Ironman in 5 months

How old is he?  Any man under the age of 40 that is in reasonable shape and knows how to swim can probably finish an IM.  The training will help make it less of a religious experience.

I dunno...people do things for different reasons.  Some may find a lot of joy and sense of accomplishment for completing a 16 hour IM on minimal training.  If that makes it worthwhile for them...so be it.  

Truth ^

The fact is, there are people among us who have been athletes in one way or another for a long time.  Some of them have a very high threshold for pain/suffering.  They can do an IM on very little training compared to the rest of us. 

A few years ago I met a "kid" who was 28 years old......had been in Iraq and was a member of a Special Forces group.  He had a big swim background from when he was growing up.  He kept himself in decent shape overseas but that's about the size of it.  He did IMAZ a few months after he rotated back because he wanted to.  He did no training the way we think of it....finished in 14.5 hours.  His quote to me was, "it hurt bad.  I couldn't walk right for 6 weeks".  Still.......he was happy to have done it.  He didn't consider himself a "triathlete".....just a guy who finished an IM.

And?  

What I read from this post is:

My friend signed up to do an Ironman but

Doesn't train (like us)
Didn't pay his dues (like us)
Yada, yada, yada...

You can encourage and support his effort even if he isn't "like us."  You can disparage his efforts and actively undermine his confidence.  You can step back and silently watch.  

Maybe he can have fun doing the race on 5 months training.  He isn't dedicating a year of his life to this one event and may choose to "race" lightheartedly, stopping for pictures on the bike, whooping it up on the run, and really taking in the day instead of trying to hit an elusive 1X:59:59 goal that many of us want.  

If he were my friend, I'd be cheering him on and buying him a beer when he finishes.  

What he does doesn't take away from what I've done and vice versa.  

I'm confused (insert joke here). 

In your first post it sounded to me that your friend had never done an IM.  Then you said this..."My friend did IM texas with me and finished in 14:30" which made me think he had done one but wasn't really putting in the effort for this year's race.  Then you posted this...But I was thinking, "I'm afraid he doesn't know what he's getting into."  

So, has he or hasn't he done an IM before?  If he's done one before, he knows what he's getting into.

I think the OP has more than one friend.  

Well, I bet at least one of his friends can't do it. 

marathongirl21, I am sure you will be absolutly fine for your IM.  You have a really good base from which to build on with your running and the HIM you have done.  5 months will be plenty of time to prepare yourself for an IM, especially as you have already done a couple of 100 mile rides and marathons.  Don't be put off by the posts in this thread - they are aimed at someone who has only 5 months to train for an IM and esentially has no experiance of consistant training (you do) and little experiance of competing in endurance races (again, you do).  This person may well finish and nobody is saying that there is anything wrong with a 16 hour time, but with the solid training you are doing I suspect you may well enjoy the day more, have a higher chance of finishing, less likely to get injured and possibly have time to spare if things go a little wrong on the day (minor injury, flats etc.).

I hate wetsuits too - maybe others have some advise in that area.  Best of luck with your IM