40 & training for 1st ironman - advice needed
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jerallen posted 1 year ago.
Welcome to trifuel dave,
2 years is recommended for training for an ironman. I live in beaverton which is right next door to portland. The portland triathlon club(pdxtriclub.org) hosts workouts during the week if you are interested. Pick up a copy of traithletes training bible by friel for everything you could ever think of. For a list of races in the area check out racecenter.com. hope this helps.
-jeremy
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dvickery posted 1 year ago.
jerallen;68409 wrote:
Welcome to trifuel dave,2 years is recommended for training for an ironman. I live in beaverton which is right next door to portland. The portland triathlon club(pdxtriclub.org) hosts workouts during the week if you are interested. Pick up a copy of traithletes training bible by friel for everything you could ever think of. For a list of races in the area check out racecenter.com. hope this helps.
-jeremy
Thanks for the reply and info, jerallen. Actually, I live in Tigard with a pdx zip. I use to live in Beaverton, just off 170th and Farmington.
Thanks again for the info, I'm gonna check out pdxtriclub and racecenter.
dv
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triNick posted 1 year ago.
Welcome aboard Dave,
If you're a newbie to triathlons, I would take the full 2 years to prepare. This way you can get your physical condition to be where you want it to be. This will give you plenty of time to perfect your skills and see what it's like to go from one element to the next.
I wouldn't focus on IM stuff over the next year, just get yourself in shape and prepared for the races you do decide to participate in in the near future.
Over time you will want to figure out what IM race you would like to participate in. The reason being, most IM races in North America sell out right away, so to get an entry is hard. Next year at this time is when you will have to be ready to figure out which IM race you would do the following year.
TRImapper.com - visual triathlon finder
TRIJUICE.com - triathlon resource blog
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RV posted 1 year ago.
Welcome!
2 years is certainly reasonable. Once I got into Tri's I used 2 years to prepare for the IM. I used the beginner IM training plan from Gale Bernhardt (Training Plans for Multi-Sport Athletes) the first year when I raced HIM's - I wanted to be sure that I could put in the time commitment. Then I used an IM training plan from Rich Strauss that was geared for IMWI - which was the IM that I was targeting.
I have 4 kids and it takes some juggling to work around the family commitments.
Besides getting a training plan, swim lessons whatever - the best thing is to discuss with the wife/family what a commitment it is - They need to understand the hours it takes week after week. And be prepared to be flexible with your training schedule.
Good luck - definitely achievable.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
Welcome and great goal! 2 years should be great -- one to get into tris and really get a feeling for them, developing your base fitness and building consistency in your training. The next to start really building that base, getting miles in your legs and on your bike, and playing with the nutrition.
A swim coach would be a great thing for you -- even just a session to give you things to work on when you are on your own.
Be careful this year with mileage -- make sure you are listening to your body to avoid pushing too fast. Sounds like you know what I mean -- you could do that 26 min 5k, but then how would tomorrow's workout be? You could force a century, but right now that's not your goal.
Just remember going into the IM that the people with 10 years of miles in their legs will have an advantage -- it will depend on your genes, but there is a definite difference that I've seen in doing an IM while getting into tris and really building to it slowly over years of racing tris. I'm not saying one is better than the other -- that depends on family allowances and your goals :)
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dvickery posted 1 year ago.
Thanks to everybody for the warm welcoms and advice. I didn't realize that the IM races sold out so quick. I guess it makes sense though.
I will definately need a swim coach. I know nothing about competative swimming techniques. That'll likely be my biggest challenge.
Thanks again to everybody and good luck with whatever races your in.
Dave V.
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
For a swim coach talk to Ironmom (Robin) on here... she is in Eugene and has give me great tips just over the web! If she doesn't see this post just send her a private message through her profile (which is what I linked her name to).
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Anton posted 1 year ago.
Welcome dvickery!...I third everyones advice to give it two years...
IM's are great...independant "Iron Distance"races have their own beauty too.
being forty...or if you gain experience for two years before you tackle the distance..forty-two...is in no way an impediment to IM...In fact you'll find your age group is at times far more competitive than others (sorry.) I did my first IM at 48 and had no problems although I had years and years of base work...Good luck and again...welcome!
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
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irishpacker posted 1 year ago.
Hey mate, tis good to see there is someone else asking the same questions that I am! I'm in the exact same boat as you are, I'm looking to do an Ironman in the next 2 years, hopefully Austria or Canada (nicest scenery what what I know!)
I've been Rowing and training at senior level for the past two years so I think I have a very good base fitness to get into Triathlons, but I'm no where near reasy for a Ironman. I'd say I could do a Marathon no bother at the moment, and the 180km wouldn't be too bad (I just did a 140km in 6hrs to a regatta up north there a few weeks back just to see how I'd be and I was tired but alright!)... But I couldn't do one straight after the other! I'd probably die!
But like you my biggest challenge is the swim! 3.6km??? I couldn't do more than a few laps of the pool at this stage! Only swimming I've done is when I've capsized in a scull! Thats going to be the biggest hill to climb, becasue if we dont get the swim right on the day, it will ruin the rest of the Ironman!
I'm hoping to start training once this rowing season is finished in mid July, let me know your progress! It'll be nice to know someone else will be struggling with me!:D
Hello all,
First off, let me introduce myself. I'm Dave from Portland, OR. I work for a Hi-Tech corporation and am married with two young daughters. My hopes are to compete and complete a full Ironman competition.
To start with, I'm far from being ready to participate in an ironman contest. The thing is, I just turned 40 and got permission from my better 1/2 to begin training for my 1st one. So, I'm looking for lots of advice and encouragement. 1st of all, I'm giving myself about 2 years of training for the big race. Is that too long or too short? I'm sure a lot depends on my current physical condition so here are my stats:
- I'm 40 years old.
- I'm 6'5" tall.
- weigh 220 lbs - yes, i need to loose about 30 more. about 5 months ago, i weighed 250lbs so I'm on my way.
- I can run 5K (treadmill) in about 28 minutes. could probably do it in 26 minutes but would be through with the rest of the day. At a pace of 11 min/mile, I could do probably do 8 miles +/-
- Can road bike approx 30 miles with moderate much effort. (i ride a Felt F90 63cm). I could force myself to do a century but would regret it and probably be out of action for a week or so.
- I can swim to save my life. I can dog paddle several laps at 24hr fitness or look like a fool and try to swim normal and manage possibly a 1/4 mile.
- Physical limitations are that my left leg is an inch shorter than my right due to a childhood accident. I have adapted pretty good using inserts and such. Probably shouldn't even mention it but it plays a factor when running.
- I'm no stranger to physical pain. I served 8 years in the Army, 4 in the infantry and 4 as a cavalry scout. So, if you know anything about these Army programs, you know that I'm no stranger to long distance running although I've never ran 26 miles at one time.
- I work 12 hour shifts, every Thurs., Fri., Sat., and every other Wed. So that means that I work 3 days one week and 4 the next which also means that I have equal time off. I'm married with two daughters who a are 6 and 4 and I live in Portland, OR.
Throughout these two years, I plan to participate in as many local races as I can. I figure this will prepare me somewhat for competing with other athletes.
So what do you guys think?
Thanks in advance,
Dave