Couch to ironman in 6 months surely not possible

People have been known to complete an ironman with zero training. Not many, but it has been done. I personally would highly discourage anyone from racing an ironman without a year or so of base training. For me it just wouldn't be very fulfilling.

+1

depends highly on your current level of health IMO.
certainly it can be done, and this motivates some people.

from my side of the fence, I always encourage a build-up, first train and do a sprint, and move up from there.
Ironman won't disappear any time soon!

Depends on the persons definition of the couch, how long they have been on the couch, do they have athletic background, how are their genetics, but for most folks it isn't a good idea.

My couch ? Swam 500 meters today , walked 10 k this week , no bike

So pretty much couch bound

I did it. Watched my fiancee at the time, now wife, do her first IMC. Signed up the next morning and then finally got around to training about 6 months out. I was 35 and had not done any endurance exercise since college. That season I did a local sprint, then a 70.3, and then IMC. That 70.3 was rough I nearly climbed into a kayak during the swim and ended up doing breaststroke for a large part of the swim. Bike was ok, run was brutal. Two months later I did IMC, had a 1:10:swim so that was a better experience than my 70.3. Made a bunch of n00b mistakes on the bike with nutrition and pace plus I had three flats (course had carpet tacks on it). Run involved quality time at a Honeybucket around mile 4. Total melt down... Ran, walked, suffled my way to finishing in 12 something (if I remember right). That course had an out and back run. I saw my fiancee around my mile 14 and she was going to catch up and we'd finish together. That got me to pick my pace up and she spent the rest of the run chasing me down and her fastest IM run. It was close to 100 degrees F that year on the run, remember seeing a lot of people pass out.
I signed up the next morning to do it again.

That race was my first 112 bike and 26.2 run. I'd done the 2.4 swim a bunch of times post my 70.3 experience.

Very interesting to see it broken down that way. I just finished my first sprint, so I am no where even remotely close to anything like a 140.6 event, but seeing those numbers like that really gives me some hope that one day I might be able to do a full iron.


Edited by spiderjunior 2013-05-27 12:23 PM

Completely agree. It's nice to build up fitness and build that confidence along the way. Start with training that fits with what you are doing today - being a triathlete isn't just about Ironman. There are so many great races and communities to explore. Sprint distances, olympics, half irons, it's all there and can be just as rewarding (if not more)

Ironman is big time and financial commitment. It's nice to know when you sign up that you really do enjoy triathlon training and lifestyle.

Whenever I see something like this come up, my gut reaction is "Why?"

I don't see much benefit in completely destroying your body over 6 months to do one race and hate every minute of it. Why not build up at a comfortable pace and do several ironman races and be that guy who ends up doing one every 6 months?

The ironman race is hard enough as it is. There are many people who discredit other ironman racers by saying, "I can do what they can do, but I can do it better" without understanding the sacrifice that goes into the race.

There are countless "Video Logs" on youtube of people with the same type of "wild hair in my butt" goal. The video logs go to day 11 and then disappear.

Can it be done? Yes. Will you completely destroy yourself? Yes. Will you have fun? No. Will you have a good race? No. Is it worth bragging to your buddies over a barbeque beer? No.