I'm about a month out of my first Ironman, and while I'm not actually panicking, some nerves have definitely started to set in. Part of this stems from being a first-timer and not knowing what to expect. However, my nerves are mainly coming from the people at Ironman Chattanooga, because they keep changing things and it's starting to freak me out.
It started a few weeks ago, when IMCHOO released the starting times for the swim. For those who are unfamiliar with Ironman and how they typically work, here's a brief rundown. Traditionally, an Ironman starts at 7 am and finishes at midnight, which gives the participant 17 hours to complete the race. There are also time cutoffs throughout the race for each discipline. Example - you get two hours and twenty minutes to finish the swim. If you take longer then that - you're disqualified.
The big issue with IMCHOO is that Chattanooga is in the Eastern Time Zone, and on the far end of it at that. Being that the race is in late September, the sun won't rise until after 7:00 am. You know what people can't do in the dark? Swim. Therefore, the race can't start until after 7:00 am - in fact, it's not officially starting until 7:30. But instead of allowing the athletes to have another half-hour to finish the race (so we would still get the traditional 17 hours), they stuck with the midnight deadline. Meaning, we would only have 16:30 to finish.
Now, I actually knew about this when I signed up. There was a little blurb that said something about starting a half-hour late due to the sunrise and that we would only be allowed 16:30 to finish. And, while I wasn't happy about it, I figured it'd be OK. Unless something goes wrong, I (hopefully) won't be finishing in the 16:30-17:00 time frame, so the delay wouldn't really change anything for me.
But then IMCHOO released the official starting times.Yes, they are starting the race at 7:30 am...for the professionals. The age-groupers, like me, start at 7:40 am. Again, not a HUGE thing, but now we only have 16:20 to finish. But here's the best of it - originally, the plan (or rumor, I'm not sure, but everyone I've spoken to was under this impression), was that we were going to have a self-seeding, rolling start off of a barge. This means that, rather than having everyone start at the same time, the athletes would be sorted by approximate swim finishing times (that are determined by the athlete). The fastest group would jump in first, and so on. The whole thing should take five to ten minutes to get everyone in the water. At least, that's what we thought.
Turns out - we ARE doing a rolling start, but we're getting in one or two at a time. For 2,500 people. The race director stated that he expects the last person in the water at 8:20 am. 8:20!! So, that person will only get 15:40 to finish the race. That's an hour and twenty minute difference from the traditional 17 hours. This situation is going to cause a complete cluster at the swim start, because now everyone is going to be panicking and trying to start first, even though their swim times might not warrant it.
One would think that this would be bad enough, but - BUT - the official bike route with aid stations was released yesterday. Rather than the standard 112 mile route, the Chattanooga route is now 116. USAT (the governing body of triathlon) rules allow for a 10% deviation from the posted distances in races due to the logistics of each race location, so this additional milage is technically OK. One might think, "what's another four miles when you've already been riding that long?" Well, that's an extra four miles for a tire to flat, or a chain to break, or to (God forbid) get hit by a car. Those extra four miles get exponentially more dangerous if it's raining, especially since there are several sets of railroad tracks we have to cross. Even taking away the risk aspect of the route change, this extra distance is about a 20 minute addition to the average person's bike time. Add that additional time into the already shortened race time, it is possible that a person could have only 15:20 to finish the race rather than the standard 17 hours. And who knows what effect that extra four miles might have on an athlete's run over a VERY hilly 26.2 miles.
I'm really doing my best to stay calm, and my coach says that this change shouldn't really effect my race. If I have the race I "should" have, I'll be finished before midnight with some time to spare. However, my time safety cushion is slowly being eroded. Before these changes, I wasn't all THAT worried about flatting or cramping on the run because I knew I had extra time and would be able to recover from any little mishaps. However, I don't really have that anymore. Plus, I've known too many athletes who are in MUCH better shape than I am finish an Ironman past 15:20. Those people might not have made it at IMCHOO. That really freaks me out.
I know that this is a first time race, and race logistics will be worked on right up until race day. I know the race director is doing everything he can to make IMCHOO a success for Ironman AND the athletes. However, I do wish I would have known about these changes before I registered. I might have still signed up, but I might not have. I might have found a different, more established race where I knew exactly what to expect. Ironman is hard enough, and throwing last minute (yes, a month out is last minute in Ironman) changes that make the race harder, just doesn't seem right. Especially when Ironman doesn't allow you to get a refund (it was about $650 to register).
Of course, there really isn't anything I can do about any of this now. All I can do is to control what I can - my training, my nutrition and my rest. That and just hope for the best on race day. I guess we'll see what happens.
31 days!
No comments:
Post a Comment