Just completed my 4th Ironman in 3 years (IMLP 2003, 11:13, IM Canada 2004, 10:05, IM Hawaii 2004, 11:49 (ouch!), and the latest IMLP 2005, 10:20). Raced my guts out, and pulled off at 10:20. Despite best efforts, I finished 16/366 in the M35-39 AG, putting me 1 spot out of Hawaii in the rolldown.
However, my wife also raced and placed 4th in her AG (F 35-39), picking up the first rolldown spot so we are off to Hawaii anyway. Since I raced Kona in 04 and she did in 03, it would be cool to do it together this year. BUUUUT, the last chance to qualify is at IMC in 5 weeks time. Is it possible to do two races so close together and perform reasonably well? I have a lock on a spot at IMC if I want to take it.
Recovery should be fairly fast as I sucked down 3 IV’s in the med tent afterwards. I also have 11 years of tri racing under my belt (the last three being IM distance).
Dan my friend…look at your T1 + T2 times. You gave away your Kona slot in transition:
54 10:20:36 MOORE, DANIEL TORONTO ON CAN 16/366 M35-39 650 102 448 1:05:28 1:44 5:46 26 97 5:36:17 20.0 3:50 15 57 3:29:17 8:00
Your total transition time was 9:36. A 10:20 stud like you should be sub 6 minutes. In any event, go to IMC if you can afford it (work, time off, money etc). I have no doubt that you can go sub 10 after this solid “final long day for IMC” at LP.
hey Dan, It was great to watch you race by the way. What do you have to lose by trying at Canada? The chick that got my missed spot (also by one slot) at placid last year had raced coeur d’alene 3 weeks prior missing her spot… Well she did it obviously so it’s possible… Recovery after canada might be tough but it would be fun to have you in hawaii:-)
Go for it! Then you’ll have 3 IMs in about 2.5 months; not too shabby. I’m doing the WIS/FLA double this year. That’s 8 weeks apart, but they are my first two IMs, so 5 weeks should be easy for an old pro like you!
I assume that you’d be entering Canada through the Community Fund? So you can feel good about making a nice donation to charity.
One question, though: What do you mean that you have a lock on a Kona spot in Canada. I thought Canada was a pretty hotly contested race?
Is it possible to do two races so close together and perform reasonably well? I have a lock on a spot at IMC if I want to take it.
Last year I did IM Switzerland three weeks after Roth. Recovery was enough to finish but not for a good result. In Roth I went 9:58, in Zurich I had 10:27. I lost 20 minutes in the marathon. That is where recovery is most critical.
My advice: You can do it but you probably won’t perform reasonably well (and therefore a Kona slot is hard to get).
Kind of hard to recover in order to qualify in IMC.
I would not advice a pro doing it, let alone an age grouper. Besides IMC is a very competitive race as well, so it’s not easy to go there and just pick up a spot. If you were an athlete consistently on the top of your ag, you could get away with having a sub-par race and still qualify. But it looks like you had a pretty good race at IMLP and missed it by very little.
I’m pretty sure next year you can qualify easily. Until then work those transitions!
Actually following a ‘Olaf-approach’ to race IMC…that is nothing at all for one week, then 1 bit of swimming and biking, then a bit more in week 3 then add some running in week 4 and a 1 week taper it could work…
but then, you’re also pretty much guaranteed to be completely toast for Kona
I say go for it…you’ll be fine. Get in lots of time on the bike to speed recovery…My teamate did IM CDA in 9:38, then the following week kicked ass at an oly dist race, then the week after that did 9:47 at IM Germany…pretty unreal…but with five weeks I think you’ll be fine… Work on those transitions.
Actually, I used that approach with a guy I coach…goal to do double CDA-LP the first year of CDA (5 weeks) and he wanted to qualify at both (just to say, I would have got my slot at both)…
He actually did AND surprisingly felt a lot better at LP…although it may have to do with the heat in CDA the first year…but then he was completely toast for kona…it takes a LOT out of you…and after these two races, I was never able to get him in shape for Kona even after a long rest…legs were shot, deep fatigue etc…
Francois…good point…a mistake in the long term. The best guys in the sport…Allan, Scott, LVL rarely did more than 1 in a year and even if they did, it would be several months apart (ie Roth/Japan in July, Kona in Oct).
I think for the majority of us age groupers, 1 per year is a good sustainable number to keep going long term in the sport…that being said, I really considered doing the IMLP-IMC double this year…Maybe next year when I am 40 :-). I’d like to show my family my birthplace (Vancouver) and the home that my family lived in when my parents first immigrated from India. Throw in an Ironman to boot
Thanks Marisol, and all those who believed I could do it. I came in at 10:06:15, just a minute over last years 10:05 at IMC, and putting me in 9th spot in my AG and in the money for Kona!
So, the thing I can’t figure is, I went 10:20 at IMLP with no male pro field, and placed 54th overall. I went 10:06 at IMC (arguably a faster course), and came in 58th overall, with 31 pros in the field (of whom 21 were faster than me.
Does that mean that the AG field at IMLP was that much deeper? Everything else being equal, I should’ve been 21 spots higher in the overall ranking at IMLP than in IMC.
IMC might be a faster course (I’ve never seen the IMUSA course) but on that day it was hot and everyone headed out into a headwind for the first half of the marathon. I don’t think it was a day conducive to very fast times. But then again I have no idea how it compare to Lake Placid.
