The 'IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS' in Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Congratulations to Chris McCormack and Mirinda Carfrae for their wins.
For anyone that follows triathlon I don't need to elaborate, its triathlon, its the pinnacle, enough said. And what a race this year produced.
For those that want to remind themselves, this is the link to the entire 18 hours of coverage, I have no idea how long the link will be valid but it works as of today. Highlights include -
3h55m into the video is the point where the last swimmer is informed she can't carry on as she has missed the swim cutoff - gutting.
9h11m is the finish for Chris MACCA McCormack, great to see him triumphant again after winning in 2007 and then his mechanical in 2008.
9h57m is the point where the lovely Mirinda Carfrae takes her first world title, awesome result
In light of Chrissie Wellingtons (current world champ) withdrawal on the morning of the race Mirinda will always be questioned by the press regarding the question, 'would she or wouldn't she have won if Chrissie had raced ?' who knows, thats not the point, she won an awesome race, on the given day, put in a great run again and deserves every accolade a true champion should, well done the Aussies, made for a great night of viewing.
Can't believe its over for another year but the race was epic and watching it and knowing every inch of the course just makes the desire to return burn more.
Well done to some of the Brits that I follow too, links to their reports may interest others to see what athletes go through in this, one of the toughest races in the IM calendar. Steven Lord, Jo Carritt, Russ Cox, Iain Hindes.
Nick's 2011
Now to my own masterplan on how to get to this amazing dance floor in the next 2 years.
Its a dilemma that has until this week prevented me from entering any race for 2011. I am working on the assumption that I will do enough to be on the cusp of qualifying at the race I pick, I am not a 'top' age grouper, that title is taken by the group of athletes that have the enviable position of calling themselves 'full time' age groupers. Yes, its an oxymoron but its a common sight in IM racing. I know a couple of guys that have this privileged existence, they might not think like that, as its a job to them, but to people like me its a great job and one I would love to have.
To the choices then, we now have 2 IM races to choose from !! Not something you may have heard 2 or 3 years ago in the UK but true. The 2 in question for me are.
IMUK - 31st July 2011 - 50 slots for Kona 2011 (up from 30 slots in previous years)
IM Wales - 11th September 2011 - 50 slots for Kona 2012
With the wedding coming up in June, we are saving all of our money for this, I want to race IM with the intention of qualifying, the best way to try to qualify for Kona without costing a fortune is race one year (2011) and qualify the following year (2012)
This type of qualification was until 3 weeks ago only possible if you travelled to North America or Mexico. Then came the news of IM Wales on 11th September 2011.
All my prayers answered on my own doorstep. Or are they ??
Alongside this announcement, the astounding (read - controversially timed) news that IMUK upped their allocation from 30 slots to 50. I qualified in 2009 when there was 30 slots overall and we had 3 slots in the M35-39, with this news there could potentially be 7 in my new AG. This would however, qualify me for the same year, racing the 'worlds' 11 weeks later. More cost.
Scenario 1
IM Wales fits our plans for 2011, if I qualify we have 12 months to save and we get to visit a truely remarkable group of islands again with a better understanding of what to get out of it as a holiday as well as the race of a lifetime once more.
Problem is, the race is going to attract athletes who wouldn't have set foot in Wales had the race been staged pre Sept.
It will attract many top AG'ers from Europe that would have gone to the US for a late race to qualify, no need now, stay in Europe, cheaper, no jet lag.
It will attract more of the professional AG'ers that will want to qualify early for 2012.
Finally, I believe it will be used as a back up race for a large number of top Euro athletes who may miss out on qualifying in say, Austria, Germany, Switzerland.
On the plus side, the date will eliminate anyone who has qualified already and wants to race well in Kona 2011 as the 2 races are too close to each other to recover.
Also, most people who want to race IM in 2011 will have already entered a race by now in Europe or the US as they fill up so fast the decision had to be made early, mostly 12 months in advance.
Scenario 2
It has got to be the best year for a qualifying chance at IMUK. The race is right on my doorstep, no travel costs, roll out of bed on race morning and be there in 30 mins, its a tough course, no drafting, no let up, just how I like it and I think the best chance to qualify is in 2011.
With the new race in Wales taking a lot of the top age group athletes looking for a late qualifier, IMUK may well be overlooked, IMUK has over the last few years been tagged with a slightly negative vibe by certain groups in the UK and has already forced many into the arms of the Outlaw and the new Challenge Henley race. Personally, I loved the experience of IMUK and this year they made in roads into the moans levelled at them in 2009 and won over plenty more support. I think in 2011 the race will be even better.
With the extra slots the attraction for someone who can afford to go to Kona 11 weeks later is a massive draw. The catch 22 is, even if you can't afford it, you would be mad to turn it down. Ask anyone that's tried to qualify and just missed out, what they wouldn't do to get there, its about picking the right race primarily, then getting there fit, making the decision to say 'yes' is for after the race, it won't dawn on you til the awards/rolldown about the decision that needs to be made. By then you have already talked yourself into it and taken out another credit card !
The downside for this scenario is the calendar of races that need to be entered and paid for to follow this path.
31st July 2011 - IMUK (£350) - qualify - pay out £350 for Kona
8th Oct 2011 - Kona
Thats a lot of money in 2011. £750 in race entry before the £3k for Kona. And if you need the fall back option of IMW, thats another £350.
They have worked this so that if you want to book a slot for this year at IMUK, its pretty impossible to do IMW successfully to qualify for 2012. If you do IMW you miss the opportunity to go to Kona again via IMUK.
Bugger.
The decision
The two major factors for my decision are the wedding, the cost of this pretty much prevents a family trip to Kona in 2011. Secondly, how I think I will do against increased competition in Wales.
I also have a few good friends that I know will be racing at each race, that has also swayed my decision a little, smackdown to follow, you know who you are !
The answer, you have to beat the best to qualify, no matter where you are, decisions are made for you to a certain degree by current circumstances and finances and you go with the flow, I have thought about all the options and I only really have one unless someone leaves me a LOT of money in the next 6 months.
Ironman Wales it is. I just hope some people will have the same thought process as me and go to IMUK as an option to race well and ignore IMW. We shall see.
The Garmin DIY disaster.
Be warned, having a training device that can be maintained by you is a bonus, gone are the days of having to send your Polar away for 2 weeks to be serviced, now you can change your own batteries in the HR belt of a Suunto or a Garmin of which I use both. There is a danger though and this image is the result.
Please pay attention, when replacing the battery use a coin to get the retaining plastic cap off the belt, I used a screwdriver, flat head but not wide enough, as it slipped a few times it created 2 little spikes each side of the groove, didn't seem too much of a big deal at the time, 10 miles later after my run, the picture is the result !!
Training this week
Going well, 12 hours this week spread evenly over the bike and run. My swimming is still coming on but only 2 swims this week means I won't have improved, just maintained a feel for the water, if I am serious about this improvement I need to be looking at 4 swims a week, something I will be discussing with Lawrence.
Sunday brought a wonderful ride in the sunshine, you won't hear that for long, its getting colder by the day. After 2 hours I got a puncture, no big deal, pull over, take off tyre, most of the time after feeling around the inside of the tyre you never work out what caused it, this time was different, I almost impaled myself, it was so big I had to take a picture, much to the amusment of the cyclist who passed asking if I was OK.
The hedge trimming has started, looks like I will be packing 3 tubes for each ride for the next few weeks.
Anyway, sorry about the ramble and the lateness of the blog, I promise not to be so tardy again.
Oh yes, Fegan ! you are going down dude !
3 comments:
Good luck mate, i'll be following you progress
WW
Class. I started reading this before I left for work and had decided to skip UK this year due to finances whilst walking in.
This time its going to be close.
Sounds like the right decision to me! x
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