Sprint to full or half Ironman

After 3 years, why are you focusing so much on sprints still if your goal is IM?  I'm not a coach but if someone's goal is IM, I would tell them to not even bother with sprints anymore - use Olympics as part of training. 

You will always get someone to say that "you can do it".  I've stopped giving advice one way or the other.  The measure of whether you can do an IM or not shouldn't be what races you do leading up to it.  The measure should be, do you have sufficient time RIGHT NOW to start an IM build-up (with a more focused 20 or 24 week IM plan later on) with sufficient training hours and use shorter races as part of training?  Good luck

Why not delay the schedule instead?

Based only on what I see in your logs (or don't see), I'd say an IM this year seems awfully ambitious.  But take a look at some plans (for HIM & IM) and see if you can be ready to start one 5-6 months out from the race date.  If you can do the training, you can do the race (whether you should is a different question).

x2. You 'might' be able to finish an IM but if your train properly for it you will enjoy it a lot more and diminish your chances for injury

Rather than looking at the race dates and distances, look at some training plans for your goal distance. If you can honestly execute the training in the time before the race, you're good from a training standpoint. However, the differences between short course and long course races don't stop with training alone. With longer less forgiving races, nutrition, pacing, and the taper factor in on race day in a big way. You have to practice that in training too.

I trained for and raced a 1/2 IM last year while spending 90-100 hours a week at work (I get to sleep at night if I'm not busy). It can be done, you just have to train smart, plan well, and get up early...

My first season was 5 sprints with an OLY as the last race.

This season is OLY, HIM, 5 sprints, HIM...in that order.  The OLY and the 5 sprints I consider part of my HIM training and incorporate those into my HIM training schedule.  I use the shorter races simply to break up the monotony of HIM trainingh.

Allez,

I am in the MPLS area and have the name of a local coach who will do a consultation on your training plan for a very reasonable price and let you know her thoughts. Feel free to PM or email here and I can get you her info.

This year I am doing 1-2 HIM's, a few Olys and have decided to only do sprint distance TT type workouts on my own. I am looking at an IM in 08.

Devin 

Doing a half or full Ironman really depends more on how much time you can train than how many seasons of racing you have done.  There are a few (even one or two here) whose first race was a HIM. 

1)  Don't go into either a HIM or IM without adequate training. 

2)  Take a look at various training plans.  The ones here are pretty good.  A HIM will have you training 7-10 hours per week (maybe a little more or less).  The IM plans are obviously longer (10-17 hours).  Be very suspicious of a training plan that is substantially shorter than everything else. 

Only you can decide whether you can commit the amount of time to train adequately for one of these long races.  If you could commit 2/3 of the minimum time and it is important to do this, you'd probably want to hire a coach to develop a very specific training plan for your situation.  Keep in mind, that if you're already "busy" to the point you need to optimize your training, that you'll be more fatigued and therefore far more likely to get injured.  We tend to underestimate the need for proper rest and recovery, usually with unacceptable results. 

Can you even get into a Nov. IM if not registered already??