Ironman 70.3 Racine : Official Thread

Hi all!

Amy, thanks for starting the thread! Hi NewFangleDad. :-) Sounds like you have been busy. I hope you can manage Racine in to your schedule this year.

Past: Have been doing tri's since 2005. First time I did Racine was in 2007 when it was still the Spirit of Racine.

Present: Live in Kenosha so close to the venue/course and hopefully a good resource should anyone need it

Future: Races this year include Racine, WI Dells 70.3, 2 half marathons, and IMWI in September. And I qualified for Nationals!!

Hopes: I hope to have a stronger cycle this year. and have to agree with Amy on the calmer waters. Let's hope spring thaws the water and warms it up!

Cyndi

Hi Amy & Cyndi!!! and also, hi to Newfangled Dad. I hope that everyone is doing great! I wonder if we'll have a cool summer as a reward for this horrible winter.

Off Season Training is going fairly well. Mostly Crossfit 4 to 5 times a week, and 6 to 7 hours on the trainer per week. Unfortunately, my Achilles tendonits is still bothering me, so I'm trying Yoga. This year I'm also thinking about my first Century.

Past: Racine 2012 & 2013, plus a few Marathons 20 years ago
Present: Live in Wauwatosa (just West of Milwaukee, WI)
Future: Racine 2014, Spartan Race at Miller Park & IMWI 2015
Hopes: I really don't care about the swim , I just don't want 100 degree weather this year at the race.

Rob

Hi guys,

Nice to hear from you and glad you're both doing well. Rob sorry to hear about your injury still nagging at you, that's no fun. So no Milwaukee marathon this fall???
Ok and sheep farm, yes please fill us in on that!!!
I'm with you on the cool summer too. Even after this bitter winter I'm hoping it stays cool. Ice in the lakes until May would totally not be a surprise to me at all. It's really strange to look out at the lake and it be so still but also the lack of any kind of sound is awesome.
I know alot of people signed up for Racine with the race day ready package that was either Racine and IMWI or Steelhead and IMWI. Pretty nice deal they had this year which I'd never seen before.
Amy

Hey Amy, I'm probably going to pass on the Lakefront, but I might be up for a few half marathons. I feel really good about the swim & bike, so if I can just start to run a little bit, I'll be heading in the right direction. But, I'm not too worried .

How are you and Cyndi doing with your training for IMWI? It's less than 7 months away!!!

Rob

Hello everyone!

Thanks Amy for starting this thread, after a couple days of nicer weather we are back to brutal winds and cold when will it end?

Past: I have been doing tris off and on for 7 years but this year is the first year that I feel like Iam getting it. I attempted IMWI in 2012 and didn't finish so this year is redemption

Present : I live in Racine about 2 miles from the start, which makes it really convenient come race day!

Future: i have an Olympic ( pleasant prarie) in June, Racine HIM and then the full in September, Iam also thinking about doing the Kenosha half marathon.

Hopes: defefnitly a stronger bike, in the past this is always what kills me. I had been pretty slow but have been working hard all winter so am anxious to get outside!


Rob sorry to hear about your Achilles, I hope you can get it feeling better soon!

Hi Jo,

Very fun season ahead and yes you should absolutley do the 1/2 marathon in Kenosha Fun race, well organized, max participants is like 3K AND post race beer! I won't lie, the weather is always crappy that day but it'll only make you run faster! Pleasant prairie is also a well run event and lake andrea should be thawed by then. You may already know this but they do some open water swims during the summer at lake andrea a few times a week if you are interested. They post the info on the RecPlex web site.

Hey Rob, Trainings going very well, thanks for asking. This winter has been a character builder indeed on the treadmill so often. Between darkness and ice on the roads, we have been indoors more than I want to discuss. Other than that all things are right where we had hoped they'd be. So funny because one minute you can go wow September is so far away and then go oh crap it's coming fast!

Hi Jo!

You will really enjoy Pleasant Prairie Triathlon....great race venue. And like Amy mentioned, the Tri-Coach (ken Johnson) has open water swims twice a week.

The Kenosha 1/2 marathon is a great race! Atmosphere is very casual and Beer!!!! Amy and I have been doing this race since it started in 2009, and we haven't had a decent weather day yet. :-) So be prepared.

Cyndi

Congratulations on qualifying for Nationals!!!

Thanks for the input on the open water swims, I have seen that they are offered but I have never signed up, I usually see it when there is 1 swim left lol, i i may just do that this year. Thanks for the reminder!

Sure thing. Considering lake Michigan will still have ice on it, Lake Andrea is locally our only hope of open water for some time! The lake opens June 1st and they do set up a lap lane for lake swimming too. It's nice because you can really practice transitions there. You can leave your stuff set up and no one bothers it because anyone there, other than families, is usually practicing for a tri

Today was the first morning we've been able to run outside in some time! So happy to get off the treadmill that words can not describe! Bring on the Spring please!!!

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Welcome!

I could not agree more that this winter has been far too long. We were at the lake this past weekend and thankfully the ice is gone so there's hope yet!

Hello,

Thanks for starting this group.

I have not signed up for Racine yet but plan on doing so any day now. I'm trying to figure out the logistics of this event. Racine is my "A" race for the year and I still have some panning to do. I don't live far from Racine but would still like to find a place to stay over the weekend. Maybe all the hotels are already booked.

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There will definitely be places available in Kenosha. But if you don't live far from Racine...that actually may be further than your commute that morning from home.

Hope everyone's training is going good and people are able to start getting outside on a consistent basis. I've done Racine the last 3 years but am sitting this year out. I decided to do Las Vegas as my 2nd HIM this year instead of Racine. If you've never raced Racine before it is awesome. The swim in lake Michigan is amazing. Especially last year, it was like being inside a 58 degree washing machine. But seriously, good luck to everyone that's doing it. In the meantime I'll keep following the thread to get my Racine fix.

Thanks for starting this thread! I live in Madison and was super excited by the opportunity to do a HIM in Racine!

Past: I have been a long time runner - started in High School and after 32 years starting to feel the strain on knees/hips.
Did one tri in Pleasant Prairie in 2008-- loved it, but was too involved in road racing to commit myself.

Present: Feel confident about the biking and running. Knee/hips are okay as long as I stretch well and cut back on distance/speed. Actually doing a walk/run plan now because I don't want to end up sidelined again (out almost 6 months in 2013)! I've been doing my pool workouts and getting fitted for a wetsuit this week! I live on Lake Monona in Madison and will have lots of open water swim opportunities. I have two Olympic triathlons scheduled in June in the Madison area as warm-ups.

Future - if this season goes well and the HIM is as fun as it seems it will be, I am hoping to do IMWI 2015. Just signed up to volunteer at 2014 -- I'll see some of you there!

I hope everyone's training is going well now that we can reliably be outside!

Laura

Hi Laura!!!

Welcome to the forum. You'll find a lot of great information here as the season progresses. Gordon_mom and I live in Kenosha. We're doing IMMOO in September (our first IM). Lucky you that you get to swim in Lake Monona. You have lots of great places to train and a bike friendly environment.

Little bit about HIM Racine. The same race director support Racine and IMMOO. He is great! The bike is relatively flat (well, flat in comparison to IMMOO), so plan on extra pedaling and probably no coasting. The run has two small inclines (one just out of transition). Because this is a double-loop, you'll do those inclines twice.

Lake Michigan is the big question this year...will it warm up enough to be able to swim???? Hopefully, it will. And if it does....expect anything. It can be a beast or it can be a tame little puppy dog.

Good luck with your training!!!!

Cyndi

Welcome Laura!!

Cyndi, I guess I didn't see before that you and Gordon_mom are doing IMWI also.....I am wondering if I could meet up with you guys sometime to ride/run I live in Racine and I always ride alone and do not like it I have a 4 hr ride this weekend if you guys are interested

Edited by Jo63 2014-05-20 5:21 PM

Hi Jo,

I'll shoot you a PM with our weekend plans. Hopefully, we can sync up!!!

Cyndi

I ended up booking a room at the Days Inn in Racine about 2 weeks before the race (made a last-minute decision not to drive from Chicago the morning of the race).

Believe it or not, it was a pretty decent hotel (motel?) and most of the guests were doing Racine. The staff went out of their way to accommodate us and had breakfast out really early for us.

I think I ended up paying about $80-ish for the room, but it wasn't half bad. But it wasn't the Ritz, either. Anyway, that's an option...

Thanks for getting the thread started. Has the ice disappeared from Lake Michigan yet?!? Here's my quick info:

PAST: Native 'Sconnie, now living in Iowa. 3rd year in triathlon, I've been gradually escalating distances and (sometimes) performance.

PRESENT: Second 1/2 marathon of the year coming up Satruday. Racine will be my 3rd Tri of the year, and second 70.3 after Boulder in June. Runs have progressed wonderfully despite battling PF since August. Swim is still solid. Bike is where the elusive progress has yet to be found.

FUTURE: After Racine I'll be prepping for IMWI, which will be my first full IM. Very much looking forward to running not one but two IM events in my native state. Hoping for family to come down and provide some support. I'll need them more in Madison, though. Racine is going to be a "C" race for me leading up to IMWI.

Looking forward to seeing you all out on the course. Good luck with your training - only 52 days to go!