Coeur d' Alene here I come

So I pulled the trigger and registered for the 2010 Ford Ironman Coeur d' Alene on June 27, 2010. It's been my goal since I finished my last marathon (2004). I've had ups and downs in my training since then and I know setting this goal will make me stick to my current regimen and level of fitness.

Background:
I've ran long races (10k, half-marathon, marathon) and am a very strong runner (13 miles @ 7 / min miles).

I swim OK, but started working with a coach to improve my efficiency and speed.

Biking is going to be interesting! I'm looking for a new triathlon bike now!

Any triathletes have recommendations on bikes, wetsuits, or anything else..let me know!

BeginnerTriathlete.com - Triathlon Training for Beginners (http://www.beginnertriathlete.co m/)

they have some gear reviews there. When i go to buy my road bike, im going Cervelo.

Cervélo - 2009 Bikes (http://www.cervelo.com/)

good luck!

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/

doing my first IM in (gulp) 3 weeks - IM Louisville.

squeek in a sprint or oly distance this year to get a taste of tri in general. dont need to kill it - just float, cruise, jog. i would schedule another olympic distance in april as well.

depending on your budget (under $1500? $2000? $3000) you can limit your bike choices. cervelo is nice, but so are lots of other bikes - kuota, felt, etc. imo, get a low end aero set up for $1500ish and if you get serious and have more $$, buy yourself a serious set of wheels ($1500 and up) for the most bang for the buck. as for the wetsuit, i highly recommend renting - google wetsuit rental for any number of good options.

my final piece of advice, and probably my best - see if you can find a good training partner that is fairly close to you in ability. it makes all the difference in the world for those 4:30 AM roll calls. find a good tri group in your area. find the good group rides at the local bike shops (just dont show up on your geeky tri bike hoping to join their A group rides)

i am totally hooked (have done lots of short races, 5 70.3's) - its addicting you will keep pushing for more. there are lots of worse ways to blow your $$ and spend your time.

Awesome dude.

I'm thinking about the Ironman St. George for next year. Gonna make sure I do alright in my marathon this October first and then seriously decide.

I volunteered at this past year's Ironman (I grew up in Cd'A).

I might be up there for next year's (not as a participant though)...
Awesome dude.

I'm thinking about the Ironman St. George for next year. Gonna make sure I do alright in my marathon this October first and then seriously decide.
Try a half ironman. I did one and realized that I had absolutely no ambition to have to run twice as far.

I was strongly considering a half ironman here in september, but tour de fat is the same day.

I swam in high school, bike ALL the friggin' time, and run quite a bit. Did a half marathon already, and signed up for a full in October. After it's over I'll think about it and consider if I think I can do another marathon after swimming for an hour and biking for 6.

Awesome to see the other triathletes and long distance guys give some feedback. A few things:

I found a swimming coach, first session is this Sunday. She was on the Olympic 'B' team for a while and then was a coach...so hopefully she can get me faster and more efficient.

I'm gonna do the National Marathon (DC) in March as well...will do it with a few friends. Not going to try to hit it hard, just as a long prep for the IM. I figure 13 weeks is enough recovery until the IM. What do you all think?

Bike: I'd like to stay around $1200 (used bike).

jahman: best of luck in 3 weeks! be sure to let us know how it goes. great tip on renting the wetsuit!

ptaav: knowing your activities I'm not surprised you've done a 70.3. If you are up for CdA next year we'll have to trade contact info and meet up pre or post race.

reno: Do it man...judging from your posts and your activities, it's right up your alley! Good luck in October...

im doing my first marathon next april

the progression for me will be triathlons after that

so if you can provide updates on what works best for you in terms of training and gear that'd be helpful

im doing my first marathon next april

the progression for me will be triathlons after that

so if you can provide updates on what works best for you in terms of training and gear that'd be helpful

from my previous marathon training here are a few tips...I'll have a lot more as I go along (also keeping my training/diet stuff on the blog in my sig 'beyondironman')

- develop a strong core and stabilzer muscles now. you want good overall flexibility and balance.
- my previous marathon i did the following schedule:
monday- 4 miles
tuesday - lift weights, HIIT
wednesday 6-10 miles
thursday lift weights, HIIT
friday - off
saturday - long run (10-17 miles)
sunday - light 5k, yoga

I stopped lifting 3 weeks before the marathon. Also, my longest run was about 6 weeks out and it was 17 miles.

If I was doing another marathon (not tri's as well) I'd stick to this plan.

Train at a pace 30 seconds slower than you plan to run your marathon. Use the monday run to push yourself at race pace.


Again, this is just what worked for me. I'm not saying it's ideal or going to work for anyone else.

i like the idea of a shorter run at race pace to mix in speedwork with endurance

im not a complete novice but im close to it

your schedule is remarkably similar to mine actually (just with longer mileage)

how many and what type of carbs did you take in?

how many and what type of carbs did you take in?

At that time my carbs were primarily from fruits, vegetables, and legumes. I would eat whole wheat rice or pasta once or twice a week, but it was minimal. I ate a lot of fish and chicken, eggs (of course), salads, nuts, lowfat cheese, whole milk...all the stuff you're supposed to eat. I did eat a piece of wheat toast every day with almond butter on it as well.

Right now I'm doing the "Paleo Diet 30 Day Challenge" (http://www.paleodiet.com/) which is working out well so far. Basically it's what 'we' at back in caveman days...meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, minimal eggs...no processed carbs, no dairy, no legumes (which is confusing to me be so be it)...I'm on day 3 of this and feeling absolutely fantastic, though I've cheated twice to finish off a container of lowfat cotagge cheese I had in the fridge.

I will reintroduce carbs once I'm doing the longer bikes/swims/runs...but will still try to get them primarily from fruits and veggies.

EDIT: "how many carbs?" - I'd say I was around 300 on a given day of training.

One more thing...I've been using "Endurox R4" as a muscle recovery after long/intense workouts and it seems to help.
Accelsport.com: Official Web Store for Endurox - Nutrition Tools for Endurance Athletes (http://www.accelsport.com/product-info/EnduroxR4.html)

Well the one in UT is all sold out, and the CDA one is close. I guess I get to seriously think about it for a couple days and make a quick decision.

Official description of the swim:

"The swim is a two-loop rectangle running counter-clockwise from the west side of the resort in Coeur d’Alene Lake. Athletes will exit the water and run around a marker on the beach before reentering the lake for the second loop."

Is this a joke? The marathon is a two-loop deal too, and the bike has loops as well. In all of Idaho is there no room to do out and back races?

Official description of the swim:

"The swim is a two-loop rectangle running counter-clockwise from the west side of the resort in Coeur d’Alene Lake. Athletes will exit the water and run around a marker on the beach before reentering the lake for the second loop."

Is this a joke? The marathon is a two-loop deal too, and the bike has loops as well. In all of Idaho is there no room to do out and back races?

Ha! I was thinking that too, but honestly, I think the swim loop will be advantageous to me since I'm not a strong swimmer (now anyways). I can use that as a 'catch my breath don't drown' few seconds!

You should just register!!!!

The Paleolithic diet stuff sounds interesting, keep us updated on how it goes.