What's the time commitment to do an Ironman Triathlon?

Holy cow does it really take 40 hours per week to train for an Ironman triathlon? How long 6 months, 9 months or 12 months? Okay chill out... Yes you must dedicate time to train for an Ironman triathlon. The first question you need to ask is "What's my outcome?" What are you looking to achieve? How you perform on race day shouldn't be a surprise. Your training is a direct reflection of your race results.

Here's the really great news. You don't have to sacrifice your life to do an Ironman Triathlon. I'm married (yes you can be married and do a triathlon), father of 6 kids (yes I realize I have basketball team with the sixth man) (just for the record at the time of my first Ironman I had only 5 kids (slacker... I know) and I own my own business (www.darryljarmosco.com). So let me ask you a question, do you think I have 40 hours to spend on training. Absolutely NOT! You think I'm BSing you? I'm not because one of my Ironman goals was to become an Ironman without losing my family. My relationships with my wife and kids is a priority.

So you may ask, "Well what is the time commitment for an Ironman Triathlon?" Get clear on what kid of race you'd like to experience. I do believe there is a minimum commitment and training. If you want to become a qualified Ironman finisher you must get through the finish line under 17 hours. So if that's the case you may be able to train for 10hrs a week for 4 months. Here's the key to your success - find a training program that meets your situation. You'll always find the triathlete who lives for the sport and races every weekend and trains every day. Triathlons are their life. That's great for them just don't compare you to them.

Ironman triathlon is a personal quest to finding out what's possible. It will challenge you in ways you'd never imagine. Your body, mind and soul will be up and down through the training. You'll question why you decided to allocate a piece of your life to do an Ironman triathlon. In the moment it may not make sense at all. Don't get to far a head of your self.

I'd practice daily focus and then let go and appreciate. Basically I'd stay focused on the days training program, execute and appreciate I didn't have to workout until the next day. I found this soothing and relaxing. Instead of focusing on the the entire weeks training program. Yes it's very important to be organized and have your training scheduled out a week or two. Just don't dwell on it and think bad thoughts.

Yes you need to be committed to do an Ironman triathlon and the payoff is indescribable. The man you started the Ironman said, "You can quit and they don't care but you'll always know - this is the Ironman."Stay focused on what time you want to commit and you'll have an amazing experience.

First Ironman Triathlete Do you need a coach?

One of the greatest resources, we have to help us be successful in life is a coach. Having a coach is an amazing experience but do you need one? Okay keep this in mind, I am a Life Coach professionally so I'm big believer in coaching. So when I'm asked did you have a triathlon coach. I did not.

I chose not to have a coach because I felt I would be able to stay accountable to my plan. You need to think about what you need to be happy and successful in your Ironman triathlon training. A few questions to ask yourself, do I need to be held accountable? What's the outcome of the race? Do I need a designated person to talk about my experience, someone who has experience?

Having a triathlon coach is a personal decision based off your needs.

If you had a triathlon coach before please share your experience.

Why did I want to compete and complete an Ironman triathlon?

Making a decision to do an Ironman triathlon is huge. I've been competing in triathlons for over 15 years. Once I found out about the Ironman I became curious. After realizing the commitment and hearing how much time it took, it scared me away.

But I wanted so much more... After competing in sprint triathlons, I wanted more. I wanted to raise the bar. So I did by competing in Olympic triathlon distance. An olympic triathlon is a mile swim (actually just short of), 40K bike (24miles) and a 10K run (6.2miles). This is a really nice race to compete. I did these for a handful of years and then decided to go for the BIG ONE. A half Ironman! Yes a half not a full.

Okay on this journey, I was becoming a triathlete and didn't really know it. I was getting confident and wanted to push myself even more. Still thinking the Full Ironman was out of my sights, I decided to do a  half. A half Ironman isn't a joke. You swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and jog 13.1 miles. I did about one each year for about a 5 year time frame. They were tough and after each one I thought "How am I ever going to do a full ironman?" I walked (actually crawled) away from the half Ironman races proud but discouraged not thinking I could do a full Ironman.

Why did I want to do a full Ironman? I got to the point in my life where I just made the decision to do it. I knew I was an Ironman inside. I was turning 40 in December of 2012 and wanted to complete my first Ironman triathlon before the big 40. Yes the age thing helped but my real why was to prove to myself I could do it. This would be another trophy proving I can do whatever I set my mind to.

I completed my first Ironman triathlon Louisville 8/28/11. It was such an amazing feeling to be an Ironman. Such a huge personal accomplishment.

You need to know your why to complete an Ironman. You also need to know your why to achieve life goals. Take a moment to get really connected to why you want to do an Ironman. Doing your first Ironman isn't an easy task. You must be focused, dedicated, organized, motivated and a little crazy.

Your why (purpose) needs to move you emotionally. Keep asking yourself "why?" do I want to complete my first ironman triathlon. And it's very important to write your reasons down on paper. Getting them out of your head and onto paper is powerful. After you write down your initial reasons review them and ask, "What feeling do these reasons give me?" Keep going... Take your initial reasons and expand them. Let's look at an example lets say one of your reasons was to improve self-confidence. Then ask, "What does self confidence look like (what do I see)? Take note of your new remarks. Then do this with another initial response. Here's the idea, you go so much deeper with this process. It's very powerful and it will do more than get you emotionally ready for the Ironman. It will transform your life.

I'd love to hear your comment so please make one.

Welcome to the "First Ironman Triathlon" blog! I'm so excited to connect with other triathletes and those who want to challenge their personal limitations. This blog is primarily focused on triathletes who want to complete an Ironman triathlon. NO small order by far.

I completed my first Ironman distance in August 2011 in Louisville. It was absolutely amazing... I've been a triathlete for over 15 years and always thought about becoming an Ironman. This site is about helping you on your journey to completing an Ironman distance triathlon.

Every triathlete competes in the sport for different reasons that what makes it such an unique experience. Well I won't spill my beans in the first blog. I'm in the trenches with you, I'm registered and doing my second Ironman Texas May 2013.

Please provide your comments, where you are (sprint, olympic, half IM or IM). What's your why for doing the sport.