I need some help deciding between which peak race I’ll do this season.
As you can see its between the Age Group Nationals in Shreveport or the US Half IM Championships in Kansas City.
I’d prefer to focus on the Olympic distance when I’m younger (29) and have the speed. I’ve always wanted to Age Group Nats but they are always far away and I hate to fly to races. But I worry about what I’ve heard about the Shreveport race. I heard bad things about the swim, not many places to stay and it being hard to get to, but they are changing some of those things with the course from what I’v heard. Anyone have know any specifics on that? I also plan on driving because I don’t want to deal with flying and it would be about a 15 hour drive. But on the other hand, the 1/2 Max championships are much closer and I heard those races have a great reputation of being well organized. However, like I said, I’d rather wait to focus on the 1/2 IM distance until I’m at least into my 30s.
I researched the organization for this race and it is very impressive.
The qualifier format and the prize money for age grouper 1-5 is pretty nice.
Finally a race where a guy can have a decent shot at prize money. The weight class/age groups even have prize money; everything seems to be geared for the age grouper and it’s nice to see.
As far as the distance is concerned a half is still raceable for mere mortals so you can still make use of your youthful speed. Perhaps you can save Ironman distance events for your decrepit golden years LOL.
I plan on doing Ironman in my thirties and then taking up golf in my Metamucil years.
I also know of guys in their 40’s and 50’s still setting PR’s in Olympic and Half IM distances so there is still hope after the 35-39 age group.
if your putting in decent miles for a oly bumping up to a half isn’t that hard. Just bump your long run up to 15ish and do some threshold stuff on the bike for longer than normal and your pretty much there. You should see no loss of speed really for the oly and if anything your aerobic base will become bigger enabling you to go faster for the oly.
I’ve never turned away any of the prize money I’ve earned either.
There appeared to be a decent number of hotels in the Shreveport area, so finding a place, especially if you plan it now, should not be difficult. The race site was about 15 minutes from the downtownish area. Not all that difficult to get to.
The swim was in a shallow lake and a lot of dirt got stirred up. Not my first choice for a swim venue, but it did the job and I’ve swum in worse. We also drove about 15 hours last year, and the driving distance is the main reason I usually skip this race (been out west last few years). If you are fired up to compete at OD natls this year, I would book it, plan it, and go for it.
Head to New Orleans afterwards for some cajun cooking and good old fashioned debauchery on the way home if it’s on your route!
One thing to keep in mind about National Age-group Championships in Shreveport is that for purposes of qualifying for Worlds, you may be in a different age-group. They will use your age on the 2005 Worlds race day (tentatively Oct 8-9) to determine your age-group for qualifying slots. So if you are 29 on race day in Shreveport, you will be in the 30-34 age-group for Worlds slot allocation (since Worlds will be ~13 months later).
Well, thats good to hear. I will probably end up doing the 1/2 IM Championships anyways, so I guess it comes down to whether I want to make the trip down to Shreveport. But it is good to know that I will be racing in the next age group up because of how old I will be during Worlds. But either way, I think I may give this race a shot!
Metamucil years? Dang, that’s harsh. I’m 46 and still going for PR’s in both Olympic and 1/2 IM.
As far as Shreveport, I raced there last year and would not consider going back unless major course improvements were made. After going to Nats in Cd’A, Shreveport was a huge disappointment.
I have heard only great things about the folks putting on the 1/2 Iron Champs and had intended to do that race…well, until something bigger came up for October ;-).
As far as Shreveport, I raced there last year and would not consider going back unless major course improvements were made. After going to Nats in Cd’A, Shreveport was a huge disappointment.
Oh no, what didn’t you like about the course? I had heard that they were going to change the swim course but was there anything else?
I wish there was a place online that you can find this info.
Well, the swim was just plain disgusting…I was picking black gunk out of various orifices for a week!
The bike was simply boring! Back 'n forth 'n back’n forth. And the run was the best of the lot, picturesque but flat as a pancake and very un-exciting.
After doing Cd’A, I just felt that Shreveport was a big step backwards. Maybe not a horrible course, but certainly not worthy of a national championship.
