Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Augusta : Official ThreadI'm in....This will be 2nd time at Augusta, and my 3rd HIM. Using this race as a tune-up before IMFL (November 3rd). Coming from Fl(at)orida, the hills were a bit of a nuisance, but definitely not a huge deal at all. I would say more than anything it was more a lack of oversight in training hills mainly due to the fact that I was unsure as to the best way to tackle the hills from an approaching standpoint (purely talking about gear/shifting), I never ran out of gear, but I definitely tired myself out rather quickly as I would coast into the bottom of a few of the climbs and get in my easiest gear...I ended up wearing myself out, but once I started hammering through the approach, and the beginning ascent THEN downshifting (once my cadence started to slow) it made the difference between being passed on climbs, to passing a ton of people on the climbs. I am not by any means a strong cyclist, so this is probably pretty atypical advice... Other than that, get ready to use ice/sponges on the run. The two-loop course through downtown gets rather hot (at least it did last year) as the buildings block a lot of the air movement on the run course. Best part, if you are a weak swimmer, get a wetsuit and prepare to have a great swim. If you are a strong swimmer, prepare to pass A LOT of people (depending on which wave you are in). |