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Please help me select races for 2011

iamtriingiamtriing
in General Training Discussions

Hi.  I just joined EN.  I live in Los Angeles.  I did two sprint races in 2009 and two sprint races in 2010.  I don't plan to do any more racing this year.  My A race for 2011 is IMAZ (I'm going to volunteer there this year and then register for 2011).  I need help selecting races leading up to then.  I plan to do the 2011 NYC tri in order to please my wife (she wants to take a trip there).  I also plan to do the Malibu sprint tri in 2011 because the company I work for is part of a corporate challenge and I've done it twice already.  I **might** do the LA half and full marathons to please my wife but those are optional (I can't get out of the NYC tri though).  So, if anyone has any suggestions for building up to 2011 IMAZ, please let me know.  I'm guessing that I should get it at least one if not two half-IM's before IMAZ.  I don't know if I need to plan to do another full IM before IMAZ.   

Comments

  • tuckermtuckerm
    Don, are you sure you will get into NYC Tri? They are moving to a lottery system in 2011 so no guarantees about getting in anymore. Lottery sounds like a money grab as well. $11 just to enter the lottery then $245 if you are lucky enough to make it in. Also, NYC at that time of year is awful. Hot and humid!

    I am not a west coast man but I know some guys do Oceanside 70.3 and Wildflower. They could be some long course options for you. Welcome to EN!
  • Michele CellaiMichele Cellai
    Hi Don! Welcome to EN.

    You do NOT need to do another full iron before IMAZ. Unless you prefer to have some other course be your first. If you follow the EN OS, some General Prep and then a 12 or 20 week IM plan, you will be just fine.

    That said, it is a loooooooooong time until IMAZ 2011. You need to have many smaller goals to focus on between now and then. Since you don't give dates for any of the other events, I can't help you with them. I will tell you that 8 weeks out from your IM is drop dead- no more racing- time. But you are almost a year out from that point even. Until 12 weeks from IMAZ, do what ever races you want that you find fun. Do a half just because you want to and it's a cool race. Not because you feel you have to. Many people have skipped HIM and gone straight to the full monty.

    Be sure to check the wiki to learn more about running the marathon and why it's not recommended during the tri season. There is a ton of info in the wiki that should help. You have plenty of time to explore. Enjoy!
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch
    Good advice from Michele and Tucker. When looking at a really late IM race like IMAZ, it's a good idea to think of your year as having 2 seasons. Otherwise it becomes real easy for you to get burned out and ready to pack it in just when the real hard and long training kicks in. Pick a race in the july/Aug timeframe to shoot for (a Half IM would be good) and then take a real good break for your head, your body, and your family. Like maybe 2-3 weeks of unstructured fun. Then you'll be ready to get serious and train hard again for IMAZ.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    Also, conventional wisdom here would be that the LA half would be a better choice than the Full marathon. The short version is that the (full) marathon punches too big a hole in your year. You have to do so much running that there is a bike opportunity cost. Then you have a taper and recovery that can be a month between them. Nothing wrong with marathons (I did one this year...) but it's not the best way to prepare for the IM. The half mary has a lot less opportunity cost.
  • iamtriingiamtriing

    I'm definitely not certain that I'll get in the NYC tri. Yeah, I do not want to do too much stuff that gets in the way of my goal of doing reasonably well at IMAZ. And I don't think some sprint tri's will help . Maybe I'll avoid the LA full marathon.

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