Qualifying for Kona (Page 2)

My friend Alex (winner of IMLP this year) went up to train the LP course something like 4-6 times. He did race rehearsals in terms of pace, nutrition and habits before and during training. He even practiced his nutrition and routine the day before of a big rehearsal as if it was the day before the race. Coming up race day there was no surprises, he knew exactly what each portion of the race felt like and what to expect. He didn’t have a good bike ride, but he knew he could push hard on the run as long as he could stay focused and fueling. He passed the leader with 2-3 miles to go to!

If I was going to race an IM with the goal of KQ (maybe soon ) I would chooose a race that would suit my strenghts and accessible for training at least a few times before the big day over a relative "easier" IM race to which I had not access at all.

Lot's of good info coming up here, I'm going to link this thread to my "What it Takes" thread..

My Training LogMy Race Log

Exactly what I was going to put Lauren ........

I knew his talk of not being interested in doing an IM was all just a ploy for everyone to let their guard down.

Edited by Daremo 2007-08-28 11:45 AM

     I said 'maybe' soon, not how soon! Plus 1^st I have a little 70.3 goal to conquer...  

Well, "maybe soon" is a far cry from "never" and "no interest."

Edited by LaurenSU02 2007-08-28 1:26 PM

I know I know... you are always looking after my Tri-training, you are such a good friend... NOOOOOOOTTT!!!    >>> insert here Borat's accent <<<

hey hey hey, I never said never.. I did say I currently have no interest in that distance, but since I am getting old, who knows

Anyway, let's stop the thread hijack and bring it back on topic - The OP was calling some of you arrogant or something...      (of course this is only a joke!!!)

I am just reading through this too and spit my water all over my computer.... What what what?????

Apparently red text is the universal font of sarcasm!

I got a good kick out of it anyway...

To me trying to find an "easier" Ironman to qualify for Kona and trying to travel to an Ironman that suits ones needs are one in the same. At least that was the question I was trying to ask. I want to participate in an Ironman that gives me the best chance to qualify. There might not be one out there for me, but I will still try. I was just upset because some of you guys seemed to jump all over me because I used the word easy, we all know there is nothing easy about Ironman. I used that term for lack of a better word.

Fair enough, and I don't think anyone was trying to make out that you were looing for an easy out. You asked a relevant question.

The data is out there, either from the study posted, which is exactly what you are asking, or on the various web sites for the races, you can back study the qualifying times in your AG to get an idea on what the course is willing to give in terms of time and the depth of the competition that seems to show up. For me, IMAZ was a no brainer as it's in my backyard, literally. I researched the previous year K.Q. times and went intot he race figuring a sub 10 hour race would do it. Turns out the final qualifier was 9:59 whereas the previous year a 10:10 wopuld have done it. So that's the part where you just never know. Whatever the slowest K.Q. time is at a race, you have to plan to beat it handily.

I think, due to increasing popularity, all the US races are simuilar in terms of the quality of competition. Races with 80 slots are better as you have more opportunity. I wouldn't consider European races, those guy's are BLAZING fast. I hear New Zealand has a decent slot allocation and offers some good opportunity. The Aussie racers are fast, so I wouldn't go there. The Asian IM's probably offer the best bet but the races are often contested in extreme heat. This si just anectodale stuff I have picked up off of IronmanTalk podcast over the last year.

Edited by bryancd 2007-08-29 11:11 AM