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re: Could you Finish an Ironman in 3 Days?
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:19 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:19 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
100% could
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:21 pm to TheIndulger
quote:
ETA: the biking would hurt bad but could manage if splitting it up over the days. I haven’t been cycling lately
Not sure what parameters OP is putting on this, but I think the gameplan would have to be:
Day 1: Attempt to finish the swim in 4-5 hours. Take a break, then knock out as much of the bike ride as you can moving at a comfortable pace. Let's say you can put another 5-6 hours on the bike at 8-10 mph, you just cut the bike ride in half.
Day 2: Finish the remainder of the bike portion. If you knocked out 50 miles on day 1, you could ride at a 7mph pace and knock out the rest in 8.5 hours.
Day 3: Walk a marathon.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:30 pm to Lonnie Utah
quote:
FWIW, in my working with scouts I've seen lots of 12-18 year old kids jump in a lake and complete a mile swim without toooo much difficulty. My 15 year old complete the mile swim this summer and had likely swam 4-5 times before he attempted it. It's a difficult, but not that far out of the realm of possibility. The side stroke FTW in that situation.
Agree with your comments-- especially re the side stroke.
I'm a below average swimmer. Failed a 5 minute treading water / dead man float test in the Marines. When I got to the Naval Academy, there was a graduation requirement of completing "the 40 year swim" (really 40 minutes, and now its 30) without touching the side of the pool. I would not have passed using freestyle / front crawl even after having a good bit of swim training there, but side stroked my way to a C on the test and could have kept going. According to google, a C means I went 1200 to 1500 yards (.75 to .8 miles). This was in the 1990s, so not sure I'm remembering correctly, but think we were also swimming in uniforms, which created more drag and weighed us down.
I don't like my chances of swimming 2.4 miles now in my 50s without a lot of practice, but 10 years ago, I was in above average shape and believe with minimal practice I could have managed it. Might've taken me 3 hours per my time at school, but side stroke is sustainable and not very taxing.
I bike around NYC a bit, mostly running errands. Longest ride might've been 3 hours. I agree with LSUfan4444 and others that say people who don't bike regularly underestimate the discomfort of the taint area and the fatigue that starts to set in from that discomfort.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:34 pm to UpToPar
quote:
Day 1: Attempt to finish the swim in 4-5 hours. Take a break, then knock out as much of the bike ride as you can moving at a comfortable pace. Let's say you can put another 5-6 hours on the bike at 8-10 mph, you just cut the bike ride in half.
Day 2: Finish the remainder of the bike portion. If you knocked out 50 miles on day 1, you could ride at a 7mph pace and knock out the rest in 8.5 hours.
You write this as if you won’t be completely wrecked from day 1
Biking 50 miles semi trained and then biking 50 miles again the next day is hard, much less if you aren’t.
I don’t think most of you could do this even if you just sat in the biking posture and didn’t peddle for 8 hours
This post was edited on 11/4/26 at 1:35 pm
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:36 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
I'd give you a week still wouldnt finish.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 1:57 pm to epbart
quote:
I'm a below average swimmer. Failed a 5 minute treading water / dead man float test in the Marines. When I got to the Naval Academy, there was a graduation requirement of completing "the 40 year swim" (really 40 minutes, and now its 30) without touching the side of the pool. I would not have passed using freestyle / front crawl even after having a good bit of swim training there, but side stroked my way to a C on the test and could have kept going. According to google, a C means I went 1200 to 1500 yards (.75 to .8 miles). This was in the 1990s, so not sure I'm remembering correctly, but think we were also swimming in uniforms, which created more drag and weighed us down.
These days, most of the long distance swimming in the Navy and Marine corps is the "Combat Side Stroke" which is a modification of the regular size stroke. The advantages is it allows one to glide for long distances and it keeps the swimmers head out of the water for almost the entire stroke.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:04 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
Biking 50 miles semi trained and then biking 50 miles again the next day is hard, much less if you aren’t.
Our scout troop just did a 50 mile ride several weeks ago. They had 3 practice sessions with their longest ride pre-event of about 20 miles. Even a novice can maintain 12-15 mph pace indefinitely. So 50 miles is 3-4 hours at a moderate pace on flat terrain. Every single scout (Ages 11-16) and adult leader completed the ride in under 4 hours. I cannot speak to their ability to do the same effort again the next day, but as a one day event, 50 miles isn't that bad.
When I used to road bike alot (I used to get between 3k-5k miles a year) that would have been about a 2.5 hour ride for me. FWIW, I've completed multiple century rides and the last one I did (over a decade ago) I thought I could have easily done another 50-100 miles after I finished. Of course that one I was riding with a bunch of folks doing their first one so my I wasn't maximizing my pace.
This post was edited on 11/4/26 at 2:07 pm
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:04 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
The biking and the marathon portion over 3 days, definitely. I have swam a mile once and never again, I don't want to even contemplate 2.5 miles of fricking swimming.
So no I could not complete a full Ironman in 3 days, or a week, or a month lol.
So no I could not complete a full Ironman in 3 days, or a week, or a month lol.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:07 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
Maybe with a life jacket. I would drown
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:20 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
You write this as if you won’t be completely wrecked from day 1
Biking 50 miles semi trained and then biking 50 miles again the next day is hard, much less if you aren’t.
What you are missing is that nobody is saying any of it would be easy, or that they wouldn't be absolutely wrecked by the end of it. But three days is an eternity to get it done.
I agree the biking is easily the hardest part of it. But even in this dude's breakdown:
quote:
Day 1: Attempt to finish the swim in 4-5 hours. Take a break, then knock out as much of the bike ride as you can moving at a comfortable pace. Let's say you can put another 5-6 hours on the bike at 8-10 mph, you just cut the bike ride in half.
Day 2: Finish the remainder of the bike portion. If you knocked out 50 miles on day 1, you could ride at a 7mph pace and knock out the rest in 8.5 hours.
..that at least seems manageable to get you to a point of being able to achieve it.
The run/walk is by far the easiest part of this. Even if you are exhausted that third day (which you would be obviously), a leisurely walk gets the run part completed. And with a full day to do it, you could take breaks as needed.
So I stand by my statement of "I think I could do it." Doesn't mean I guarantee it or anything, just that I think I'd have a shot if you gave me three full days to complete the task. And that doesn't seem unreasonable.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:22 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
Could you Finish an Ironman in 3 Days?
Yes. The “run” is 26 miles. I could not run that due to bad knees, but I could walk it in about 8 hours fairly easily. I could bike the 112 miles in 8 hours, and I could swim the 2.4 miles in two hours. (I swim 1200 yards about 3 times per week). The hardest for me would be the biking.
That is 18 hours of low intensity exercise for me. I could do it in two days.
ETA: I’m going to say three hours for the swim in open water. And I’m emphasizing that we don’t have any really adverse conditions - light wind and waves.
This post was edited on 11/4/26 at 3:27 pm
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:27 pm to CocomoLSU
quote:
CocomoLSU
When’s the last time you were on a road bike? Or a bike at all?
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:27 pm to CocomoLSU
quote:
I agree the biking is easily the hardest part of it.
See, I have the exact opposite opinion. In my mind, the biking would be the easiest part. Why? Because the gears of the bike give you a mechanical advantage the other two activities don't. Also, there will be opportunities to coast and rest on the bike that you can't take advantage of while running or swimming.
This post was edited on 11/4/26 at 2:29 pm
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:29 pm to Penrod
No way I could do the swim, don’t think I could have done that at any point, hate swimming distance when scuba isn’t involved. I could definitely walk the 26 miles in 3 days, I hike enough that would be easy. The bike I wont even attempt because of my sciatic issues that are currently fine. Not risking it for this challenge. I could have done it before my back shite the bed, I use to love to mountain bike.
This post was edited on 11/4/26 at 2:30 pm
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:31 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
Just know, if you say yes you are wrong.
An actual Ironman course so open water swim and on an actual bike, not a spin bike
I have completed one, so yes...I know I can.
I live in The Woodlands where they have a race, so there's a "community" of people who train. I did it for several years. Like others have said, you'd be very surprised how much a very average person can do. Many people I trained with were 55+ retirees and look like your average retiree. They just want to stay active and finish. I still try to take my kids to the finish line the evening of the race to show them what someone can do if they just focus and put in the effort.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:31 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
25 year old me, been there done that., got the tattoo.
52 year old me would say that is a young man’s game.
52 year old me would say that is a young man’s game.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:31 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
Biking 50 miles semi trained and then biking 50 miles again the next day is hard, much less if you aren’t.
It's not that bad. I watch tons of fats do it every year at the MS150.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:32 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
When’s the last time you were on a road bike? Or a bike at all?
Yesterday.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:34 pm to Lonnie Utah
quote:
See, I have the exact opposite opinion. In my mind, the biking would be the easiest part. Why? Because the gears of the bike give you a mechanical advantage the other two activities don't. Also, there will be opportunities to coast and rest on the bike that you can't take advantage of while running or swimming.
I mostly say that because of the discomfort of sitting on a bike for that long. Not to mention how tough it would be on your taint, as 4444 so eloquently explained earlier.
Posted on 11/4/26 at 2:36 pm to CocomoLSU
quote:
Not to mention how tough it would be on your taint, as 4444 so eloquently explained earlier.
First time your bird goes numb most people would tap out.
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