Ooops, I signed up for an Ironman. Again. Am I Doomed?

Hello Beginner Tri, it’s me again.

Last year I started this thread: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

It detailed my ill conceived attempt at jumping straight into Ironman distance in one season, or largely speaking, a few months. Due to unplanned reasons, I didn’t have anywhere near enough time available as I had planned to train. I therefore decided to substitute as much endurance training with HIIT as possible.

It didn’t work.

I was too slow on the cycle, the climb on the bike proved too much, I didn’t reach the marathon. The whole attempt was marked by a lack of preparation in a number of vital areas.

This year, I am back again. I’ve signed up for the UK Ironman in July, it looks like a fairly challenging course, although the bike has a chunk less climb than France. It still looks like it’s going to be tough.

This year I decided to do things different, do things right, so to speak. Take on board some of the learning from my failure, prepare carefully, train with discipline and ensure sufficient time and effort invested. Do the hard work required to realise an Ironman finish.

Or rather, that was the intention.

The reality has been somewhat different. I’ve had even less time this year, even less preparation. I didn’t manage to start training until 18 weeks out, with a planned 2 week taper giving 16 weeks of training. I find myself just over 2 months away from race day with the furthest run being 10 miles and the furthest cycle 13 miles.

It’s all pretty disappointing, it’s hard to draw away from the conclusion that I am destined to fail once again and another race fee paid with no finish.

That said, I am where I am. My taper starts the 3rd of July, I have a chunk of preparation events to gauge myself on. I might as well give it the best go that I can in the short time I have to make a difference.

On the positive side, it looks like I have a few more hours per week available this time around from this point forward, so I can potentially train a bit longer. I also am going to get a bike fit, something that should probably have been a given last time around.

I got mixed support last time but ultimately lots of great advice. So again, it would be great to hear any advice around how I can maximise what little I have to work with over the next 2 months.

Once again, am I Doomed?