Hey all,
Thinking of traveling to an IM race and combining it with a 10-12 day vacation with the wife…what are the logistics?
How hard to enjoy vacationing before and after? Is it hard to vacation the week before as you want to do some training? Is it hard to vacation after as you can’t walk?
We’re thinking of western australia so she should be able to entertain herself fairly well with wine and beaches…
Any insight?
Thanks,
Dave
NZ is a great vacation destination as well. I spent 2 weeks on the south island last year before IMNZ and then just flew up to the race on Wedesday before. Taupo is definately pretty enough for you wife to enjoy 3-4 days before the race. I never did more then 4 hours per day in the last two weeks so had lots of time to do other stuff (a bit of touring and a bit of work).
Australia would be fun to I’m sure - but I think the new IMOZ might be more fun then West Oz since you can come and go from Sydney - i think a week after you would enjoy Sydney - it’s a beautiful city - you just wont be walking fast!
I make a vacation out of most every IM I do. I think it’s easier to take the week or so afterwards. The race will be over, you won’t have any training to do, you can kick back and just relax and recover. Yes, IM NZ is perfect for this.
clm
Do you have a wife Cathy? Sorry, couldn’t resist. Seriously it depends on how serious you are about racing, location and course design, and how supportive she is. Does your wife train or race at all? If you are racing for a Kona slot and being meticulous in your taper week it will be hard to do much tourist stuff prior. I would reccomend arriving on site in enough time to preride the bike, swim the course, and do some running, and then take the vacation afterwards when you can truly relax. NZ is relatively spectator friendly, while Korea is less so. Germany seems to be a great spectator friendly course as well.
Barefoot
Go ahead and do it, only live once. The missus and I both raced IM NZ, went 6 days before, and took a few week after to look around. We would do it again in a heart beat. IM NZ and NZ over all is the easiet vacation to plan logistically. We flew from LA to Auckland, rented a wagon drove 2 hrs to Taupo, there we rented a little house on the run route, all this was done on the net. Love NZ.
IM in Europe might not be too hard either, I use to live inj the UK and have been over to support but not race. however its a different type of holiday all together.
Good luck and have fun
Its a very good idea. I think IM’s are a fantastic excuse to travel somewhere you otherwise might not go. I did 1/2 IM South Africa last year. We spent 4-days at the race site, and then travelled around the country. It was a great trip, my wife had a great time, and it was easy to really enjoy the vacation after the race. I am going to IM Austria this year. IM Western Australlia sounds really nice too - that was a race/vacation that I thought of doing.
Do you have a wife Cathy?<<
No. but I sure could use one to clean the house, cook, do laundry, etc.
I do have two parents whom I’ve taken to NZ twice on vacation, so I think I can speak a little to IM and vacationing with non-triathletes.
My wife and I went to IM Austria last summer (I raced, she supported) and we had a great time. Flew into Frankfurt 10 days before the race, travled a bit in Germany then to Innsbruck, Salzburg, Hallstat (the highlight of our vactation) and before landing in Klagenfurt.
We traveled on the front end of the race because we got lucky with priceline tickets. Since this was our first trip to Europe I went into the race with a slightly different perspective - vacation first, finish race second.
This year at IM Idaho that all changes…
We do it quite often. My husband is the athlete, and a serious one. I am not an athlete, but I enjoy the races, athletes we meet and Ironman activities.
I have found it best to tour/vacation AFTER the race. Before, neither one of us relaxes enough to vacation. After, you might be a little more sore, but you will be able to devote all your time and attention to spouse and family. We spent a month for our 25th anniversary in NZ and Australia. Did IM NZ and toured. It was great.
As for Ironman lifestyle being selfish, I guess we are the exception. He’s been racing for over 20 years and he will be 50 in September. We’ve been married 30 years. I enjoy IM as much as my husband, even though I don’t train. (I could never keep up with him if I did). I am independent enough to be able to occupy my time while he is training. I enjoy the travel and have a much better time if he does well, so I don’t mind a little “sacrifice”. It doesn’t hurt that he treats me like a queen!
I think the secret to making it work is that we both enjoy it. It’s not a you get yours, I get mine deal.
Support Crew
Behind every successful man is a woman nagging him on.
Personally, I have mixed feelings about this, but everyone has to make up their own mind:
There are a significant number of distractions before the race and of course there is the pre-race anxiety, so I am not sure if the week before is best.
The week after is the better option, but I have been pretty shelled after every IM I have ever done, so doing a lot would not be what I was into
Fleck
I think there’s something to be said to vacationing before the race. I’m heading to IMCDA from Chattanooga TN a week early in order to acclimate to the change in temps and elevation. Part of that week we’ll be in Glacier National Park. I think (hope) this will actually reduce my pre-race stress and help me relax. After the race I think I’d be too tired to really enjoy hiking and walking with my family.
Going to Glacier in conjuction with IMCDA is a wonderful idea; did that last year with the whole family and everyone loved it. Being from the East Coast, seeing parts of Washington, Idaho and Montana were great.