First Tri an IM?
Has anyone here just jumped right into the sport and did an IM as your first tri? I'm just curious to see who has done this and what you wished you knew or did differently before the actual race. I have never done a tri before and am doing IMWI this Sept. I am pretty confident I can get er done, but I want to at least be a little competetive. Any adivce or suggestions welcome.
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I'm not saying this to dissuade you from doing IMWI, more to give yourself the opportunity to learn a few lessons beforehand - unless of course you want to be able to say your first tri was an IM.
But as far as anyone going straight to IM - I'm sure it's been done, but I'd say very few and far between.
I agree with Ryan. I'd very very strongly recommend that you do a sprint tri first so you get the basics down first. There are things that you can only learn by racing your first tri, and IMO it's very risky to have to learn all that during your first IM. I think Coach Rich also expressed the same sentiment about that, but can't remember which thread...
On the other hand, you don't need significant experience racing tris to successfully finish an IM. I did my first IM barely two years after doing my first sprint tri, and with a handful of short course tris in between.
Question - September is a long way off. Why not do a little local sprint in April, May or June? Find a cheap one close to home and try it as fitness test or a transition race rehearsal. It will just give you some ideas about packing your bags, changing, etc.
I was just curious to see if anyone had done it here. I have already signed up and can't be persuaded not to do it. Just curious to talk to other first time tri peeps.
He's an obvious freak of nature. Went 9:00 at Kona in 2011 and has been first amateur several times at various Ironman races.
That said, and IM race day is pretty different from other races, especially the transition process. But it's also off the charts more "holy shit this is fookin' big, on all levels!!" that I imagine it could be overwhelming as your first.
My first and only triathlon for the past decade was an IM...
year 2000: I was a young, dumb, and poor 26 year old med student. I wanted to do something interesting for the y2k hoopla. IM sounded appropriate. As background, I was a pretty good overall athlete (college soccer), had run a few marathons, grew up on a lake (counts as swim experience), biked to class etc.
I signed up for IM Florida...
I scoured EBay over the winter and bought a used road bike. Clip on aero bars. I modified a water bottle, and feed some rubber tubing up to my handlebars in a hack job attempt at a hydration system.
I used my brother's waverunner wetsuit. Now I realize it was totally illegal (way too thick), and I now "get" all the strange looks I got at the start line. No formal swim training. I did the breaststroke the entire race.
Goal was just to finish.
Training was pathetic. I was really busy, and blissfully ignorant of the distance. I figured I was pretty tough. I ran some, and biked some. That was my plan. Seemed ok at the time... Longest bike in my life before the event was 60 miles. Longest training run in the months prior was about 15. I swam probably 2 x a month.
I printed some forum threads from the IM florida website to read while travelling to the event. I pieced together a transition and nutrition plan in the days before the race. I was ready.
Made it through the swim. Glad it was a 2 loop that took us out of the water.
Bike seemed really long.
"Run" seemed much longer. Lots of walking, and frankly, I don't even remember so much of the "run". I was pretty wobbly...
I do have one vivid memory of being close enough to the finish line to see the lights, and hear the music. I was bent over the side of the road puking, and this older lady competitor (60+) jogs up to me, gave me a gentle pat on the back mid vomit, and says"Good job! You're about to finish! You can do it!", and then trots off out of sight towards the finish line. Straight up humble pie.
Finish time was 13:48 ish. After the race, I was definitely in Rhabdo, and in pretty rough shape as I couldn't eat or drink for about 24 hours after. i was too stubborn to go to the med tent. I passed out in the shower. Combos saved my life, and eventually nursed me back to life.
I took 10 years off to erase the memory ( had a few kids, and life changes along the way), then returned to triathlon last season with a couple of HIM's, and IMWI. Love it now. I love the training, and putting all the puzzle pieces together. I do enjoy telling the story of my triathlon entrance, though.
Can it be done? ABSOLUTELY. Should it? HELL YES. Makes for a great story no matter how it ends. My suggestion is to train smart with EN, put the work in, respect the distance, and enjoy the ride. If you put your time in during training, and absorb the wisdom of the haus, you will to great! I'll see you at the IMWI start line in '13. Good luck!
@Ian -- ahhh, the blessed ignorance of youth!!!!! Great story. Probably didn't feel that way at the time, but, hey, you're here with us now today!!
My 3rd Triathlon was an Ironman. I have now done two Ironmans. The days leading up to the Ironman your mind starts to play tricks on you. You will be coming down from some high volume training and slowly losing your mind with anticipation. There are lots of little stressers that pop up. Bike Maintenance, How many gels to pack, tire pump worries, etc. The list is pretty long of really silly things to worry about, but its all around Ironman Logisitics which has many parts to it. In all of this, Self doubt can sneak in. I would not recommend adding to that stress with, "this is my first Triathlon." It can be done, but why do that to yourself. There is somethig about the "race day" atmosphere that is worth the price of admission for a local Sprint or better yet, an Olympic distance race. If for no other reason than practicing packing up all your Tri stuff into a bag or car. Enjoy the Triathlon Vibe, see the wide range of "types" and "talent" that do these races.
good luck...
Yup. I signed up for IM St George 2011 having never done a Triathlon before. Started training with a free plan from ontri, going from the couch in October for the May race. I did do a truncated half- IM in march (swim canceled for wind and waves) and international distance in april (my only Open water swim before IMSG.) My biggest problem with executing that race was getting hydration and nutrition right. These more than ANYTHNING else are the key to have a good day in an IM, I think. If you can get those right you'll do so much better than many experienced triathletes. So in retrospect probably not the smartest way to go about getting my IM cherry popped, but it worked and I had a ton of fun getting there. Too bad I found EN after the fact, I would have been much better prepared all around.