Announcement!I will be racing in Ironman Germany next year, and this race will be my primary target in 2010 and all my focus will be on peaking on the 4th of July 2010.
Why have I chosen this race?
1) This is a qualification race for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
2) After doing Ironman Nice this year, I was looking for a race with a fast course. I wanted a fast, fairly flat bike course, where I can really show off my bike skills, and aim for the best bike split in the field and perhaps even a new bike course record, which will ground for an overall time of sub 8:25hrs.
3) I wanted to do an official Hawaii qualification race as close to Denmark as possible so the travel expenses and the total costs would be at a minimum.
4) Ironman Germany is also the European Championships on the Ironman distance. The title as European Champion may not be a prestige one, but a European Championship Age-Group title doesn’t hurt ;-)
5) The race is on the 4th of July, which gives me enough time to recover to Hawaii and be 100% in the start of October. And I should also be ready for the Danish Long Distance Triathlon Championships 5 weeks later, which is raced on the 70.3 distance.
6) We needed to find a race in which my brother Andreas also would have a decent chance of qualifying for Hawaii.
7) Germany is really full a triathlon passionate people. I have done Ostseeman twice and Hannover 70.3 once and the atmosphere have just been amazing. Plenty of spectators to cheer you one and the races are very well organized and in general at a very high level.
8) Usually the Pro field is at a very high standard. Top class triathletes like Timo Bracht, Terenzo Bozzone, Chris McCormack, Eneko Llanos, Andreas Raelert, Faris Al-Sultan were there last year and I have a strong feeling, that the 2010 field will be at a even higher standard… ;-) And I definitely look forward to walking around in the transition zone next to these guys.
What are my top and sub goals for Ironman Germany?
1) Top Goal: To achieve the best possible time on the conditions available to me on race day. I know that I will be capable of a sub 8:25hrs, but there is a long time to race day, and a lot of things can go wrong prior to the race. I also have to acknowledge that I can have a bad day, but if my nutrition and hydration goes as planned, then I really can’t see what should stop me from going sub 8:25hrs. And that goal is really the only one that I can control. Whether or not my time will be good enough for an Age-Group victory or even a Top position including the Pro’s is not important as a starting point. I can’t control that, and things I can’t control, I won’t spend energy focusing on. I will focus on the things that I can control, and then the sub goals will be more realistic.
2) Top Goal: I want to qualify for the World Championships in Hawaii. I should have quite a good time buffer, and anytime sub 9hrs should be more than enough to secure a race slot.
3) Sub Goal: I want to win my Age-Group. That will obviously also give me a race slot to Hawaii.
4) Sub Goal: I want to have the fastest bike split.
5) Sub Goal: I want to run sub 3:00hrs.
At a later stage I will answer the following questions among others concerning my 2010 season:
- What other races in 2010 will I be racing?
- What will be my top and sub goals in 2010?
- How will I achieve these goals?
Why have I chosen this race?
1) This is a qualification race for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
2) After doing Ironman Nice this year, I was looking for a race with a fast course. I wanted a fast, fairly flat bike course, where I can really show off my bike skills, and aim for the best bike split in the field and perhaps even a new bike course record, which will ground for an overall time of sub 8:25hrs.
3) I wanted to do an official Hawaii qualification race as close to Denmark as possible so the travel expenses and the total costs would be at a minimum.
4) Ironman Germany is also the European Championships on the Ironman distance. The title as European Champion may not be a prestige one, but a European Championship Age-Group title doesn’t hurt ;-)
5) The race is on the 4th of July, which gives me enough time to recover to Hawaii and be 100% in the start of October. And I should also be ready for the Danish Long Distance Triathlon Championships 5 weeks later, which is raced on the 70.3 distance.
6) We needed to find a race in which my brother Andreas also would have a decent chance of qualifying for Hawaii.
7) Germany is really full a triathlon passionate people. I have done Ostseeman twice and Hannover 70.3 once and the atmosphere have just been amazing. Plenty of spectators to cheer you one and the races are very well organized and in general at a very high level.
8) Usually the Pro field is at a very high standard. Top class triathletes like Timo Bracht, Terenzo Bozzone, Chris McCormack, Eneko Llanos, Andreas Raelert, Faris Al-Sultan were there last year and I have a strong feeling, that the 2010 field will be at a even higher standard… ;-) And I definitely look forward to walking around in the transition zone next to these guys.
What are my top and sub goals for Ironman Germany?
1) Top Goal: To achieve the best possible time on the conditions available to me on race day. I know that I will be capable of a sub 8:25hrs, but there is a long time to race day, and a lot of things can go wrong prior to the race. I also have to acknowledge that I can have a bad day, but if my nutrition and hydration goes as planned, then I really can’t see what should stop me from going sub 8:25hrs. And that goal is really the only one that I can control. Whether or not my time will be good enough for an Age-Group victory or even a Top position including the Pro’s is not important as a starting point. I can’t control that, and things I can’t control, I won’t spend energy focusing on. I will focus on the things that I can control, and then the sub goals will be more realistic.
2) Top Goal: I want to qualify for the World Championships in Hawaii. I should have quite a good time buffer, and anytime sub 9hrs should be more than enough to secure a race slot.
3) Sub Goal: I want to win my Age-Group. That will obviously also give me a race slot to Hawaii.
4) Sub Goal: I want to have the fastest bike split.
5) Sub Goal: I want to run sub 3:00hrs.
At a later stage I will answer the following questions among others concerning my 2010 season:
- What other races in 2010 will I be racing?
- What will be my top and sub goals in 2010?
- How will I achieve these goals?
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