Going all in vs. Finishing

Huzzah for breaking out of the "I just want to finish" rationalization.  There is a time and a place for that, and in my case, it happed at mile 67 of the IMCdA bike course.  When I signed up a year ago, I set a goal of 12-13 hours and let that drive the training.  I knew if I wanted to swim 1:15 (1:47/100 pace) I'd need to push beyond my comfort zone in the pool and start doing 100's faster than 1:40.  I knew if I wanted a 6-hour bike split, I needed to have 100-mile training rides in 5.5 hours or better.  It wasn't going to be "good enough" to spend 7 or 8 hours on my 100-mile rides. 

Here's an observation:  Look at some of the "fast" people here on BT, and you'll be surprised to not find a lot of monster volumes.  I had equal and in some cases higher volume than some of these guys and my most optimistic finish was about 1.5-2 hours longer than their expected finish.  Why is that?  They're much more rigorous about following a structured training plan to maximize the training benefits.  They hit the tempo sessions with a lot more gusto than I do.  They pay closer attention to nutrition and recovery than I do.  I don't begrudge their results. 

Good luck.  Hire a coach.  Discuss your goals and agree on a plan, and then follow the plan as much as you can.  Be accountable to your coach for how well you execute his/her plan and the results will come.  You'll show up at St. George healthy and ready to race. 

I agree, 9 months out is a long time to be focused on one race. I usually only do one race a year and even with that I don't train for that race all year. You will hate the training if that is all you think about for the next 9 months.

Also, I don't have a problem with "just wanting to finish". I go into every race with 3 goals:
1. Finish- I spent the money and time training, might as well finish the race
2. Don't crap my pants- the only athletes people remember are the winners, the last place person and the poor chump who crapped his pants.
3. Hit my time goals. Even though I just want to finish, I know what I am capable of and try to hit everyone of those goals. If I do, great. If I don't, I move on and try to hit the next goal.

I agree, 9 months out is a long time to be focused on one race. I usually only do one race a year and even with that I don't train for that race all year. You will hate the training if that is all you think about for the next 9 months.

The short term goal includes bringing me to the point of getting ready to train for the IM.  I envision this to be fun stuff (MTB), maybe a masters swimming program, and getting up to and managing maybe 30-40 MPW in the shoes.  In short, I the goal is to make sure my body won’t disintegrate when the real training begins. 

The medium goal is to hit the IM with a legitimate chance of doing well.  I hope to start turning this wheel late in the winter or early spring.  This is the specific area in which I believe a coach would provide the most bang for the buck so to speak.  The race is ~June 27^th.

The long range goal (the *real* goal) is to develop this experience into a way of life.  What good is it to do an IM if I’m a couch potato the next month?  I’ve always sort of taken good health for granted because I’ve always had it.  I doubt I’ll be doing another IM unless I bonk.  However, getting back into Xterras and MTB races then maybe doing an annual marathon or something are a part of the longer plan.

Let's face it most of us that toe the line at an IM want to do our best. Clearly everyone's possible best time is vastly different. My secret goal is what someone's worst possible day might be...but so be it.

I think IM is more than the race and a finish time. Enjoy the training and journey to get to the starting line and the race itself. My finish time doesn't define me but how I handle each training session I go do my best and challenge myself helps me grow and learn both about the sport but about myself and that I savor.

If you set your sights on a time and fixate on that you will miss out the wonderful adventure you have before you.

Once you see it as a journey and a race is just a fun part of it but not an all or nothing, it becomes your lifestyle and is just who you are.

Keep it fun!

Let's face it most of us that toe the line at an IM want to do our best. Clearly everyone's possible best time is vastly different. My secret goal is what someone's worst possible day might be...but so be it.

I think IM is more than the race and a finish time. Enjoy the training and journey to get to the starting line and the race itself. My finish time doesn't define me but how I handle each training session I go do my best and challenge myself helps me grow and learn both about the sport but about myself and that I savor.

If you set your sights on a time and fixate on that you will miss out the wonderful adventure you have before you.

Once you see it as a journey and a race is just a fun part of it but not an all or nothing, it becomes your lifestyle and is just who you are.

Keep it fun!

Let's face it most of us that toe the line at an IM want to do our best. Clearly everyone's possible best time is vastly different. My secret goal is what someone's worst possible day might be...but so be it.

I think IM is more than the race and a finish time. Enjoy the training and journey to get to the starting line and the race itself. My finish time doesn't define me but how I handle each training session I go do my best and challenge myself helps me grow and learn both about the sport but about myself and that I savor.

If you set your sights on a time and fixate on that you will miss out the wonderful adventure you have before you.

Once you see it as a journey and a race is just a fun part of it but not an all or nothing, it becomes your lifestyle and is just who you are.

Keep it fun!