Couch Potato to Ironman to Sprint Distance Triathlete

A woman writing a "Couch Potato to Ironman" series for MSNBC.com has pulled the plug on her August Ironman attempt after being fished out of the water at a half-Ironman distance race. In May she finished the Vancouver Marathon in 6 hours and 39 minutes. After reading a few of her columns, it seems like bailing out now may be one of the best training decisions she has made.

"You see, over the past few weeks, I figured out that Ironman distances aren’t my cup of tea. In my training, I realized that I don't like being on a bike for 5 hours, and for Ironman it would be more like 7-8 hours. It’s boring, it hurts and it’s not fun."