ya. I'm not motivated to do one at this time. I'm happy running and riding my bike and occasionally doing smaller races. But work has taken a priority and so it's time to focus on that and stay active through the sports I enjoy doing, but Ironman isn't on that list right now.

I'm not planning to do an ironman, or even a half, anytime soon. I would rather be competitive locally at the sprint and olympic distance. I just don't have the time or commitment to train that quite enough and from what people tell me, I won't have any more time until I retire (I'm 20 now).. I enjoy being a bigger fish in a little pond with small local sprints and olys. When I do an ironman, or a half if I do one, I want to be competitive.

I agree... Sprints and Olys are really really hard!

I had an interesting conversation that went like:
"So, you do triathlons too, eh?"
"Yeah"
"Have you done an ironman yet?"
"Nope"
"Oh... Well then... Uh when are you doing one?"
"Not for a long time if ever"
"Oh..."
*Looks at me superciliously and walks away from the probably really slow non-ambitious non-competitive triathlete*

Sometimes it bugs me that that many people, triathletes included, think that an ironman is the ultimate goal for all triathletes. Mostly it doesn't bother me.

I'm traing for am IM (34 days and counting) and have some other long shennanigans planned for the fall.
Just got in from a 7 hour ride. Ran 3 hours yesterday...I'm tired and miss the everday stuff...Next year I'd like to get back too my roots and run some short stuff,some sprints,some du's...cross country...and bike tours...and have time to travel...
Long time...most of my favorite athletes have never done an IM...It's not a requirement. It's just that right now, it's "The next cool thing to do." But you're cool without it!

First off, I am in awe of those of you who train and compete for HIM and IM. I know it is not in the cards for me --too many other things going on (family, career) and, to be honest, I don't want to work that hard. I love the sprints and looking to try my hand at an OLY in August.

For all of those out there doing HIM and IM --I raise my chocolate milkshake (and the occasional beer, wine, gin gimlet) to you all --race on!

Well, I agree that Sprints, Olymics, and Halfs are awesome achievements, especially if you are competetive. I also agree that an Olympic is a very painful race to do fast. I think that Ironman's perception in the world at large is justified, not becuase of the distance incolved or the training required, simply because it was first. IM Hawaii for most of the American public IS triathlon, like it or not. I don't agree with that point of view, but as long as NBC covers IM and Olympic only comes around every 4 years on popular TV, that's the way it's going to be.

I choose the HIM and IM distance because I'm a "slow-twitch" person. The longer and slower, the better! I feel like I'm going to stroke out when I do sprints or intervals :D I'd like to be fast (and tall and skinny too!!!), but I think my physical makeup is built for endurance over speed.

Will all those who are fast-twitch impaired please raise your hands...slowly.
I hear ya Star...in a race I'm usually hanging out with Yertle the Turtle. Just don't care about being fast anymore...I felt great the day I made the decision to stop beating my head against THAT brickwall.

Uh, I hope we're not going to debate which sports are truly athletic and which are not. Golf? Bowling?

Some of my hardest training, anaerobically, occurred when I ran the 1600M and 3200M in high school. I remember doing 400 and 800 repeats, and man that was hard.

In some ways I agree with the late, great Steve Prefontaine: "12 miles is enough fun for me." As a 5000M runner you can get away with a long run of that distance. For me five or six hours of anything and my fun meter is pegged out, which means HIM max for now.

Golf: The cat of sports :).

Um...Jstyle...You're a little behind the curve...Racewalking has been an Olympic sport for the last 100 years.
A sanctioned sport by the USATF.
The Olympic entry standard for the 20k is...1:23.
The standard for the 50k...4:00.
Now ...I don't know about you but I can't run 50k in 4:00 (PR 4:19 on a flat road course)
Olympic times respectively are around 1:17 and 3:42.
I race walked seriously in 1977 and 78 and it is NOT easy...(100k PR :9:38 on a track)
Its a tough sport where you can get DQ'd for bad technique.
Take a gander at racewalk.com

as said above...slow or fast, athletes compete...

...so go easy on the golf!

I'm a little behind the curve on this post but my personal feelings are that I am doing an IM in 2008 to test myself. I want to see if I can do it and how well I stand up to the challenge. As in previous posts I am just not as fast as others but I have always had the slow twitch muscles going for me. The longer and slower, the better I preform. Sprints and Oly's are great fun and I plan on never stopping them but they are not something I will be able to excel at for many years. I think HIM and IM are something I could place fairly high at with the given effort.
I also won't waste my time talking to someone who thinks that IM is the be all end all of Tri's. In my experience those people are either new to the sport and either change their opinions or drop out, or are people with no Tri experience. They just watched Kona on TV.

aw..heck no! We love your baseless comments ;) !

It's clearly the level of competion that I enjoy and the passion that I have for watching the sport.

Hello: Training for an Iron Man Triathlon requieres time, comitment, sacrifice and patience. It is a very personal decision that shouldn't be taken lightly.
To be a triathlete you DON'T have to do an Iron Man, this is not a requirement, it's a choice.
For me, it was also a Journey, kind of the culmination of my humble athletic career and an amazing physical, spiritual and mental experience at the ripe and wonderful age of 55.
When I started doing triathlons in 03, I acctually thought I would never would be able to race an Iron Man Triathlon but, I was wrong.
It took me 3 years to feel I was ready and I did it. I trained 9 months, doing the swim, bike, run workouts religiously. I talk to my husband and my daughters and I told them I was totally commited to do this right and I asked them to please understand. They were completely supportive and a very important part of the whole experience. On race day, September 10th. in Madison, Wisconsin, my husband, my daughters, my grandchildren and sons in law were there to cheer me on. I finished in 15:14:43 taking 3rd. place in my age group.
So, if you are "rolling this around your noggin' " don't dismiss it just yet. Give it some thought, weigh in all the pros and cons of this adventure and then make a decision.
You don't have to be an Iron Man to be a Triathlete. For me, believe it or not, Sprints and Olys are more difficult than Iron Man because I am NOT fast.
Maria.

Thank you, Long Time.
Maria.

Oly's are my limit, though I ran the Disney marathon in 1994. I think everyone should run at least one marathon in their lifetime. It was the hardest thing I ever did, and at the same time, one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life. I admire those that can do IM's, but I don't think I'll ever do one. Still consider myself a triathlete though.

There you go that is why we do the things that we do. To know that we really gave it all and the biggest reward is internal when we cross that finish line.

I could no more "not think" of doing an Ironman event each year after watching Kona in 1993, than I could fly to the moon.

What I saw that day - the duel between Pauli Kiuru and Mark Allen, who won his fifth Kona IM in a row that day - so inspired me that I vowed I had to do ironman. I was overweight, holding a beer and smoking a cigarette at the moment I said that.

It took me ten years to get my act together and in 2003 I did my first of what I hope is an annual event for the rest of my life.

btw, I am 220, 6'3" and 55yrs old, and I haven't even thought about smoking since I committed myself to Ironman.

PoC