Florida 1/2 Ironman (Page 3)

Brent, what in this thread would you classify as whining?  

My main concern is maintaining civility on these boards. I'm also interested in the business aspect of triathlon and how people make money from what is a phenomenally competitive yet sometimes extremely coorperative business environment.

I have a whole other group of thoughts surrounding the decision about the course from the point of view of an athlete who's registered to race it. Those I'll post later today.

My thoughts as someone doing this as my first Half IM:

Yes, I'm a little disappointed that the run may be shortened. I personally would prefer that it be kept to 13.1 no matter the transition run. Ideally, I'd like it to not have the 2 mile transition run either. That's irrelavant though. I don't believe there's much point in worrying about what I want vs. what I get. What it will come down to is, I'm looking at racing an extremely well organized half Ironman distance triathlon at Disney World. That's a lot.

Triathlon is about many things. One of those things is dealing with and overcoming adversity. Every race throws something at you that wasn't planned for, or is just plain harder than expected. The only rational response is to deal with it and keep going. That's where the greatest rewards lie, in finishing despite the unexpected and just plain hard stuff.

As to the reasons for the changes, I can only assume they're good. Go back to my original post and read what I posted about the RD. This guy doesn't screw around. He makes thoughtful decisions with the athletes as his single most pressing concern. If he's willing to make these kinds of changes to an established, high profile race and risk the ire of athletes and business associates he must believe very strongly that the changes are warranted. It demonstrates very clearly his commitment to the athletes. He must have known he would take a lot of heat from different quarters, but he's convinced it's the best decision for the athletes so he's willing to deal with it.

That tells me all I need to know. Given his CV and the risks he's shown himself willing to take on my behalf as an athlete, if he says this is the best course, then I'm not going to second guess him and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have as the RD of my first half IM.

Others will disagree with some of what I've written. Ty feels strongly about the format and he has every right to. This race is a big deal for him because of what it represents about his recovery from cancer.  His situation may not be something that was originally considered, but it could have some weight with the race company. I hope he gets a chance to be heard and taken seriously by them.

What about those of us who are planning to race more than one 70.3 as part of our 2006 season? What if our aspirations are beyond just finishing the race? What if we had the choice to sign between Baja and FL (Both held the same day) and chose FL just for convenience without knowing that the course was going to change?

Anyway, switching the format it is a BIG deal because it changes the format in which at least I’ll be competing at other races… running 2 miles prior the run and then adding 11.2 miles after the bike is not the same as doing 13.2 miles in one shot. Have you ever done one? If your answer is yes you will know how tough those last miles can be and it can either make or break your race…

At this point I just want to get a refund for my entry so someone else who wants to participate in this race can do it and I can switch to race at Baja.

Ok...I've had a few deep breaths and am better now.  As long as I know that they are going to take the extra 2 miles into consideration for the cut offs, I will be ok.  I realize that I will be running a shorter distance at the end, but psychologically, it does not make all that much of a difference. 

Even with the changes, I am sooo excited about my first HIM and really hope that we can get a BT gathering together before the race.