Calculate your Ironman qualifier age equivalent

Often people search to express their fitness or healthfullness by using an age equivalent. You take some random test that says you have the body of 29 year old and you are 44. You feel great about the results, at least momentarily. What if you wanted to know your Qualified for Kona age equivalent?

This is an age test to see how you compare to age group athletes who are going to the big island.

Step One. Complete Ironman qualifying race.
Step Two. Pull results of only Hawaii Qualifiers from your race, sorting by total time.
Step Three. Look down the finishing times in order. Stop when you get to when to the gap where you time fits within the qualifier's finish time.
Step Four. Use the next sex appropriate Qualifier's Age Group to determine your Kona age equivalent.

As expected this is not a super precise measurement system as it can only give you an age range, not a specific year. In this fitness model my 35 year old body can only generate a Ironman Qualifying performance equal to that of a man 70-74 years old.

Time to get back to the gym. :)

"13:16, Eric Brandt you are an IRONMAN."

Well it took a year of training and it all came together in one long Sunday 4/9/2006 in Tempe AZ. I have a lot of stories to tell but I guess I'm still resting. My biggest thanks goes to my wife, who supported, prodded, encouraged and helped me make the dream a reality. Did I mention Ironman triathlons make you tired and sore? Whew!

Spectator Race Timing for Eric's Race

7:00 swim start, variation
7:30 swim under Rural ± 5
8:15 swim exit, Transition 1, T1 ±10
10:10 start 2nd bike lap ± 15
12:05 start 3rd bike lap ± 20
2:00 bike exit, Transition 2, T2 ± 25
3:20 start 2nd run lap ± 30
4:50 start 3rd run lap ± 35
6:20 FINISH! ± 40

Now I can just kick back and wait for 7am Sunday.

Test Swim in Tempe Town Lake

I took some time this morning to try out my Xterra Vortex wetsuit in Tempe Town Lake. The suit is nice, it floats my legs well and feels slippery in the water. Water was dark but the sky was clear, no chaffing of the suit or fogging of the goggles. Now what have I forgot, I guess I still have a couple of days of worry left. This is going to be fun.

Bib number 756

I am getting used to being referred to as a number. For those who want to follow the race online or on their phone, check out Ironmanlive.com and the cool Connect feature that allows real time tracking.

A small task from a friend

I was recently reminded of a email from my friend and Ironman hopeful, Andy #1493.

It was dated April 11th, 2005 a Microsoft Outlook Task that simply read "Ironman 2006".

I wrote back to Andy and commented, "... For me the initial fitness will be the hardest, once I have some momentum, I think I can sustain it. This race is too good to let the opportunity pass by. I accept. -Eric"

Looking back a year later, I sure am glad Andy sent me that task. Andy has been the best training partner, a great motivator and a solid sounding board that an Ironman hopeful could have.

Thanks Andy.

Funny and surprising Ironman occupations

When you register you get the opportunity to list your occupation. It seems that that participants have a good sense of humor and some interesting occupations. See the list at this link.

Get real and get to the finish.

I re-read the post I wrote regarding finshing times. I need to get a bit more practical, the cycling leg, is my strength. I can't go out and do 23mph on the flats and expect a decent run. Mostly because it is not just a run, but a marathon. My longest run is 20 miles and this is another 10K further. If anything I need to conserve energy and try to squeeze as much out of my fat metabolism by backing off the pace and paying attention to my Heart Rate. I need to get to the finish, qualifying for Kona is a separate dream to be fulfilled later. Maybe after I have run some good quality mileage and can get to 7 minute/mile pacing. That could easily take another year or more to acheive. It is good to have future goals, one does not want to meet all your expectations on a single day, if you do your dream clearly was not big enough."