Iowa Pigman 1/2 ironman Aug. 2005

I did the Iowa Pigman half in 2004. It was my first half-ironman and a wonderful experience. Good support from volunteers and race staff. Aid stations were well stocked . . . even towards the end where I was. The bike course was a pretty hilly -- yes, Iowa does have hills and while they were mostly rolling, I found that they bottomed out enough that I didn't have much momentum to pull me up the next hill. The run is very flat except for a few tiny hills in the state park and a big monster hill at mile 11. The run course is a little boring (in my mind) and is not shaded at all. It is out and back which is nice, but the scenery doesn't change much.

Make sure you wear lots of sunscreen. I would even suggest reapplying it before the run. I hurt more from the sunburn than anything else after the race.

The race was good enough that I would gladly do it again . . . but I'm training for IM Wisconsin, so I don't think Pigman is going to fit into the schedule this year.

If you have other specific questions, let me know. I'd be glad to help.

Thanks for your input. It's nice to have somebody who's experienced it give their take.
Living in Nebraska I'm well aware of the myth
of no hills. Good luck in IM Wisconsin!


Thom

I did Pigman in 2004. It was a well run and well organized race. Swim was done in wave starts. Bike was hilly but nice. Transitions were set up well. The only thing I didn't like was the run, too open and boring. We had a nice day with temps in the low 80's. If it had been a hot and humid day (like 2003) the run would have been brutal with such and open coarse and no shade. Something else you need to be prepared for is water temps above 78F and no wetsuits.

What was the water temps the last couple of years??? Just curious.

Thanks,

Thom Carson

Not sure what the other years have been. But it is a lake and if we have a warm summer the lake could be above 78 by mid-Aug. and wetsuits would not be allowed. I trained with this in mind last year by doing several open water swims without a wetsuit. I am not a fast swimmer but I can do the distance (did IMFL in 2004). I just wanted to feel comfortable swimming the distance without a wetsuit.
Is this your first 1/2 IM? And how do you tolerate training/racing in the heat and humidity? If heat and humidity is a problem and you are not a confident swimmer without a wetsuit at this distance then you may want to consider looking for another 1/2 IM. Just my opinion. However, if you prepare yourself for the conditions you should do fine.

Thx.

I appreciate the input. I don't generally have a problem with heat
and humidity. I live in eastern NE and generally do most of my
training in the afternoon and evening (not a morning person).
Heat and humidity has never been a real issue with me in fact
give me 90 and humid over colder weather any day.
I am not a super confident swimmer with or without wetsuit but
feel confident that given the time I could prepare adequately.
I was just curious.

Thanks again,
Thom

Last year was an "abnormally" cool pigman. Normally, it tends to run in the 90's w/ high humidity. Still it's a good race.

Good luck!

Lingphd...

I'm putting together a list of IMWI participants for 2005. Do you mind if I add you to the list?

Thanks,