Rev3 Williamsburg - Half Rev : Official Thread

I was at Half Full as well! I thought considering the horrific weather conditions, Rev3 did a great job. And those BlueSeventy goggles are now my favorites.

Hi all!

The hubster and I will be heading up from Florida for this one.  It's also the week of our 15th anniversary, so we have decided to make a vacation out of it as well.  Looking forward to exploring the historic Williamsburg area.

OK, let's talk hills and the bike course.   I realize I live in a pancake flat state. I live really far south within the state too, so when I say pancake, I do mean pancake. I know that "hilly" is a relative term depending on where you live.  

I've done two out of state triathlons before... Augusta 70.3 and Beach2Battleship Half.  Augusta was definitely rolling and I think I remember something I could call a hill somewhere in the middle- someone was walking their bike up it and I was def in my little chain ring.  B2B is flat with a few false flats; no rollers/hills.  Florida (with the exception of central FL) is pancake flat and even false flats are very rare here.  I've also ridden on some of the Tour de Georgia bike course around Elijay, GA.  THAT area is hilly (um, mountains?) and I totally did not have have enough gears to ride there (did a large amount of walking with my bike).  So there you have my spectral definition of "hills."

With the Williamsburg course, can I expect something akin to Augusta 70.3 or is this much hillier (to where I might need to change out my rear cog)?  I just want to make sure that I'm A) mechanically prepared and more importantly B) mentally prepared.  I did Augusta the inaugural year and the course was originally advertised as flat.  I think just about everybody (not just Floridians) who didn't live in the area was surprised at how rolling it was.  I'd prefer to have limited surprises with Rev3-WB if possible.

Thanks for the input!

Everlong: I think you'll enjoy the area.... Williamsburg has been one of our favorite places to be stationed.  There are all kinds of decent hotels.... from low end (Red Roof Inn) to high end (Williamsburg Inn).  If you plan on doing the Colonial Williamsburg thing (I highly recommend), then hotels on By Pass Road are a good option (if you're not staying in one of the Colonial Williamsburg properties).  Lots of dining options and you're fairly close to attractions/shopping. 

Things to do- Busch Gardens and Water Country are great fun (we have season passes).  And Yorktown Victory Center/National Park and Jamestown Island are a must.

That should get you started.... 

Thanks for the info. We'll definitely hit Colonial for a day. That's about what it will hold the kids attention for.

I had emailed REV for topology of the bike and it's 801 ft of gain with no category climbs. So it should be fairly fast.

(Williamsburg Half Bike Elevation.jpg)

The bike course will probably be adjusted this week. There is one part on Jolly Pond (by the dam) that is pretty rough and narrow. They're looking at having this section one way only, so may mean a major revamp.  It's a good call on their part... I rode it this weekend and could see bad things happening with riders going in both directions in that spot.  They told me they should have something out by the end of the week.

Yeah, the bike course should be fairly fast.  There are some rollers and two steep pitches that you'd probably get out of your saddle for, but nothing too long.  Just enough to keep you honest.

http://rev3tri.com/williamsburg/athletes-va/how-2-transitions-work/

Important page to read. There will be two transitions and you must check your bike in Saturday. I've done a two transition race and a check your bike in Saturday night but not together so this will be a bit different. I'm definitely going to try to arrive very early Saturday so I can check everything out and make sure I have it down.

Everlong:  Thanks for highlighting... I didn't see it on the Rev3 site initially.  I've done a few that included different transition sites and rack the night before (Annapolis and Beach 2 Battleship), and you're  right... they do may you think logistics!  One of the things I like about triathlon, there's a good bit of planning that goes on race day that you don't have in other endurance sports.  For B2B, we had 5 different bags to prep, 3 of which were dropped off when you racked your bike the day before.

Btw, looks like they haven't posted the swim course yet, but assuming they use the same venue (James River park) that Setup Events uses for Patriot's Half and Jamestown International, it's a pretty good run from the swim exit to T1...about a quarter mile of dirt and grass...

No worries i knew I couldn't be the only one to miss the twin transitions the first time around.

Is the run flat? I've done 3 tri's with long trips from the water to T1. One was a half mile jog on flat tar. The second a third of a mile run up a grass hill. Neither of these was an issue. The third was up this winding dirt path and it had poured out for two days and was still raining when I left the water. It was a half mile up the path and it was slippery as hell with roots sticking out and other hazards. I made it in 7.5 minutes and honestly it was a pretty good time compared to a lot of people. I brought a pair of water shoes that had a good tread to the water and slid them on and it really helped. So wondering if similar would be true. I'm not worried about a grass hill or flat dirt but hilly dirt could suck.

That's what I assumed but better to ask. I've done 3 Olympics and two of them I did 1:33/100 yards pace and the one that had current I did 1:08 so always good to know what the current is.

Something that had not occurred to me given this is close to the ocean but it might not be wetsuit legal. That will probably cost me 15 seconds per hundred or roughly 5 minutes.

Anybody in the M45-49 besides me?

Yep, more than likely this will not be a wetsuit legal event.  The Jamestown International Tri (which is scheduled for 8 June) will be using the same water and they're calling for temps in the low to mid 80s.  I did the Jamestown tri last year (which was held 1 July) and wet suits were not legal.  Turns out is wasn't actually a tri, but a duathlon since they cancelled the swim due to lightning.  As a swimmer, not a runner, I wan't thrilled about a double helping of run...  And btw, it was really hot/humid, so try to factor that in your training plans...

I'm also in the M45-49....  actually turning 48 on race day.  Breaking 5:30 would be a great birthday present!

Nice. It's my wedding anniversary. My wife's a real trooper letting me do it. My time will depend on the temp and humidity. If I can a cool day I could go sub 5:10 and if it's nasty out I could go above 5:50.