Well, it's official. Today I signed up for IMCDA 2011. Why Coeur d' Alene? Well, if you follow this blog you know that Ironman Canada is my "A" race this year. We are heading there to have a great race and take a shot at sub 10 (hours). If I'm able to execute the race I know I'll be capable of going under 10 and potentially qualifying for Kona. For those that don't follow Ironman racing, the World Championships are held in Kona each year in early October. Kona is basically our Super Bowl. As much as I would love to qualify in Canada, I'm getting married 6 days later and then we are off to our honeymoon...in yes, Hawaii :) So, I would not be ready to turn around and do another Ironman in early October.
Canada is more about completing a chapter in my family's history. My Dad raced Canada 5 times. I have always wanted to do Canada. More than I can explain in words. I have always wanted to attack the two monster climbs on the bike and run my way back into town on Lake Shore drive!! Just thinking about it makes me emotional. But I also want to have a shot at qualifying for Kona before we decide to have kids. Coeur d' Alene (IMCDA) will be our race to try and make this happen next year. It's going to take one hell of an effort to make this happen. Last year it took a 9:34 to qualify in my age group, this year it appears to be sub 9:40. To put this in perspective, the 6 individuals that qualified in my age group last year all ran sub 3:18 for their marathon. That is after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride. That is 7:30 pace for a marathon after over 6 hours of racing before you even get off your bike!! Holy smokes! For you marathoners out there, 3:10 is the Boston qualifying mark. So in order to qualify for Kona in my age group at IMCDA, you are basically being asked to run a Boston qualifying time for the marathon portion.
Well, we'll see where I'm at come end of August in Penticton. I'm hoping to go sub 3:45 for my marathon there. I actually feel pretty good about going a little faster than that, but man, you just never know in the Ironman. If I can do that (sub 3:45), I'll feel pretty damn confident about lowering that another 20 to 25 minutes in 10 months. IMCDA will be my 3rd Ironman, and all three will have been in different locales: Arizona, Canada, and now Northern Idaho. I hope to add a 4th next year...the big dance in Kona!! Would be a great excuse to head to Hawaii for our one year wedding anniversary right?? The key to qualifying for Kona is your ability to race the marathon. To have enough energy left, after holding a good clip for the first 20 miles, at 10k to go that you can push harder than your competitor next to you, or actually, in front of you.
I love long course triathlon racing, but realize I can't do it forever. I will have a solid foundation heading into the off season this year and hopefully can make a realistic push at Kona come June 2011. As always, I would like to thank you all for reading, and especially those of you that put up with me chasing my dreams...most notably the love of my life. Thanks,
-T
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