With IMC coming up, it’s time to make decisions for next year. Trying to decide between IMC and IM AZ. I’m sure both are great races, but I’m sure they have their pros and cons. I’m in the 60-64 age group, and finish pretty far back. Bike is my strong point, and the longer vs steep climbs at IMC might suit me well - easier to keep the effort steady. So I’m sure I can get through either course. Thoughts?
Both great races. IMC is much more on the epic course adventure side of things, single loop on swim, bike, and run, real mountains (not just hills), great town that gets behind the race, etc. IMAZ is a good race too, but in a different way. Very very spectator friendly with three loops on the bike and three figure-8s on the run. Super easy to find a place to stay, a city like Phoenix doesn’t really blink at 3000 triathletes coming to town. Have to find lodging much much earlier for IMC. The bike course in AZ is ‘boring’ compared to IMC, but that doesn’t really bother me, I’m not there to noodle around looking at the scenery.
The biggest complaint I have with IMAZ is the run course morphing to mostly concrete. I’ve done the race five times, and each year the run course has added a bit more concrete. Last November it was 23 miles of concrete, and my quads were pulverized by mile five. When I finished all I wanted to do was sit down because they hurt so much. I don’t know how to train for that.
See you out there,
-Colin
Yikes…23 miles of concrete…aside from recovering from injury, that would have really hurt the back end of the race for a guy like Rappstar who had limited miles in the legs!
Yikes…23 miles of concrete…aside from recovering from injury, that would have really hurt the back end of the race for a guy like Rappstar who had limited miles in the legs!
Yeah, it hurt. In the past the course was 4-5 miles of concrete each lap, but broken up throughout the lap. That was bad, but this was straight concrete until the final mile of each of the three laps. Brutal. I’ve got to figure out how to train my legs to stand up to it better this fall. I suppose the only way to do that is to run on concrete all the time, but that just seems like a recipe for disaster. I believe at the time Rappstar said that the lack of running in his legs made the concrete affect him more than it normally would.
-C
I think the upside of better race performance by training on hard surfaces is not enough to offset the downside of risk of injury for most of us age groupers. In the big picture of life you might lose 10-15 minutes because you did not train on concrete, but aside from the single day hammering, your legs are OK the rest of the time. I’d rather take that, than risk being injured and out of commission.
At the Galveston 70.3 the surface was 100% concrete. Not fun, and my run split sucked badly, but it sucked for reasons beyond the concrete…concrete or no concrete on race day , I’d still do 50-80% of my running on dirt roads and the rest on pavement. Training on hard surfaces has limited long term upside. If I was a pro fine, I’d get specific, but if you’re in an older age group usually the trick is to not that fast, but just do a steady respectable run…having fresh legs coming in is probably a better plan than legs carrying nagging injuries through too much running on concrete…at least that would be my approach.
They did away with what, the dirt paths on the promenade along the lake?
What about the pavement downhill section after the climb up Priest (?)
that really sucks. I hear originally it was two loops much of it out into desert trails
Racing for yourself: IMC
Racing to be a part of the experience and to share it with family & friends (spectators): IMAZ
Both races are fantastic, but the appeal of IMC, I think, is that it’s one loop, whereas the appeal of IMAZ is that it’s three. I do IMC because I love the solitary nature of the course. I do IMAZ because, for example, it was awesome to be able to give my mother a hug 9 miles into the race.
Thanks for the feedback. I think that I’ll give IMC a try. My wife won’t watch the race no matter where I go - except for the finish. She may come to Penticton if we tack on a vacation to Vancouver. Timing is probably a little better for me. End of November is a long time to stay fit enough for an IM.
Thanks for the feedback. I think that I’ll give IMC a try. My wife won’t watch the race no matter where I go - except for the finish. She may come to Penticton if we tack on a vacation to Vancouver. Timing is probably a little better for me. End of November is a long time to stay fit enough for an IM.
One thing to keep in mind is that typically you need to register for IMC on-site the year before as it fills up, though I understand that a few spots are available on-line for a short while.
Thanks for the feedback. I think that I’ll give IMC a try. My wife won’t watch the race no matter where I go - except for the finish. She may come to Penticton if we tack on a vacation to Vancouver. Timing is probably a little better for me. End of November is a long time to stay fit enough for an IM.
One thing to keep in mind is that typically you need to register for IMC on-site the year before as it fills up, though I understand that a few spots are available on-line for a short while.
From 2008 onward IM Canada has gone on line. Last year on line registration was open for more than 24 hours the way I remember it.
I did IM Canada in 2009…great course, wonderful town support, my family enjoyed it. Takes to long time to get to from East coast for reasonable cost.
There were also foundation slots available until 6-8 weeks ago.