That seems incredibly aggressive and asking for an injury considering Pointer's background. Besides, unless he's planning on doing Silverman or Grand Columbian (both difficult courses) or maybe Rev3 or this Redman, he's going to have to sign up and commit a year in advance. Not trying to talk you out of anything, Pointer, but a plan like that doesn't sound very realistic. You ought to have a quality marathon and century result under your belt at the very least to know what you are getting into before signing on to a full IM, in my humble opinion. Maybe you do though or maybe your goal is just making the cutoffs (which to me seems like a miserable way to finish an IM). At any rate, whenever you are ready there is a new IM beginning next year in your neck of the woods -- IM St George. Check it out and good luck...
fitness goals for this fall?
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Southwind
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O.K. a couple of questions from someone who has no clue.
1) Do most swimmers wear a wet suit?
2) Even in a pool?
3) What type of suit?
4) Is the biking portion normally a touring event? No off road?
I am just trying to get a sense of things. Don't really want to spend any money to start but would like to know what to expect.
Thanks
1) Do most swimmers wear a wet suit?
2) Even in a pool?
3) What type of suit?
4) Is the biking portion normally a touring event? No off road?
I am just trying to get a sense of things. Don't really want to spend any money to start but would like to know what to expect.
Thanks
BG- Thanks for the advice. No,I have not done either a marathon nor a century. I've done 65mi on a bike, but the farthest I've ever ran at one stretch was 9mi. Completeing each of the disciplines seperately does make a lot of sense. There's a few of each here in UT, so finding one shouldn't be hard. My only goal for an IM would be to just finish.
upper deck
Member
Southwind
1) Do most swimmers wear a wet suit?
2) Even in a pool?
3) What type of suit?
4) Is the biking portion normally a touring event? No off road?
To answer your questions.
The wet suit is used in open water swim only if the temp is below a certain degree. What the cutoff temp is I'm not sure. In Kansas you will probably be able to wear them into early June.
As far as the suit for the event I just wear my bike shorts.
And yes in a triathlon the bike will be on paved roads.
1) Do most swimmers wear a wet suit?
2) Even in a pool?
3) What type of suit?
4) Is the biking portion normally a touring event? No off road?
To answer your questions.
The wet suit is used in open water swim only if the temp is below a certain degree. What the cutoff temp is I'm not sure. In Kansas you will probably be able to wear them into early June.
As far as the suit for the event I just wear my bike shorts.
And yes in a triathlon the bike will be on paved roads.
USAT rules set the wetsuit cutoff for age-groupers (AGers = not pro) at 78F. You can wear one up to 84F I think, but then are not eligible for awards. They say if you are allowed to wear one, then do it because it makes you faster (wetsuit makes you buoyant therefore more energy can be spent on propulsion). If you just want to do one race w/o shelling out the money for a good wetsuit, you can rent one.
There are also plenty of offroad tri's. The XTERRA races are quite popular. There are also road & offroad duathlons for those that can't swim, which are run-bike-run format.
There are also plenty of offroad tri's. The XTERRA races are quite popular. There are also road & offroad duathlons for those that can't swim, which are run-bike-run format.
BG
You're right, its somewhat aggressive, but I think its certainly do-able. I did my first half IM six weeks after my sprint and was fine until mile 5 of the run(36 min swim and 3:18 bike split in running shoes with toe clips) I had to slow to a walk/jog for the remainder of the race but I'd never ridden more than 40 miles in my life till that day .
It would be nice to have the century and the "quality" marathon (whatever that is : )) but I've known folks in the late 80's and early 90's that did the full comfortably on less than three months training during summer vacation. They'd do roughly half to two third of the distance of each discipline prior to the race and call it good. Now, you won't podium that way but you will finish.
Mental toughness is really important in any endurance event- you have to decide you are not going to stop. But once you do, finishing isn't all that hard. If you want to do it badly enough, you will.
With the progression I suggested, he's got a whole year to work toward it, training races to check his progress, and he can bail out without losing his entry fee. You're right about the M-dot races requiring a monetary committment one year out, and Silverman is not a course for a first timer, but GC, Blue Devil, Redman, Beach to Battleship etc are the same distance and better races to start on anyway.
Say he just trains all the way through the Olympic race and than says "screw it" this isn't my thing. He's not out too much money and I would bet has learned a thing or two and lost some weight in the process.
Just my two cents,
G
You're right, its somewhat aggressive, but I think its certainly do-able. I did my first half IM six weeks after my sprint and was fine until mile 5 of the run(36 min swim and 3:18 bike split in running shoes with toe clips) I had to slow to a walk/jog for the remainder of the race but I'd never ridden more than 40 miles in my life till that day .
It would be nice to have the century and the "quality" marathon (whatever that is : )) but I've known folks in the late 80's and early 90's that did the full comfortably on less than three months training during summer vacation. They'd do roughly half to two third of the distance of each discipline prior to the race and call it good. Now, you won't podium that way but you will finish.
Mental toughness is really important in any endurance event- you have to decide you are not going to stop. But once you do, finishing isn't all that hard. If you want to do it badly enough, you will.
With the progression I suggested, he's got a whole year to work toward it, training races to check his progress, and he can bail out without losing his entry fee. You're right about the M-dot races requiring a monetary committment one year out, and Silverman is not a course for a first timer, but GC, Blue Devil, Redman, Beach to Battleship etc are the same distance and better races to start on anyway.
Say he just trains all the way through the Olympic race and than says "screw it" this isn't my thing. He's not out too much money and I would bet has learned a thing or two and lost some weight in the process.
Just my two cents,
G
"quality marathon"... one that you're still running at the end...? 
I hadn't heard of that Beach to Battleship race. That looks like a good, fast one. Might have to think about doing it down the road, especially considering that my sister lives in Norfolk.
I hadn't heard of that Beach to Battleship race. That looks like a good, fast one. Might have to think about doing it down the road, especially considering that my sister lives in Norfolk.
Beach2Battleship is a new one. That's why there's not alot of buzz about it yet. Everything I've heard about it has been good. I especially like the venue and the fact that he early Sept races don't generally interfere with hunting. Unless you are lucky enough to be hunting sheep or have an early Archery tag, etc.
Great Floridian is another well run, non mdot race- but its in late October and consequently, I've never raced it.
G
Great Floridian is another well run, non mdot race- but its in late October and consequently, I've never raced it.
G
Yes I did, sort of. I was going to wait for the race pictures to be posted before doing the race report but they aren't up yet so here it is.
I had a nagging calf overuse injury going into the race but drove up to OKC the day before. The forecast for raceday was for high 80/low 70 and no rain...perfect conditions. I got up that morning at 4:00 AM, get to the transition area at 5:00AM, get set up and it starts pouring down rain. The start is delayed for an hour while they figure out whether or not to hold the event as the bike course is washed out and underwater in sections.We sit there huddled in wetsuits and wrapped up in trashbags. They finally agree to race provided we portage the bikes on foot across the flooded out sections.
The swim goes well 1:05 for 2.4 miles according to my wife's stopwatch. The bike is right at 6 and a half hours for the 112 miles (not sure as their site still doesn't show my times) including the walking through knee deep water in sections. It rained the whole time until the last few miles coming back. Here's the one picture my wife got of the return along the dam.....
I had a nagging calf overuse injury going into the race but drove up to OKC the day before. The forecast for raceday was for high 80/low 70 and no rain...perfect conditions. I got up that morning at 4:00 AM, get to the transition area at 5:00AM, get set up and it starts pouring down rain. The start is delayed for an hour while they figure out whether or not to hold the event as the bike course is washed out and underwater in sections.We sit there huddled in wetsuits and wrapped up in trashbags. They finally agree to race provided we portage the bikes on foot across the flooded out sections.
The swim goes well 1:05 for 2.4 miles according to my wife's stopwatch. The bike is right at 6 and a half hours for the 112 miles (not sure as their site still doesn't show my times) including the walking through knee deep water in sections. It rained the whole time until the last few miles coming back. Here's the one picture my wife got of the return along the dam.....
The whole ride I'm thinking that when this is over, I get to change into dry shoes and socks for the run and I'll get to warm up.
I get off the bike at transition, change into dry shoes and head out on the run course.....which, you guessed it, is underwater (six inches deep in parts).
My dry shoes are soaked 100 yards into the run. The mud is ankle deep in places. My calf starts to really throb after less than a mile. I take some ibuprofen to numb the calf. My first lap (a little under 7 miles) of the marathon takes me over an hour twenty five minutes. The ibuprofen has made my stomach sick and I'm really miserable.
I started to worry about doing further damage to my calf on the eve of our annual Wyoming hunting trip next week and I decide its not worth it. I meet my patient wife whose been sitting there in the wet mud for nine hours and we pull the plug and call it a day.
I feel a bit bad for DNFing but by that point, there was no chance at my goal time and I was worried about not getting to go hunting if I continued to push.
So anyway, that's the story- now hopefully I've used up all my bad luck and next week I'll have a picture of a really big mule deer and antelope to post!
G
I get off the bike at transition, change into dry shoes and head out on the run course.....which, you guessed it, is underwater (six inches deep in parts).
My dry shoes are soaked 100 yards into the run. The mud is ankle deep in places. My calf starts to really throb after less than a mile. I take some ibuprofen to numb the calf. My first lap (a little under 7 miles) of the marathon takes me over an hour twenty five minutes. The ibuprofen has made my stomach sick and I'm really miserable.
I started to worry about doing further damage to my calf on the eve of our annual Wyoming hunting trip next week and I decide its not worth it. I meet my patient wife whose been sitting there in the wet mud for nine hours and we pull the plug and call it a day.
I feel a bit bad for DNFing but by that point, there was no chance at my goal time and I was worried about not getting to go hunting if I continued to push.
So anyway, that's the story- now hopefully I've used up all my bad luck and next week I'll have a picture of a really big mule deer and antelope to post!
G
Sub 12:00.....I actually think I'm capable of 11:00 if everything goes perfectly. But last week was far from. My best half is 5:07 but it was a few years ago and I should probably take a year off the fulls and work on getting that half time down.
But at least I have a fitness goal for next season.....
What are your plans for next year?
But at least I have a fitness goal for next season.....
What are your plans for next year?
Boise 70.3 and IMAZ. Probably also do a couple oly's and a marathon. My brother just did Leadville 100 and I'd like to give that a go with him next year if we can get in (the MTB race not the run). Might sign up for an XTERRA event also -- haven't ever done one before.
What's on your plate?
What's on your plate?
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I'd like to try an Ultra run here this winter, a 50k followed by,maybe, a 50 mile if I can rehab this calf issue I keep getting. I'm thinking about taking a short break and training speed again in the Spring with the goal being to try to go sub 5:00 for a half IM at Buffalo Springs or Kansas. Then, if all goes well and I have no injury issues, I might try for a non-Mdot full later in the season- assuming I don't draw any Sept tags. Or might take the year off....
Leadville is a great race. I'd love to do it but I can't find a place to train at altitude. It would give you a great base for IMAZ though, which is a winter race now.
As far as XTERRA goes, I've never done one either, but My wife and I got married in Maui where the World Championships are held and I got a look at the course. It looked fiendishly steep and rugged.
I did do a mountain bike duathlon( R-B-R) years ago in which I broke my bike helmet in 7 pieces and have stuck to road racing in bike events ever since.
The training should be fun though- and safer then riding the roads.
Which marathon are you thinking of doing?
Leadville is a great race. I'd love to do it but I can't find a place to train at altitude. It would give you a great base for IMAZ though, which is a winter race now.
As far as XTERRA goes, I've never done one either, but My wife and I got married in Maui where the World Championships are held and I got a look at the course. It looked fiendishly steep and rugged.
I did do a mountain bike duathlon( R-B-R) years ago in which I broke my bike helmet in 7 pieces and have stuck to road racing in bike events ever since.
The training should be fun though- and safer then riding the roads.
Which marathon are you thinking of doing?
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