Kenny Rogers and Triathlon

You got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em

Know when to walk away, know when to run.

"The Gambler" - Performed by Kenny Rogers and written by Don Schlitz

Or Not Run - (At least 26.2 Miles)

So this time next week will be preparing to board the family on a plane to Australia for just under 2 months. The last two months in the household has been close to the most hectic I think we have ever experienced.

• We have had the joy of our daughter walking for the first time
• Our daughter turning one and covering her face in chocolate cake
• Searching for and buying a new house in Steveston (next winter = training den!) which we move into in June.
• Getting our current condo ready for what will hopefully be a sale at some point
• Leslie having an unexpected 3 week stint of working

In the midst of this I have been trying to get ready for an Ironman (IM Melbourne). The reality s that most of the things above were not on the agenda even at the start of January and a lot of them required full attention. Along with the logistical factors of not being in the same house as my bike for quite a few days it has meant a distinct lack of consistency. In fact i would say the only thing that has been consistent has been my inconsistency :)

So based on this knowledge, and my belief that a IM especially is something to be respected and that for me at least I only have so many of these in me at full speed the decision has been made to turn IM Melbourne into a test/trainig day and tackle the swim and the bike then step of the run course after a pre set distance.

Had this been a Half IM I am sure I could have had a good day (if the weather is like IMNZ you never know), however I can pretty much guarantee that 30km into the run (if not sooner) the wheels would fall off in a big way and in addition to this I feel this would negatively impact my whole season. So this is definitely the correct decision.

The upside to this is during my time in Oz visiting with my parents for the first time in 2.5 years and the first time with their granddaughter I will be able to walk!. In addition to this it adds an opportunity to get a god solid base camp in across some beautiful areas of Australia.

So hopefully race day in Melbourne will bring a solid swim split, a fast bike split (and lots of data) a short little run followed by a good aussie beer and a chance to cheer on some others.

First Tri of the Season now will be Shawnigan Half Ironman in May and with two months of solid training this will hopefully be a good day. This also means racing IMC in its 30th year seems to be a very strong possibility.

til next time