in 2011, then really backed off tri in 2012 and focused on weight lifting as that is my wife's new thing and I wanted to join her.

I am 27 now, my wife wants a kid but we have agreed to hold off until I am 30 (or so). I know I do not want to put the proper time in once we have a young kid in the house so I need to get this done sometime in the next 2.5 years. Going to hit it hard this winter, do two more HIM's this summer and volunteer for either IMCDA or IM Lake Tahoe this year and sign up for 2014. 

It just makes sense for me right now. I have the desire to get it done before I turn 30, we don't have kids, I have the time to train and my wife has an equally time consuming hobby so she is very supporting right now and won't feel neglected. 

2012-10-18 2:54 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

Thanks everyone.

Okay, let me apologize for the font/color. I had caffeine for the 1st time in weeks today. I tried to go back and change it, but you can't edit it once it's been posted for more than 30 minutes.

I do not have tons of races under my belt simply due to my spouse's work schedule. I love to train and get it done, just weekend race days are an issue. I really have the bug and want to go for a full. I can just hear some people I know saying I haven't done enough races to do a full. But since I know of no magic number of tris to complete before a full, they will have to just get over it.

Thanks again!

2012-10-18 2:56 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
lisac957 - 2012-10-18 12:35 PM

When I witnessed one with my own eyes. It's like nothing else.

Like a moth to the flame....

This. After my friend and I volunteered at IMLP we were in line the next morning jumping up and down like little kids with full bladders

2012-10-18 2:58 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
Still haven't gotten that urge.


2012-10-18 3:07 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

ironcop17 - 2012-10-18 9:54 AM I really have the bug and want to go for a full.

 

that's all the reason you need

2012-10-18 3:14 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

When i witnessed one I wanted to do it.  

But really being ready  was, well, more complicated.  Learning to swim was a big uphill battle but after I did a HIM I knew it was possible it was just a matter of committing to the training so i sucked it up and signed up more than a year in advance.  I doubted myself quite often but having done the training, the tune-up races and all that I made it to the start and successfully to the finish. 

2012-10-18 4:09 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

trishie - 2012-10-18 2:36 PM

Yes, but you must realize that a sub 10 (let alone a sub 10 on under 8 hours/ week) is not even close to the norm.

The point isn't the finish time; others go much faster on similar training volume, and some others will go slower.  

The point is that most people over-train for IM and, IME, 8 hrs/wk avg is enough to finish reasonably well.  There is no need for the volume that some seem to think is required if goal is to finish well.   Of course, maximizing your potential is a different story...

2012-10-18 6:52 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
yazmaster - 2012-10-18 12:58 PM

Sub 8 hours per week training for an sub-10 ironman finish is really on the pointy end of things. You're either really talented, or have a significant background in one or more of the sports that allows you to shortcut training for one or more of the sports but still be FOP.

Roger that.  As the weight loss commercials say, "Results not typical."  Good 4 U!

I did my first tri in May of '11 (Oly), then kept bumping up my distances until I did IM CDA this June (11.25 hrs).  It's not unimaginable that one could complete an IM on 12, 10, or 8 hours/week AVERAGE, but the bottom line is that you have to do some long rides and runs unless you want the marathon to be an actual run instead of what my wife's coach called a "death march." 

Re sub-10 or Kona worthy speed (roughly equivalent in M45-49), it seems that it can be had by many with sufficient time invested, either over many seasons, or with long hours (meaning 20-ish/week during a 12-16 week buildup).  Those who know more than me on the subject (meaining professional tri coaches) say that this level of performance requires putting in long hours and miles at some point, and the 10 hr/week Kona Qualifier is anomalous bordering on fictitious. 

I'd love to have a shot at Kona some day, but I'm not interested in missing my kids' life or giving up too much time with my wife to do so, and it's not clear that the hours I have to put towards it will be sufficient, particularly when many elite AG triathletes have lives naturally suited to training--no kids, flexible jobs, . . .  I'd happily cut work hours, but that'd require winning the lotto at this point.  And as I remember how to do an expected value calculation, I don't play.  ;-}

It's not clear to me what "talent" has to do with it--there are some IM folks who accomplish much with little apparent effort, but I've also seen people who seem to have no particular ability in endurance sports other than persistence who make it to Kona.

In re to the main topic, I wanted to do an IM the first time I saw it on Wide World of Sports, sometime in the late '80s.  Only took me twenty-some odd years to get around to it.  :-}

2012-10-18 7:13 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
trishie - 2012-10-18 1:38 PM

When my husband said he wanted to have a baby and I said I wanted to do an Ironman first

This is kind of where I am -- I would really like to do an IM. I also would like to have a baby at some point (29, married five years). So I will probably end up doing one in the next four years or so.



2012-10-18 7:58 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

From what I've gathered, most never really know it's "time" for 1st IM.  You watch Kona on TV, read about training plans, seek advice, & assess your support system (personal desire, family, facilities, time constraints, etc.).  At some point you just have to go for it.... sign up, train hard, & take your shot.

About 3 1/2 yrs ago, as a middle-age non-athlete, I hit the finish line of my 1st tri- a local sprint.  Satisfied in my accomplishment, but also with a new sense of how incomprehensible an IM was.  Two yrs later I had a couple Oly's, HIM, and 2 marathons under my belt.  IM had become at least comprehensible.  In a fit of irrational exuberance I signed up for my 1st IM (B2B).  Followed decent 30wk training plan & eventually race day came.  But even waiting for the gun shivering on that dark drizzly 40-something degree beach I still did not know "it was time".  Big part of me still said it wasn't.  But then the gun went off & I was in the water with 100's of other flailing bodies.  During the swim I almost DNF'ed due to calf injury, but stuck with it.  Once I cleared T1 & got into rhythm on the bike (my primary sport), I finally KNEW "it was time".  Somehow knew I would finish. Bike went smooth & run was struggle with that calf injury, but hit the line in 13+hrs to collect my medal.



Edited by Oldteen 2012-10-18 8:00 PM
2012-10-19 8:25 AM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
wiky - 2012-10-18 4:09 PM

trishie - 2012-10-18 2:36 PM

Yes, but you must realize that a sub 10 (let alone a sub 10 on under 8 hours/ week) is not even close to the norm.

The point isn't the finish time; others go much faster on similar training volume, and some others will go slower.  

The point is that most people over-train for IM and, IME, 8 hrs/wk avg is enough to finish reasonably well.  There is no need for the volume that some seem to think is required if goal is to finish well.   Of course, maximizing your potential is a different story...

 

I love your contribution on this site. You are one of a very few that are left on here that have actually qualified for Kona. However, I have to question the bolded part above. Are there really that many Kona qualifiers going sub 10 hours on around 8 hours of training a week? That doesn't match up with what I read whenever an age group qualifier is interviewed and asked about their training. You hear 18, 20, 25+ hour weeks but I don't think I've ever heard one say less than 10. Obviously you know a lot of these people personally, are there really many of them training less than 10 hours a week?

 

If there are, I would really like to see their training schedules (I'm not being cynical, I really would be interested in studying some of these folks). I think it would also be interesting to see their sports/endurance backgrounds.

 

I know I have gone off topic and I'm sorry for that. Wiki, if you would be ok with sending me a PM I would love to discuss this some more.

2012-10-19 2:26 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
When I volunteered for IM Louisville in 2009 just after finishing my first Sprint.  I got home that night and started researching.  3 year plan from there, Olympic in 2010, Half in 2011 and a full in 2012.  Done, done and done.  Not sure I see another in my future as I get pretty bored on the bike.  The half seems to be the perfect distance, long enough to be a serious challenge but short enough to not have time to get bored.
2012-10-19 2:40 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

I could no longer resist the peer pressure

My job allowed it

My wife supported it

2012-10-20 7:23 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
metafizx - 2012-10-18 2:07 PM

ironcop17 - 2012-10-18 9:54 AM I really have the bug and want to go for a full.

 

that's all the reason you need

x2. When you can't stop thinking about it, it's time to take the first steps. The time frame depends on your current fitness, your work schedule, and your family support. I got the bug, tested myself on a couple of HIMs, then checked with the hubs when my work scheduled lightened up, leaving ample room for training. Sure, there's always next year, or later, but you never know what the future holds, so if you're constantly thinking about it and have the ability to get yourself to the starting line, then go for it!


2012-10-20 7:43 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
wiky - 2012-10-18 5:09 PM

trishie - 2012-10-18 2:36 PM

Yes, but you must realize that a sub 10 (let alone a sub 10 on under 8 hours/ week) is not even close to the norm.

The point isn't the finish time; others go much faster on similar training volume, and some others will go slower.  

The point is that most people over-train for IM and, IME, 8 hrs/wk avg is enough to finish reasonably well.  There is no need for the volume that some seem to think is required if goal is to finish well.   Of course, maximizing your potential is a different story...

Must be nice. 8 hours wouldn't even cut it for a HIM for me

2012-10-20 10:56 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

The day I completed my first tri I wanted to do an IM.  I signed up out of impulse and was more or less ready at the time (for completion, not competition).

 

If you use the full year and are in decent shape already most can do an IM.

2012-10-21 1:11 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?
About 18 months to 2 years after my heartop
2012-10-21 2:22 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

 September  2009  flying home from doing my first Olympic distance race Nations with Team in Training. On the plane I set my goals for the next two years and never looked back.

 August 2010 I did Timberman half.

October 2011   I did Beach2Battleship full distance ---  to celebrate turning 50

Having ran a marathon and completed over 6 century rides need to do something bigger the year I turned 50 so why not an ironman distance race.

2012-10-21 3:11 PM
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Subject: RE: When did you know it was time for your 1st full IM?

I haven't been competing in tri's but I'm married to a fellow BTer.  It has been eluded to in other posts but knowing you are ready is more than just you, physically.  Is your family ready for you to train and compete in am IM?

As a family, we felt like we lost a lot of family time with hubby training so much.  To be honest, there was some resentment too.  Our vacations became race oriented.  Some of that was good (saw places we hadn't seen before) but it also left 2-3 days where "vacationing" was replaced with race stuff. 

Looking back, I don't regret that hubby completed both of his IMs, as a matter of fact, I'm really pretty damn proud of him!  For me, personally, family will take precedence over training.  Is your family and are you ready to make the sacrifice for that dream?



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