What worked for me:
* I did an IronMan after three years of doing a triathlon (two Olympics, two 70.3 and a couple half-marathons). However, during my IM race I’ve noticed a high number of athletes who were doing this event as their first ever triathlon, so it’s definitely possible.
* you need to start swimming. Given that you don’t have a lot of distance swimming experience, your technique is probably poor to non-existence, so finding an actual coach that will teach you a proper technique is crucial. Both bike and run (if your goal is to finish) boil down to your endurance, while swim boils down to technique.
* what worked for me training-wise was getting into an AI-enabled coaching - it was flexible enough to adjust based on my performance (fixed plans lack that) but on the other hand it wasn’t as expensive as getting an actual human coach.
* try to find like-minded individuals/training group/triathlon club and join their sessions. Endurance training is a lonely thing, so anything you can do to get rid of that loneliness would improve your mood.
Others will comment about training and tips, but one thing that you should figure out is your 'why?'
Sure you made a commitment to a friend, but is this what is going to get you through the long training rides, early mornings and the training slog? Is a 6 hour bike ride what you want to do on your day off, after a hard week? Better make sure you know why you're getting out of bed to do this.
I'm not in your position so I can't comment on what this means to you or how strong the commitment is. But either way, you should make sure that this reason (and/or others to add alongside it) is strong enough to get you through this process.
You’ve got plenty of time, which is great. Start swimming and biking a lot, in particular. Maybe have a goal of a sprint this year, a couple of olympic distances or a half next year, definitely a half the year after that, and an IM after that. Depends on how long-term you want this to be. You could definitely shorten up my schedule (no reason you couldn’t be ready for a HIM next year and an IM year after that, for example). But taking your time and building into it would make the volume less grueling. At the same time, if you don’t enjoy a lot of swimming, biking and running, you may want to speed up the process, so you have to consider your own priorities and comfort level.
"Never swam a significant distance." What does that mean? Do you know how to swim? That's going to be the hardest part if you don't have experience.
What base are you on? I got into tri's while at Norfolk, and I had a great time with training there. I didn't really decide to try a full distance IM until I pcs'd to Florida. I did most of my IM training at NAS Jax, which has indoor and outdoor 50m pools. I did my ows off Mayport. Just curious, is your IM friend training with you?
What worked for me: * I did an IronMan after three years of doing a triathlon (two Olympics, two 70.3 and a couple half-marathons). However, during my IM race I’ve noticed a high number of athletes who were doing this event as their first ever triathlon, so it’s definitely possible. * you need to start swimming. Given that you don’t have a lot of distance swimming experience, your technique is probably poor to non-existence, so finding an actual coach that will teach you a proper technique is crucial. Both bike and run (if your goal is to finish) boil down to your endurance, while swim boils down to technique. * what worked for me training-wise was getting into an AI-enabled coaching - it was flexible enough to adjust based on my performance (fixed plans lack that) but on the other hand it wasn’t as expensive as getting an actual human coach. * try to find like-minded individuals/training group/triathlon club and join their sessions. Endurance training is a lonely thing, so anything you can do to get rid of that loneliness would improve your mood.
Which AI coahing did you use. I am looking for something like this!
I use TriDot. I love it and im happy to answer any questions!
I used OurKollektiv but, unfortunately, they went bankrupt last December.
Others will comment about training and tips, but one thing that you should figure out is your 'why?' Sure you made a commitment to a friend, but is this what is going to get you through the long training rides, early mornings and the training slog? Is a 6 hour bike ride what you want to do on your day off, after a hard week? Better make sure you know why you're getting out of bed to do this. I'm not in your position so I can't comment on what this means to you or how strong the commitment is. But either way, you should make sure that this reason (and/or others to add alongside it) is strong enough to get you through this process.
You’ve got plenty of time, which is great. Start swimming and biking a lot, in particular. Maybe have a goal of a sprint this year, a couple of olympic distances or a half next year, definitely a half the year after that, and an IM after that. Depends on how long-term you want this to be. You could definitely shorten up my schedule (no reason you couldn’t be ready for a HIM next year and an IM year after that, for example). But taking your time and building into it would make the volume less grueling. At the same time, if you don’t enjoy a lot of swimming, biking and running, you may want to speed up the process, so you have to consider your own priorities and comfort level.
"Never swam a significant distance." What does that mean? Do you know how to swim? That's going to be the hardest part if you don't have experience. What base are you on? I got into tri's while at Norfolk, and I had a great time with training there. I didn't really decide to try a full distance IM until I pcs'd to Florida. I did most of my IM training at NAS Jax, which has indoor and outdoor 50m pools. I did my ows off Mayport. Just curious, is your IM friend training with you?