1/2 Iron man advice

[Gret1122]

Ok so I have done a few sprint and middle distance tri's and am wanting to do a 1/2 ironman i september or october. Do you think this is enought time. I did a du last weekend with a 2 mile run 40k bike and 10k run, i am not super speedy but I finished well for my training. My weakest part is my swim. I can swim but get very paniced when i swin in a race. Is 20+ weeks enough time to train for a 1/2??? Give me some advice. Since I teach I will be able to train wiht no problems during months of May June July and August. Just hope the Texas heat does not get the best of me.

[Tri Girl]

20 weeks is more than enough time, especially since you'll have all summer to train. Me too- yay for summers off, but I'm paying for that break during the entire month of May. Each day from here on out is a struggle to keep the kids interested and "tame." Sorry- I get off on tangents easily.

Back to the topic. Yes, that should be plenty of time. There are many training programs out there to get you into a routine. I love the programs at www.trifuel.com. They are free, and what I used for my first IM distance race, and what I'll use for my second in November. I'm a middle/back of the packer and although my training varies tremendously from those at the front, I do it for fun and not for the win. So I train, compete, and finish with a smile. I think you've got plenty of time to get ready!
Which one are you planning on doing??

[Gret1122]

I am thinking of doing Prairie Man or Longhorn. Anyone done these???
Thanks for the input. I will take a look at the site to get some training help.

Yes one more month is hard on us all. I am not sure who has checked out more some of our teachers or students.

[Wahine]

That's plenty of time, especially if you're not working. There are some free 20 week plans on www.beginnertriathlete.com as well. The biggest thing for you will be to make sure that you get outside for an open water swim at least once a week once the weather gets better. Go with some friends if you can and try running into each other and bumping each other around. It helps to get rid of the anxiety that is so common on race day.

[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!

[ALCR]

I too used my road bike for Longhorn and it worked out perfectly for me. I would agree with KSH, Longhorn is a great race and will be even better now that it is an official 70.3 race.

KSH, what did you not like about the PrairieMan bike course? Just curious. I wish I could do the full Longhorn again this year, but the timing isn't right. Will I be disappointed in the PrairieMan course? What was the run course like?

[Gret1122]

Well I guess I need to make my mind up soon about which one to do. I only wanted to do the Prairie Man because it was a little sooner. How was the weather last year for Longhorn. Water temp?? did you wear a wetsuit for the swim??
I was possibly thinking I could do both sincethey are a month apart. Am I crazy??
Any advice on a HR monitor? I want to get one but am a little overwhelmed by all the different ones. Is their a specific one for triathletes???

[KSH]

KSH, what did you not like about the PrairieMan bike course? Just curious. I wish I could do the full Longhorn again this year, but the timing isn't right. Will I be disappointed in the PrairieMan course? What was the run course like?

Well, the bike course is on some pretty busy roads. And it's flat, and it can get windy. I personally like hills, less wind and more rural roads. With the Longhorn you get all of that. It's not horrible, but compared to Longhhorn it's not great.

The run course can be very miserable, because it's HOT and HUMID. Longhorn was, and Prairie Man can be worse. 2007 was miserable I heard. But I guess that's what you get in Texas, in September, right?

Otherwise, I would say the run course is easier than Longhorn, because it's flat. Flat is good for the run!

Overall, it's a good race and Ironhead is a solid race productions organization. Jack who heads it up is an old sea dog... but he can make jokes at times. HA!

[KSH]

Well I guess I need to make my mind up soon about which one to do. I only wanted to do the Prairie Man because it was a little sooner. How was the weather last year for Longhorn. Water temp?? did you wear a wetsuit for the swim??
I was possibly thinking I could do both sincethey are a month apart. Am I crazy??
Any advice on a HR monitor? I want to get one but am a little overwhelmed by all the different ones. Is their a specific one for triathletes???

How was the weather for Longhorn last year? Hot. Prairie Man will be hot too. So either way, you get... HOT.

The water temp for EITHER race will be warm and they will not be wetsuit legal. You might have some hope of wearing a wetsuit for Longhorn, but don't count on it.

The lake next to Longhorn is warmed by a power plant near by, if that tells ya anything.

I had a friend who did both races. He was fine. Then again he is 24 years old and mentally he can push himself past the point of reason with his body. HA! If you are in good shape, you can do both.

HR monitor? Get a Garmin Forerunner 305. Honestly, I'm sorry I waited to long to get one. Although, the upside is that I got it for $200. If you search on the Internet you can find it around that price easy.

It's amazing. You can track your pace, distance, and HR on it. So when you go for a run you know how far you have gone and what your pace is at that moment. On the bike, you can track your HR and distance too.

Then when you download the data into your computer, it shows you the route you took, what your HR was at any given time/speed, etc.

And it has a multi-sport feature... so you can track a Bike and Run workout back to back.

Most HR monitors you see out there will cost about as much as a Garmin, with half the features. Not to mention, the ones that do pace and distance ususally work off a foot pod (extra $). The Garmin tracks you via satellites.

Now, if you want to spend some money, you can get the Garmin 405 for $450. It's smaller than the 305, but it doesn't have a multi sport feature.

[KSH]

One more thing... there is a thread on Beginner Triathlete about Longhorn.

As you can see the race director is taking everyone's opinions into account.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/di...sts=91&start=1