How to become an age group champion – the long way!
6 easy-to-follow steps to becoming Ironman Australia Age Group Champion
Step 1:
•Sign up for the inaugural Shepparton Half Ironman to get a taste of longer distance racing
•Suffer through mid 30s heat in Shepparton, walk half the run and finally finish, saying you’ll NEVER put yourself through a full Ironman race.
Step 2:
•Decide to do a full Ironman race after qualifying for Forster at the 2nd Shepparton Half Ironman (Old School fact: years ago people had to qualify to race IM Australia)
•Suffer through perfect conditions in Forster, walk half the run and finally finish, saying you’ll NEVER put yourself through a full Ironman race again.
Result: 150th in the Age Group
Step 3:
•Get really annoyed by your result and commit to learning to race an Ironman “properly”, no matter how long it takes*
•Race at Forster 3 more times in that age group, each year being certain that this will be the year you nail it.
Results: 51st, 57th, 52nd
* It takes a long time
Step 4:
•Age up – the last resort for the talent-challenged athlete.
•Finally start to see some material improvement* over the next 4 Ironman attempts at Forster and Port Macquarie.
Results: 23rd, DNF, 22nd, 11th
*Improvement can also be a ‘Did Not Finish’. By pushing the envelope we can learn a lot about ourselves and how to improve next time – e.g. don’t ride fast over speed humps one-handed.
Step 5:
•Age up again, a year early due to WTC rule changes.
•Continual improvement + getting old = success.
Result: 6th
Step 6:
•Race at Kona a few times to acclimatise and then hope for a hot day at Port Macquarie
•Race day max of 30 degrees celsius, no cloud cover, wind strengthening
Result: RESULT!!!
So that’s all it takes, get out there and do it. Or use the alternative approach: have some talent, train a bit, race once, RESULT!!! (not nearly as much fun though, is it?)