Update from one of your Slowtwitch Slavs!
The inaugural Ironman Gdynia (Poland) took place yesterday. Ironman allocated a whopping 75 slots to the 608 finishers. In the largest age group - M40-45 - there were 16 slots up for grabs among 135 finishers. I don't know how far the roll down went, but the 16th guy finished in 10:26. A friend of mine, who cranked out a (quite impressive if you ask me) 10:22, took a slot as well. The conditions on the day were challenging with rain, some wind and choppy seas, but overall Gdynia, with ~4600 feet of elevation change on the bike, is not exactly Wales or Lanzarote.
So if I look at my own placing in races from sprint through 70.3, I mean it's the sort of finishing position I often end up in myself, and being a front-of-middle-of-the-pack kind of guy I'd never dream of reaching Kona level. Granted, people are generally fitter in Ironman and it's probably harder to get a placing like that, but still.
What a strange year.
"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden
The inaugural Ironman Gdynia (Poland) took place yesterday. Ironman allocated a whopping 75 slots to the 608 finishers. In the largest age group - M40-45 - there were 16 slots up for grabs among 135 finishers. I don't know how far the roll down went, but the 16th guy finished in 10:26. A friend of mine, who cranked out a (quite impressive if you ask me) 10:22, took a slot as well. The conditions on the day were challenging with rain, some wind and choppy seas, but overall Gdynia, with ~4600 feet of elevation change on the bike, is not exactly Wales or Lanzarote.
So if I look at my own placing in races from sprint through 70.3, I mean it's the sort of finishing position I often end up in myself, and being a front-of-middle-of-the-pack kind of guy I'd never dream of reaching Kona level. Granted, people are generally fitter in Ironman and it's probably harder to get a placing like that, but still.
What a strange year.
"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden