So I want to do an Ironman......

if you read through sme threads on here.this is mainlky a site where people just go for it.......

many have done it in a year from noithing to ironman..

on other forums  you will find loads that prefer to do the other way.....

it all depends on what you want....bioth are options...

good luck 

I entered a sprint, enjoyed the training so much that entered Ironman before doing the sprint race.

Its all down to you and what you want, the pirates are generally a bunch that just go for it and fair number on here have Ironman as their first tri of any sort.

How poor is your swimming? many on here couldn't swim 25 metres a year before Ironman

How far can you cycle? many on here didn't own a bike

If you want to just go and do it, it can be done but you have to throw yourself completely into it, so much so that it can affect other aspects of your life, I know this from experience.

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/triathlon/how-bad-were-you/107639.html

if you follow a 30 week training plan like the 'Fink' one it will cover off Olympic distance and half distance races as part of that plan.  I just said to hell with it, it was what i wanted to do so no point in mucking around

I've not done a triathlon yet. I cycle a lot and swim quite a bit (but have only been OW swimming once) and I started running earlier this year. My plan was to do the Henley Half next year. After this years event and having spoken to a few people I kept getting told I'd regret it if I only did the half - so now I'm signed up for the full thing next September. I'll read the Fink stuff and I've got a few other books to read through. I'm quite looking forward to doing some of the cycling events that I've done in the past as training rides. I know I can swim the Ironman distance in the pool and in spring I'll hopefully do a marathon. It'll be fine!!

Last year I just said 'bugger it' and entered - (having done up to oly dist and lots of marathons).  I told no-one and I guess didn't commit until my husband took it upon himself to tell everyone I knew.

I became quite ill and had to withdraw (nothing to do with training - just bad timing) so this year have entered again and am feeling much more positive than I did last time - health is better and have a deeper conviction that this time I will get there.

Husband did a novice and promptly entered Ironman Austria - NUTS!!!  Annoying this is that he will probably beat me by hours.

Skippy as above a lot of us have just gone to hell with it and set a race as a goal and taken it from there. One thing I would say is work out a budgit if you can and work out what you can afford. It can be expensive if you let yourself think I must have the best kit.

My advice would be to take the plunge with an Ironman when it fits your lifestyle and family.

The biggest consideration is the training time. So if you have the time now, go for it.

Welcome aboard! I'm one of the slackers who eased myself into it. Half IM (with an Oly in training) in the first year, IM (with a half in training) in the second year. That progression suited me just fine. It just made the enormity of it a little more manageable. Coming from a zero base, the thought of a 6-7 hour event was mind blowing enough. trying to get my head around a 13-16 hour event would have been too much for me I suspect. As it was I found the IM daunting enough.

I'm not saying you can't do it in one year, of course you can, many do but I suspect most don't. It also depends on how much pain you want to be in, whether you see this as a one and done thing, whether it's something you want to post a respectable time on etc.

I took the view that there was no hurry and was pleased with how it has worked out.

I think your mentality will be the key factor as to whether it is right for you do do it in a year. I needed the extra years base training (and working out what a pool was!) and the mental coming to terms with the enormity of it!

Important thing is to enjoy it!

there isn't a recommended amount of time to train.....you just have to make sure that you can balance training into your life.which you already seemt o be doing...

some people have busy jobs..kids...husbands/ wifes.......etc etc and then have to do a lot of jggling.so in those cases its best to get your partner onboard from the start

I had never even done a sprint triathlon before but decided I'd do an Ironman to test myself - so entered the UK Ironman 2012 and gave myself 20 weeks to train for it. I didn't exactly set the world alight, but got around in 15 hours flat.

It is worth noting that in a survey of 50,000 athletes, Ironman UK was considered a lot tougher than others such as Austria or Switzerland. Of course this is opinion not fact - something to be taken into acccount.

http://www.runtri.com/2010/07/runtri-benchmarks-easiest-ironman.html

I am pretty active and have done one marathon (4 hours), a handful of Etapes but almost anyone can do an Ironman if they (a) stick to the plan and (b) stick to the plan ! As others have pointed out,  the training is time consuming although you don't need to become a complete hermit, just an occasional recluse.

I followed this plan which did the job nicely:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=441

Lots of people will tell you are mad/can't be done etc etc - don't pay any attenton. It was an amazing experience and there is no feeling quite like all that hard work paying off.

One tip I would give, is to try and pal up with someone else who has entered, as training along for 10-12 hours a week is tough on the mind.  It is good prepartion for the race itself though, no drafting on the bikes means you are alone until the run.

Good luck !

I thought you had to be present at this years event to be able to enter next years IM Canada?
Or have I missed something