Why I like being a slow Ironman

01 Dec 2010 — 2 minute read

Please excuse my absence from posting - I went on a Thanksgiving trip to Cozumel with my boyfriend for his Ironman race on Sunday. We had a great time - I ran around a tent helping the women transition from swim to bike (and gathering all specimens of triathlon substances in existence on my hands, clothes, and person in the process) while the boyfriend managed to collect a nifty first place in his age group with a time of 9 hours 25 minutes. Let me remind you - my first Ironman took me 16 hours 35 minutes. And, I don't really expect to ever get much faster than maybe 15 hours (why I torture myself for these long periods of time may be the subject of a future post, but not now so just accept that it's actually fun).

This brings me to the subject of my post - why slower Ironman triathletes actually have it better.

Reason #1: People at the back of the pack are more fun. We chat, we joke, we support each other throughout the event.
Reason #2: Running at night is much cooler than running in the day.
Reason #3: Runner's trots? What's that?
Reason #4: Your family and friends get to suffer almost just as much as you as they spectate for 16+ hours.
Reason #5: You can eat a sandwich in transition, and it won't really affect your competitive standing.
Reason #6: You will never be forced to accept a large, unwieldy, 9.4-pound, scary age group prize which may result in excess/heavy baggage airline fees.