IM Mallorca 2015

zico10

I haven't seen a specific thread for this year's event, so I hope nobody minds me starting one.

This might be a long shot, but I'm just wondering is anybody from these parts was flying over with Ryanair on Wednesday 23rd and coming back with them on Monday 28th?

If so, would you be interested in sharing the cost of hiring a car? A taxi from the airport to Pollentia is very expensive, from what I remember from last year.

MojoMaker

Courdelion is going zico, not sure of the dates though.

Podge83

zico10 wrote: »

I haven't seen a specific thread for this year's event, so I hope nobody minds me starting one.

This might be a long shot, but I'm just wondering is anybody from these parts was flying over with Ryanair on Wednesday 23rd and coming back with them on Monday 28th?

If so, would you be interested in sharing the cost of hiring a car? A taxi from the airport to Pollentia is very expensive, from what I remember from last year.

I know a fella heading over. I'll check his dates etc and mention it to him. He doesn't visit these parts!

peter kern

You could also take the bus to
Alcudia 1 change approx 10 euro

Thanks for sat btw

zico10

peter kern wrote: »

You could also take the bus to
Alcudia 1 change approx 10 euro

Thanks for sat btw

The buses had stopped running by the time I landed last year. Unless they've changed their schedules, I won't be able to get one this year either. Plus I was hoping to recce some of the course in the car as well.

Podge83

zico10 wrote: »

I haven't seen a specific thread for this year's event, so I hope nobody minds me starting one.

This might be a long shot, but I'm just wondering is anybody from these parts was flying over with Ryanair on Wednesday 23rd and coming back with them on Monday 28th?

If so, would you be interested in sharing the cost of hiring a car? A taxi from the airport to Pollentia is very expensive, from what I remember from last year.

Sorry Zico, My man travelling on different dates

zico10

Podge83 wrote: »

Sorry Zico, My man travelling on different dates

Not to worry. Thanks for asking.

bryangiggsy

Best of luck to all tackling this at weekend.

pgibbo

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Best of luck to all tackling this at weekend.

+1....All the best folks

Dory Dory

I have a question that maybe someone knows the answer to. I checked out the slot allocation for Mallorca and noticed that there were two athletes in the female 60-65 category, but that division was given no Kona slots. wtf?? Is this possible?? And the winner of that division came in at 12:49, which in all honesty is a damn good time all things considered.

catweazle

Dory Dory wrote: »

I have a question that maybe someone knows the answer to. I checked out the slot allocation for Mallorca and noticed that there were two athletes in the female 60-65 category, but that division was given no Kona slots. wtf?? Is this possible?? And the winner of that division came in at 12:49, which in all honesty is a damn good time all things considered.

Christ carol you didn't look a day over 40 when i met you, are you scoping out Mallorca for your big 60th next year?

Dory Dory

catweazle wrote: »

Christ carol you didn't look a day over 40 when i met you, are you scoping out Mallorca for your big 60th next year?

Hahahaha. Funny boy.

But feck that!! Why train your @ss off and show up on the day only to be told, "sorry, no one else showed up so you don't get to vie for a chance at Kona even though you've dedicated the last year of your life and sacrificed everything for this one opportunity."

mossym

Dory Dory wrote: »

I have a question that maybe someone knows the answer to. I checked out the slot allocation for Mallorca and noticed that there were two athletes in the female 60-65 category, but that division was given no Kona slots. wtf?? Is this possible?? And the winner of that division came in at 12:49, which in all honesty is a damn good time all things considered.

not sure when the decision is made, but if it was wetsuit optional then wearing one might have ruled them out? unlikely as the slot per AG would have been decided before that call was made

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

I have a question that maybe someone knows the answer to. I checked out the slot allocation for Mallorca and noticed that there were two athletes in the female 60-65 category, but that division was given no Kona slots. wtf?? Is this possible?? And the winner of that division came in at 12:49, which in all honesty is a damn good time all things considered.

I think you must have misread this;
http://cms.ironman.com/sitecore/shell/Controls/Rich%20Text%20Editor/~/media/054A9160F2E04596956220E40BCD6894.ashx
Every single AG for both genders that has even one entry gets a provisional spot before the start of the race. In a situation where you are the only one in your age group racing, then all you need to do is finish to claim the spot.

mossym wrote: »

not sure when the decision is made, but if it was wetsuit optional then wearing one might have ruled them out? unlikely as the slot per AG would have been decided before that call was made

I thought this was the case as well, but I asked at the briefing and 'wetsuit optional' meant exactly that. We weren't precluded from World Chapionship slots for wearing a wetsuit. Despite the warmth of the water yesterday, practically everybody wore a wetsuit. Oddly 'wetsuit optional' wasn't the case for the pros though, who weren't allowed wear wetsuits.

RJM85

zico10 wrote: »

I think you must have misread this;
http://cms.ironman.com/sitecore/shell/Controls/Rich%20Text%20Editor/~/media/054A9160F2E04596956220E40BCD6894.ashx
Every single AG for both genders that has even one entry gets a provisional spot before the start of the race. In a situation where you are the only one in your age group racing, then all you need to do is finish to claim the spot.



I thought this was the case as well, but I asked at the briefing and 'wetsuit optional' meant exactly that. We weren't precluded from World Chapionship slots for wearing a wetsuit. Despite the warmth of the water yesterday, practically everybody wore a wetsuit. Oddly 'wetsuit optional' wasn't the case for the pros though, who weren't allowed wear wetsuits.

Different temp rules for pros. Afaik wetsuits mandatory is less than 18, optional between 18&24, not allowed above. It's the above 24 category that precludes you from wc slots

Dory Dory

Here's the list I saw on the IM Mallorca site (which is still up). Scroll down to number 26.

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/emea/ironman/mallorca/athletes/faqs.aspx#faq26

I certainly hope you're right and this list is not accurate/up-to-date because it left a very bad taste in my mouth when I saw this last night.

Ryath

There is another list on the site that has a place allocated Dory
http://cms.ironman.com/sitecore/shell/Controls/Rich%20Text%20Editor/~/media/054A9160F2E04596956220E40BCD6894.ashx

Dory Dory

Shocking how low female participation is.

zico10

RJM85 wrote: »

Different temp rules for pros. Afaik wetsuits mandatory is less than 18, optional between 18&24, not allowed above. It's the above 24 category that precludes you from wc slots

They reported the water as being 24.4°C on Friday and people chasing a WC slot were allowed wear wetsuits.

My 2c on water temp regulations; would skinny pros, with single digit body fat percentages, not be far less likely to overheat in wetsuits than the majority of AG starters? I don't see why there should be a distinction made between AG and pro.

Dory Dory

zico10 wrote: »

They reported the water as being 24.4°C on Friday and people chasing a WC slot were allowed wear wetsuits.

My 2c on water temp regulations; would skinny pros, with single digit body fat percentages, not be far less likely to overheat in wetsuits than the majority of AG starters? I don't see why there should be a distinction made between AG and pro.

I would imagine it's an attempt to keep the competition as "pure" as possible between the pros since there is money involved.

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

I would imagine it's an attempt to keep the competition as "pure" as possible between the pros since there is money involved.

The water is either too warm for wetsuits or it's not. Ironman seemed to be big into water safety in Mallorca. Rolling starts which destroy the event as a race are supposedly part of this. As far as I'm concerned this and the ruling on wetsuits was pandering to the unprepared. Whatever it took to give the majority of starters the best possible chance of making the already extremely generous cut off time of 2 hours 20 minutes, seemed to be the motivation behind the decision in Mallorca. If safety is really Ironman's chief concern, then you'd think they'd give more consideration to the issue of hard working swimmers overheating in wetsuits.

Dory Dory

zico10 wrote: »

The water is either too warm for wetsuits or it's not. Ironman seemed to be big into water safety in Mallorca. Rolling starts which destroy the event as a race are supposedly part of this. As far as I'm concerned this and the ruling on wetsuits was pandering to the unprepared. Whatever it took to give the majority of starters the best possible chance of making the already extremely generous cut off time of 2 hours 20 minutes, seemed to be the motivation behind the decision in Mallorca. If safety is really Ironman's chief concern, then you'd think they'd give more consideration to the issue of hard working swimmers overheating in wetsuits.

The gal who is helping me prepare for IM Louisville is a pro with plenty of IM experience, so I thought for sh!ts and giggles I'd ask her her opinion of what you wrote to get a pro's perspective. Here's what she wrote back to me:

"Yes it's a safety issue and not for the reasons he thinks. Wetsuits help you float so race organizers would ALWAYS prefer wetsuit legal unless it's too hot where overheating becomes as much of a concern as drowning. As you would expect the worst pro swimmers are still in the top 10% of the best AGers and for pros, wetsuits are an equalizer so the race is more fair if the swim is not wetsuit legal. In other words, if we were strictly talking temperature the cutoff would be the pro temp cutoff because that's truly the temperature where it starts to get too cold. He's definitely right in a way and I agree with him that Ironman seems to be catering to the unprepared. But when's the last time we heard of a well prepared athlete overheating and dying in the swim?"

bryangiggsy

Did u get a slot Zico ?

zico10

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Did u get a slot Zico ?

No, there were no roll downs in my age group. (35-39 and I'm still fncking 34:))
The Ironman gods just don't seem to like me.

But it could be worse. My flatmate who had qualified for Kona, and was all set to fly in three days, came off his bike on a training ride just the day before last. He broke his left collar bone, and now after probably spending the best part of €5,000, he's out of the World Championships.
My problems are small.

bryangiggsy

zico10 wrote: »

No, there were no roll downs in my age group. (35-39 and I'm still fncking 34:))
The Ironman gods just don't seem to like me.

But it could be worse. My flatmate who had qualified for Kona, and was all set to fly in three days, came off his bike on a training ride just the day before last. He broke his left collar bone, and now after probably spending the best part of €5,000, he's out of the World Championships.
My problems are small.

Jaysis that sucks for your roomate.

Mallorca does not seem to be a race to go hunting for a slot. 9.12 and no cigar....Jaysis

zico10

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Jaysis that sucks for your roomate housemate.

FYP.

I don't roll like that.

Mallorca does not seem to be a race to go hunting for a slot. 9.12 and no cigar....Jaysis

It would have been good enough last year and it would have been good enough in every other age group this year.
After safely coming off the descent, it occurred to me that given my strengths and weaknesses, I had picked a stupid course to try qualify from. I was aware of this from last year though, so I knew what I was taking on.

As an aside; PK told me a few weeks ago, if you're not confident of qualifying for Hawaii from any IM race in the world, then you really shouldn't be thinking about going to Hawaii. I have to say I agree with him.

MojoMaker

Desperate luck zico - 10 seconds over 9 and a quarter hours, I'm not sure my head would take that at all.

Mind you I still can't get my head around your dedication and focus over the last year, I have no doubt the big island is in your future somewhere, possibly tantalisingly close. I hope you enjoy Mallorca regardless and have a few days of bliss relaxing and soaking up a beautiful place, you deserve it.

tunney

zico10 wrote: »

No, there were no roll downs in my age group. (35-39 and I'm still fncking 34:))
The Ironman gods just don't seem to like me.

But it could be worse. My flatmate who had qualified for Kona, and was all set to fly in three days, came off his bike on a training ride just the day before last. He broke his left collar bone, and now after probably spending the best part of €5,000, he's out of the World Championships.
My problems are small.

Do roll downs count as qualifying? If you need a roll down then you really shouldn't be going. My 2c

zico10

tunney wrote: »

Do roll downs count as qualifying? If you need a roll down then you really shouldn't be going. My 2c

Did you ever turn down a roll down?

Talk is cheap.

If you wouldn't accept a roll down, then that's your prerogative. But there are lesser triathletes that qualified yesterday than me. I'd have absolutely no problem taking a roll down. There's not too many people who are good enough to be near enough the automatic qualifying slots. If you get to this standard and a slot comes your way, nobody has any right to say you don't deserve it. My 2c

Dory Dory

zico10 wrote: »

Did you ever turn down a roll down?

Talk is cheap.

If you wouldn't accept a roll down, then that's your prerogative. But there are lesser triathletes that qualified yesterday than me. I'd have absolutely no problem taking a roll down. There's not too many people who are good enough to be near enough the automatic qualifying slots. If you get to this standard and a slot comes your way, nobody has any right to say you don't deserve it. My 2c

You've got a robust "amen" on that one from me!!!

tunney

zico10 wrote: »

Did you ever turn down a roll down?

Talk is cheap.

If you wouldn't accept a roll down, then that's your prerogative.

Have I turned down one? No
Would I? Yes, 100% and I've always said the same

I don't want to just go to Kona I want to belong in Kona.

zico10 wrote: »

But there are lesser triathletes that qualified yesterday than me.

But in your Age group no lesser triathlete qualified.

zico10 wrote: »

I'd have absolutely no problem taking a roll down. There's not too many people who are good enough to be near enough the automatic qualifying slots. If you get to this standard and a slot comes your way, nobody has any right to say you don't deserve it. My 2c

Does any one have a right to say you don't deserve it?
You feel strongly a roll down is a valid way to get to Kona and you feel that no one has a right to say you don't deserve it.
I feel strongly that a roll down is not a valid way to get to kona and I feel that no one has a right to claim they do deserve to go on a roll down.

Agree to disagree and a mute point as you didn't get a roll down.

I have had this argument with two of my best friends who went to Kona on roll downs. After a few drinks "but you didn't actually qualify so should you be going?" doesn't go down great.