I've got myself a bit of a hard decision to make so I thought I'd solicit some advice from the Collective Slowtwitch Experience. After doing a sprint and an Olympic distance triathlon and a lot of training over the last couple years I decided to sign up for Ironman Chattanooga this year, along with a sprint (Clemson Tri, 09 May), Olympic (Chattanooga Waterfront, 28 June), and HIM (Toughman Alabama, 08 August). I knew that a good friend of mine was planning to get married in Spain this year, but thought it would be sometime in June or July so I figured it wouldn't be a problem with my training. A few months after signing up for IMCHOO I got his save the date for 12 September -- just two weeks before my first Ironman.
So here's the question: would taking four or five days to travel to Spain from Georgia that close to my first Ironman be a big setback for my fitness? I'm following the Don Fink intermediate plan, and those last two weeks are taper weeks, and I feel like most of the hard work will be done by 12 Sept. As long as I get in a few runs and maybe a swim (if I can find a pool) while I'm gone, should that be enough to sustain my fitness? With all the time and money invested in this race I'd hate to bonk or DNF because of a poor decision.
Advice, comments, or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
So here's the question: would taking four or five days to travel to Spain from Georgia that close to my first Ironman be a big setback for my fitness? I'm following the Don Fink intermediate plan, and those last two weeks are taper weeks, and I feel like most of the hard work will be done by 12 Sept. As long as I get in a few runs and maybe a swim (if I can find a pool) while I'm gone, should that be enough to sustain my fitness? With all the time and money invested in this race I'd hate to bonk or DNF because of a poor decision.
Advice, comments, or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.