What is the obsession with Ironman?

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  • IronScribe wrote (see)

    Flob, sorry, that's crap.  The fact that it's a 'brand' means little.  The fact that it's just about the hardest single day endurance event in the world that any 'normal' people have a chance to work at, train for for a year or more, 6 days per week with two sessions some days, seeing themselves lose weight and get fit, feeling better about themselves, developing a 'can-do' attitude, and then finally crossing the finish line and achieving something they'd have never believed possible (anything is possible!)... fulfilling a dream ... that's why people do Ironman.  They compete with themselves, and winning is the best feeling ever.

    Ironscribe, sorry, thats crap. theres plenty of other single day endurance events that are harder than ironman. and hey, look how easy it is to just put someones opinion downimage

     

  • The nice thing about triathlon is that it can accommodate all sorts.

    I like IM distances because it's a chance to do a big race somewhere warm and feel like a top-class athlete for a while. I enjoy the training and the challenge. I have the time.

    Nowt wrong with training hard for sprints and being done by lunchtime on raceday. Next year I might target a half IM, which means long bikes done before lunch.

  • Crash Hamster wrote (see)

    The nice thing about triathlon is that it can accommodate all sorts.

    I like IM distances because it's a chance to do a big race somewhere warm and feel like a top-class athlete for a while. I enjoy the training and the challenge. I have the time.

    Nowt wrong with training hard for sprints and being done by lunchtime on raceday. Next year I might target a half IM, which means long bikes done before lunch.

    yeh - look at you and me...image

    I did a sprint race yesterday - left home at 6am, back home at 11am with an age group win (OK - there were only two of us old farts in that a/g but wtf - I won....image)

    there's nothing wrong with doing tri at whatever distance floats your boat.  I've done the IM stuff as much as I need, so racing short is the new challenge and back to where I started.   that and off-road tri which is the new black....

  • Certainly help getting in to events on flob's basis. Work on the assumption that a world record holder might turn up and you'll need to complete the VLM in 3hr 5min or not bother turning up, the GNR in 1h 30min and a flat-ish 10k would have you needing to finish sub 40min, top idea, right up to the point you realise it's fucking stupid image

  • fat buddha wrote (see)
    Crash Hamster wrote (see)

    The nice thing about triathlon is that it can accommodate all sorts.

    I like IM distances because it's a chance to do a big race somewhere warm and feel like a top-class athlete for a while. I enjoy the training and the challenge. I have the time.

    Nowt wrong with training hard for sprints and being done by lunchtime on raceday. Next year I might target a half IM, which means long bikes done before lunch.

    yeh - look at you and me...image

    I did a sprint race yesterday - left home at 6am, back home at 11am with an age group win (OK - there were only two of us old farts in that a/g but wtf - I won....image)

    there's nothing wrong with doing tri at whatever distance floats your boat.  I've done the IM stuff as much as I need, so racing short is the new challenge and back to where I started.   that and off-road tri which is the new black....

    Yeah, you have a sub 12 IM and win stuff and I, er, don't image Top bombing, mate!

  • Ironscribe, sorry, thats crap. theres plenty of other single day endurance events that are harder than ironman. and hey, look how easy it is to just put someones opinion downimage

    Hey, I was just speaking from experience.

  • I think the fact that Chrissie Wellington would always go to the finish line to cheer the last competitor home and Chris McCormack argued with the organisers of IM Frankfurt so Mouse could get a medal and T-shirt shows that the pros care about us.

    Cut off times at IM are about 2x the winning time, I'd like to see them pack up at the London marathon after 4 hours 20 mins.

  • Flob wrote (see)

    Lol- I stated my opinion. Like it or lump it folks.

    ironman branding is about bragging rights, as is the London marathon. we sll have gps devices and can map and time our own 70.3 tri if we like, but that wouldnt be like saying 'I'M AN IRONMAN'. 

    I'm obviously not implying that either event is easy in anyway, whether done fast or slow they must take it out if you. But for the cost of the ironman event and equipment, not to mention all the training involved 'I' personally would not even consider doing it if I could not finish in a top half position. I consider top 50% to be competitive (ish) and in the local ish events that I do that means about 1.5 times the winners time (ish) at worst. I doubt many of us would turn up to s 100m event if we could only run it in 15 seconds....- which is faster than me... I think, but I've not tried it since school. That's my next time trial sorted I guess!!

    But then again I'm not an athlete. I'm a recreational runner who aspires to the 40min 10k that someone mentioned in an earlier head melt. I also aspire to a 19 min 5k and a 1'30:00 half marathon, not that a HM is likely because of the training mileage/time and because I'm a lazy fucker who likes his food and his time with the Family.

    Oh and to call my opinion bollocks is... Utter.... Irony(man)image


    and that probably applies to 95%+ of the people here - in fact those times you aspire to are beyond most!

    it's about personal choice at the end of the day - you either want to or you don't.  

  • Absolutely, each to their own!  I don't think I brag about doing an Ironman, though I do enjoy talking about it, and I've found that lots of people are interested.  It was a personal challenge and something far beyond anything I thought I'd ever be able to do.  It makes me feel good.  image  

  • Flob wrote (see)

    Lol- I stated my opinion. Like it or lump it folks.

    ironman branding is about bragging rights, as is the London marathon. we sll have gps devices and can map and time our own 70.3 tri if we like, but that wouldnt be like saying 'I'M AN IRONMAN'. 

    I'm obviously not implying that either event is easy in anyway, whether done fast or slow they must take it out if you. But for the cost of the ironman event and equipment, not to mention all the training involved 'I' personally would not even consider doing it if I could not finish in a top half position. I consider top 50% to be competitive (ish) and in the local ish events that I do that means about 1.5 times the winners time (ish) at worst. I doubt many of us would turn up to s 100m event if we could only run it in 15 seconds....- which is faster than me... I think, but I've not tried it since school. That's my next time trial sorted I guess!!

    But then again I'm not an athlete. I'm a recreational runner who aspires to the 40min 10k that someone mentioned in an earlier head melt. I also aspire to a 19 min 5k and a 1'30:00 half marathon, not that a HM is likely because of the training mileage/time and because I'm a lazy fucker who likes his food and his time with the Family.

    Oh and to call my opinion bollocks is... Utter.... Irony(man)image


    My O/H is hoping to do Ironman Bolton next year- yes, it's expensive to enter, but he finds that helps focus his mind better on the training.  As for expensive equipment - have to disagree with you there - he has a Decathlon Special Btwin bike which he was given and yesterday while doing a half iron distance triathlon he overtook loads of people on fancy schmancy expensive bikes.  Nuff said.  

  • Nope, you're definitely not an Ironman until you do 140.6image

    I enjoy reading, watching cricket and rugby, rock gigs, pub meals and running, swimming and cycling. At the moment, triathlon other than IM doesn't really excite me, though that will change if the way my 'running career' has progressed is any guide.

    Wouldn't do it if you couldn't finish in the top half, eh, Flob? I remember another forumite saying that about the marathon...image

  • WildWill wrote (see)

    if you do not for also find the shorter distances "utterly horrendously painful " your not pusshing hard enough image

    Yep. Agreed. But there is a difference between suffering for a couple of hours and suffering for 14 hours or however long it takes you to do an Ironman.

    Some people are obviously built for the long distances, but it seems a lot of people just drag themselves round just because Ironman is the "thing to do".... & that can't be enjoyable... can it??

  • I enjoy it  image ... thats why i do it image  .. otherwise i'd be doing something different  

  • +1 to that WW.

    I enjoy the challenge, the training and race day image

  • And eating cake and not getting fat.

  • I just like the free t-shirt at the end image

  • TheEngineer wrote (see)

    And eating cake and not getting fat.

    ... i still seam to get fat image

  • The percieved "obsession" with IronMan on this forum is, I think, largely because there's a lot more you need to know when training for and completeing (or competing in) an IM than there is to a sprint. You could conceivably race a sprint one weekend, learn a whole heap about what you need to do to perform better, and then go and do another one a week or so later. An IM is a much greater committment in terms of both money and time, so you want to make the most out of the training cycle. Thats not to say you dont learn an awful lot whilst training for your first that you then apply to any subsequent races, but for most folks, one IM a year is the most you can manage, so its a whole year before you have a chance to put those lessons into practice. I dont know anyone in "the real world" who's done an IM that I didnt meet through these forums, so if I'd wanted to do one, who would i have asked? There are all sorts of questions that people ask here that I've never seen in any training guide or book.
    In addition, as someone else said, its about the camraderie - it can be a pretty scary thing to do, and doing it with other people you know is much nicer.

    No-one on here ever says that IM is better than any other distance.

  • Ironman is better than 25m egg and spoon race!

  • Bouncing Barlist wrote (see)

    Ironman is better than 25m egg and spoon race!

    Hey, the Egg and Spoon race is very tricky!!

  • Flob - If you read the post properly it is the concept of not turning up unless you can fit in with the 1.5x plan which is stupid.

    Insecure, not too sure how you draw that conclusion but nope, inclusive, yes.

  • If I'm brutally honest for me it was definitely a bit of a mid life crisis thing, just a case of finding something that looked like an impossible challenge on day one & then proving to myself that I could actually do it.

     

    It was cheaper (not much) than buying a sports car & more acceptable/likely (a lot more) than finding a mistress. I doubt I'm alone if you look at the huge numbers of male 30-45 entrants in each IM field...........

     

    As for the 1.5x concept, have to agree that's b0ll0x

  • I do all this training because I like wearing black and yellow. Canary yellow really suits me image

  • In your latest race, only 125 of the 355 finishers were inside your "150% of the winning time" rule. (about 35%)

    In Ironman Austria 1570/2850 were inside the same time constraint. (about 55%)

    I doubt that the first person in your race was a full-time pro; if they were, you're looking at sub 45 minutes to be in the 150% rule. That's the top 27/355 or about 7.5%.

    These are facts, not my opinion.

    If you're bothered about being within 150% of the winner, you'd be far better served by doing a decent IM than running a 10k, especially if anyone good turned up. (that's a conclusion from the above facts)

    That's the point Symes was making.

    You're DF3, aren't you?image

  • but aspires to be DF1.5 ...    image

  • Try-to-athlon wrote (see)
    WildWill wrote (see)

    if you do not for also find the shorter distances "utterly horrendously painful " your not pusshing hard enough image

    Yep. Agreed. But there is a difference between suffering for a couple of hours and suffering for 14 hours or however long it takes you to do an Ironman.

    I would imagine that 14hrs of suffering in an IM is infinitely more sufferable that a couple of hours at Oly or 1hour-ish at sprint.

    Dr NM IM NM wrote (see)
    As for the 1.5x concept, have to agree that's b0ll0x
    Flob wrote (see)

    I consider top 50% to be competitive (ish)

    To agree with Dr N M, Top 50% isn't competitive at all.

    PSOF started out as IM-centric (as in distance, not brand), and that is what the core focus is and likely will be. Within the PSOF there are a number of people who enter shorter races as well, and those that are building up to IM distance. I have marshalled at sprint tris where there has been a large pirate presence, and I there have been pirate outings to other tris (I know of sprint and HIM).

    I've done the IM thing, and following it was agreed that I wouldn't do another until my kids were much older as it is not fair on them. I'm enjoying racing shorter distances (or was before injury image ). I like that I can start at 8:30 and be home soon after.I like racing duathlon as it means I don't have to worry about swimming. Once my mtb is built I'll give cross-tri & du a go like FB.

    Titing to Flob I also like that I can decide to DNS a race if I think I won't get the result I want due to poor form or fitness; thereby saving travel and accomodation cost. I'm sure I'd still race if I wasn't going to finish in the top 50% but were on good form.

    However I did enjoy the IM journey (I hate that phrase) with the Pirates, and I look forward to sailing with then again in the future when family circumstances permit.

    PSOF has a wide range of tri experience and knowledge at all distances: Kona qualifiers, British champs, World champs qualifiers. Die hards who do multiple IMs a year but never trouble the podium. People who do shorter races because they enjoy it. Each to their own. Whatever you choose to do, go out there and give it your all and enjoy it.

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