More on Ironman Wisconsin
From all my comments on my previous post (and a big thank you to all of you readers out there… I appreciate you all!), I thought I should clarify my position on Ironman Wisconsin. I forgot to mention that this year, I’m registered this year via a Community Fund entry. Basically, it’s a charity entry where part of your entry fees goes towards the local community that is hosting the event. This year, Community Fund athletes have the option of rolling over their entry to another IM event within the calendar year without any penalty. So if I were to do this, I wouldn’t be out any money and just be postponing my race until next year. It makes me feel less like I’m skipping out and more like I’m just changing my schedule around.
If I do the race this year, I’d really like to improve on last year’s performance. I’d like to be able to run a good portion of the marathon to vindicate last year’s gimpy hobble that I did. I think I have a good 20-30 minutes that I should easily be able to cut off my run time barring any kind of injury. Last year, my ITB gave out well before my heart and lungs did. I have no doubt that I can finish the race this year. My swimming is on track and my biking is probably ahead of where it was last year, but my running endurance could potentially be short. Last year I was doing runs of 2:30 and this year I’ve only managed half of that so far.
My running list of pros and cons for Wisconsin this year are:
Pros for rolling over:
- Ramp up my training slowly with no pressure allowing greater chances of staying injury free.
- Most likely I’d roll my entry into Ironman Canada 2006 which is very difficult to get into otherwise.
- Our company’s union employees may be going on strike about a month before Wisconsin. This will mean that I’d have to fill in and work 12 hour days 7 days a week until the end of the strike. It’ll be hard to get any quality training in should this happen.
- Have a more relaxing summer. I’d still train, but I’m already pretty happy with my weight and fitness level. And the idea of not having to ride any more centuries would be a great burden lifted off my shoulders.
- I’d rather have Subaru sponsor my race than have Ford sponsor it. :) It’s silly, but it’s true (I’ve owned vehicles by both manufacturers in the past)!
Cons of rolling over:
- I’d most certainly go watch the race, but may have regrets come race day that I’m not out on the course racing instead.
- My best friend is also doing the race - it’s his 5th IM and possibly his last. There is something nice about training and racing in the same event and knowing that you shared the same experiences.
- Wisconsin is cheaper. With the Community Fund already costing me money above and beyond the entry fee, I can save money doing this race since I don’t need to buy plane tickets to get there.
I’m sure there are others, but those are probably the big ones that goes through my head everyday. Oh well… I’ll be making a decision one way or the other in the next two weeks. And by the way… if anyone is doing or knows someone that is doing Ironman Canada this year that isn’t already on the hook to sign someone up for next year, please get in touch with me. I’d like to sign up and it could sway my decision on what to do with Wisconsin this year. I promise I will try and make it worth your while. :)