Getting In

It would have been nice to end my 2010 season, taken some time to reflect on my accomplishments and then decide to move forward to pursue longer distance races. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of time in making my decision. I had decided on IM Wisconsin prior to racing my first 70.3, but I wouldn't be able to register until the day after my last race of 2010.

There are a few ways to get into an upcoming Ironman. The first is to race in the current year. Those participants get the first shot at registering for next year's race. The second way in is to volunteer at the event. They are the next ones with a chance to register. The third wave is anyone on site at the race. Those slots open up the day after the race. Yes, there are stories of people who travel cross country just to register a year out from the race of their choice. Lastly, if there are any slots still available they will be available online the day after the race. Some races tend to sell out on site meaning they never make it online. Others make it online but only for a few hours at most, and some just don't fill right away.

All of this means that I had to do plenty of research and figure out when and where I would try to race. Choosing a September race would give me exactly a year to train and get ready. It would be right at the end of summer vacation for Joan which would help make things easier on us as I hit the bulk of my training. It was also a race in the midwest which would make it easier for my family to get to. Everything was in place once my decision was made. My plan was to race the Delaware Diamondman half IM distance race, see how it went and then I'd have to make my choice that day. Registration for Wisconsin opened the next afternoon.

Joan and I talked it over on the ride home, and I think her seeing some of the finishers at Diamondman convinced her that this was my next step. Diamondman got her excited about the whole thing and we decided this was my one shot.* Everything was set and all I had to do was go online at 1:00 EST the next day, sign up and I would be in.

I'm pretty neurotic when it comes to buying concert tickets when they go on sale, so I applied my same practices here. Log in to active.com before registration opens, check. Update credit card and profile information on my account, check. Confirm the time registration opened, check. Click the refresh button until I got the registration screen, check.

For some reason signing up for IM falls somewhere between applying for a new job and filling out mortgage paperwork. They want to know everything about you. The whole time I was thinking, "Can't I pay and register first, then I'll give you all this useless information." But hey, their rules so I had no choice. As I made it further and further things really slowed down. I finally made it to the payment screen and it wouldn't load. Then it happened.... nothing was working. I got kicked out of the registration process and had to start over.

Keeping cool, I made it through the interview and bio page again already knowing my answers, but I wasn't feeling great. How many slots were still available online? When will this close? I hit the next button and was kicked out again. Now I couldn't even launch the registration. Refresh. Refresh. And then a new page I hadn't seen before and dreaded:

"Registration for this event is now closed."

My 2011 season was over before it started. I was crushed and didn't know what to do. My only other chance would be an IM foundation slot - a slot that takes an expensive race entry fee and boosts it to insanely expensive (although a portion is tax deductible). I couldn't justify doing that. I was done. There was no way this was happening. At first I said, "I don't believe this" but that quickly turned to, "No, really. I don't believe this." I was on a high speed connection with more bandwidth than anyone else could have had. If I couldn't get in how did anyone else?

They didn't. Demand outdid supply and active.com came to a screeching halt all because of one race. Ironman.com confirmed as much and said that a new registration date would be posted soon. This was a blessing and a curse. It affirmed my suspicions, but it also told everyone the same thing. Getting in would be even harder once it re-opened on the following Wednesday. The day came, I got in, registered, printed my confirmation and receipt and that was it. Actually, the whole thing was kind of anti-climatic. I felt like the printer should have produced some kind of golden ticket, but no, to active.com this was really no different than registering for your local 5k albeit slightly more expensive.

So, that is how IM Wisconsin 2011 began - as a race to get in. Registration closed about 30 minutes after opening and roughly 2,500 people were now committed to a race 360 days away. I was lucky enough to be one of them.

*People ask me "Is this your first Ironman?" and before I have a chance to respond Joan interrupts and says, "No, this is his only Ironman."