length of stay at IM LOU

Tritank,

I had similar questions, so I hope someone responds. I wasn't sure how long to have my "support crew" come with me, either... do most people bring their entire families/boyfriends/girlfriends with them the entire time? It just seems like a lot of time to ask someone to come for if I am going to be taking care of stuff beforehand.

As far as how many nights, I have a hotel booked Thurs-Monday (five nights) but don't really know what the extra day is for, either. I was imagining it looking like this:
Thurs: get there, go get bike from the shop
Friday: register
Sat: go to expo, check out course?
Sun: RACE
Mon: explore Louisville
Tuesday: leave

I live in the Louisville area, and with any major city of course there is stuff to do, but nothing I would go crazy over to see. I day or half a day is fine.

*Churchill downs and the museum has tours, No racing during the summer though. I would do this.
*4th street live is just restaurants
*The distillaries are about an hour drive, I've never been though. Maker's Mark is supposed to be pretty cool.
*Speed Art Museum is pretty nice on a smaller scale. and it's near Churchill Downs, on the UofL campus

Near the race venue there is:
*4th street live
*If you are into baseball, there is the Louisville Slugger Museum (snore fest if you ask me, but then again I don't like baseball). You can get a bat with your name burnt into it.
*Muhammad Ali Museum
*Childrens Science Museum with an IMAX. If you have kid's this is pretty nice.
*scattering of antique stores. Joe Ley's is very cool, don't get turned off by the admission, I have no idea why they do it (well, yeah I do, to make money), but it's a dollar or so. www.Joeley.com

I think you need to consider the weather and how long you need to acclimate to the humidity. One day isn't much to catch up with any travel "lag", get your stuff together, check the Ironman village and tourist stuff. I think i'll fly in Weds for a few bike rides and some sightseeing. Sunday i'll be fully prepared to kick some butt!

Thanks for the responses...this is the kind of stuff I was hoping for.

TacumaLuv, my wife and two young sons are coming with me...they arrive when I do...no other option for us. Of course she's in the teaching profession also, so it fits in our schedule.

shadowfax, thanks for the tips on places to visit.

jbjboc, I hadn't thought of arriving early to adjust to the humidity, but you're right. Good tip.

I went on Wednesday for a Sunday Ironman (Wisconsin) because I could... that gave me a full day on Wednesday for travel. Then, I left the Monday after the Ironman. Wish I hadn't because I was incredibly sore in the truck, and I needed to stop just about every hour or hour and a half to stretch to avoid cramping up. That being said, this time around, we are leaving on Thursday for the Sunday Ironman. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice this time around about when we leave again because of work. However, the plan is this:

Thursday: Drive up. Get there in time for registration if at all possible. Grocery shop for food for the room.
Friday: Drive the bike course. Ride part of the run course. Expo.
Saturday: Check in bike at the race site. Possible short swim in the morning.
Sunday: Race
Monday: Checkout.

Quite honestly, one thing that I did last time that I will try to do if at all possible this time will be to avoid the race site/venue/expo like the plague on the Saturday before race day except for checking in my bike and going to the athlete's meeting. There's a lot of nervous energy the day before the race, and it's not great for me to be around it. Other people feed off it, I like to try to calm my nerves before the race.

I also drove the bike course on Friday so I could take the time to wrap my mind around what I was getting myself into. I'm glad I didn't wait until the day before the race because it honestly would have scared me. I needed some time to adjust to what I saw.

Finally, I did as little as I could related to the race on Saturday. I wanted to relax, stay off my feet, and stay away from the venue. It was a great time for me to spend with family, and it really got me centered for Sunday's race.

Last thought is about the family...mine showed up on Friday night. That gave me a couple of days to get everything straightened out before I played host to them. And by doing all the Ironman stuff before Saturday, I had time to give them on Saturday and didn't have to worry about carting them around through registration, etc.

Anyway, it worked for me. Everyone's got their own plan that works for them. Good luck to you! Maybe we'll see you in Louisville as we'll be volunteering this year and then heading up to Moo a couple of weeks later to race!

Kim

I am goin to get there wed and leave moday. I may stay over in jerffersonville since it has a kitchen to cook. What else is everyone doing? I think satying there should not be an issue since driving to the race site should not be an issue that early. Feel free to email me. i will be willing to meet up in louisville

[email protected]