I just got the email from Ironman, dang part of me wants to do an Ironman. The other part of me says "hell no".

I've done two 70.3's, two marathons, and a bunch of 13.1's. But dang that 140.6 still eludes me. I just don't know if I have it in me to train that much. Especially now that I have a 5 year old and a 6 month old. Part of me just wants to race it to finish and not give a crap about time.

What say you Ironman vets?

IMTX? No thanks. Much better races out there.

That said, my brother in law will be registering, so we will be out there spectating.

110 on the bike sounds pretty long ... that's just me. 70.3 seems like PLENTY ENOUGH to me. I'm doing my first this weekend at Buffalo Springs. I can't imagine going the 140.6. That sounds LONG. And it is 12 - 14 hours. THAT IS LONG.

JDL 96 said:

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110 on the bike sounds pretty long ... that's just me. 70.3 seems like PLENTY ENOUGH to me. I'm doing my first this weekend at Buffalo Springs. I can't imagine going the 140.6. That sounds LONG. And it is 12 - 14 hours. THAT IS LONG.

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don't short change them 2 miles on the bike!

O0 what races are better that I would actually have a chance of getting into?

AggieOO said:

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JDL 96 said:

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110 on the bike sounds pretty long ... that's just me. 70.3 seems like PLENTY ENOUGH to me. I'm doing my first this weekend at Buffalo Springs. I can't imagine going the 140.6. That sounds LONG. And it is 12 - 14 hours. THAT IS LONG.

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don't short change them 2 miles on the bike!

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Didn't you hear? That was the biggest complaint last year...the bike course is short.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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O0 what races are better that I would actually have a chance of getting into?

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I have to agree with OO. I have yet to do IMTX (and probably never will) even though I live in Houston and have every intention of doing another IM. The one advantage to IMTX is the cost; being local, your only real cost is the registration. The only race that's even remotely tough to get into these days is Arizona, and even that one was available online for a couple days before selling out this year.

Races I like / interested in:
Couer D'Alene - great race for my first, unfortunately 2017 is the last year.
Lake Placid - my favorite course out of any IM or 70.3 I've done, absolutely amazing race, but crazy expensive trip
Arizona - fair fast course, and fairly cheap and accessible from Houston too.
Mont-Tremblant
Canada/Whistler
Chattanooga - did the 70.3, surprisingly pretty & fast bike course, and it's within driving distance.
Wisconsin
Cabo

easttexasaggie04 said:

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O0 what races are better that I would actually have a chance of getting into?

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wisconsin is a GREAT course/race. The bike is tough, but the crowds are amazing. It was open online for a long time this year. I was a big fan of IMAZ, but i know the popularity of that one has risen so might be tough to get in.

Seems like fewer and fewer are selling out immediately due to more saturation of races and the decline in popularity of triathlon.

Crazy Ag 97 said:

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AggieOO said:

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JDL 96 said:

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110 on the bike sounds pretty long ... that's just me. 70.3 seems like PLENTY ENOUGH to me. I'm doing my first this weekend at Buffalo Springs. I can't imagine going the 140.6. That sounds LONG. And it is 12 - 14 hours. THAT IS LONG.

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don't short change them 2 miles on the bike!

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Didn't you hear? That was the biggest complaint last year...the bike course is short.

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I did not. Didn't keep up with IMTX after i saw the bike course change. That reduced my interest from slight to ZERO.

AggieOO said:

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Crazy Ag 97 said:

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AggieOO said:

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JDL 96 said:

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110 on the bike sounds pretty long ... that's just me. 70.3 seems like PLENTY ENOUGH to me. I'm doing my first this weekend at Buffalo Springs. I can't imagine going the 140.6. That sounds LONG. And it is 12 - 14 hours. THAT IS LONG.

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don't short change them 2 miles on the bike!

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Didn't you hear? That was the biggest complaint last year...the bike course is short.

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I did not. Didn't keep up with IMTX after i saw the bike course change. That reduced my interest from slight to ZERO.

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Yea, people were pretty mad, especailly since the loop u-turn was at randomly picked point on the Hardy. They easily could've moved the u-turn another 1/2 mile down the Hardy to pick up the additional 2 miles.

even though the heat/humidity sucked when I did it, i'm glad i checked off the IMTX box in year 1 when the bike course was 1 loop.

EastTx - as previously said...JUST DO IT!

Whether it's Texas or another race, every course has drawbacks and it's very personal preference. Every IM is challenging in it's own way and just because myself or someone else doesn't like a course, doesn't mean it's not a great race, so don't let us piss on your parade. I have a ton of friends that have raced Texas multiple times on different variations of the course and have always loved it. The other upside, it's really easy for your friends and family to come cheer at a local race and even if they don't, there's a ton of fans out on this run course..

Thank y'all. I'm on a budget. So Texas would make the most sense to me. We could drive, stay with family, and drive home. Probably cost us 20% of what a destination race would.

I'm in for IMTX next year. Live in the woodlands so kind of a hometown race. Would be just as much as tri ft worth with travel and hotels and that's not even a destination race

The bike course was about 2 miles short this year. However, I wouldn't necessarily expect that to be the case every year going forward. They list the course at 112 miles and all they would need to do is push the U-Turn cone back on the Hardy or move the first U-Turn on Woodlands Parkway down one or two intersections. I'm assuming they received some complaints on the short course this year.

Not a fan of any course that is that close to highway traffic. Yes the odds are rare but a big fat nope for me.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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Thank y'all. I'm on a budget. So Texas would make the most sense to me. We could drive, stay with family, and drive home. Probably cost us 20% of what a destination race would.

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wouldn't be my first choice, but completely understand. Similar reason my brother-in-law is targeting texas. With a wife and 4 kids, his time/money for triathlon is limited.

If you pull the trigger, you'll get some support from us. We'll be out there somewhere.

I would recommend AZ or Chattanooga. Chattanooga is 116 miles on the bike though, and it can be hot as well. However, from everyone I have spoken with, the swim is very nice (one direction in the river with the current), the bike ride is beautiful, and the run is great as well.

Also, if you are on a budget and don't mind a smaller race, look up HITS triathlon series. The one 140.6 I did was through them in Naples, FL. They did a decent job of putting on the race and the course wasn't bad. The run was two out and backs which kind of sucked (and it wasn't that scenic), but the race entry was half the price of IM. I'm glad I did it, but you can definitely tell the difference between the two organizations.

zip04 said:

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Also, if you are on a budget and don't mind a smaller race, look up HITS triathlon series. The one 140.6 I did was through them in Naples, FL. They did a decent job of putting on the race and the course wasn't bad. The run was two out and backs which kind of sucked (and it wasn't that scenic), but the race entry was half the price of IM. I'm glad I did it, but you can definitely tell the difference between the two organizations.

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But then he can't get his m-dot tattoo

just ran across this, very fitting talking about how easy it is to register for IM these days:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Remember_when_Ironman_Florida_used_to_sell_out%3F_P6341661/?page=unread#unread

When I registered for IMAZ, I was online 10 minutes before the registration opened and hitting refresh constantly just in case it hit earlier than the posted time. IMTX sold out within a few days, if i remember correctly. When I registered for IMWI, we flew to chicago to see my wife's sister and then drove to madison to be there the day after and register on-site.

Now, you can register for any of those online without too much trouble.

Signed up on the 19th for IMTX for my first full as part of the early registration for being affiliated with a TriClub. I'm looking forward to it after enjoying my first half at Galveston 70.3 this past year and now looking forward to Buffalo Springs this weekend.

Didn't IMTX take a while to sell out last year? Like sometime in the spring?

I don't think IMTX sold out in 2017. I was getting emails a month or two out from race day saying "only a few spots left".

IMTX was my first full. Before that I did a few sprints, Austin 70.3 in 2011, and ran one marathon. You can do it if you train for it now. Heck, I didn't start training until August and wasn't very disciplined. I work shift work and have a young family so training time was slim. Still finished in ~12 hours. You can do it!

I liked into, but I did the original bike course.

All I can really say is that 5 and 5 months is way easier than ten and five. The dependance level goes down, but the time involvement goes way up.

Have fun.