First full IM - A couple of questions
Okay...so this is a post I never thought I'd write. I'm considering jumping into the deep waters and signing up for a full IM. I swore I'd never do this b/c about 10 years ago I ran a marathon (my 1st and only) and I remember how freakin' tough it was when I hit mile 22-23. When I put that thought in the context of a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride it makes my brain short circuit.
That being said, here I am (& a wee bit terrified at even putting these thoughts into words) thinking through options. There are two races that have caught my eye in 2014 - Canada and Tahoe. I'm already signed up for Oceanside 70.3 in March. There are 16 weeks between Oceanside and Canada and five months or so between Oceanside and Lake Tahoe.
A couple of questions:
- Is 16 weeks enough time to move from a HIM distance to a full IM distance?
- Any thoughts on which race/venue might make for a better introduction to the full IM distance?
Thanks
David
Comments
I don't know much about either of those courses, but both are supposed to be beautiful and have their own unique aspects that make them great (and/or difficult).
One other thing to consider, I'e done 4 IM's now, but I have NEVER run a stand-alone marathon. That just seems kind of miserable to me. Running 26.2 miles straight. An IM Marathon is simply a catered set of ~1 mile slow-ish intervals with walking breaks in between. It's a different kind of hard, but in a different kind of way and not necessarily harder than what you have already done. And likely way more fulfilling!
My $.02... I think you'd be kind of foolish coming from the Dallas area and doing Tahoe. Watch what happens this weekend, especially to people coming from warm and low elevation areas. Does swimming in 58 degree water and riding in 35-45 degree temps for 112 miles all at close to 7,000 feet sound appealing in any way, shape or form? It's still a 100 degrees for us Texans.
16 weeks is plenty of time. In fact, anything more than a 16 week training cycle for an IM is kind of absurd to me. I'd suggest training for Oceanside like you were just training for Oceanside. Don't give the IM training a second thought until you've done Oceanside and rested & recovered for a couple of weeks. You'll be in great shape having just trained and raced a 70.3. Then do a 14 week training block for the IM.
You've heard my thoughts on Tahoe so I won't repeat myself there. I did IMC-Whistler this year and it was the most awesome venue of any long course triathlon I have ever done (four IM's and ten 70.3's). Would I choose it for a first time IM? Probably not. It's a really tough bike course. I know your part of TX is hillier than my part but it's still not anything remotely close to what you'll experience at IMC. Consensus on elevation gain was 6,200'-6,500'. The run was no picnic either with 1,200' of elevation gain on the run. It's probably close to a 45-60 minute slower course for me than somewhere like IMFL or IMAZ. Not saying you need a PR course like IMFL or IMAZ as your first but just throwing that out there for arguments sake.
Why either IMC or IMLT? Is it the timing? I personally think it's harder doing two training builds in a year as you would more or less have to do a full training program for both Oceanside and IMC/IMLT. Personally, I would do Oceanside and try to follow it up with an IM 6-8 weeks later as opposed to 16-20 weeks later. Only IMTX (as far as WTC races) fits within those parameters though. IMCdA is next closest at 13 weeks from Oceanside.
If you're following the EN season strategy, then 12 weeks after an HIM for which you trained well is plenty of time to get ready for an IM; even 8 weeks is quite doable.
I'm with Bob - while ANY IM is hard enough, and so comparing them is like comparing climbing Everest to K2, some ARE a bit "easier" (read: more forgiving of rookie mistakes) than others for first timers. Of those that fit the timing and still have openings for 2014, Coeur d'Alene, Florida and Arizona come to mind. Or "train through" Oceanside and do Texas.
I like the mental re-shifting of thinking about the 26.2 as a series of 1 mile runs. That's actually a helpful image for me b/c to be honest, the marathon is the part that's kept me from signing up thus far.
Bob - good feedback on altitude and hills. And yes..it's still wicked hot here in Dallas. You are correct that the primary driver for either IMC or IMLT is timing (with IMC being the preferred of the two b/c, as you mentioned, I'd rather not have to do two separate full training builds. I was looking at IMCdA but wasn't sure if that was too close to Oceanside. I guess in my "newbie" mind 13 weeks didn't seem like enough time to move from a 70.3 to a full IM - but maybe it's enough. Figure you take a week to recover from Oceanside and then your at 12 weeks from the race. I think I'm having a tough time getting a feel for how big the jump in training / prep will be to roll from the half to the full.
The training for an IM is pretty much the same as for an HIM, except for two specific workouts each week - the longest bike and longest runs. And even those are only longer for about 4 weeks of the prep phase.
"Rolling over" your HIM fitness into an IM training phase is different than training de novo for an IM - you don't need as much time as you might think to get ready for the IM, unless you have let your fitness dwindle significantly after the HIM. Getting going again in 2 weeks after Oceanside is perfect, then ten weeks or so is plenty to get you ready for CdA.
Thanks for all the input! This was SUPER helpful for me as I process all this. I'm thinking that Coeur d' Alene might make the most sense in terms of timing and training. I'll have more margin to train in the late spring / early summer than I would in the fall (kid's activities, etc..). My sweet bride is not entirely sold on the idea just yet - but I think she'll get there as we talk more about it. Encouraged to hear that the training load isn't double that of a 70.3 - which I think was my fear. I get almost all of my training in before the sun comes up so (knocked out 13 miles on this morning's long run before the sun came up!), with the exception of the weekends, there is little family disruption.
Does anyone know if CDA sells out? Or if it usually has open spots up to race day.
There are two 2.5 hour runs in IM prep, rest are 2 hrs +/- 15 min. Weekly, there are bikes of 4.5 and 3 hours. There are two race rehearsals of 7 hours. The rest is pretty much the same as an HIM plan.
Even after doing the LT Century bike ride, followed by a two mile brick, in my lead-up to IMCDA2009, I would NOT do Tahoe, but have done CDA twice as I said.
I can say there are HILLS around here to train on, for any course, but you'll have to drive to get them. I can share routes with you; even ride with you to show them.
I also am a member of a local tri team or two, and we frequently go to Fredericksburg (Texas "hill country"), for a base camp over Presidents Day weekend and also for Easter Hill Country Tour (EHCT.com). There's also Texas Hell Week (http://www.hellweek.com/texas.html) and Tulsa Tough in early June.
I went to the Joe Pool area every other week for a circuit of hills (55 miles) when training for IMMT this year. Unfortunately, that's how you have to do it around here, by assembling hills and doing repeats. A friend of mine from FTW, who is doing IMLT this weekend, went to Mt Scott up in OK every 2-3 weeks for her training.
The joke I always tell non-Texas people is that we train for hills by doing repeats over the same highway overpass, as they're the biggest "hills" in Texas! haha
But the others are correct, the cold water temps and cold air temps - you just can't train for that around here. You've gotta go somewhere FAR away from North TX to get either of those.
One HUGE thing though, if you don't have one already and one that benefits you greatly for hilly races...POWER METER!
Training for hills is possible though, here in the DFW area, don't let anyone tell you different.
Feel free to PM me if you have questions!
Both hill work and overgearing translate well when you ride flat and normal. Mo power = mo speed! aka work works!