cycling portion of the ironman(repost bc of no title sorry)

Forum guidelines BT super discount
General Discussion Triathlon Talk » cycling portion of the ironman(repost bc of no title sorry) Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply
2007-02-13 2:43 PM


5

Subject: cycling portion of the ironman(repost bc of no title sorry)
Hello everyone,

I am new here and have strongly considered doing an ironman in 2 years. My background in high school was varsity swimming (my strokes were brest stroke and distance free style) In college I got into casual running and ran the MCM in October of 2005. My time was fair considering lack of training (which was out of stupidity). This year I'm running the MCM again and am realisticly looking to go under 3:34 and dropping a minute off of my marathon mile pace ( my first marathon was 4:00 hours).
My biking back ground is...nonexistent. haha. Seriously, I have none. I have been using the "cycling" bike at the university gym 4 times a week. I feel confident in my running and very confident in my swimming. I want to wait about 2 years and train/get used to being on a bike also. I do not own a racing bike. I understand the trainining and preparation required and hope to hear from anyone who has experience in competing. Thanks

Matt


2007-02-13 6:05 PM
in reply to: #689534

User image

Pro
3883
20001000500100100100252525
Woodstock,GA
Subject: RE: cycling portion of the ironman(repost bc of no title sorry)

Matt,

Welcome to BT and triathlon. From your post you have a tremendous amount of experience in 2 of the 3 disciplines which is a great advantage. Fortunately for you cycling is the easiest of the three to pick up and become good at in a relatively short time. An IM in '08 is a very real thing for you to shoot for. My advice is buy a bike (go to a reputable bike shop in your area that carries tri and road bikes, although I highly suggest a tri bike) and just ride. Ride everywhere you can and then ride some more. It takes a few thousand miles over a period of years to go from surviving the bike to tearing it up, but you should be able to survive (if not really do well) on the bike leg of an IM race in a year or two. Good luck to you.

2007-02-15 3:40 PM
in reply to: #689534

User image

Extreme Veteran
484
100100100100252525
McHenry, IL
Subject: RE: cycling portion of the ironman(repost bc of no title sorry)

Lessee if I can remember...  I started with no cycling experience AND no swimming experience.  Running-wise, I was in a similar place to you, having just started running in 2000, and did my first marathon in Oct 2000 in a little under 4 hours.  In Nov 2000 I bought a bike.  In Dec 2000 I jumped in the pool and started learning how to swim.  Fast forward...in Sept 2002 I did my first Ironman.  (In between the two was another marathon, a couple sprints, a couple olys, two "near-1/2 IMs", and two 1/2 IMs.)

So, in my experience, two years was enough time to prepare for an IM.  You already have a big advantage with your swimming background.  So, I'd say your plan is very achievable.  Just be smart and ramp up your training volumes slowly.  Be particularly careful with your running.  For me, after my first marathon, I started doing too much running volume at too high of intensity, and ended up doing some damage to my knees that still bothers me today.

It's a fun sport.  Enjoy your journey!

 -Steve

New Thread
General Discussion Triathlon Talk » cycling portion of the ironman(repost bc of no title sorry) Rss Feed