Ironman Boulder?

I might be the one & only here to simple say NO. Wait, What?!?!?NOOOOOO, Are You Crazy?!?!?! My point of view comes from this side of the the greener grass. I say that your 1st Ironman should not be in Boulder for a number of reasons. Like, way too many people, very unhealthy water conditions, & volunteering would be way more rewarding. I say way too many people because its a zoo during the days leading up to & in the swim area. I say unhealthy conditions because a number of bloggers had GI issues & a number of folks DID NOT start the bike or dropped shortly into the bike & have previously competed in AND finished other Ironman distances before. And I say volunteering because the Boulder coarse is awesome w/crazy beautiful views.

I am totally supportive on your idea of training, reaching out to others to train with, & the idea of you setting goals. We all know that your journey will be one of triumph & reflections. Smaller races though out the summer will be perfect stepping stones so I totally encourage you to find an Ironman race outside of your comfort zone.

I am on the other side of the divide ( GJ,CO ) from you & we will have a number of events out here for you. Marathons, Ironman's, Mt Biking, & Utah has much much more as well.

Last But Not Least, Stay Strong!!
Feel Free To Ask Me More Questions,
Cheers

Sounds like you are mentally ready and know what you are in for!
I'm happy to bike with you. I love biking I'm off in the summers (mid May to Mid Aug) so I'll be flexible in summer.
I have no idea how the first year of IM Boulder went - from an expense standpoint, it's a whole lot cheaper to race in state. If you are willing to branch out, Coeur d'Alene looks like it is still open and it is an amazing race/course. Beautiful!
Good luck!

and....to answer your questions about headlamp, etc, Mid way through your bike and run, you can have a "special needs" bag and put stuff in it that you might need (but nothing super valuable b/c there is no guarantee of getting your bag back later). For my run special needs bag, I had a long sleeve shirt and extra pair of socks. So you have options for stuff. I believe you have to use reflective gear from the start of the run if you will finish after dark.

I strongly recommend a headlamp in your SN bag (or carry it with you until you need it out of T2). It was DARK on the canyon/north end of the run course. My running buddy tripped over a large twig and nearly fell. We then walked a whole bunch, figuring it was safer to walk than to run and trip on something in the dark.

I volunteered at IM Boulder last August which is what got me into the sport. It was my cousin's fifteenth Ironman and he said it was a challenging course especially the bike with so much climbing. I'm doing the 70.3 in Boulder in June but he recommends IMAZ or IMKY for first timers attempting the full distance.

I'm new to the sport and have only been training since August so I'm not very accomplished... new to running but can swim decently and can pound the pedals. I'm in Aurora too with Aurora Reservoir nearly in my backyard and am always up for not training alone.

Do it! As others have stated you are in better shape than most people taking the plunge. I did it last year and had a blast. the bike course is hard but manageable.

I did Harvest Moon in 2006 in the 7:20s and did Ironman Arizona in Nov. 2008 in the 14s. Just put in the Training so I didn't slow down at twice the distance, mostly.

Besides a 2nd for IMAZ as a 1st Ironman with the lower altitude and easier course and NOT Humid as is KY, I would say someone who's a Swimmer and Multiple Marathon Finishing Runner who found a Half IM at Altitude had you feeling almost too good, means you're poised to make an excellent Ironman, and you're exactly who SHOULD do a first Ironman, provided you can put in the same kind of time on the bike as last year, stretch out the Swims, and act again like you're training for a Marathon at the same time.
I think you've got it made(!) if you do the work.

Ironman is more about "energy management", than even a Marathon which after 14 I'm sure you have dialed in and is at least somewhat about pain/effort management.
Fueling to finish vs 'Racing' is a good thing to learn the 1st time at the LONG distance, especially if it's at Boulder, where you'll want to Climb as 'gently' as you can to avoid GI shutdown on the Bike.

At IMAZ I didn't even come out of the saddle at corners etc on the Bike and took in massive liquid calories as I had trained to do, so that even a slowpoke with lots of Bio-mechanical issues could enjoy the Ironman experience well within the cutoffs.

It's not bad to feel a little apprehensive/tentative/scared because it'll make you do everything right. You can think of an Ironman Entry Fee as a Gym Membership and being entered as a sort of Personal Trainer... and get your $$'s worth!
As you elude to, time to either get rid of or modify that Wetsuit, or try on others that don't constrict the neck so much, and put in the easy time on the Bike- couple more Centuries sounds perfect.

I would suggest the main things you'll need, is DO the Training, and enjoy YOUR fitness, staying in control at the event of your desire to 'Race Hard'.
Fact is, once you've done it, you'll know how much faster you'd like to go... or that faster is not for you. Who knows, you sound like you have the basic skills, enjoy the training, and continuing you could find you have exceptional fat burning capability, and that combination is what creates elites in the making. :-)
I found Gordo's "Endurance Essentials" and "Pacing Your First Ironman" invaluable.
http://www.coachgordo.com/gtips/index.html
Best of Luck, Ironman!