A decent runner can finish it without even training for it, so it is not that hard.
A decent runner can finish it without even training for it, so it is not that hard.
The only worthwhile ironman IS a hard one.
holad wrote:
A decent runner can finish it without even training for it, so it is not that hard.
Ill challenge you on that ... its complete BS. Ill put a 1k bet on the line too. You just run train and show up at an IM race and see if you can finish no bike or swim training ... deal ? I will even get you entered in the race I happen to free lance for IM corporate. Seriously anyone who thinks that is an Idiot ... You will get killed in the swim and bike without training and you won't even be able to walk the run guaranteed.
Name your terms. Length of time without training, etc.
I am interested.
InstantKarma wrote:
The point is at the drop of a hat, a decent runner could finish an IM with no specific training, just as he could a marathon.
Finishing Badwater at the drop of a hat? No.
IM is not that hard.
Badwater is one of the hardest ultras. You can't compare it with any ironman, you need to compare it with the toughest ones (hilliest/windy on the bike, hottest on the run)
Did my first IM in May. If you race it I cannot overstate how hard it is. I haven't done an ultra so I can't compare. If you just want to finish then, yes, it's not super hard. But how hard is almost any race if you're just finishing?
yourafuchcer wrote:
holad wrote:A decent runner can finish it without even training for it, so it is not that hard.
Ill challenge you on that ... its complete BS. Ill put a 1k bet on the line too. You just run train and show up at an IM race and see if you can finish no bike or swim training ... deal ? I will even get you entered in the race I happen to free lance for IM corporate. Seriously anyone who thinks that is an Idiot ... You will get killed in the swim and bike without training and you won't even be able to walk the run guaranteed.
I like this. Drop an email for people to respond to. Let's settle the LRC/SliwTwitch quandary building here
yourafuchcer wrote:
holad wrote:A decent runner can finish it without even training for it, so it is not that hard.
Ill challenge you on that ... its complete BS. Ill put a 1k bet on the line too. You just run train and show up at an IM race and see if you can finish no bike or swim training ... deal ? I will even get you entered in the race I happen to free lance for IM corporate. Seriously anyone who thinks that is an Idiot ... You will get killed in the swim and bike without training and you won't even be able to walk the run guaranteed.
I'm not a decent runner at the moment. When I was, I would smugly take your money.
Instead, I'll financially back any current decent runner to take your challenge.
One thousand bucks!
I've done a little recreational biking and swimming. If you have no stroke, you will gas out in less than a mile. There is no "walking" in swimming. On the bike, your backside and your lower back will be on fire. With no bike experience and no bike training I give you 50 miles.
Alan
thejeff wrote:
Name your terms. Length of time without training, etc.
I am interested.
Bump
Done IM twice. ditto the comments of it's insanely hard if you race it, not that hard if you just want to finish.
However, I'd be willing to bet most runners couldn't walk into one with no specific swim/bike training and complete it. It takes time, especially on the bike, to build to the volume needed to finish. I know a fairly fit guy in his late thirties who missed the bike cutoff a few years back in IM Louisville, and he did some (but not enough, obviously) bike training.
If you're fairly active and fit already, you'll be able to complete an IM easily if you put in the training.
RunningOnSole wrote:
What have you done previously?
Have you done any of the events on their own?
I think the bike is the hardest, longest and most demanding part.
Exactly. The triathlon is essentially a BICYCLE race bookended by token swimming and running events.
I ran Division I track and cross country and I've run several marathons.
The last 10 miles of my Ironman experience were the most miserable 2 hours of my life. It was brutal. Went too hard on the bike and hit the wall hard on the run.
I was a decent distance guy in college at 5'6" and 118 pounds. Took a swimming class to cross-train without a time investment. Instructor told me I'd be a better swimmer if I added 30 pounds. I laughed it off. There is no way I could have finished an IM swim.
There is no walking in swimming... you stop and either you drown or they pull you out.
Swam 48:40 at my only Ironman. This was my swim workout this morning. Racing Draft Legal worlds in 45 days.
4x400@ 5.00
4.47
4.45
4.45
4.44
Rest 90 sec
4x200@ 2.30
2.19
2.22
2.21
2.21
Rest 2 min
4x100 @ 1.15
1.09
1.08
1.09
1.05
Rest 2 min
200 easy - 3000m
SwimLifer wrote:
There is no walking in swimming... you stop and either you drown or they pull you out.
You probably meant no stopping/treading in swimming. You can back stroke for rest.
Dietbacon wrote:
InstantKarma wrote:The point is at the drop of a hat, a decent runner could finish an IM with no specific training, just as he could a marathon.
Finishing Badwater at the drop of a hat? No.
IM is not that hard.
Badwater is one of the hardest ultras. You can't compare it with any ironman, you need to compare it with the toughest ones (hilliest/windy on the bike, hottest on the run)
It is one of the hardest ultras. Isn't the IM considered one of the hardest tris? At least that is the connation that I took for the OP's question. There is the ultraman and other ultra tris too,
http://ultramanlive.com/content/What a Crazy statement! A bit like saying any elite triathlete could show up and be competitive in an elite 10k track race. After all Alistair Brownlee is living proof, having run 28:32 at Mt Sacs a couple of years ago. He didn't even have a qualifying time....he just showed up and finished 2nd in the race. (He did it 6 days after a triathlon race, never tapered, so his legs were not even fresh.) Did the guy even run track or cross country? How many of you out there can run 28:32 for 10k? Triathletes must be amazing runners...right?
InstantKarma wrote:
It is one of the hardest ultras. Isn't the IM considered one of the hardest tris? At least that is the connation that I took for the OP's question. There is the ultraman and other ultra tris too,
http://ultramanlive.com/content/
Saying that the ironman is one of the hardest trials is like saying the marathon is one of the hardest foot races, but difficulty varies greatly from one iron distance event to the other, like it does for marathons, but maybe even more so.
Challenge Roth, for example, is an "easy" iron distance course, whereas the Norseman and Kona are hard courses.
Utramans are multi day, completely different beast. Way harder to finish than an ironman with little training though
T BONE wrote:
I don't care who you are, you can't just go out and finish an ironman. You can, quite easily I might add, go out and finish a marathon (walk it).
Unless you're a world class swimmer, you're going to need to train hard to swim 2.4 miles. Not everyone can do that.
And the bike is definitely the hardest part. Along with nutrition.
A lot goes into Ironman races. Definitely not easy.
But I do believe that a normal person, with proper training, can finish one. Do a proper 30-week training program and you'll cross the line.
Former collegiate runner, I did one completely cold turkey, zero training and finished just fine 12hrs and change. Did it with two friends who also didn't train and had absolutely no athletic background. They finished just fine. Hurt, but finished. I then trained moderately for one and managed a low 10hr. effort.
Similarly, I did a 50mi ultra cold turkey and moderately trained and consider the efforts very similar. It comes down to fueling and having some balls to endure some pain for a full day.
Just because something is hard for you, that doesn't make it hard for someone else.