Manatees Dooo Eeeet!!! (Page 66)

I don't think we aer back to those days. I think it's a partially deferral issue - some folks who were registered for 2020 have deferred to 2022, etc. 

IMCA is marked as sold out as well but really it's because then entire 2021 field was automatically deferred.  I believe in the Cali case, they paused registrations. 

That being said, IMLP was always popular and IMMT did relieve pressure from Lake Placid.

IA few races are sold out like FL, TX, and AZ (?), but I think like Janyne said a lot of that is due to all the deferrals. Another factor toward LP selling out may be the talk of it not continuing there in the future. I can't remember what the renewal ended up as - 1 more year?

I also wonder if they are "holding" spots for all the Wisconsin and California deferral potentials. I have until Nov. 3 to make my Wisconsin deferral decision, and Lake Placid is one of my options - I know it's on the list for California folks as well. I would place bets that they "re-open" registration and "add openings" after all that is sorted out.

IA few races are sold out like FL, TX, and AZ (?), but I think like Janyne said a lot of that is due to all the deferrals. Another factor toward LP selling out may be the talk of it not continuing there in the future. I can't remember what the renewal ended up as - 1 more year?

I guess I better get my act together and decide on races for next year. 

I am stuck at the cross roads. 

Should I ...

1) Try to complete 3 triathlons this year so I can get my USAT rank after only doing a total of 2 triathlons in the past two years?

2) After doing a bunch of Duathlons in 2020 and really liking them should I try to attend some of the big Duathlon Races this year?

3) With two Ironman 140.6 rances near me on Saturdays (and about zero other non-Sunday races near me) should I do my first Full Ironman?

4) With an awesome local running club that had two guys in my training group do the AG Masters World Marathon Championship in London this year and four do Boston this year should I focus on my running again and do another Marathon (or 2-3)?

When I had the same 3 local races every year and was just focused on beating my time from the previous year goals were simple.  Race cancelations from Covid and moving really shook things up.  I usually wait until the end of December after time off at the end of the season to make goals for the next year.  So...I guess I have time to figure things out, but can cross FL, TX, AZ,  LP off the list.  TX was a long shot but on the list.

99% sure I'll be deferring to Des Moines. It's not my top "destination race" location by any means, but the main thing driving my decision is bike course elevation. I just need to not be killing myself with 6,000+ feet on race day. I considered flat Maryland, but I won't do jellyfish. Other flat races were too early in the year or I had a conflict. So, I'm anxiously refreshing the web site daily to see if the courses have been loaded - not yet.

I also like Des Moines because my cheerleaders from Kansas can drive there easily - both my IronBFF Linda and my parents - and potentially even my grandma who has family there and they would make a whole trip out of it. 

So many choices!

Only you know what you are loving the most right now.

I'm not sure what qualifies as a large duathlon these days. Unfortunately, du hasn't been that competitive in recent years, although it looks like Cal Tri is trying to do a series now? TBH, I had never heard if it until today.

Regarding 140.6 vs marathon, both are good choices if you are excited about the event. I think that you'd be successful with either event.  Obviously the 140.6 will take more hours/week of training.

So many choices!

Only you know what you are loving the most right now.

I'm not sure what qualifies as a large duathlon these days. Unfortunately, du hasn't been that competitive in recent years, although it looks like Cal Tri is trying to do a series now? TBH, I had never heard if it until today.

Regarding 140.6 vs marathon, both are good choices if you are excited about the event. I think that you'd be successful with either event.  Obviously the 140.6 will take more hours/week of training.

It's important to keep the cheer squad happy! If the Des Moines full course is 2x the half, the advertised bike elevation will be in the 3000 range.  Would you be OK with a four loop run?  Four times seeing the cheer squad, right?

I was really enjoying doing Olympic and 70.3 triathlons.  If I could find local races that is what I would be doing but I am not finding races. 

I did enjoy the last Marathon that I did fall of 2019, but that was the only Marathon I have ever done that I liked, and think that distance might be too long for me to enjoy.  I have the same concern about distance with the 140.6.  I am sure I could do it, I just don't know if I would be as good at is as shorter distances and am not sure I want to try until I have peak at the shorter distances  

As far as duathlon goes, I did three live duathlons in 2020, one homemade duathlon, and two virtual duathlons.  My last Tri in 2019 had a canceled swim so it was really a duathlon too.  I won the Sprint Triathlon with the canceled swim and won one of the 2020 Duathlons.  There was more competition at the other two races but I did really well at both of them too.  So I was thinking of doing the USAT National Duathlon or possibly one of the USA Powerman Duathlons.  ...Or any other pure duathlon event that gets fast people to it every year.   

Yep I did the same math for 2x the 70.3 elevation so hoping that's the case! Four loops for a run seems excessive but I could definitely do it. Especially if it remains flat 
Facebook group rumblings are about 2 loops in Gray's Lake which is apparently not a big lake and super shallow, 4 feet in a lot of places. But I've done a true mass start (before they went away) and a number of river and lake swims where you could stand up half of the time so I'm good with that! 

Originally posted by marysia83  Hmm... I think I would consider the following when making my choices - but keep in mind we both have different situations 9for example, I have young kids haha which contributes to the logistics : 1. Which sport/event gives me most joy? 2. What gives me more joy: participating in certain events or getting a certain rank? 3. What are the time periods between each event if I'd like to do a combination (tri, duathlo, marathon, IM)? 4. What are the costs of either option - unless the $$$ is not a concern. 5. I look at logistics/locations, but mostly because I need to coordinate with kids' school/summer, work arrangements, etc. that may not be applicable for you. 6. Can a training for one sport compliment another? If you train for IM, you will have a training for DU and marathon covered... can you do a combination of different races? I think all are great options and there would be no wrong answer here, no matter what you decide. i am curious to know what you end up doing )))

Yes, I training for one sport can complement another.  My last marathon was two weeks after a Triathlon.  I just added 20% to my long runs for my triathlon and did the Marathon with no time goals or any expectations other than having fun. 

I started out doing races for fun.  I now am more driven by rankings and results.  I guess the first time you do a race there is that question in your mind asking if you can really do it.  Once you know that you can do the only question is if you can do it faster.  :-)