I: Iron Girl Women's Triathlon

I is for Iron Girl Women's Triathlon.

I'm also late posting this.

You know the days when you feel tired, run down, stretched thin? Today was one of those, where even a short blog seemed like one more item on my too-long to-do list. I don't remember feeling this way ten years ago. I felt like I could do anything ten years ago.

That might go away when people hit their early twenties. Or at least, that's what I was thinking today until I realized that it's not 100% true. One of the last times I felt like I could do anything?  Well, that was when I finished my first Iron Girl.


For serious.


Iron Girl is a sprint triathlon - 0.62 mile swim, 17.5 mile bike, 3.3 mile run - held each August in Columbia. It's a huge event, 2200+ women, many of which are first time triathletes. The race sells out in hours, and brings tons of attention and interest to HoCo. And HoCo does (IMO) a good job of dealing with the people traffic.


So why did Iron Girl affect me so much? I mean, there are other events I could have attempted... maybe... not.


Well, a few reasons.




The biggest? It was a significant "I want to do this... I can do this!" moment. 


The event is just so supportive and awesome. Everyone smiles. Women cheer each other along on the course. This was an excellent introduction to the tri community.


There are many inspirational stories out there.


I knew so many people doing the race, it was cool to share that with them.


When I finished, I felt good. I felt happy. I felt like I wanted to do more. Oh yeah, and I wanted to eat a whole cheese pizza.




And even though I was feeling kind of down and out today, thinking of the years I've done Iron Girl, and how good it felt to  type "I AM AN IRONGIRL" as my status a few years ago... I got a little bit of that back. I remembered the experience, I took a breath, I found some perspective.


That's a powerful thing, and a cool one, when an experience stays with you for so long. And it's why events like Iron Girl are so important, because they challenge people to push their comfort zone and change their lifestyle in a way that brings them into a community. In a way that makes them feel welcome.




So this post is for Iron Girl. It's also for I can do it. So can you. 

Walking into the start, 2008 Iron Girl.

And they're off! 2008 Iron Girl

Hand held water bottle made me easy to track, according to Matt
2008 Iron Girl

One of my favorite photos, 2008 Iron Girl

I is for Iron Girl Women's Triathlon, empowering and inspiring people (not just women) in Howard County and beyond.

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This post is part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. (hocoblogs@@@) Click on The Link for more info and other participating blogs!

IronMan Access: Redux.

Wow.  That's all I can say.  Wow.

The er.. storm that has resulted from the release of the IronMan Access program should be more than enough to quiet anyone who doubts the relevance or impact of social media, blogs, and forums.  Some of the links in the previous post/comments will take you to the fallout.  You can also see a lovely recap of the drama here at Jeff6's blog, TriJeffTri.

This afternoon, after the Access program 'filled', World Triathlon Corporation/Ironman announced it was rescinding the program.  You can view the video here.

Basically, Ben Fertic, President/CEO of WTC, states the rationale for the Access program: because athletes are uncertain which Ironman they will get into, they sign up for multiple events; when they get into the event of their choice, they do not participate in the others, leading to a wastage of spots.

I do have a few minor quibble(s) with this rationale.

1)  If this is a significant problem, WTC/IM needs to re-evaluate their refund policy and/or institute penalizations for No-Shows. 

2)  If refunds are not the issue, WTC is still getting its money for those unfilled spots.

3)  If the events fill up so quickly, why do they have trouble filling up the spots later?  Of course, it takes a lot of time, planning, and training to optimize performance in an Ironman.  But offer those spots to a waiting list, where people know there's a chance they might get in, and you're bound to get takers.  Or increase the number of relays.  Or discount the spot.  Anything to bring someone in to fill the spot,a and generate revenue for sponsors and area businesses (since that's part of the money-making equation anyway).

I do give them credit for responding as quickly as they did to the backlash in the triathlete community.  They could have stuck the course for weeks and weeks.  

Whether or not the program would have damaged WTC/IM in the long run is a matter of debate.  The general trend for this sort of thing is lots of loud complaining at the outset, followed by quiet, grumbling acceptance; however, triathletes are a determined, stubborn lot.  I imagine they are more likely to follow through than other groups.  Maybe WTC was banking on that, too.

Either way, Fertic's message was this: "If you say we're wrong, we're wrong."

If only more people would say that to me.

Interesting 24 hours, all said and done.  Do you think they did the right thing?  Do you think the reactions were justified?

A trend toward prohibitive expense in triathlons?

Thanks to a tweet from Jeff 6, I learned that IronMan announced their IronMan Access Program yesterday.  Through Ironman Access, athletes can pay a $1000 subscription fee and gain priority registration to one or more IronMan events worldwide, and a second chance for the IronMan World Championships in Hawaii (oh, and other bennies... 2 VIP event tix, a Kona DVD, a magazine scrip, etc.).  


They also get a membership card.  Don't forget about the membership card.


This $1000 does not go toward registration for the actual IronMan distance events.  In 2011, the Florida IronMan General entry fee is $575.  IronMan Foundation charity spots go for twice that.  Of course, this does not include airfare, bike transport, meals, or lodgings.


So how valuable is early registration?  IronMan events do sell out, some more quickly than others.  For example, Ironman Louisville (KY) is still open; however, IronMan Florida has a history of closing out quickly*. The fact that some races sell out and others do not suggests that the IronMan access won't necessarily keep those unable to afford the program out of the sport; however, they may not be able to race at the location of their choosing.


The comments at the Triathlete Magazine forum and others seem to reflect a some of these views (or at least, they did at the time of this writing).  One poster argues that the new fee is one step toward locking the middle class out of the sport.  Others question the program's potential success.  However, triathlon is many things.  Among them, triathlons are expensive.  


I'm sure triathlons are expensive to put on.  But given the limited number of Access spots, unless this is to offset costs for everyone else, I don't see how the Access program would do more than generate more profit.


I am the example of a budget athlete: I compete against the clock, not at an elite level.  Triathlons are fun for me.  I don't require a high end bike. (I'll wait for those of you who train with me to stop laughing...)  If you gave me Zipp wheels or aerobars, I'd probably have no idea what to do with them.  But there are plenty of toys out there for people who do.


J6 pointed me in the direction of a New York times article that breaks down the average spending of a triathlete.  It repeated numbers I've heard before, from Danny Serpico and others - the average income of a triathlete is approximately $175,000**.  The average yearly expense of the sport? $22,000.


I wanted to compare the costs of a budget athlete with something that must be closer to the average... but then I found that someone had generated something like it for me.  Check out the SquawkFox article here.  Even the budget athlete can expect to spend a considerable amount. 


(Sidebar: I'd love to have the budget that their 'budget athlete' does.  Feel free to donate to the SwimWriteRun Massage Program. Kthx!)


Incidentally, the TriTalk podcast broke down the benefits in seconds-gained for some of those accessories.  He focused on olympic-distance, but the exercise was a cool one.  Check out that podcast, and others, here.


So... what's the big deal about another fee?


I think it's hard to say right now.  I'm curious what the response will be after this program has been in place for a while - Ironman Florida opens on Nov 1, so it may not be dramatically impacted by this new program.  


I do wonder if this will begin a trend toward increasing fees and generating perks for those who can afford it.  USA swimming saw a technological 'arms race' in bathing suits in recent past: lots of people were shelling out money for hydrodynamic suits, which led to the charge that speed was becoming something an athlete could buy.  I don't know that this holds much water (heehee... sorry..), since records have been broken since the institution of the ban. But it's a disturbing idea for those who truly love a sport and the essence of human competition... the idea that speed can be purchased, rather than trained.


Consider the spirit of IronMan: if the event is to highlight what is humanly possible, shouldn't the events be accessible to people even if they can't afford the perks program?


To be fair, high entry costs are not exclusive to IronMan events.  Recently, another runner told me about a 50-miler race that was set up on the same day as the JFK-50, by people who were tired of the high fee and the unpredictable lottery entry. (I didn't get the race info, but when I do, I'll post it up) Putting the two events side by side, I (the budget athelete) am likely to pick the rebel-race.  At least, most years.


Back to the questions... 


is the financial commitment to training and entering an event like Ironman already so great that it's silly to argue about another fee?  


Or is part of being an IronMan 'making it work' - by spending more efficiently so that you have every opportunity to get to the starting line?


Do you think that moves like this will give a bump to local/grass-roots/non-brand name events (like the example of the JFK50?)  


*Of course, I believe that Ironman Event volunteers have an opportunity to register ahead of the general public. So, if you have someone who can afford to travel to Florida and stay to volunteer for the event, is this so different than the extra $1000?  I wonder if IM will get less volunteers now...


**I do have a whole host of questions about this figure - are these people triathletes because they can afford it, or do are they successful people that naturally gravitate toward IronMan triathlons as a means to workout/compete. Just as there are many Type-A CEOs, I'm sure there are many Type-A athletes.  But that's another topic.


Have an opinion? Question?  Argument?  Leave it below.