Hello all, This August, I finished my first Ironman (IMKY) in 12:59:54; now I'm hooked. Sure, maybe it sounds crazy, but I've decided I'd like to work towards qualifying for Kona before I turn 30 (5 yrs). Given that this is my long term goal, I was wondering what shorter-term objectives I should set for myself this year, especially with respect to race selection.

Year after year more and more people really want to make it to the Hawaiian Ironman in Kona, the granddaddy of all Ironmans, the Ironman World Championships. Competition is fierce to secure one of the 1800 coveted spots to the Big Island and the qualification times seem to get faster and faster.

2009: It is tough to imagine a more highly anticipated Hawaii Ironman World Championships than this year, although we seem to say that each year!

Monday 28th September – Triathlon Swim Ace Mark Van Akkeren was knocked off his bike while returning from a training ride on Ali’i Drive around 11:30am. The accident happened as Mark was heading south making a left turn into the driveway of his condo.

Coach Vinnie recently discussed the physical training required to get yourself to the big show in Kona. I want to expand on his comments by discussing some of the other skills you need to develop to help you achieve your Hawaiian Ironman Dream.

Every year a few weeks ahead of Kona all triathletes start to get excited about the big show, wondering if one day they could be a part of the Ironman World Championships as a competitor themselves.

Hmm... :) Over on Slowtwitch