Everyone is always talking about "At Ironman they do this" "M-dot they do that" "Ironman is the greatest" "Once you do an Ironman event, you can't go back" blah, blah, blah!
OK I get it! Ironman organization is great! But I don't believe it, I don't understand what makes it 'so cool'.
So I signed up, I'll see firsthand what makes these events 'the best'.
First, I had to sign up almost a year in advance. For a 70.3! Not a full Ironman, but a half. A half, people!
Apparently, I was the only to sign up but 2,681 other people signed up with me. Let me say that again
2,681 people! For a half!
I love Vegas races. They are tough and draw an international crowd and some of them are big, we even had one sell out.
At 700 people!
OK. So perhaps I am in for a rude awakening. If I think 700 is big I can't even imagine what 2,600 feels like.
Washing Machine?! Chaos?! I wonder what it feels like to come in last with 2,600 people in front of you?
Let me remind you....
This is a half!
It seems that the pro's love it too!
We have 40 male pro's and 30 female's.
That's a crap load of pro's. Hell, I am didn't think there WAS that many pro's!
We have:
Matt Reed (Olympian)
Amanda Lovato
Michael Lovato (Ryan's secret crush)
There's even a rumor that Macca is going to be here (or New Orleans).
Is there any one not here?
I was originally worried that I would hate being lapped by that mean people, but then I realized that they'll be done (and showered and napped) before I am done with the bike (maybe the swim!).
I'm on my way to the expo now, so I'll you know what 2,600 people shoved into one room feels like.
Oh by the I don't if this race is broadcasted on ironmanlive.com, but my number is:
2512
If I don't talk to you again:
See you at finish line!
8 comments:
I did the race in 2003. It was very well organized, but I did others that where just as well done that were not the property of WTC. Don't sweat the numbers, they send you off in age group waves, so there are only about 200 people in each wave. I know the water was VERY cold when I did it, but the race was held in mid-March then, so it might be a bit warmer now.
Have fun and good luck!
I have exactly the same impressions you do about these MDot races, having never done one (and not really caring if I ever do).
And so I CANNOT WAIT to hear your experience and impressions.
HAVE A GREAT RACE!!!!!
Good luck have fun and looking forward to your report!
How did I miss that you were racing THIS weekend! Oh man! I'll be cheering for you from afar!! Race hard, have fun!
Having done a couple M-dot races and non M-dot races I really don't see a big difference, except in price and race course congestion. But I heard at a M-dot training camp that they often expect 400-500 folks will not make it to the start line for one reason or another. So you'll probably end up actually racing with "only" 2000-2100 people. And at a 70.3 race, it's a wave start so a little easier to get going on the swim than a mass start.
GOOD LUCK!!!
CONGRATS DUDE YOU DID AWESOME!!
Congratulations!
Congrats on a good finish! I had wanted to be up there to cheer everyone on...but couldn't make it this year. I heard it was a pretty good day all around. Congrats!
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