the ironman brand is losing it's luster. this is pitiful.

I bet there are 500 entries to this category. this further illustrates the pussification of our sport.

---

----------------------------------------------------
Striving to have sex more than 66 times per year

"It could be wet and cold"

It does seem a bit weak.

lol....that's funny.

So do they get a special medal which says 69 instead? ;)

Who cares? If people want to do the 700m swim, let 'em. What difference does it make to anybody else?

---

______________________________________________
Father Kevin

http://www.churchofcycling.org

Just how cold is the water gonna be?

I did my first HIM last season in water that was probably high 50/low 60's, and it was pretty f'n bracing to be sure, but I was glad they kept the full swim, as it wouldn't have been a HIM otherwise. And this is coming from an absolutely terrible swimmer, whom a shortened or cancelled swim would have immensely benefitted.



I guess for those who are really unsure of themselves in cold temps, it's somewhat better than a DNS or DNF.

---

float , hammer , and jog

I'm hearing mid 50's. But it's not like you're going from 75 degree weather to 55 degree water. The water will be MUCH warmer than the air temp.

---

______________________________________________
Father Kevin

http://www.churchofcycling.org

I only want to do 1/2 the bike. Is that ok? I don't like riding when it is windy.

---

----------------------------------------------------
Striving to have sex more than 66 times per year

How about half the run too? I don't like runnnig when it's cold and I'm tired ;-)

---

float , hammer , and jog

My point was this:

I don't care what YOU do. I'm not going to win this thing, I'm doing it for my own reasons. Frankly, if people want to do the short swim, fine. If you want to draft, go ahead. If you want to cut across on the run, whatever.

If you do those things and then wear the shirt and tell all your friends you did a 1/2 IM, be my guest! I'll never know, nor care. You're the only one that'll know. If you're cool with it, I'm cool with it.

---

______________________________________________
Father Kevin

http://www.churchofcycling.org

"pussification of our sport"



wahahaha. love it....

just got back from swimming in the ocean and the life guard said the water was 55. Once I got in and got going, it really wasn't tht bd. When I was done my hands were the only part that were really cold.

Monty might hve to be careful, that cold water might be a shock to his pacemaker. Hope he has it adjusted accordingly ;-)

---

Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org

Monty would do this swim in just his speedo ;-)



In fact, he'd probably do the full swim, then go back and do the shortened swim as well.

---

float , hammer , and jog

I'm here at the race site, and I just heard about this from Rock Frey, the race director. I have no problem with this, it does not affect me in any way. That was my only gripe about NZ, that they didn;t have a swim for those that could have done it. I'm so looking foreward to tomorrows race, it appears the worst of it will be hitting during the swim, and it is sub 55 degrees now, and probably drop a couple over night with the new storm that hits later today. As for swimming in my speedo, I could do it, but I'm happy to have my 5mm T-1 on board. The transition times tomorrow are going to be fun to check out, everyone here is buying up as many clothes as their gold cards can handle. This will be a race that gets talked about in the bars over and over again, "You should have seen the year of '06". And for all the fair weather fans, I overheard Grahm saying that it is going to be moved to later in the year next year.....

did you do it last year? it was pretty bad. sounds like it may be the same.

---

------------------------------------------------------------
"No one ever told me they made black fondant!" - Duff Goldman

Couldn't have said it better myself. And I bet there will be more then 500 entries!

BTW...I suck at running, can I just run 10k, I get really cold and my feet get wrinkly....just trying to stay safe.

-bcreager

Yeah, sounds like it will be an epic day - like World's Toughest in 2004.

i don't think there's anything wrong with this. as long as it's properly identified.

it's not a triathlon. but not exactly a duathlon. it's a race made just for *me* (if you're just not quite ready for a chilly 1.2mi). how about miathlon?

in the "old days" there were some REALLY cold swims, and some triathlon "fundamentalists" (hard core RDs who had a religious attachment to nostalgic demagoguery). i'm thinking maybe fletcher hanks or joe oakes, guys like that. they were absolutely anti-wetsuits of any kind, and put on half-IM swims in 51° or 54° water. everybody had to do it. nobody died, to my knowledge.

but i don't mind the miathletes having their own personalized races. custom triathlon. 400m laps in the water. you do 5 of them and then go to the bike. or you can do 4, or 3, or none, whatever. but you get a 10 minute penalty for every one you skip. your championchip counts your laps. miathlon.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Is that the last wave to go?

That'll be interesting. I bet a lot of those people will get as cold as they're going to get in 700m. And then they have to contend with the possiblility of aid stations running out of stuff.

For those down there, how's the wind? Debating using the disc.

---

Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

I really didn't think the water was all that bad. Of course I was prepred for it, had on a neoprene cp and neoprene socks. It was a sock to the face at first but that wasn't too bad once you got going. If people want to do a shorter version, let them, as long as they are starting well behind the final full wave so that they don't further clog up the road for the people doing the full distance.

---

Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org

Have fun!

All this talk is making me nostalgic for the Ironman California FULL Ironman. It's a shame that didn't survive. It had a real raw bones appeal to it. Loved those jar heads on the base aid stations, the "tank tunnel", and soft sand on the run.......Erraaah!

Incidentally, isn't the Alcatraz swim usually about 55f?

Those athletes choosing this option will go in a wave at 8:30am

How big is this wave gonna be? They better plan for 2 or 3 :-)

Seriously so:

I think if you are not for the hunt of an AG podium, that is fine with me as long as the results will be listed completely separate (as a "California 1/2Cirpplathlon").

One concern with the organisation of that:

It looks like they would give you the choice to first attempt the full swim. If you deemed it being to cold, you theoretically could circle back, get out, tell them at the swim start you were late for your wave. Then you could warm up and wait for the shortened swim. There better be a good plan for that or it will be mayhem....



So where in T1 can I plug in my electric blanket?

---

adrialin

(BOMK, racing drug and supplement free since 1985)

Who cares?

I care. It matters because it is a half ironman, and it is supposed to be hard. The conditions are not always going to be bright and sunny, calm and clear.

And it's not just any old half-ironman. It's a Ironman-branded half-ironman (70.3, TM, All Rights Reserved). These are supposed to be the good ones, with the best fields and biggest rewards. Obviously, the people taking the shorter swim option aren't the ones going for the cash and Kona slots anyway, but if they show up for a half, then they ought to do a half.

When I tell people that I've done a HIM, I want them to know that I swam 1.2miles to start, no less. If you let competitors swim a shortened course and still give them their medal and finisher's shirt, it dilutes the value of our accomplishments. It'd be like calling 20-mile run a marathon.

I think this sets a bad precedent for the IRONman brand. But on the plus side, maybe now they'll grant my request for flippers and waterwings at IMWI if the water temp is too warm for wetsuits.

mm

Wow, very mixed feelings about that one. Sure, it will truly only affect those that choose to shorten their race and still take home the same medal, same finisher shirt, etc. Yeah, yeah, it shouldn't bother me as we've discussed before ad nauseum about what other people do and how we should or should not react to it. We shouldn't care.

But I do as it speaks volumes about where this sport is heading. Maybe that's a bit blown out of proportion, but the sport of triathlon has always had as part of its appeal a bit of "hard coreness" to it.

Giving an option of shortening the swim by 2/3 because "it might be cold"???!!! I think I've got old football coaches spinning in their graves with that. Imagine Vince Lombardi....okay, never mind.

"....for athletes not comfortable swimming in colder conditions..." Well, if that's the case, don't enter an ocean swim triathlon that takes place in March!

Big thumbs down from me on this one.