What to do with $1000?

This post isn’t about the Ironman Access program. At least not directly. (See my other post for those thoughts.)

This post IS about the $1000 fee that came with the program and what other options I have for spending that amount of money to make myself a better triathlete - if I had $1000 lying beneath my mattress.

To be honest, $1000 is a tight budget.

(Apparently triathletes earn $175,000 and spend $22,000 of that on endurance ‘stuff’ each year, according to a K-Swiss marketing guy recently quoted by The New York Times. He wasn’t talking about me.)

So what could I do with $1000?

I could buy new cycling shoes, a new helmet and perhaps Rotor rings. I need the shoes and the helmet – the rings would be bling. I’ve looked at the rings for two years but the $400 or so for them is hard for me to justify.

Still, it’s hard to resist some bling as a triathlete.

I could buy some new cycling jerseys and some fall/winter running clothes. A ‘cheap’ jersey costs $50 and a ‘normal’ one about $100. I haven’t priced any long sleeve jerseys or any clothing from Assos (Swiss cycling gear for the rich).

What else could I do with $1000?

My tri club, provincial tri card, masters swim pass and pool pass take $400.

I could hire a coach for a few months, but certainly not a year. So do I hire one now or wait til six months leading to my key race? It’s the work that I do now and in the next few months that will determine how I perform next summer.

I could sign up for one 70.3 and one Ironman race. That’s about $900. Or I could just about buy a charity spot at an Ironman event. Ah right, Ironman races are completely sold out a year in advance. So 2012?

It’s hard for me to think about the 2012 season when I’m recovering from 2010 and trying to plan 2011.

I decided not to sign up for Ironman Canada 2011 after two tough races there. I did get an online spot in 2009 and qualified for this year’s event.

If I chose to try to qualify for next year, then I’d need to race one or two events in either June or July. A weekend away to race one of those events would cost about $500 – very conservatively.

It would appear that $1000 doesn’t go so far in this sport and that's my point - though it's not like I, or you, didn't already know that.

Here are some basic prices from the SBR Multisport website.

A Cervelo P1 is listed at $1699, the basic P3 goes for $3599 and the top P4 goes for $12,499.

A SRM ‘standard’ power metre would set you back $2894.95. The highest price one here is $3994.95.

How about some race wheels? A Zipp Sub 9 Tubular Disc is a cool $2074.95.

The Assos Fugu Cycling Jacket: $639.95.

Or I could put a downpayment on a CompuTrainer Pro Model: $437.25 plus $108.25 a month for the next year. A smart idea given that fall has arrived and the forecast is for a lot of snow this winter.

My point here is that it’s easy – very easy – to spend a lot of money fast in this sport.

For me, everything I do in the sport involves competing within my means.

Still that hasn’t slowed me down. It hasn't stopped others from becoming pros.

Money doesn't translate into consistent hard work and you can't buy determination.