Ironman 70.3 Kansas 2014 Triathlon preview

Time is short, I'll get to the point.

Sunday is Ironman 70.3 Kansas.  I've raced this race 5 times (1 DNF due to mechanical issues) and Ironman Boulder 70.3 once.  So, this will be Half Ironman attempt number 7 for me.

After the DNF on the run at IM Texas 2014 in May, I'm careful not to look past a long distance triathlon.  Don't take it for granted relying on "I've done this before", "I've got enough endurance to get to the finish line, so it's ok if I miss workouts or don't have 100 percent to give during a workout".

But, after racing Ironman Lake Tahoe and Ironman Texas, I'm definitely looking forward to "only" 56 miles on the bike and 13.1 miles on the run.  My best time is 5:34 in 2013, and I'd definitely like to do better this year.

Problem is that there is a local half marathon that I've been doing for 5 to 6 years now that is usually the weekend before Kansas. But, this is one of the rare years that they are on the same weekend.  They also broke out the 5k for a Friday night race.

So, I could, if I wanted to, run a 5k Friday night, half marathon Saturday and half Ironman Sunday.  I don't know if I'm stupid enough to do it...

On one hand it would be awesome to get the Hospital Hill Re-Run swag of running the 5k and then Half the next day.  You get a medal for each race and an extra medal for running both... I'm a sucker for hardware I guess.  I'm confident that I have enough endurance in the tank to do all 3, but I'm not sure how my body will react Sunday if I raced them all.

I'm not sure if I could apply my new hammer philosophy to the bike like I have the past two weeks.  I've focused on hard effort on rides keeping upwards of 18.5 mph averages on 1 to 2.5 hour rides, whereas in the past it would be from 16 to 17.5.  I'm determined to get more out of the bike without completely sabotaging the run.

But if I run a 5k and half marathon the day before, what's left on Sunday?

I'm still on the fence.  I'd still love a new half ironman PR or sub 5:30 time, but it would also rock to have a challenge weekend of getting it all in.

Time will tell if I'm stupid daring enough to attempt it.

Stay tuned for the recap.