Not train for an IM? You might as well just grab a sock, some bars of soap, and start beating yourself to death and pocket the hundreds (thousands) of dollars you'd spend on equipment and race entry fees. How ridiculous. You must admit tho- if you actuallly finished one with no training you'd be a stud (but that's extremely unlikely). I saw quite a few hundred DNF's at IMAZ. Sad...

Have you read Slow Fat Triathlete by Jayne Williams? It's a hilarious book about a normal person, like me, who is an overweight triathlete in a world of "skinny mini" athletes. She is a humorous writer, and I loved all her tips and stories about her races. My favorite tip is to soak in a hot bath w/epsom salts after a tri. Mmmm... my muscles hardly get sore and it really relaxes me. Someone here mentioned a bath fizzy that is similar to that. What is the name of that? I may have to check it out.

Anyway, your stories of "thick" athletes made me think of her book. I'm a bit thick myself, and I may not be fast or skinny, but I can outlast about anyone. I've got endurance like the Energizer Bunny.
And, so true about athlete size. I like to think my rather ample hips and thighs are what get me up and down those hills and give me my power.