Training and Ironman Update

I have signed up for what will be my third 'Ironman,' each in a different calendar year.  I did the Chesapeake Man in 2011, I did the Coeur d'Alene Ironman this year, and in January 2013 I will be participating in the HITS Full (Ironman) Distance Triathlon in Naples, Flordia.  I like the fact that each of the Ironmans will have been in a different year.  It is my goal to do at least one Ironman every year for...well...for forever!

I thought my next Ironman was going to be the NYC U.S. Championship in 2013, but after I volunteered at it this year and signed up for it for next year, they sent out an email saying that they rushed into opening registration for next year's event and that they had to work out some logistics as well as how much it would need to cost before opening registration up for the event.  They sent out full refunds to all who had registered for next year's race, and to be honest, I am really glad I got my refund.  The race was extremely expensive, way more than I ever thought I would pay just to sign up for the race, not even counting transportation costs or anything else.  I had signed up for the race because I felt it would have been silly to have gone all the way up to NYC and volunteered at the race with the intent to sign up for next year's race and not go through with signing up, even though I felt sick when they told me how much it was going to cost.  After reflecting on the whole experience and the cost of the race, it was welcome news when I got the email saying they were suspending registration and all would receive full refunds.

This experience led me to reflect on my future in the sport of Triathlon and the potential costs involved with it.  As I have grown and progressed as a Triathlete, the sport has become more and more expensive.  I do not plan on slowing down, but I do plan on choosing races more strategically; otherwise I don't know how I would afford to do at least one ultra distance Triathlon a year for the rest of my life.  At the same time that I learned I would be getting a refund for the 2013 NYC Ironman, I got an email from a new Triathlon company called 'HITS.'  They sent out an email saying that while some companies that put on Triathlons were starting to take advantage of the growing demand and charging more for registration, they would conversely be making their events affordable and more open to all athletes by offering an extremely low price for the Full Triathlon distance if you signed up over 4 months in advance.  This price is a mind-bendingly low $150!  It may not sound like it, but that is unheard of cheap for a 140.6 mile Iron distance Triathlon.  It took me all of about 0 seconds to get over not doing the 2013 NYC Ironman and instead sign up for the HITS race in Florida in 2013.  Furthermore, the course in Florida is 'flat and fast,' as they say, and will be conducive to me reaching my goal of finishing the race in under 11 hours.  This is a goal I am taking very seriously.  I have incorporated lower body weight training to give my legs the extra strength to keep going towards the end of the race that you can't get from just logging tons of miles on the bike and running.  I have also started doing interval training while running to also help build more strength for ultra endurance events in my legs.  I consider this to be part of a more advanced, technical training that I was not ready for earlier in my career as a Triathlete.

Having said that, let me bring you up to date on my mileage for the year in training:

Running: 784.9 miles

Biking: 4,498.65 miles