just out of curiosity, where did the 17 hr cutoff for IM originate?
was it just from sunrise until the day officially ended?

I liked the point that Badwater has become just another "have to" race. Love it. 15hr cut-off? That's fine. 17hrs is so generous you only need to do a 3:00per 100m pace swim, avg 14mph on the bike, "run" a 15:00 per mile marathon, [i]and[/i] spend 15 minutes in T1 and another 15 minutes in T2 and you'll meet the 17 cutoff. Don't take my word for it. Plug those numbers into a calculator and you'll see you even have time to freshen-up for the, ahem, "Finisher" photo.

http://www.chicagotriclub.com/pacecalc.aspx

Japan has a 15hr cutoff, Germany has 16hrs, and Arizona has a 13hr cutoff. You didn't know that, trimom? Better HTFU.

[quote=Anton]folks who bash their heads trying to get the 1 slot available, in their AG at their 70.3[/quote]

For example, "Ooooh, I can qualify for Kona at a half? In flat ol' Lubbock (Texas, Buffalo Springs)?! Easy. Low-hanging fruit."

Uhm, not so much.

[quote=TriSooner] Arizona has a 13hr cutoff. You didn't know that, trimom? Better HTFU.

[/quote]

Just LMFAO! Seriously, hilarious :)

[quote=Anton][quote=jtrimom][quote=TriSooner] Arizona has a 13hr cutoff. You didn't know that, trimom? Better HTFU.

[/quote]

Just LMFAO! Seriously, hilarious :)
[/quote]
And there is some sort of issue with the swim...[/quote]

I wish you all could come motivate (read: shout and curse at) me during my IM :)

I love you people. It's hard to find people that can ridicule IM cut off times at all. People keep telling me to get over my frustration with missing my HIM goal time by 3 min, and that "finishing is the point" and it's not that I disagree but finishing fast is even cooler! Personally, no interest in Boston, but running the Rim to Rim on the Grand Canyon is a must.

Ugh, I'm terrified right now. I have a 3:15 marathon PR and I'm 2 weeks into a training program that will bring me (hopefully) to a 3:05 marathon in April. I have this really sinking feeling that they are going to drop men to 3 hours even and I just really don't know if I can muster a sub 3 marathon.

On the other side of the coin - this is totally fueling up my competitive urges to alter my training for a 2:59 plan, I mean why the hell not? I'm strong. I'm in better shape right now than I've ever been, I'm healthy and I have a training partner who can crank out a 2:55 with the flu....

In other words, if they drop it to 3 hours and I still get in, I'm totally in favor of the stiffer times because it pushed me to be even better. If they drop it and I land the 3:05 I'm going to whine for weeks!

[quote=jnrice]but running the Rim to Rim on the Grand Canyon is a must. [/quote]

FWIW, I hiked from rim-to-rim-to-rim (Kaibab out and Bright Angel back) and it's about 50 miles. Took me five days, solo, with a 50lb pack. And I hated every minute of it. Running it would be extreme. Even by IM, Badwater, or Leadville standards, running rim-to-rim-to-rim is sick. I'd be more likely to try to run it vs. try to hike it again with a giant Sherpa load. Too bad the NPS (Natl Park Service) probably won't sanction a race.

[quote=StephenPDennis]
On the other side of the coin - this is totally fueling up my competitive urges to alter my training for a 2:59 plan, I mean why the hell not?[/quote]
Was that a rhetorical question? If not, the reason why not is because dropping time when you are nearing your max potential is hard. The ROI curve becomes really steep. An extra 10 miles per week used to drop 15 minutes off your PR, but now you need an extra 20 for twice as many weeks to drop 5 minutes.

If that wasn't rhetorical, then "you're right!" Get out of bed and go for it. No reason to be satisfied with mediocrity. Make it hurt, and then come back for more!

[quote=TryScott]
... because dropping time when you are nearing your max potential is hard. The ROI curve becomes really steep. [/quote]

That's it exactly - I won't know where the max potential is until I get there! 70 mile weeks here I come!

[quote=StephenPDennis]
That's it exactly - I won't know where the max potential is until I get there! 70 mile weeks here I come!
[/quote]

If you haven't hit 70 mile weeks, you definitely don't know where your max potential is :)

[quote=TriSooner][quote=jnrice]but running the Rim to Rim on the Grand Canyon is a must. [/quote]

FWIW, I hiked from rim-to-rim-to-rim (Kaibab out and Bright Angel back) and it's about 50 miles. Took me five days, solo, with a 50lb pack. And I hated every minute of it. Running it would be extreme. Even by IM, Badwater, or Leadville standards, running rim-to-rim-to-rim is sick. I'd be more likely to try to run it vs. try to hike it again with a giant Sherpa load. Too bad the NPS (Natl Park Service) probably won't sanction a race. [/quote]

can not wait to do this! I'd much rather do it in one day than five though!

[quote=TryScott]
If that wasn't rhetorical, then "you're right!" Get out of bed and go for it. No reason to be satisfied with mediocrity. Make it hurt, and then come back for more![/quote]

TryScott, I love you man!

[quote=TriSooner][quote=jnrice]but running the Rim to Rim on the Grand Canyon is a must. [/quote]

FWIW, I hiked from rim-to-rim-to-rim (Kaibab out and Bright Angel back) and it's about 50 miles. Took me five days, solo, with a 50lb pack. And I hated every minute of it. Running it would be extreme. Even by IM, Badwater, or Leadville standards, running rim-to-rim-to-rim is sick. I'd be more likely to try to run it vs. try to hike it again with a giant Sherpa load. Too bad the NPS (Natl Park Service) probably won't sanction a race. [/quote]

Damn NPS, they have to be bad for something. ;) However, it would be nice to have other people out there when i try this. I'll post invites on here when I get to it in ohhh... about 10 years.

I've lurked here from time to time, but if anyone's interested, we're shooting for a late-April, early-May Rim to Rim to Rim (or whatever you like). Last year we had about 50 people. Some run it, some hike it, some do something in between.

Open to anyone and everyone. Just plan to have fun and get a h*ll of a workout. :)

Details here (yep, we made a FB Group): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=181211258683

-John

[img]http://www.trifuel.com/files/gc-crack.jpg[/img]