Racing plans IM in the works?

Looking at my race calendar and our life calendar it seems we will be in Cedar City until next August. Now Cedar is a pretty sweet place to train esp with the escape to St George in the winter to bike bc the running here is awesome weather wise. Going to Vegas or Salt Lake for a 1/2 ends up being a 300 dollar weekend though with the hotel (camping is nil) and gas. IM St George suits me and gives me a shot at a Pro Card which I so desperately want.

So last year the top AGer was a ski world record holder looking for a pro card and the second guy is an ex top 5 IM pro who is 40. Given that the time for a top three is a 9:41 or a 9:35 first, and then it jumps to a 10:01. This year was also cool and calm winds (which a lot of people would be suprised to hear).

Ben Hoffman raced a 4:53 for the bike loop. Give him 2 minutes per 10 miles and that puts me at a 5:15 bike since I have biked with him and only lost 15 seconds on him in a sprint of 10 miles. The best AG was a 5:08. I think at 1 minute over 5 miles has got to be possible for me esp given the course. 21.3 mph even on a tough course just does not seem that daunting given the long rides I would need.

Give me a 1:05 with a 5:15 bike I really think I can hit 7:30's on the run bc that has been my breakdown pace lately which may be my best training development recently. With 6 min worth of T1+2 that puts me at a 9:42:45. I would be gambling that those big names like chesney or hola show up and I think that is gonna be the case as the race has not filled yet.

I will keep you all updated about how this goes. The other thing is that as of Oct 15 I will be a stay at home dad again until next April it looks like. The job market in Cedar is terrible but the wife is teaching at Southern Utah Univeristy so she is getting a TON of experience so I need something to get me through the winter bc my personality is like that of someone getting a PhD. Any comments would be welcome or any advice from my training. I plan to do a 2 month swim/weights block and get in some big running miles while keeping the engine on the bike reving but not worrying about many miles. Mostly 40 min workouts and then the long rides until spring. I also HAVE to get to 162 pounds. If I get there then watch out. My 182 from last august to 167 now is crazy awesome but now every pound feels like my run is gonna break through especially if I can fuel properly instead of being hungry all the time.