HIM or IM? that is the question
Per coach Rich's suggest, I am putting it out to the team for input:
I am at a fork in the road. For either HIM or IM, I am thinking of an August/September 2013 event:
Background:
Syracuse in the books (my tri 'A' race for 2012), My next "A' race is NYC marathon 11/4, and I need advise of feasability of choices for 2013.
Originally thought about another HIM this fall. I am backing off that due to:
- Need to fix nutrition,and drop the next 24 lbs.Thinking about signing up for Core diet
- Wife is a non athlete, but very supportive. two rounds of big build ups of the IM or HIM type in a single year, is asking much.
- Have to solve cramping issues
- Swim needs major work, and I need a coach
Two things I have on my mind:
- For NYC marathon, I need to keep working the big picture plan that keeps me working towards HIM or IM 2013. A run only focused plan is not that applealing as 3-4 days a week is about all I run. I feel the cross training for tri's gives me better overall fitness. NYC marathon is a bucket list item, not a time goal quest.
- Is there more benefit to put together a 6-6:30 HIM first, or go for the gold and take it to the IM level? My concern is in correcting these performance/nutrition/weight issues first, and not ending up with a 15-17 hr suffer fest. Working full time allows me to juggle only so many balls at a time.
Need input:
So asside from planning out the summer,and finishing NYC marathon, the fork in my road and the path forward is whether to go 70.3, or full ironman in 2013.
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Comments
Thanks for pointing that out. For IM, it is a bucket list item, and want to finish well. I do think I have it in me to do a 5:30-sub 6 HIM if I address weight,and current performance issues. I am ok with maybe a 13-15 hr day I, but would not want it to be a hang on for dear life event.
I started using old-schoo,l low intensity, long training hours approach and my HIM times started at 6:23. The following year I improved to 5:45 with a coach but the same sort of approach. After 12 months with that coach my time for the same HIM only improved a couple of minutes.
I then started drinking the EN Kool Aid and did 5:29 at the same HIM the following year but in conditions that were much more difficult (gusty winds and quite hot).
This brings me to last season where I trained for my first IM.
Based on my experience I have 2 main points to make.
First, the physical and mental cost of IM training is much bigger than for the HIM (I was very surprised about the mental cost, as I expected the physical cost of an IM to be bigger).
And the second point is this, if you haven't done a number of years of consistent EN type training, there is a lot of improvement to come in your performances, provided you do the work.
So I would suggest you stick with your HIM focus until you "know" that you are really ready to take on the IM challenge.
I always keep in mind some advice I saw in these forums from ENer Chris Whyte to the effect that most peeps over-estimate there likely performance in their upcoming race while underestimating their future triathlon potential.
If you get on the right nutrition plan now (Core Diet?) there's no reason you won't drop your 25lbs by next spring if you are disciplined.
Swim: Get a coach and do: drills, drills, drills. You were just under an hour on the SYR swim, no reason you can't do an IM swim in 1:40 next yr. At your current swim level, their should be low hanging fruit you can harvest with good swim instruction.
Bike: Your next 9 months on the bike will be exactly the same whether IM or HIM. Some good solid work (with some fun stuff) throughout the rest of the summer. Then Start your OS in Dec or Jan after you are recovered from the NYC Mary. The IM plan will certainly have longer bikes, but that only adds about an hour on Sat & Sundays and you will have 2 much longer Race Rehearsals. Comparinging to your 3:21 SYR bike split (on a hilly course), no reason you won't have a 2-handle HIM bike split next yr or a 6:10-6:40 IM bike split (give or take depending on course and the work you do).
Run: The weight loss will definitely help with this and you will likely build lasting run fitness and ability in your buildup to NYC Mary. Don't hurt yourself though. Strengthen your core and glutes and Hammy's and try to develop high turnover. There are some gait analysis threads so PM me if you care. I think if you fix your nutrition and get a little better fitness you will avoid the cramping in the legs issues next yr. There are plenty of nutrition threads about cramping as well. Nutrition, electrolytes, magnesium, etc...?
Might also be less of a sufferfest if you do something like IMFL to avoid the hills or extreme temps. Another thought is that IM Wisconsin will have a ton of EN peeps there so you should get a ton of EN mojo. IMUSA is practically in your backyard and will also have a ton of EN mojo, but that will be a few months earlier than what you said you wanted.
So my opinion is "Seize the Day"...
Mike, as a non-athlete who tackled her first IM 16 months after LITERALLY learning to swim, here's my two cents: The fact that it's on your mind and you're considering an IM now means that you want to do it, so why wait? As far as I'm concerned, the desire is more than half the battle. There will always be the, "When I.... Then I.... " thoughts that will hold you back.... "When I become a better swimmer, then I'll do an Ironman." Clearly you're a driven, motivated guy who put in the work and has already come a long way since you took the plunge and registered for Syracuse. I would bet that if you DON'T take the leap and register for whichever IM you choose to do in 2013, you will likely find that you've changed your mind halfway through the season when registration will be closed and you'll be disappointed that you didn't pull the trigger when you could've. All of the rest is a work in progress and everyone here in the Haus is proof of that - there will always be someone trying to lose weight, run faster, swim smoother (me!), or figure out their perfect nutrition strategy.
When I did IMLou last year, it was with four sprints and one "Half-Lite" 50 tri under my belt. I DNF'd my one and only 70.3 when I crashed on the bike course... but even with my lack of experience, I still had a solid nutrition and execution plan in place thanks to my race rehearsals. I suppose my point is, if you WANT it, GO for it. It can be done!
If the IM bug is driving you nuts with itching, you may just have to stratch it. But do so knowing full well what's entailed in the year leading up to it.
My first IM story is probably similar to a lot of others, full of ignorance and optimism. I never ran a step until Jan 1, 1999. A few sprints and Olys that year, then, on a training run in March 2000, I went 13 miles for the first time in my life, and figured, what the heck, and signed up for that fall's IM FL (you could do that then - I also remember when gas was 30¢/gal) before I'd ever done an HIM. I did two Hlafs that summer, and they did not prepare me for what happens in those *second* 13 miles on IM race day. That's where EN can help you avoid the mistakes of irrationally exuberant people like me.
BTW - it doesn't matter how fast or slow you go in an IM, it's ALWAYS a sufferfest for all of us.
Thanks for all the great input!
We're going for it! Just have to pick a 140.6 race
Make sure you read this thread for lots of objective advice