Sunday, July 12, 2009

Providence 70.3 The quick and painless.

Well guys I finished in 5:03:08 good enough for 21st in my age group out of about 100 competitiors. I'll give all the details in a later post. Also to answer the burning question I'm not going to Kona in 2009. My heart sank at roll down when 3rd place turned down Clearwater and eagerly stood up to claim the last remaining Kona slot. Part of me is thinking this is a dream I'm going to put in moth balls for 2010. Focus more on my running and try to achieve the goal most New England sports nuts focus on : The BAA Boston Marathon. Granted part of that to me seems like a hollow challenge but it seems more straight forward put down a 3:10 marathon go to Boston. It's put up or shut up and all on the athlete's shoulders instead of on who shows up, who declines this that and the other thing, in essence it's less drama. Also it's less of a burden on the check book...early bird registration to a marathon is only $60 compared to $245 for a 70.3 or a $500 tab for an M-dot. Don't get me wrong I'm still going to do a few tris next season, but maybe a back to the minors approach is in order. Do a couple of independent halves ( Patriot, Nutmegman?, Firman?) A few sprints and a Oly...granted I tend to like the long haul better....essentially I don't know what 2010 holds and I still have a couple of races I need to take care of in 2009.

In essence I have no clue where to go from here...but I have 2 races and a couple of months to figure it out.

Alright that's it from me I've got to go stretch my aching quads.
R.D.

6 comments:

MaineSport said...

Hey, you gave it a good shat after a tought spring schedule. Nice effort.

Bullet said...

5:03 is a nice race. No doubt about that. Great job! I agree, take some time before you make any decisions about the future. Big decisions are best done with time.

Charisa said...

Great race! Think about it a while - you will figure out what you will have more fun at . . .

Angry Runner said...

Do you want to be a fast BQ runner or do you want to be a Kona qualifying (KQ) triathlete?

If you're calling RI the end of your 2009 kona quest, then you do have some time to figure out the above. The only problem is that you can't do both. Others may disagree, but here's why:

Swim: 15th/100ish AG
Bike: 36th/100ish AG
Run: 16th/100ish AG

Which one of the above is not like the others?

If you bust your ass going for a 3:10 marathon, you will be sacrificing quite a bit on that bike as is. Conversely, if you fix your bike for a Kona slot, chances are that it will take incrementally more to make a BQ. Keep in mind that you work three distinct modal domains in acheiving a KQ and thus gains will be limited to each individual domain.

Take some time to think about it, but keep in mind that a properly structured offseason program is contingent on one or the other. Yes, you can do both...not easily, but keep in mind how that bike split sticks out like a sore thumb.

And get in the fucking weight room already. Shit.

Mary Ann said...

Rob,

Just remember you are you and it will happen for you..
We both were happy to see you this weekend!
Blazemom and Blazedad

iron-boyer said...

congratulations first of all. don't get yourself down. last year you were very happy with a 5:03 time. if you devote more time to your limiters it will pay off.
I don't wanna hear that you change your plans. You are a triathlete. I just lost about 1 1/2 inches off my right hamstring and I hope you will be my training partner on the bike so I can gain it back.
take some time to think but I think deep inside you know you love triathlons. Nothing else is so rewarding than crossing that finish line of a triathlon.