Ironman Texas - Should I Stay or Should I Go?

It’s coming down to decision time. If you know what “Mission16/60” is about then you may remember that my goal is to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 2016. I have to decide whether to enter Ironman Texas (my goal race if I follow through) or not. There are pros and cons for what I should do.

Ironman Texas 2012 Expo

Here are the cons:

• Linda dislikes the heat, humidity, and venue.
• Because I AM aging up there are ½ the slots of my previous age group – only one. That means I have to win my age group. You never know everyone who will show up.
• Linda dislikes the heat, humidity, and venue.
• I know one of my competitors and I know his time from last year’s IMTX (faster than my best time by 30+ min.) as well as his athletic history. Let’s just say he is an excellent endurance athlete.
• The cost of entry and travel is not insignificant.
• Linda dislikes the heat, humidity, and venue. (yes, I’ve listed this 3 times because it is an important consideration.)
• The race falls mid-May, just 3 weeks before the end of the Team Challenge (Bass Lake Tri) season.

Here are the pros:

• I age up to the 60-64 age group next year and feel my best chance to qualify for Kona will be 2016.
• I’ve raced at Ironman Texas twice before, once with good results.
• I know the course and the area.
• Texas is a course that plays to my strengths:
• 1. It has weather conditions that I can usually tolerate better than many.
• 2. At a time of year that gives someone living in a relatively mild winter/spring climate an advantage over people who live in the cold and have to do a lot of training indoors.
• 3. Texas has a flat bike and a flat run course.
• My best time was done with minimal run training and a fairly significant amount of walking.
• Knowing at least one of the people I have to beat, attaching a name and face to my competition, adds fire to my desire to train hard, train smart, and prepare well to have every opportunity to win.

So there’s the key factors I/we (Linda and I) need to consider. The decision has to be made in the next few weeks before Ironman Texas sells out. Thoughts?

Note: Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash (1982)