that if Olaf goes for sub 8 or WR at Austria then he won’t be alone and it will be a 2 man race and that kind of competition should help both of them. Should be very exciting.
I predict I won’t be there since I just bought a house.
Houses suck. About the last thing I ever wanted to do in my life was own a house.
I thought you needed a new roof?
yeah, on the house I bought. And siding, and windows, and a new bathroom, and a new garage, and…
Make sure you check the roof out, the cheap SOB’s will put OSB up there if you don’t yell at them. Plywood, Plywood, Plywood. Having a new house built is a pain.
If you are having a problem with air coming out of the vents, just pull the beer cans out 
I found 26 Miller Lite cans in my vents. That’s not even goos beer!
Tom, why would buying a house stop you from doing Ironmans ? I’ve owned houses since I was 23 (15 years ago) and I’ve been doing Ironmans since I was 25 ! No excuses. Show up and race
Ah, a little matter of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
A house is a hole you shovel money into.
tom, i feel your pain. i was all set to go do half UK this august and we just spent $5000 on furniture for the house. (our bulldog decided to eat our sofa. so that trip wont be happening… 
Well, when I am done with all these projects (two years from now) the place will be a palace. Well, not really a palace, but it will have a really nice bathroom and a hot tub.
that if Olaf goes for sub 8 or WR at Austria then he won’t be alone and it will be a 2 man race and that kind of competition should help both of them. Should be very exciting.
Frank, you’ve been predicting a sub-4 bike split for over two years now. When is it going to happen? 
Just as I have predicted that sub 7:30 should be possible. Both Sub 4 and sub 7:30 will take some time. That kind of improvement and capability doesn’t occur overnight. It will happen I am quite certain. Not sure when though. Best chance is in a high profile event where two capable people are pushing each other.
Tom, you got it wrong. You spend money on homes and you make money when you sell them. You spend money on bikes and lose money when you sell them. That does not stop me from wanting to spend on either, but I do recognize that a house is generally an appreciaiting asset, while the bike is a depreciating asset.
Good luck if you change your mind and go to Austria !
Frank, sub 4 Ironman bike split will only happen in the steroid games, a course 10K short or in a draft legal Ironman. That’s 45 kph preceeded by a 3.8K swim !
Given the aggravation if the thing doubled in (over)value in the next three years it would still only be a break even deal at best.
Tomas,
I know your pain brother. After racing/training for the last 15 years worrying only about rent, I finally “grew up” (according to friends & family) and bought a house. Good Lord, there goes any and all discretionary income! I don’t know about Michigan but here in Cali homes always increase in value, it’s just a matter of when.
If I may ask, what is the price per sq/ft of homes in Michigan? It’s hovering in the $150 to $170 range for a median home here. Did you have a good realtor? Mine was a jerk who collected a $6K check for basically doing nothing. Must be nice to be in a seller’s market.
I bought my house from the people I originally rented it from. Largely a cash deal (why I’m broke right now). I didn’t want to have an enormous mortgage hangin over my head.
Near as I can figure my house cost about $80 a sq. ft. It’s a very good neighborhood, on the grow, one block from the historic district where houses are a good bit pricier.
My cats like it.
But didn’t you already sign up for Austria to, ahem, atone for New Zealand?
Yup, I got a spot- but it will go unused…
Typical. At least I got one IM this year.
Oh, a fixer-upper. I thought you were having a house built. Scratch my previous comments (unless you have friends that drink Miller Lite).
Dude – the only reason you buy a house is to deduct the mortgage interest on your taxes. Otherwise, they are worthless.
Oh – and anybody that can pay cash for a house (even at $80/sf) gets little sympathy from me. Even if you only got 1500 sf, that’s a lot of $$ you had in the bank!