ex-athena/clydes?

I'm signed up to do my first IM at LP next July.

I don't think I qualify as moderately fast but I'm a lot faster than I used to be when I started this.....I am fitter, have lots more fun and enjoy training and racing.  I place 3rd from last in my first sprint, last in my first Oly, and this year my first HIM I was like 20th from last but was the 5th oldest women so not really surprising. I'm almost 46 and have been doing tris since '04. In my first tri I think I averaged 12 mph on the bike and now I hit 19-20 mph in most sprints/olys....maybe I'm fast on the bike not so much swimming & running but my run continues to improve.

I've lost 98 pounds and hope to hit 100 soon..... look forward to the IM journey.

Keep training smart, you'll keep getting fitter and faster and can do longer and longer races if you have the desire. 

In 2001, I weighed 290 pounds.  I joined weight watchers and got my weight down to about 195, and started running in January of 2002.  My weight bounced around between 210-215 for the next 3 or 4 years after that, and I kept running, mostly 50k trail races, with lots of back-of-pack finishes, and lot of running injuries. 

In 2005 I finally decided I wanted to be faster, so I went on a diet and lost about 50 pounds over 6 months.  My half marathon time went from 1:52 to 1:35.  And my 10k time went from 48 minutes to 41 minutes. 

Unfortunately a few months later, my marriage came to an end, I got really depressed, I developed a running injury, and I gained 60 pounds in 6 months. 

When I signed up for Ironman Canada 2007 in August of 2006, my weight was up to 230 pounds.  But when I registered, I refused to check off the Clydesdale box on the entry form.    I already knew first hand how huge of a difference losing some weight could make for my speed.  So I put myself on a calorie reduced diet while I was logging huge training volumes. 

By the time the race came around in August of 2007, my weight was back down to 180 pounds.  I finished in 10:51:53.  I think that qualifies as 'moderately fast'

I haven't raced an IM but I can tell you that I did go from slow and fat (240#s, couldn't run to the end of my block.....very funny story on the first time I tried) to qualifying for IM 70.3 WC within a couple of years.

It was until early this year that I lost my Clydes status but now my BF is in the single digits.

I think it is cetainly possible for you to accomplish your goal. Just stay focused and and put the work in.

Wow it is great to see how lots of BTers have changed their bodies, gotten fit, gotten fast, and done amazing things. Seems like the guys have lost weight and many have become wicked fast....us women haven't made such great strides...yet!

Keep the motivating stories coming....

I completed IMWI in 06 at 220+ (5'11" so accoriding to the BMI tables I was boarderline obese (bs), and finished in 12:45.  I currently weigh 230 and am going to do IMWI again.  I started Nutrisystem yeasterday to try to get down under 200lbs and go for a sub 12hr IM. 

The first time through, I didn't lose any weight and it frustrated me so I am going for drastic meassures to get down.  The biggest problem I had (you may not) was the wear and tear on body from running so try to get the weight down before you have to hit big miles.

I started this endurance stuff in early 2004 at close to 250 pounds.  At that time I could barely run 3 miles.  My very first race was a 10k which I struggled to finish in just under an hour.  Since that time, I've improved my 10k time to sub 43, run 8 marathons (including a 3:35 finish), and completed IM CdA last year (not fast, but finished). 

Anyone who dedicates themself to completing an Ironman can do it.  Good luck to you!

I saw 247 on the scale when I decided it was time to turn things around.  I was 221 when I did my first tri in July of 2004 - BOP swim, FMOP bike and BMOP on the run. 

Toed the line at IMFL last Nov, weighed in at 203   so I didn't get as lean as I had hoped for, but went just under 11:41