O.M.G.

I've spent the last 6 years or so reading and listening about the exploits of friends and triathlon aquantances racing in far flung destinations. Phil at Ironman Switzerland and New Zealand, Matt going to Kona, Slacko at Ironman Austria and attempting to qualify for Kona; the list goes on. I really enjoy reading about these events and the Tritalk forum is full of tales from guys n' gals heading off to every destination imaginable, usually fairly exotic, warm and fast.  It's now Simon's turn, as in 6 weeks' time he will be taking part in the Alpe D' Huez triathlon. I am very jealous.

It's been an ambition of mine for quite some time to join them and a couple of years ago I was looking at the Norseman as a potential event (still well and truly on my bucket list by the way). However a race like that requires a not inconsiderable amount of spare cash and spare time, two things that have been in short supply in the wheezy household. Until now. :-)

Yes, I could jet off on my own but as this is merely a hobby of mine, leaving the wife and kids at home while I went off and had a holiday and a race on my own would be about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit, so the race or at least the immediate area needs to be family friendly, somewhere where we could all have a good couple of weeks' holiday before or after the event. It also needs to be in the school holidays, which actually rules out quite a few of the European Ironman branded events like Lanza, France etc. But most importantly, the event needs to scare me. I need something that will ensure that I am getting out there, getting the training done. Ultimately that's been my downfall with my triathlon so far this year with the age group qualification from the Dambuster; it just hasn't grabbed me, made me frightened, made me commit. The DW frightens me still, despite three starts, running a sub-3 marathon frightens me and is still tantilisingly out of reach but for whatever reason, the goal of AG qualification has not floated my boat. So, what's out there that would give me a good kick up the backside and get me tri training?

Norseman; Would absolutely LOVE to do this race but a support crew is needed. Another layer of stress and complexity and I don't want Sue to have to do the supporting. One day, but not now.

Ironman Switzerland; Looks fab, heartbreak hill looks immense, big crowds, great venue, sells out in a heartbeat but I would need a third mortgage to race it. With proper training would be a good pb course.

Embrunman. First heard about it properly about a year ago on the IMtalk podcast. OMG. Ironman distance race with a climb of the Col d' Izoard, an absolute monster of an alpine climb on the bike course, regularly seen on LeTour plus quite  a few other lumps en route so it's obviously not a fast course; no pbs here. Now that scares me; it looks genuinely epic. The perfect destination for a family holiday to boot and it's half the price of an mdot race.The clincher is though that Sue thinks it's a pretty good idea too. We are game on.

Words of caution. It's 15 months away. That's a long time. Can I keep motivated and injury free for that long? This race, like the DW, is not the type of event where I could just rock up and bimble my way around  It simply looks too hard and too unforgiving. But bloody hell, I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

Replies.
Hodge; All good mate. :-)