I know that I want to do an Ironman sometime in my life. You probably already know that I am signed up to do a half ironman in June and I am really enjoying training for it so far. As I was reaching about mile 12 of my 16.2 mile run on the treadmill last night I really started to think about racing an Ironman this year. I have been thinking about racing Vineman in 2012 but I really feel like I want to push through and complete a full this year.
The race I am considering is the Grand Colombian, it is a unincorporated iron-distance race, meaning it is not owned by ford or braded “Ironman” (but I don’t care I still call it an ironman).
It takes place on September 17th in Washington and should be gorgeous, the website describes it as:
“For 2011, the Grand Columbian Super Triathlon will take place on the 17th of September, and will be bringing back the Ultra Distance (Iron) triathlon as well as adding a Super Triathlon! The course will be both challenging and fantastically rewarding, and will most definitely earn you bragging rights! Additionally, we are really looking forward to utilizing our new race to help the local community for their fundraising project to build a new school for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. You can find out more info on this project at http://gcdnewschool.com/. And we’ll be sure to send more information on this project as we move forward.”
Proceeds go to building a school, how could I NOT participate???
So here are some reasons I think I should do it:
- I am on a roll with training
- I feel good so far
- I don’t really want to wait over a year to do an Ironman
Reasons to wait:
- This is only my second year doing triathlon and Ihave never ran a marathon or ridden my bike more than 62 miles
- A (very small) part of me wants to make this year about my half ironman and not
overshadow it with a bigger race
So I want your advice should I do a full ironman this year or not?
Either way I do want to complete a 50k this fall, anyone have any they would recommend? I am willing to travel.
I have a friend I trained with two years ago who trained with our 1/2IM group starting in January and did his first olympic tri in early June, his first 1/2 in late June and then on to Ironman Canada in August. If he can do it, you can!!
I think you could definitely rock it! There is enough time in between to get the training in. However you have to make the best decision for yourself.
I have been playing with the idea of doing a half iron in September/ October, but I haven’t even done my first sprint tri yet and it is not till August (I’m trying to find an earlier one as well). If I do decide to do the half I am just going to put in more mileage/training than needed for my sprint.
I think you should totally do it!
Go for it! I feel the same way about doing a full marathon this year… part of me really wants to go for it (why wait?), part of me wants to just focus on the halfs.
Last year was my first year in triathlon. I did two sprints and a HIM. The longest I’ve ridden my bike is 65mi. I am doing my first full ironman this year…. so I say YES!
What made me decide… I felt good about my training plan (a full year out), I’m able to work with a great coach (but beginnertriathlon & blogs are a great resource too), and I will have the support of my family on race day. Those things added up & I decided why wait?
I understand your concern about not wanting to overshadow the HIM as an “A” race. The way my training is set up, I’m focusing on my June HIM now, taking a two-week “break” in July and then picking up where I left off to jump into full Ironman training. The Half in June is a stepping stone you’d already be working towards in your 140.6 training!
The only thing I’d hesitate on is, because it’s not an Ironman brand race, make sure the Grand Columbian is well directed. Have you read race reviews? I’m not doing a “real” IM (B2B), so I was nervous about doing a race that might not have the race-glitches worked out (could you imagine hitting mile 10 of the marathon & they’ve run out of nutrition/water/spectators?). From what I’ve read, the race is well directed with lots of course support so that drew me in! Good luck with your decision!