Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains : Official Thread (Page 2)

The Race Director posted this in a comment on their Facebook page:  Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains Hi Nikki - Point to point meaning the swim start and exit will be two different places at Smithfield (not a loop). Start will be upstream and the swim exit will be downstream. Thanks.

Hmmm... so I guess this means we'll be walking upstream for 1/2 a mile?  Which is no biggie. 

I have done plenty of IM branded events and they are always very well run. I suppose it helps justify the higher prices. I am confident that IM will be working closely with the director and make sure things go smoothly on race day. That said, it will be the first so I would not be surprised if some tweaking is done last minute or next year.

Just go with the flow!

Hi all. New to Tri and this is my first race. Am just curious about hotels as well. Do you need it for Sunday night? What goes on on Sunday after the race? If you run a 5-6 hour race what time do you finish? Just trying to get a fell for the event. I already planned on coming in on Friday evening but not sure if I should be staying Sunday night

Thanks

I'm kind of in the same boat. Timberman will be my first HIM and I feel like I will learn a lot from it that I can put into practice at Poconos. A lot of my friends are doing this race as well. I'm reluctant to pull the trigger though. I may wait until Timberman. Hope it doesn't sell out.

Dream Chaser, 

Can you pm me with hotel info also?  The sad thing is I went to college in East Stroudsburg but at the time didn't care too much about the condition of the hotels :p

Thanks!!

So some new questions. I have checked out the bike map and elevation profile. It looks to be rolling with no major hills (3%max?). Anyone ridden it? Anyone know what total elevation for course might be?

Also, regarding the swim anyone have an idea of water temp in Oct?

Thanks,

I plugged it into mapmyride:

About 1,700 feet of elevation gain.  Obviously I didn't do something quite right, because I'm a few miles off on the distance, but it's close enough.

For comparison, the Olympic I did in Morgantown, WV two weeks ago had 2,750 feet of climbing.  I survived, but man, that was tough.  I'd say compared to that, the Poconos route looks like a nice rolling route. =]

How long is your drive home?  Do you want to have horribly stiff cramped and sore legs and muscles for the next week?  Stay Sunday night, enjoy yourself, relax, get in a nice recovery spin or swim and keep your muscles moving.  Sitting in a cramped space for several hours right after a race doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

revised swim course was updated today, looks like .3 miles upstream, let's hope there isn't any major rains days prior to the event.  http://www.ironmanpoconomountains.com/sites/default/maps/swim2011.pdf

I was there early Saturday morning and the current barely moved then again we haven't had rain for days.

Also may be riding the bike course early Saturday morning if anyone is interested.

OK. So I feel like I am getting into crunch time here. This is my first so not really sure where crunch time is but feels like now. I still don't have a wet suit. I tried finding a shop but it seems almost impossible unless you leave near the beach.

Soooo can y'all learn me some wetsuit basic needs? I know that I will use it at least twice as have also signed up for IM CdA

Thanks,

Try Xterra.  They have fairly detailed sizing chart of their site.  If it doesn't fit, you can return it.  Sleeveless is only $99...I've used mine 3 times so far and I'm very happy with it.

Excellent point.  I'm going with what I've got since I'm cheap.

Thanks all. I had planned on going full as I expect the water temp to be a bit cold in Pocono and also the other one I planned is the IM Couer d'Alene and this year the water temp there was 55F! Besides arent you pulling the top of the wetsuit out as you start running out of the water? Does a sleveless really save you much if any time in transition compared to energysaved and possible increase in swim time?

Just a couple quick things, I did 45 of the 56 bike miles two weekends ago and I was pleased with the route, rolling terrain is the best way to describe it.  Any of the climbs if you want to call them are short and not too steep.  The worst was on Turkey Hill Rd which will be towards the last 1/3 of the course.  Very scenic with lots of woods, the roads were ok you just have to pay attention not to hit the minor cracks, holes and bumps. 

Now for the bigger question, has anyone heard the rumor that this will be pushed back to May/June of 2012? My wife will kill me if I need to start training again come Jan.

Where did you hear that?  If people were complaining so much about training on the exact bike course, I can't imagine what reaction that would get from the masses.