Where is everyone? Let's talk next season! (Page 3)

Of course -- add away!

I am generally only at ILRA during the week, unfortunately. I often run under the bridge from ILRA to Kensington, but boy does it suck when you come back to ILRA and go up that hill.

If you know Amy / noelle (I haven't seen her on here in a while), she and I meet up a bunch of times over the summer to swim/run at ILRA, generally at 4:45PM/5:00PM.

I've definitely seen more training at ILRA than at Kensington. ILRA offers multiple nice things:

1. If you want to ride, the roads inside ILRA will give you about 13 miles per loop, and offers many different things, including one or two steep (yet short) hills. There are some good spots where you can open up, but not for multiple miles at a time. Good for handling, too, because there are a bunch of twists and turns. The one thing that I wish the loop would have, though, is a long sustained climb.
2. *MOST* of the people visiting ILRA are very conscious of the bike traffic. That isn't to say you don't get some idiots from time to time, especially some of the high school kids and such.
3. If you park at the Kent Lake parking area, you'll find a lot of bikers staging themselves there, as it is a pretty convenient spot close to the entrance. It also offers access to the beach at Kent Lake for swimming as well as bathroom facilities (I think they open up in May).
4. Much of the roads in ILRA are cut out from wooded areas, so a good portion is moderately well shaded from any winds.
5. If you are in to mountain biking, there are 2 trails that run through as well. If memory serves, one is 9 miles and one if 4-5 miles. They are both nice trails that go out from the trailhead parking location.
6. There are multiple swimming spots, depending on what you are looking at. Kent Lake is probably the most used public beach in the park. You can do some buoy chasing there, but depending on the crowd it can get a little annoying to dodge the civilians. You can swim out into the lake as well (this is where the Island Lake tris are done), but it is very sea-weedy in spots, which is annoying. Trout lake is about a 5-10 minute dirt trail walk from the Kent Lake parking area. It is secluded and not all that used. It is a pretty shallow lake, and if you swim across the middle of it, it is about 700 yards if memory serves me right. You can spot the bottom and stand up at several points if you need a break. You will also see many triathletes swimming the perimeter of the lake. I prefer swimming here, but often do not want to spend the time to get out to it and back. The other issue with Trout is that it gets *very* warm by mid June, so it isn't great if you like to train in your wetsuit.
7. There is a great sidewalk system through the park which is shared between runners and recreational bikers. I have a few different routes I will run out of the Kent Lake parking lot depending on what I want to do. One of the routes will lead you under an I-96 overpass and into Kensington Park.
8. I have *never* been there when no one else was doing some kind of training at the same time. It's good for the inspiration. In my normal training area, I can go out for a run or ride and never bump into anyone else running or on the bike. Virtually impossible to do so at ILRA. There are groups meeting there to train all the time.

I can't recommend it enough when you are in the area.


Edited by MSU_Brad 2015-01-15 10:13 AM

Yes, absolutely everything you said. It's why I make the 45-minute drive once a week during the summer. Hills, shade, bathroom facilities (and vending machines if you are desperate), other people out training, etc. I did get a few idiots yelling at me on my bike last summer (I posted about it here) but I never felt unsafe. In fact I prefer ILRA over Hines Drive even though Hines is closed to traffic on Saturdays -- the cars at ILRA are still less of a pain than dodging all the kids on the their training wheels on Hines.

Since I often come right from a customer visit, I don't generally prepare from a base of operations, so I frequently forget (or don't have the opportunity) to load up cold water. I can't tell you how many times I have scrounged through my center console finding quarters to feed those vending machines for a bottle of water, especially mid summer. I rarely ever do less than 2 disciplines while I am there, so that is a life saver (except when I have no cash)!

I've still never gone out on Hines Drive.

The other thing about ILRA is that there is some very (ahem) interesting people-watching there with some of the groups that come to use the beaches. ILRA brings all walks of life.

I was curious so I looked up my training log from last year. It was a pretty chilly spring last year so I only swam in Kent Lake once before Island Lake Tri, on the Sunday before, and I remember Fishing Notes saying it was 57? 59? degrees. (I remember I was running late and didn't want to do the hike to Trout, and there were already people swimming in Kent so I went for it.) The next time I logged a lake swim was Trout Lake in mid-June and I didn't note whether or not I wore a wetsuit, but I think I did. The next time I swam in Trout was early July by then it was warm enough for swimsuit only. I should note that I am pretty chicken when it comes to cold water.

Trout Lake is shallow so it does warm up early IF the weather is warm. Kent Lake is consistently cooler but you're more likely to see people swimming there regardless of temperature.

I'm assuming from your username that you're coming from the west, so you could easily pop into the Brighton Kroger for water and a few bananas or whatever. From there it's a straight shot down Grand River to Kensington Road. Or, there are a few 7-11s nearby, one at the Grand River/Pleasant Valley Road intersection (it's a half highway interchange, so I don't think you can exit from the west), one on Kent Lake Road (I think?) and one on Pontiac Trail on the way to South Lyon.


Edited by Miles around Midtown 2015-01-16 10:33 AM

I could be coming from just about anywhere. The problem is more that I don't often remember that I don't have water until I am already in the park and setting up my bike. Can be a little absent minded sometimes!

Well it has been 19 days since my last bike or run outside....the excuse was waiting for new shoes, waiting for temps above 20, waiting till all the junk food was out of the house...

Today I rode and ran while deliveing my papers, totally slipped and fell - but trail shoes will be the bomb in a few months...

Bike tires (studded) gripped like they should...had a few problems in a few snowy yards, but for the most part (HAD A BLAST)

Just a super slow fun morning all around.


Tonight I swing by health center to pick up new swim pass and look on line to start signing up for some races!

1st tri on my radar is Seahorse.

I'M BACK BABY - I'M BACK!

pb

Just getting over a cold here so I'm easing back into training today. I finished Breaking Bad while stuck in bed over the weekend and started on Parks and Rec. I laughed til I cried at Chris Pratt naked crutching down the street yelling about his boom box.

The worst part about being sick this weekend was missing the decent weather. =( Although it looks like it'll be tolerable this weekend too. Hopefully I can fend off The Cold Part II. =)

Get well soon!

Parks and Rec is a great show. Leslie and Ann are kind of a modern Lucy and Ethel. Part of what makes the show so entertaining for us is that my sister is remarkably similar to Leslie and her BFF, my wife, is eerily similar to Ann. To make things even stranger, my sister is named Anne

I'm stuck on what to watch next. Nothing on Netflix is grabbing my attention and I'm sick of the treadmill anyways. The streets in my neighborhood are still covered with snow (they don't salt our roads) but not quite enough to make Yak Trax comfortable. I will probably put them on anyways and let the dog drag me around tonight. I was supposed to complete a 60 minute run yesterday but had to stop due to light headedness about 17 minutes in. Felt weird/crashed the rest of the night. It's been a stressful week (dad had multiple operations for a kidney stone, work problems, brother in law almost died having his wisdom teeth removed, grandparents falling etc) so that probably hasn't helped things. Fortunately everyone is on the mend at this point.

I'm leaning towards signing up for all 3 T-Rex triathlons. Unfortunately, each of the 3 races is either 3 or 4 days following other races I am doing. June is right after Grand Rapids, July is right after Grand Haven, and August is just a few days after the West Michigan / Fremont Triathlon. I'm currently planning on sprint for each of those races. I'm also planning on Greenville , Lumberman and Ludington.

Question - are the 3 T-Rex Wednesday night races too much considering each is 3-4 days following another sprint? I don't think I will have any problem doing them all, I'm just worried that my times might suffer a little and I'd be frustrated with my finish.

Brad
Tri Greenville is a nice little race. I went last year and did enjoy it. I still have family in Greenville and Belding. The viewing of the swim and some of the run for the spectators was very good. I am not sure if I will be back this year, I am looking very hard, like 95% sure I am going to GRT in June instead. I may change my mind and show up. I know my family wanted to come last year, but my cousins kid had an open house that day.
Joe

I've had several people mention Greenville as a fun race. I'm on the east side of Rockford and thought about doing it, until I added up how much I've already spent for race fees this year... and it's not even an Ironman year!

I've done Tri Greenville both years that it has been run so far, and have really enjoyed. I had a couple little things to nitpick about last year with the "elite" start, but other than that, I really like the race. The bike, albeit short, is more challenging than one would think, especially with that 1 mile climb near the end of the bike. The run around the edge of the lake is great, except for that little hill that you go up and back down!

I am looking at maybe signing up for My Team Triumph for that race this year instead of doing it outright, but either way, I'll be there!

Here was my problem with the "elite" start. It wasn't mentioned during registration, but they announced it at the event over the loudspeakers and basically opened it up for people to join. All the elite start consisted of was allowing whoever wanted to to move from the land (it is a gated start) to a certain distance out into the water, and thus have a wading start. There was no hard set criteria for joining, but they used a rough guideline of finishing time from the year before. No one looked at the numbers of the "elites" or anything. The so called "elites" went on the same gun as the rest of the pack. I figure it was probably only worth a 10 second headstart, at the most, but it was annoying to me because I am a decent swimmer and passed several of the elites in the water. This may not seem like a big deal, but too often I have had podium / non-podium finishes in my AG decided by mere seconds. Everyone should race the same distance. If they are going to have an elite wave, then have it be a completely separate start, just not letting them be out in front in the water.

That's my only complaint about Greenville, honestly. Other than that, it's a great early season race to get going with.


Edited by MSU_Brad 2015-01-28 2:55 PM

Sadly I have never done one of the T-Rex races because of the Wednesday night thing. 3-4 days after a race does seem pretty quick, but how well do you recover? And are you doing them for fun or to compete? And how easy are the races you're planning the weekend before? Both the bike and run course have a few decent hills (if it's the same run course as Island Lake), something to consider if you have just done another hilly race.

At the swim start I heard them say something about elite or fast or something swimmers go first. But it seemed a bunch of peopel were standing aroudn so I said screw it and jumped in. The hill near the end was cool. If I do decide to squeeze it in this year, I may take my road bike instead of my Tri bike. The people around the lake seemed very supportive for havnig thier Saturday morning put on hold for a few hours. It is very nice to have a Saturday race available.

Its probabley been 25 years or more since I was actually downtown Greenville. I was trying to find my Aunts flower shop and had a hard time finding it. It took a couple passes.

No idea on the transfers but good luck with the back!

How did everyone's January wrap up? Mine ended up pretty good. A bunch of swims, a bunch of trainer rides, and 105 running miles, which is GREAT for me for January.

I am so over winter. I can't handle these days with negative wind chills -- ugh! I have a Florida vacation next month and canNOT wait. I wish my sister would have scheduled a February wedding, lol.

I got through season 6 of Parks and Rec and started re-watching House of Cards so I can be caught up when Season 3 comes to Netflix in a few weeks. I will be happy when I can move all my runs and rides outside!