IRONMAN

Karl2010

Ive heard of Ironman before, but never realy knew what was involved until a few minutes ago. (i was researching because i was thinking of doing one)

Oh my word. It has got to be the toughest 1 day sporting event ever.
Well more punishing and painfull than a bike race..

This is what the Ironman Athletes need to do..

Swim 2.4 Miles
Bike 112 Miles
Run 26 Miles

The best time in the Ironman UK was 8 Hours 40 Mins 18 Seconds (08:40:18)

All in one day.! Phenomenal!!

Just been looking at the results for the Iornman UK (in Bolton), and they seem to spend minimum of 45mins in Transition 1 (where they change from Swim gear to bike gear), im assuming they must be getting some food down their necks? Because thats a long time in Transition.

It sure is a beast of an event... Anyone ever done it? Or know anyone who has?

How do you pace yourself in an event like that?

Also it seems more accessible for Amateurs who want to turn Pro than cycling does.
+ The prize money is good.

jibberjim

Karl2010 wrote:

Also it seems more accessable for Amatures who want to turn Pro than cycleing does.
+ The prize money is good.

The prize money in triathlon is atrocious!

Karl2010

$9000.00 for 1st place?

Whats the most an amature gets paid for winning an Cat1 or Elite Bike Race?

Whats the most a Pro can get for winning a bike race?
(not including the wages and sponsorship they get)

jonmack

I think you get something like € 400,000 for winning TdF...

Also, sorry to be picky but it might help your research if you spell it correctly, it's ironman not being a dick or anything, just trying to help!

Tom Butcher

Yeah I know a few who do it - three lads in our cycling club for starters - it sounds quite accessible as the time cut offs are pretty generous. They were all doing either side of 10 hours but I think you can take up to 15 or 16 if you want to - bit like the London Marathon there's a big range in how serious people take the training.

jibberjim

Karl2010 wrote:

$9000.00 for 1st place?

Whats the most an amature gets paid for winning an Cat1 or Elite Bike Race?

No amateur can win money in an official Ironman race, even if they beat the professionals. In a few triathlon races it's possible to win money as an amateur but the vast majority there is no prize money at all and the cost to enter is significantly more.

A Premier Calendar winner has to get at least 400 quid.

Karl2010

Jibberjim:

Do you mean the Bristish Cycling Premier Calender?
And do you mean that it is Mandatory for the winner of the Prem Clander to receive £400.00? If so who pays this? Bristish Cycling?

Garz

Agree with the proper spelling correction comment.

Ultimately tough sport, but to me would take up too much time to train and then there's the gear.. cycling alone is expensive enough!

Pokerface

Karl2010 wrote:

Jibberjim:

Do you mean the Bristish Cycling Premier Calender?
And do you mean that it is Mandatory for the winner of the Prem Clander to receive £400.00? If so who pays this? Bristish Cycling?

Prize money is paid by the race organizer - usually out of the entry fees (or local sponsorship if not enough entries, etc).


Not sure what the prizes are for premiere calendar events though.

Pokerface

jonmack wrote:

I think you get something like € 400,000 for winning TdF...

Technically the Tour winner receives €450,000. However, the tradition is that he does not actually collect any of that money, and instead it is split between the other team members (and support staff) as they all help make the victory possible. And the Tour winner goes on to make a lot more in salary and endorsements.

Stage winners get €8,000 and Polka Dot and Green Jersey winners get €25,000

Teach

Karl2010 wrote:

Just been looking at the results for the Iornman UK (in Bolton), and they seem to spend minimum of 45mins in Transition 1 (where they change from Swim gear to bike gear), im assuming they must be getting some food down their necks? Because thats a long time in Transition.

I agree it's a beast of an event. I am not sure where you get 45 mins in transition 1.I believe 45 mins is the time for the swim and transition to cycle. They don't sit and have a meal in transition. Lots of energy drinks gel bars and I'm sure other miracle foods, but definitely no stopping for a meal. They have enough to contend with without trying to digest a meal at the same time.

jonmack

Pokerface wrote:

jonmack wrote:

I think you get something like € 400,000 for winning TdF...

Technically the Tour winner receives €450,000. However, the tradition is that he does not actually collect any of that money, and instead it is split between the other team members (and support staff) as they all help make the victory possible. And the Tour winner goes on to make a lot more in salary and endorsements.

Stage winners get €8,000 and Polka Dot and Green Jersey winners get €25,000

Ah, couldn't remember if it was 400 or 450. I do remember reading that they share it amongst the team rather than taking it, I'd imagine the endorsements and sponsorship deals pay enough to keep the bank balance looking sweet!

Sorry to take this completely off topic, but Wade at CyclingTips wrote a post about how much money PRO's make. http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/11/ ... ists-make/

I know Ironman's are a big deal, but I wouldn't have thought tri can really compete with events such as the TdF which have such a huge past.

chrisw12

I'm about to sign up for ironman Wales for September. I'm still going to mainly focus on cycling though but just throw a few runs (walks) and swims in.

As to the degree of 'hardness' I've done a 12hr where I gave it my all. I'm hoping the ironman will be a bit easier as I wont be racing it, but I'll let you know in September. I still think the ultimate endurance event which normal people enter is the 24 hour, that's another degree of mental and quite literally anal madness. I'm not counting the ultra and deca and double iron people, they're not normal

jibberjim

Pokerface wrote:

Not sure what the prizes are for premiere calendar events though.

BC regs require a prize fund of at least 2000 and 20% to the winner. They're on the site somewhere. I don't know if it's actually adhered to, but I assume so.

My wife from a triathlon background was very happily surprised when she did her first bike racing here and in Holland where they just hand you cash at the end. She won Ironman Lake Placid Age Group, getting a pair of shoes and a perspex trophy for her 500$ entry fee, a month or so later won a time trial and came away with 100quid and a bigger trophy...

John Stevenson

Spelling in first post fixed. Please make an effort. Think of it like this: if you don't care enough about what you have to say to use a spell-checker, why should anyone else care?

Karl2010

Oh i do appologise..

Bozman

Getting back on track..... Have a look at the original ironman which is held in Kona Hawaii each year. The distances are all the same but the conditions are a hell of a lot worse, its hot and windy but the winning time was 30mins quicker than the uk event.
If you ever get the chance to go, the Hawaiian islands are good place for cycling , smooth roads with plenty of climbing and cracking weather.

incog24

If you're going to do an Ironman distance, don't do the official one. Its way too expensive, you're just getting skinned by a commercial operation.

Squillinossett

chrisw12 wrote:

I'm about to sign up for ironman Wales for September. I'm still going to mainly focus on cycling though but just throw a few runs (walks) and swims in.

As to the degree of 'hardness' I've done a 12hr where I gave it my all. I'm hoping the ironman will be a bit easier as I wont be racing it, but I'll let you know in September. I still think the ultimate endurance event which normal people enter is the 24 hour, that's another degree of mental and quite literally anal madness. I'm not counting the ultra and deca and double iron people, they're not normal

I take my hat off to you sir, I love the idea of doing an ironman, but I couldnt put the trainign in required. And im a crap runner to boot.

feltkuota

Not all IM course's are made equal so time comparisons don't mean that much. A couple of the quickest courses out there are Frankfurt and Austria where the men go sub 8 for the distance. The UK event in Bolton was organised like a dog's breakfast but most of the other IM events are organised pretty well. Kona is the world champs and you have to qualify to enter either as an age grouper or a pro. That being said there is a ballot in the states but I don't know how many places go into it from there. Some of the popular European events sell out within a day or two and, if you want to enter them, you generally have to do so the year before. There are a number of events that remain open for a lot longer but those tend to be the more difficult events. Good luck..

Karl2010

Had another look and the Double Ironman is just that... Double the normal distances.
so:
Swim 4.8 Miles, Bike 224 Miles & Run 52 Miles

Dont think there is anyway i could do a standard ironman, havent got the time to train and im just not hard enough. It would take so long i would probaly get bored.

Hats off to the guys and girls how do them. I love to know what drives them.

chrisw12

John Stevenson wrote:

Spelling in first post fixed. Please make an effort. Think of it like this: if you don't care enough about what you have to say to use a spell-checker, why should anyone else care?

Is this the policy now then? Spelling police checking the forum? I do agree with you though, it makes it so much easier for the reader if spelling and punctuation are correct.

Karl2010

It does make it easyier for the read Chris, but im Dyslexic.
Its just not reasonalbe to spell check everything i write.

I cant stand TXT speak for example. And there are alot of acronyms on here that i dont undrestand either. At least i make the effort to spell the word.

ut_och_cykla

KArl - don't be put off! It is easier to read stuff that's been spelt properly but not much harder to read stuff that is spelt wrongly - as long as it doesn't generate confusion. I agree with you about acronyms and jargon but that's part of being on a cycling forum - if it was about car engine tuning I wouldn't understand a word!
there's a well known document (or several) circulating on the internet about how a text can be read fairly easily as long as the first and last letters of each word are correct
wrtiten in Austrlaia it is not mcuh haredr to unerdstnad ... well I think you get the picture
Happy New year

whyamihere

Karl2010 wrote:

Its just not reasonable to spell check everything i write.

Unless you're on an antiquated system, there is an automatic spelling checker built in to your browser. It's entirely reasonable to ask you to use that.

Pokerface

John Stevenson wrote:

Spelling in first post fixed. Please make an effort. Think of it like this: if you don't care enough about what you have to say to use a spell-checker, why should anyone else care?

While I agree that good spelling and grammar are important, that is a pretty snobbish thing to say. Not everyone has the tag "Editor in Chief" beside their name. Or as good a grasp of the language as you do. I have an English degree, but don't insist that everyone on the forum is of the same standard as me.

hopper1

Pokerface wrote:

John Stevenson wrote:

Spelling in first post fixed. Please make an effort. Think of it like this: if you don't care enough about what you have to say to use a spell-checker, why should anyone else care?

While I agree that good spelling and grammar are important, that is a pretty snobbish thing to say. Not everyone has the tag "Editor in Chief" beside their name. Or as good a grasp of the language as you do. I have an English degree, but don't insist that everyone on the forum is of the same standard as me.

+1 Col... I find this response very petty.
As long as it's 'ball park' and not text speak, what's the problem?

DaveyL

And some of the best ironman triathletes are from GB - Chrissie Wellington is probably the best ironman athlete around at the moment. Set a new women's world record of 8:19 at Roth this year. Also Julie Dibens finished 3rd in Kona this year in her first IM and she is a very strong swimmer and biker. On the men's side, Philip Graves is a great young talent (not sure if he is still doing IMs though) and Tom Lowe (Chrissie's partner) set the fastest ever time by a UK triathlete at IM Arizona this year.

Well worth watching the conclusion to the men's race in Hawaii this year - it was one of the best ever. Chris McCormack is a legend.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Karl2010 wrote:

How do you pace yourself in an event like that?

Very carefully. Especially on the bike.

Power meters can make a huge difference to an IM athlete getting it right, since the bike leg is ridden sub-maximally, it is quite "easy" to accidentally overpower parts of the ride. Lots of "great" bike legs followed by people walking half the marathon to follow.

I have done quite a bit of power pace modeling for IM, both post-hoc analysis and pre-event pacing strategy advice.

In general you'll want to aim for a bike leg training stress score (TSS) in the 280-300 range (for those that know what TSS is).

Nutrition strategy also vital.

Assumes of course you do the (very time consuming) training necessary as well.

chrisw12

Karl, I'm very sorry, I had a feeling that you were dyslexic and I was going to mention it at the end of my post in your defence. However I wasn't sure if me presuming that would insult you further.

Karl2010

Ah, dont worry about it. Thanks to the chaps sticking up for me.
I can read my own spelling so just assume everyone else can.

Anyway this is last years news. Its 2011 now.

It was my 28th birthday yesterday, i had a few drinks with a few people i havnt seen for a while and spent an hour or so talking to a girl from Australia who is traveling the world.
Had a good night and didnt get hammerd. :0)

Got a chicken in the oven at the moment, and im looking forward to tucking into that later, and hopefully getting out on the bike tomorrow.

On a slightly sour note Liverpool are getting beat at home again! One - nill to Bolton.