1/2 Iron man advice

[roadie gal]

I'm in your same boat. I'm aiming for a HIM in mid September. Starting around now seems pretty reasonable. You'll have to train consistently you should have the time to build up without being "rushed".

I'm using BeginnerTriathletes 20 week HIM plan. I've modified it a little. I've learned that my body just can't do 6 days/week. So I've changed it to 4 days on/ one day off. It adds another 2 weeks to the training time, but I think my body and mind will do better with this.

[ALCR]

I did Longhorn last year and it was a lot of fun. The swim is in Decker Lake which is also where they hold the Danskin Tri in Austin. The bike course has some rolling hills with a couple of good climbs at the end. The run is a 2 loop course, half on roads and the other half on a grassy trail. There are a couple of good climbs on the run, but nothing too long. I am planning on doing PrairieMan this year and relaying Longhorn (bike leg) as I will also be doing Halfmax two weeks after Longhorn. I have not done PrairieMan before, so I am looking forward to that race. I too am interested in hearing about PrairieMan if anyone has done that one before.

[Gret1122]

Thanks for all the advice ans encouragement. One big question... Will my road bike do or do I need to get a tri bike???

[roadie gal]

Pretty much any bike will work. You'll see all sorts of bikes from mountain bikes to roadies to very expensive tri bikes. Whatever is comfortable for you will be OK.

[KSH]

Hello and welcome!

Prairie Man vs Longhorn. I know both courses. I have raced out at the Prairie Man location and did a relay for that race. I raced the Longhorn last Oct.

I say the Longhorn. Better all the way around. The bike course is better at the Longhorn, and now it's an offical 70.3... so it will be even better ALL the way around this year. The Prairie Man is a great race though put on by a solid guy.

I rode my road bike at the Longhorn. Even though I have a tri bike. It was fine. Lots of road bikes out there.

Now I'm just trying to convince my coach to let me ride my road bike at my IM!