So I'll do the next best thing. I'll run a rapid series of shorter blogs for this week, keeping the topics short and to the point.
The first such topic is the newly proposed Ironman in New York City for 2012. 
Now unlike a significant number of athletes who criticize the race, I do like Ironman. Their fees might be high, but they do happen to take care of the athletes from start to finish, and I've had no complaints at all when I did their races.
Plus, in the world of economics, if the demand is there, the price is justified. For those who regularly criticize the prices, sorry. You can always choose to do other iron distance triathlons that cost half as much. The Great Floridian Triathlon is one of them. The Full Vineman in California is another such race.
With that little rant out of the way, I wasn't surprised when I saw the proposed fee for the Ironman in New York City. As a matter of fact, my first reaction was laughter.
The race will cost about $1000 to enter.
Heck, figure in the high cost of living in New York and New Jersey, the tons of permits that they had to obtain from those two states. Oh, and you got to figure in the bribes and kickbacks they had to shell out also. Heck, these are two big government states after all, right?
Also figure in all those people who can shell out the bucks also. Yep, those in the financial sector who benefitted from the huge TARP bailouts that were given to them by the taxpayer.
Add in all of the above and you got the perfect storm for a huge entry fee.
Although I had a fleeting interest in doing a race like this in my backyard, the $1000 fee is just a tad too expensive for my tastes.
Also, all of the Ironman triathlons I did (6 in all) were *waaaaaay* outside of the tri-state area (British Columbia, New Zealand, Kentucky). In fact I had to fly out to all of them. This was a good thing because I treated these races as a vacation to get away from the tri-state area. Traveling every so often is a good thing; these races were an excuse to get away from the daily grind.
Although I am excited that an Ironman is in my backyard, I still had reservations against entering the race, even if the fee was only $500. It would not be classified as a "get away" race in my personal book. If I had a choice of Ironman, I would definitely choose to go to Ironman Mont Tremblant instead for the travel (the Ironman race up in Mont Tremblant, Quebec was also created at the same time as New York City). I've never been up to Mont Tremblant before, and heard it's a beautiful area.
That is, if I wanted to do Ironman again. Right now, the desire is just not there yet. Give it some time though, and I might enter one within the next few years.
Besides, I'm doing the double ironman race in October anyway. I figure an Ironman just isn't enough anymore. :-)
Still, I will definitely be out there that day cheering people on. And for those who brave the fee and enter this race, I wish you well with your training and with your race!
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For those who want to enter Ironman New York City, the entry process starts at noon on June 15. Ironman Mont Tremblant also opens up at the same time, in case you want to do the "travel to a beautiful area" thing.
Every Friday night during the summer, we will be having a group trail run through the Greenbelt. Although we started on Manor Rd., we will move the run over to the High Rock Parking Lot this Friday (June 17). The runs are about 4-6 miles. Although we held at 4 miles the last 2 weeks, the new location will help us extend those runs to 6 miles for those who want the extra couple of miles on the trails. It was hard to extend the runs when we started on Manor Rd. due to the combination of the confusing trails in that area and the waning daylight.
The calendar to the right here has been filled for the summer with events that I'll be doing. Go ahead and take a look! There are group bike rides, group weekend trail runs, and some swim clinics for those who want to improve their triathlon swim times. If interested, come on down; I'll be glad to have you!
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