I agree. I (barely) remember when I was 18. It wasn't uncommon to workout in the gym for an hour or more and then head out for a 15 mile trail run. Our "engines" never seemed to run out.

I recently saw the video of Mark Lewis racing the young kid in the 5k (who IIRC had set the AG record). The kid had no watch, no HR data, no HRV data, no apparent "training plan", no super shoes, no pace data, etc., etc., etc. He just went out and ran.

I didn't get started in tri until I was nearly 60yo. I *had* to rebuild my engine and I'm still not rebuilt enough to do an IM (might not ever be).

Since you can do all the disciplines now at an above average or better pace, as others have said, grab a free training plan of the 'net, take rest days when you want to take rest days and keep in turn with your body in regards to injuries.

I predict you will kill it.

Please repost with your results so I can reminisce and vicariously live through you.

Good luck.

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Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.

Oh dear.

I knew a CAT-3 bike racer who did one sprint triathlon on a dare, got hooked, and signed up for IM Whistler a few months out. He DNF (did not finish) and he was late 20s and had 10 years of bike racing in him.

Could you finish an IM? Maybe. But you probably won't. If you began the training load needed to finish an IM you'd probably get injured in training and would not be able to race. If you start a lighter training load then you'd get in trouble in an IM. See the problem?

It takes a few years of building out to an IM distance. Sign up for a few sprints this year. Do some olympic distance races next tear. Then half Ironman.

Edit: you already signed up? Lol. OK might as well start the race. Don't be disappointed if you DNF. Take it as a learning experience. Just build out your long runs slowly very slowly: start short and lengthen the distances gradually.. You don't want a training injury prior to a race.

Have fun and don't worry too much about numbers. If you are feeling healthy and pain free then go ahead and do it.

There is a balance between being reckless and jeopardizing your future health vs going after an accomplishment that lights a fire inside of you (Ironman Lake Placid). Be cautious but don't listen to the negative people who will say you can't do it or you shouldn't. Sometimes life is about living and learning. I did an IM at age 23 and I'd probably have waited another year or two if I can do it again. I enjoyed the hell out of the journey though. I was proud of myself.

Edit: I echo what @mikeridesbikes said. I am also in my late 20's. Being 18 was an incredible time. Your classmates are on the couch playing video games and you are training for an IM. Live a little :)

There is a refund policy?

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

If you are at 1:19 half marathoner, and a 285W FTP that is over 5W per kilo and swimming 1 hrs per day, this Ironman is going to be a cake walk. You should easily go sub 10 even at 18. Yeah, its not the best long term plan to do an IM, but why not if you have the capability.

You probably want to do a few 6-7 hrs days (1 hrs swim, 5.5 hrs bike, 30 min run) just to get the nutrition dialed, and also a few 40-50+ mile weeks (which should be easy if you are a 1:19 half marathoner, just make sure you lighten up on riding and swimming on the bigger run weeks.

Dear Henry; FTP > 5.0w/kg, 1:19 HM - you totally got this. What could go wrong?

I, for one, would advocate for lots of training via youtube and tiktok, maybe a bit of insta. Planning and thinking about the race will be more effective than risking overtraining. You will not need to do any long runs or long bikes with those excellent numbers. Starting training in May/June should be enough.


Also note, mile 100-112 at Lake Placid is LEGIT. It will be a valuable 70min to make memories of a lifetime and question life decisions.


The decision to go out on that 2nd marathon lap, rather than straight to an ice bath, will be influenced by David Goggins. IGA was a supermarket - now it's a hill that you will never forget. Twice.


My only suggestion would be a liberal application of anti-chafe. Put some bag balm or anti-chafe in T1/T2 for your feet. no blisters. When you run out of gas near the ski jumps, start drinking soda for the quick sugar? I'd put a 1L in your special needs bag to carry while you "run" that back half.

We are totally here for the post-race report. Seriously, have a great race and go sub 11. Bad decisions make great stories.

Don't plan on any stairs the day after.

Given your half-marathon time, your youthful naivety and stubbornness will probably get you to the finish in a much faster time than most of the people on this forum.

The impact on your long-term health and performance, not to mention your grades and social life in your last year of high school, remain to be seen.

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***

I doubt it will be easy no matter how much I train, but I appreciate your advice and everyone else who think I can do it. On these 7+ hour days should I be doing them continuously or with a short break to eat and stuff (around an hour or so maybe) in between. Also I'm still in school obviously so doing anything over 4-5 hours isn't really possible on week days because my school doesn't get out until after 3pm. Right now I usually swim before school and then bike and/or run after school.

I didn't do an IM aged 18, but did run-walk a marathon aged 18, also cycled 200 miles one day because I had a bike and wanted to go somewhere that was 200 miles away & didn't want to pay for a train ticket. None of that seems to have caused long term problems & I'm still enjoying tri 32 years later.

Good luck. Hope you enjoy it. Maybe you'll go sub 10, maybe you won't. It's quite unusual in a first attempt. You clearly have the numbers and the potential, but the IM marathon can humble anyone.

You may be able to do this but Why is it too late to not race just because you signed up?

Something is not adding up. Here you claim you swim 3-4k every morning. And you also edited your OP to say you bike 20 miles a day.

And you’re on your HS XC team.

I think you’re completely overstating how much you actually train. Is it intentionally overstating to try and get the responses you want?

Is it anxiousness and excitement clouding your memory as you’re trying to relay information to us?

You are getting some very good advice from people including one person who coaches youth athletes. Yet you seem intent on only wanting the responses that align with your task/project/goal/ego.

I would truly like to know your actual weekly volume for each discipline over the last four months. My gut feeling is the reality is not in line with your goals and infor here.

During the xc season I did indeed taper for the championship season, but that was only about 3-4 weeks in total, including time off afterwards. The cross country season ended awhile ago, and I am not competing in indoor and outdoor track so that I can focus on training. Cross country practice was only after school, and left the mornings open to training. I can assure you that I am not overstating how much I train, in fact, with the little information I provided about my training, it seems to me as though I understated my volume in terms of running.

If you doubt how much I have been training, feel free to message me and I can show you some of the data from my training logs.

In response to your statement that I "...seem intent on only wanting the responses that align with your task/project/goal/ego" I would 100% agree with you. Any responses that are not meant to help me further my goal of completing this race and doing my best are highly discouraged.

It's not really, but I was also planning on using this experience as part of a project for my school, and I don't really have a better idea right now. Plus it already took a lot of convincing for my parents to allow me to sign up.

Your neighbour who has done IMLP 16 times sounds like a useful resource/ mentor to have on tap.

Yeah definitely

Understood re the season, that makes some more sense.

I’d like to see some of your training data here in the thread from the end of your XC season.

What was your fueling strategy for the XC season?
Can you take me through a typical day’s fueling in season?

Good life lesson here. Next time measure twice and cut once. Hope this works out for you!!

Are you talking about my training since xc ended or the training at the end of xc season, because there's not much to see from the last week or so of my xc season. It's essentially just recovery.

Edit: I forgot to talk about my nutrition during xc. I didn't have any set nutrition. I wouldn't eat or drink anything during my long runs or during races, but I would just try and eat as much as I could outside of training. At this point, the idea of doing a triathlon didn't even really occur to me, so my focus was primarily on running, with biking and swimming being just a fun way to cross train with my friends.

Thank you. I'm happy with the decision I've made and have no regrets, so maybe the saying should be measure once and cut once

Spoken like an 17 year old. Best of luck. I do think it’s great you are trying this.

I'll take it since I don't turn 18 for awhile. Oh wait you changed it. Nevermind

I am cheering you on and think you can do it.
You’re committed, training hard and young. Keep us updated. Train hard and rest/recover hard.

Rob

Henry,

Congrats on starting the journey. Like your neighbor, I've done Lake Placid 24 times and am shooting for 25 this year. Enough about me but I wanted to put my comments in context. The important part is that when my son turned 18, he said "Dad, can I do Lake Placid with you, too?" My answer was an absolute YES. My son did Lake Placid 3 more years while in college, so you can do an Ironman at 18, 19, 20... and not suffer long-term consequences. I would echo what a lot of others have written, but I also believe that you should change your goals:

Goal #1 - Finish
Goal #2 - Finish
Goal #3 - Finish

As soon as you start talking about how fast you're going to do the course (be it swim, bike or run), you can set your self up for a disappointing day.

My son walked, waddled and almost crawled the first time across the line in 15+ hours. His times dropped significantly down to 11 hours and change, but my recommendation is to only have 1 goal when you start and that is to finish.

I think that you are very smart to do the Cross Country Season but stay away from the outdoor and indoor track seasons. This will allow your body to recover and then you can cross train without getting injuries.

By the way, my son is now 30 and he still runs marathons and has run a couple of ultras. You can do it but just be careful of the injury bug.

Look forward to having a Slowtwitch reunion in Lake Placid in July.

Thank you for the advice, I would have to agree with you that my goal should just be to finish.

The race costs about a grand. Given his training, I'm guessing is Dad paid for the race as i doubt he has a job. Seems like he's committed.

To the OP. Just don't over-cook yourself early on so you can ensure you finish. Even if walking it in. 17 hour finish is better than a DNF which is better than a DNS once you pay.....