it is 6am, i am 59,8kg and packed to go to klagenfurt, austria to take part in ironman austria 2008 race.

i have been preparing for this race since september 2007 so i hope i do not have any kind of technical or bullshit problems. it would be stupid for all the training to go to waste due to tyre issue or something like that.

i feel quite ready: i am strong, light and fast. at less than 60kg i am one of the lightest triathletes and this works for me – less wind resistance and less weight to carry mostly on the run but on the bike too. on the bike i actually might need some weight because the course has some long downhills and with such low weight i have issues getting the speed up.

weight is an issue in this race – most serious triathletes are more or less like models, it is all about weight loss. i am still not able to maintain the proper weight all the year so i have to diet a bit before important races – now i lost about 2,5-3kg during the last month. weight loss is super easy when i am motivated by a big race, otherwise i am lazy about dieting.

i am competing in M30 age groups which includes men between ages 30 and 34. this is the most competitive age group and there are maybe 200-300 men in it. all super ready. even though none of these people are professionals it is very possible that some of them do get in top 10 or 20.

my goal is first to enjoy myself and have fun but as part of motivation i do have goals related to placement and results. first i would like to break my country record which i think will not be a problem as it is quite slow. second i would like to get as close as possible to nine hours. theoretically i could but practice is a totally different ball game. third i would like to qualify for world championships in hawaii and this is a hard one since i need to be top 5 in my age group.

it would be nice to do the ironman hawaii if i manage to qualify. it is an excuse to visit usa again and spend some time over there. maybe a month or two in kona or around. also a bunch of my friends will probably qualify as well so it would be good if we can rent a house for few months. anyway, i am day dreaming. hawaii would be great but its a very very hard goal to reach.

so… in few hours, after a short swim and some packing, i am off to austria. check out my results on sunday afternoon.