I have done a few tris and have friends that have friends that have done various Ironmans. It basically takes about of year of training and it's very difficult to finish one unless you train about 10 hours/week at minimum. Its one of those things that you have to put everything aside to complete.
My dad did it twice.
He'd get up early in the morning and run/bike before work for 45-90min. He'd swim for 60min at lunch. That was 5x/week. On the weekends, he'd at least go on one long ride (4-6 hours) and a run/swim for an hour on one day. On the other day, he would do some combination for 4-6 hours.
I'd say you're looking at 20 hrs/week? I'm sure you could get by with less but my dad's, for better or worse, is the kinda guy who crosses every t and dots every i.
He'd get up early in the morning and run/bike before work for 45-90min. He'd swim for 60min at lunch. That was 5x/week. On the weekends, he'd at least go on one long ride (4-6 hours) and a run/swim for an hour on one day. On the other day, he would do some combination for 4-6 hours.
I'd say you're looking at 20 hrs/week? I'm sure you could get by with less but my dad's, for better or worse, is the kinda guy who crosses every t and dots every i.
Thanks for the input guys. Its something I'm seriously considering doing at some point in my life. The distances are unreal, plus I've heard the transition from the bike to running is very painful. I admire these athletes, especially the old folks.
redatmosphere, how old was your dad when he competed?
redatmosphere, how old was your dad when he competed?
I've run two marathons and several half marathons in my life. Mostly back in the 70's & 80's. All I can tell you is I trained running about 80 miles per week with several 18-20 mile runs on the weekends leading up to the marathon. I finished both of my marathons in a little less than 3.5 hours. How hard you train for a marathon or a triathlon depends on what you want to do in the race. Do you want to train to just finish, or do you want to have a decent time? I suspect being your first tri that you just want to finish, but still come in ahead of the 80 year old senior citizens. I recommend getting in as many road miles as you can running. Especially since this is the last link of your race.. If your able to work up to running comfortably for 20 miles at a time, then your getting yourself in pretty damn good shape. My weak link would be swimming. If it was me, I would be training with these two links more than the cycling part. But that's just me.
I've run 3 marathons and raced bicycles. In my opinion, the swimming 2.4 miles would probably be the hardest part. Only because swimming is much more technical than most realize. It's very hard for most to learn how to breathe properly and in rythem with your strokes. If you don't use proper swimming technique, you're not going to make it 2.4 miles in the open ocean. I've tried to learn proper swimming technique in lap pools and really struggled with breathing.
Good luck and I hope you go for it!!!
Good luck and I hope you go for it!!!
