Hey! Anybody here training for their first Ironman?

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Hello every one !

I'm currently training for my first Ironman. I took up triathlon about 6 months ago and I competed in my first tri in September starting with an Olympic Tri.

I'm now going for a full Ironman that I plan to do next summer, so that's in about 8 months.

I'm not sure I'll be ready for the challenge, but I want to remain confident I will, so I'm training every day to get fiit enough for it.

If anybody around here is aiming at the same target (or even at a lower or higher target), I figured we could share some tips, training advices, motivations or even desperation moments... and of course the idea is to share the big moment when crossing the finish line.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

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	Training to train... Not going Iron yet, but soon i'll start training for the Summer '09 Door County Half-Ironman. My plan is to do Wisconsin Ironman in 2010. Posted by roycarl on Nov. 24, 2008 at 04:20PM
	Scared S!#$less I'd love to do a 1/2 IM or full IM...but i"m scared to death... I did a sprint distance last year... maybe I need another year of sprints/olympics before I attempt a IM of any kind...what do you think? Posted by kellydigital on Nov. 25, 2008 at 01:24PM
	Going for 1/2 IM / Full IM ? I did one Olympic this year and now I want to go for a full IM. I'm scared too, but I get less scared almost every day. About a month ago, I really though I wouldn't be able to do it. Slowly I start to think I'll make it. So I keep training 7 days a week, with the winter here now and days getting shorter I can't train as much as I would like (maybe it is for the best). And every day I feel more confident about it (but still scared). When days will get longer by next spring, I'll try to train twice a day, 7 days a week, to really get fit for an IM. I guess it's all about confidence, if you feel confident you'll make it, you'll stand a good chance of making it. See what you fitness level is right now. How many miles can you run, swim or bike? is it close to the distances in an 1/2 IM? if so, you're probably not very far of being able to go through it. If not, a little bit more training and you will. See where you were about 6 months ago or a year ago, and now picture yourself in 6 months or in 1 year. I'm sure you already se yourself crossing the finish line of that 1/2 IM. Good luck tio you all! I hope we'll be here next year to report how well we all did that IM we so scared of! Posted by IronDave on Nov. 26, 2008 at 01:45AM

	I'm on the fence been doing tri's for about 12 years and really got the bug to do my first ironman next year. gonna have to sit down w/ the wife and see if we can work this out somehow between family life and training will be the biggest problem I see for me Posted by joe_h on Nov. 26, 2008 at 06:05AM
	Resource Recommendation If you're trying to fit Iron or Half-Iron distance training into your busy schedule and family life, I'd recommend reading Don Fink's book "Be IronFit" - it's an excellent guide on how to fit training into your life (rather than the other way around). The book also includes detailed training programs you can follow for competitive, intermediate, or "just finish" levels. I actually followed the first 18 weeks of his training plan to prep for my first Olympic-length race this past August, and finished in two hours 51 minutes (I was shooting for under 2 hours 45 minutes, but got literally run over by an SUV four weeks before the race while out on a training ride - kindof put a kink in my peak period, and totalled my bike to boot). Anyway, you can pick up a copy of the book for a couple of bucks on alibris.com or abebooks.com. Posted by roycarl on Nov. 26, 2008 at 10:09AM
	Good book recommandantion, thanks! I'll definitely look into that book! I was going to "just finish" an IM, but why not going for a more competitive approach! Nor sure I'll get qualification for Kona (well actually, I'm sure I won't). My first Olympic tri last year, I did it in 3h20... and I was aiming for 2h45 too, but the bike was tougher than I expected (even though I pratice a couple of times on the same course). Hills were between 12% and 15% so I was really slow on those and that really burned me for the run that I didn't perform very well (51 minutes for the 10k). Posted by IronDave on Nov. 26, 2008 at 11:31PM
	Bike/Hills The area in which I live is naturally hilly - several mega-grade hills that i take on purpose for training. It's helped me on a couple race courses! If you're not blessed with naturally hilly terrain in your training areas, try some spinning (it's what i'm doing all winter) - i could recommend some good resources for guided butt-kicking spin podcasts if you need. Posted by roycarl on Nov. 28, 2008 at 08:32AM
	Hills I know what you mean, I got plenty of hills here too (the Tour de France comes around here very often and we have some Category 1 peaks). That said, 12 to 15% is steeper than most hills. If you look at the mountain stages they have in the Tour de France, they usually have grades that are between 7 to 10% (for longer distances though). I'm trying to train on hills as much as I can. Up to 10 to 11% I can more or less manage to keep some speed, but above that I have to admin that it really becomes hard for me to stay abobe 15km/h. Posted by IronDave on Nov. 28, 2008 at 11:40AM
	Training for Ironman Hi Dave I am also training for my 1st Ironman. Started to learn to swim more than a year ago - it took me more than a year to learn to swim and entered for my 1st Half Ironman before I could swim properly in the pool. I also did the sprint & olympic tri distances for training - just to get used to the transition. I am also participating in 2km ocean swimming events every second weekend and managed to cut my swimming time with 15 minutes. I swim/cycle/run with a group of friends here in South Africa which are also training for Ironman. I must say the Tri life is great! Have you seen the website www.iamtri.com Have a look at my profile I noted that you are training 7 days a week. I do take at least one day of the week off. My half Ironman is in January 2009 and the full Ironman takes place in April 2009. So time is running out for training. At this stage I would like to at least complete my 1st Ironman with a smile on my face and not worry too much about the time. I am currently sitting at home with flu for more than a week now. Can't wait to get back into training - at least you still have time left for your training. Go for it! "Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win." Posted by danrich on Nov. 29, 2008 at 11:51AM
	Way to go Danrich! I checked your profile on www.iamtri.com. Good luck for your 70.3, it's coming up soon! I'm not sure I would be up for it. I started to swim freestyle only last year, before that I could only swim the breast stroke. I'm only strating to have decent stroke now and it is defenitely an area where I could get some improvements. I was thinking of doing an 1/2IM begining of June and a full IM end of June, but I'm not sure I can handle both. So if I'm only going to do one, it'll probably be the full IM. I haven't registered to the race yet though... I'm training every day. It's hard for me not to. If I don't train during a day, I really feel the urge of doing something. Usually I train in the morning before work. Sometimes, when I feel a little tired and I feel my body needs some rest, I don't do anything in the morning and I train in the evening, so it gives me a bit of resting time between my trainings. I know I should rest one day per week, I just don't feel good when I stop training... Well with the winter coming up here, I guess I'll be force to slow down a little. Today I fell on the bike because of the slippery road in the rain. Posted by IronDave on Nov. 30, 2008 at 10:33AM