Oh hi there. I’m back from a few days of feeling very tired. I think that Miami heat melted my brain and sucked a lot more out of me than I had anticipated. As much as I wanted to keep up my mileage through the fatigue, with some recovery of course, and think of Miami as a long training day, my body was not having it. Duh, lesson learned.
I’m not sure if I went into my thought process when I selected Ironman Chattanooga as my first (and possibly only) full ironman distance triathlon. I say “only” because it’s just so much training and money and I may never want to ride my bike again after it’s done. Haha.
Anyway, in looking at my full ironman distance options, I had several to choose from. There’s a full distance in Clermont, Florida. It’s not the M-dot brand but it is a nice course and an easy to get to location. It is, however, extremely hilly and lacks the pomp and circumstance I was looking for. Yes, I want lots of spectators and a big to do. I can’t help it. I dismissed this one pretty quickly.
My other options were Ironman Florida (obviously) and the newly announced Ironman Chattanooga. In discussing with the S.O., we put together a spreadsheet, and included Ironman Mont-Tremblant as we’d heard it’s amazing but it was sort of a long shot already in my mind.
On the spreadsheet I listed as many deciding factors as I could think of: bike course, distance to travel, venue, run course, swim course, cost to travel, etc. I even included things such as: chances of family spectating and time off work needed. Then, and this is where the S.O. is a genius, we chose a scale of one to three and numbered each factor based on favorability. One, being most favorable and three least favorable. Make sense?
Ironman Chattanooga won out. It didn’t win by a huge margin but it scored points for a river swim (I prefer fresh water so much more), moderately hilly bike (which I surprisingly prefer), and location. It’s close enough in proximity to be easy to get to but it’s also in a venue that feels like a vacation/destination race. The fact that Meghan registered too was also a big bonus.
Sure, I probably would have come to this decision without a big, old spreadsheet but seeing it in black and white helped me organize my thoughts and pull the trigger on registration day.
The more I hear of the Chattanooga course, the more excited I become. I know it’s going to be challenging but I don’t think any ironman distance triathlon course is considered easy. It is, after all, 140.6 miles.
Have you ever used a spreadsheet to make a decision? How’s your week going?
Yay for numbers! I am actually slightly concerned that I picked a new race for my first 70.3. It would be nice to have the pomp and circumstance with an "official" Iron Man race, but it didn't work out as well time wise, money wise, or location wise. Oh well!
Spreadsheets are my life. I use them far more than any normal person would.
You are a kindred spirit! Spreadsheets are a must.
I am embracing spreadsheets as I get older, although I wish I was better and making up my own!
Hah! I am a financial analyst so I use spreadsheets to decide everything!
It sounds like you chose the right race! I chose IM CDA because my husband said that Mike Reilly (who Mike works with at ACTIVE Network) said it was his second favorite Ironman other than Lake Placid. And since Lake Placid is SO far from San Diego, we chose CDA. We almost did Arizona but we didn't want to spend the entire summer training and the course is boring apparently. CDA was a challenging course for my first (and only) but I wouldn't have changed a thing!
That last comment was me – Nicole 🙂
My whole job is spreadsheet decision making
This remind me of my husband so much. He usees spreadsheets for everything! Me, I'm more of a pro/con list maker. I like pen to paper to help me make decisions
That is awesome that you created a spreadsheet. I use them all the time to make decisions and figure out costs. I use a massive spreadsheet that I got online from another blogger to keep track of all my running, training, and races. I've used them for personal decisions and as an accountant, of course I use them every day.
Yes, . I've used spreadsheets to make decisions. I not only rate options against various factors like you did, but I also taste the factors (sometimes some are more important than others). Overkill? Maybe, but at least then I have a good sense of my rationale for the decision!
Love spreadsheets! Your S.O.'s a guy that thinks like me, organizing a spreadsheet with all the variables and assigning values to each. Did he assign weights to them too to show relative importance?
I'll soon be moving near Clermont, and I would have come out to cheer for you and Meghan if you were there. (And, p.s., Clermont may be hilly for Florida, but obviously, you don't know hills!)
Congrats on committing to racing ANY Ironman! That's a daunting challenge! But your track record of conquering daunting challenges is unblemished, and I'm sure Chattanooga will be another amazing victory for you.
Rick Stiles
I only like my tri spreadsheet to log all my training 🙂 Chattanooga sounds like an awesome race! You're gonna have a blast… and, then sign up for number two 😉
Ironman really is a game changer. Once you've established badass status there is no going back. Get a big tattoo, then start planning your next one.
Chatt is an incredible destination. you're in for a real treat. I wish I had been able to get in there too!
I use spreadsheets for everything. Sassy Spreadsheets for the win.