Belgium Update

Still no decision. I have until Friday. At this juncture I am leaning towards racing it. I don't really know how I can pass up this opportunity. I have to decide by Friday if I am going to register or not. That is $300 up front. Unless I find a compelling reason to change my mind, I am going to register on Friday and that will buy me a seat on the bus. I can always pull out if I don't feel like I can do it. Worst case scenario, I am out $300. I think that is the easier route than regretting it a month later and not being able to do anything about it.

While I am grateful for the opportunity, I am also fortunate in that I have a few good resources at my disposal. My friend Dan has raced with Team USA twice before and is an elite athlete himself. So I am frequently picking his brain about things. Also, I have access to a number of other people who raced with them in the past few years. At the least, I can say that I am going to make a very informed decision.

I spent part of my time at the beach this past weekend talking to coaches about the race. While they ALL said go for it, each one shivered at the thought of racing the distance. Yeah...me too. But they did reconfirm what I suspected....I will have to hire a coach if I want to be competitive at both the World Championships AND Ironman Florida. I can handle the IM FL training. I have my plan laid out. But I don't have the expertise to structure it so that I can properly train and recover for Worlds then turn around for Ironman 10 weeks later. So there is another expense.

And finally, the trip is going to be expensive. In all likelihood, if I choose to go to Belgium then I will not be buying a house in the next 4-5 months. It simply can't happen. I am coming to terms with that notion. Fortunately, I don't think the housing market is about to change anytime soon so I can postpone that decision to the first of the year.

So really the only thing holding me back right now is the cost. Here is what I estimate based on the information I have thus far:

Flight: $1200
Hotel Package: $1000
Event Registration: $300
Race Apparel: $200
Coaching: $900
Misc/Tourism: $500
Total: $4100

That is a lot of money and a pretty conservative budget. I think I can save a few hundred dollars here and there. But I feel for every penny I save I will get hit with another one. For instance, I didn't factor in shipping my bike or extra luggage.