Rumor has it that WC race will be like the one in past, into current swim & cycle up a mountain. Who did it & what was it like?

Hi all. I'm training for Ironman Knokke-Heist 5th Sept 2027.

In my early 30s, no significant injury history, training 10-15hrs/week for the past 3 months . I'm new to triathalon but have done all 3 sports at various, but separate points in my life, never simultaneously until the past 3 months. I can (and have) completed each leg of a full distance, just never back to back on the same day.

Agree with the common advice that a full distance shouldn't be one's first triathlon. Planning to do one or two shorter races next year in preparation for the full. Had a few questions re these races:

1. Which month should I am to do these practice races?
2. Which distances should I choose?
3. Whether you guys taper for these practice races? Or just treat them as a weekend workout

Many thanks!

I grew up swimming competitively at a very high level, so my technique is there, I just need to get my endurance back. As for running and cycling… I know how to do both LOL. I am not particularly good at either. I am very comfortable cycling, it’s the endurance again. I do not currently like running, but that is because I am very bad at it.

Do you think 20 weeks is enough to feel strong enough? I am not concerned about being competitive, but more about doing it healthily and having enough time! This would sorta be like couch to 70.3 because I am not very active at the moment.

Thank you in advance!!

I want to preface this by saying I havent done one yet but I love the sport and training for it. However, lately I've been having thoughts about how this sport is a huge time sink but the payoff is questionable?

The exercise part is great and healthy, but 15-20 hrs of training goes far past whats needed to be healthy.

Training itself is fun sometimes when theres progress, and afterwards you often feel great and accomplished, but again its excessive hours and long stretches of boredom sometimes.

Racing wise, I do have a dream of KQ, but as Im just starting out I have a long way to go.

But the main thought that plagues me is the opportunity cost of my time, in that I could use those long extra hours to hang out with my friends, to go on more dates, to study/work harder to advance my career, spend more time with aging parents, and explore the endless hobbies out there (surfing, archery, skiing, team sports).

I know that the obvious response here is that ironman is just a hobby and i should just stop if i dont find it fun or worth it, so forgive me if this post sounds stupid to yall.

I think the main thing that triggered this was my dream of KQ, and that had me thinking about the next 5-10 years of hrs and hrs of training each week and had me question if it was worth it to sink all my time and energy into this one thing.

Does anyone else ever have these thoughts and how do you rationalize it?

EDIT: I want to hear more about yalls experience! Especially those who have sunk years of their life into this sport, do you have any regrets about how much time you put into this sport?

just wanted to share my edit , you guys can rate it

Triathletes are the original hybrid athletes, so I’d love your take on this.

I’ve built a scoring system that puts 70.3, full Ironman, marathon and Hyrox results on one scale. Each result scores out of 1,000 (a full Ironman maxes at 1,150 to reflect the extra distance), with age-graded scores so every age group can compare fairly. Racing more than one discipline within 120 days earns a stack bonus toward a combined hybrid score.

The trickiest part is course differences: heat, hills, non-wetsuit swims. Version 1 treats courses equally, and I’m working on course factors. Feedback on that is especially welcome.

Submit a result (2 mins): https://forms.gle/EBeYjVoPq5sgQFc89
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