AMA: Completed my first Ironman this past weekend, with no triathlon experience and less than 5 months of training.
For context, I’ve been training in endurance sports for just about 4-5 years now and running consistently for a little over 3 of those (20-30 miles per week on avg). So I have a decent “base” built but I couldn’t swim 200yds without being gassed and maybe had 100 miles total on my road bike prior.
Creating this because I see a lot of people intimidated (rightfully so) by their first Ironman and many on this sub telling them it’s a bad idea, you need years of training, start with a Sprint, etc. which I can understand the feeling of discouragement from that. And while they are not wrong necessarily, that is a smart way to do things, I’m also here to encourage you to chase the goal that seems obtainable right now because it can be done. It may not be fast but you can and will finish and you can enjoy the entire process at the same time, and normalizing that everyone’s goals and timelines are different. It was the greatest feeling of accomplishment that I’ve experienced in sport and I’m so glad I went for the big goal first. Happy to answer any questions.