Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens : Official Thread

I'm contemplating doing this race and I'm curious how the course compares to either IM CDA or Pacific Crest? Less hilly, more hilly? Also how's the weather and water temp usually?

I haven't done Coeur d' Alene yet (I'm signed up for this year), but it seems that the Lake Stevens course might be a bit tougher than one loop of CDA.

As for the temps, I thought it was perfect last year.  A bit chilly when we headed off on the bike, but you warm up pretty quickly on that course.  I didn't wear arm warmers and I was fine.  I'm sure there's a chance for rain, but we caught a break and it was completely dry last year.

The water was about 69-70 degrees, which felt pretty warm for me (I didn't wear a wetsuit for the practice swim the day before).  We've got temps around 60 here in San Diego now, so 70 seems like it would be downright balmy.  In fact, the water was so warm that they had to delay the start of the race for visibility since there was so much steam pouring off the lake.

One nice thing about the swim in Lake Stevens is that you can see the underwater rope that connects the smaller buoys the local rowing team uses.  It's pretty sweet (especially if you breathe left as I do) since you don't have to sight at all.

The run has some hills, so it's definitely not a PR course, but you do run a good portion alongside the lake which makes it very pretty at times.

The event is very well-run (as you might expect from an Ironman brand race).  It's actually put on by PEM and they do a great job.  The athlete check-in is held at the host hotel in Everett and you have to attend one of the pre-race meetings before they will allow you to pick up your race packet.

Access to the transition area in downtown Lake Stevens is very easy.  It's about a 10-15 minute drive from the hotel in Everett and you can pretty much park on top of the race start.  They have a mandatory bike check the day before the race and everyone has their own designated spot on their AG rack.  The transition area is relatively small and T times are fast.

Hopefully, others will chime in on the differences between the Lake Stevens and CDA bike courses.  I would be interested to see how they compare, too.  I have heard that the locals in Lake Stevens are not as receptive to racers and some can be rude out on the road.  I didn't experience any of that, but there was a stray dog that got loose and caused a pretty serious accident, injuring a BTer on the course.

I would like to invite any out of towners that are racing Lake Stevens 70.3 in August to our home.  If you are traveling in your RV and are looking for a place to stay, contact us about camping spots at no charge.  We live approximately 2 miles from the start, which is easily accessible by bike or even walking on the day of the race.  We have over two acres of property, plenty of room for fellow competitors.  Bring the family, and be ready to celebrate after the race!












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I did that race last year (2009) it was my first 70.3 distance....  I flew out there from NJ for it, it was a GREAT experience!!!  I was NOT prepaired for the climb up the mtn, it was a great challenge, and it made for a great challenge!!!  The run was just as described by halfironmike ... the swim was a nice lake swim (we had fog).

I hope to one day compete in that race again one day, not this year, as I am doing IMLP....  I thought the people in Lake Stevens were great and the local Bike shope was great guy!!! 

Would recommend to ride course before hand.  Got to see the Yankees play the Mariners that weekend too, definitly great trip and the race organizers were great and volunteers were great too!!! 

Hello,

I will be doing this race this year. Just wanted to say hello to everyone. How is an Ironman event difrent from other events? I just started tris this year and have seen a couple ways of how things are run. Just want to know what ironman is about. I have read things about a blue bag and red bag. I think that is run and bike, but what are they for. Well any advice is always welcome. Talk to you all soon.

edawno - welcome to the thread.  I'm not sure exactly what the red and blue bags are for - they may be the various special needs bags for a full-Ironman?

Lake Stevens 70.3 is branded by Ironman, but it is really produced by Premier Event Management and there are no special needs bags for this (and perhaps any) HIM.  We did not have them at Oceanside - an event produced by Ironman North America.

Last year, we had to attend one of the pre-race meetings at the host hotel before they let us pick up our race packet.

There will be a mandatory bike check at transition the day before the race - last year, we had specific, pre-assigned locations on the rack, based on our race number.  There wasn't much space, so be prepared for a compact setup on race morning.

Thank you for the info. I am trying to know what to look for and be ready for. sounds like it will be like most races just has the cool name. Thanks for the thread. I have been looking forward to this race for a while now and can not wait to get to it. i just hope that all my own hype does not kill my race. Oh well it will be fun no matter what. Thanks again.

I am really torn, I registered for this race and I have had many things come up in my life and my training has been HORRIBLE and I have not been able to prepare for this race and I can't see being able to finish this race to be honest.  I am still going to try to train but I have to be relialistic and can't see it at this time.  I would love to still go to try to finish in 8hr but I have to think of safety.  Thanks for letting me get this out if anyone has any advice I would appriciate it.

Thanks

Regardless of where your training is at, I would think that there is PLENTY of time to get after it and have a successful race.  The event is still more than 3 months out and it's amazing how fast you can improve once you set your mind to it.

Once the weather gets warmer and the days continue to get longer, you might find that fire in your belly and gain confidence as you put together some good training sessions.

I'm sure you've done the math, but to finish in 8 hours, you just need to swim an hour, ride four hours and run 3 hours (and fit in your transitions).  IMO, the key is to get out on the bike.  It's the longest discipline and it's also the easiest to endure for long periods of time.  You can mix in hills, swimming and run-specific stuff a month from now.

Remember, you don't have to do the race (or make any decisions) this week.

The hardest part is getting out the door.  Just try to keep it enjoyable at first and don't beat yourself up too much.  You still have a lot of time to find your stride.  Good luck!

Thanks Mike that really helps I am going to start riding to work and trying to get in a long ride on weekends as well as a swim and a run thrown in here and there and hopefully I will make it to the finish line.

Edited by Neilman 2010-05-15 7:32 PM

havent had a chance to ride the bike course yet. can someone that has done the lake stevens 70.3 before describe "moderately" hilly. i live on whidbey island which is also pretty hilly. ive got one HIM under my belt and am looking to sign up for this one. 70.3 FL was a blast!!

tried to do an open water swim in pass lake a few weeks ago and talk about ice cream headache! wow, that water was cold on my head!! 

"Moderately hilly" is a good description in that there are not a lot of brutally tough climbs.  However, there's only about 5 miles of flat on the whole course, so you're either going up or down the whole time.  It is considered a challenging course.  I'm sure it's much more difficult than the Florida 70.3, but I'm not familiar with Whidbey Island.  Here's a Garmin Connect of the bike course:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/11430312

The Lake Stevens swim should not induce headaches.  Last year, I swam a preview swim the day before the event without a wetsuit and was fine.  The official temp was announced at 69 degrees on race morning and most everyone (including me) wore a wetsuit.

I've done both Lk Steven's 70.3 and Pacific Crest 2x each. This will be my 3rd time at Lk Steven's. Have not done IM CDA.

Pacific Crest is a much different bike course to Lk Steven's. On Lk Steven's you are either going up or down, there is very little flat. One decent climb and lots of curves, twists and winding roads compared to Pacific Crest. Pac Crest is more steady grade and Hwy verses country roads, plus on Pac Crest you have that long long long down hill back towards T2. Lk Steven's has one fast decent, and few smaller ones.

Lk Steven's is way warmer and calmer water.

The run course is three loops too. One hill on the out and back section you see three times, here Pac Crest is mostly flat and a winding course.

I like Lk Steven's better between the two, but Pac Crest is cool for the destination and village.

I've done the Whidbey Island Marathon but have not biked there. I'd say you'll find Lk Steven's bike course to be similar to the grades and length of hills you are used to on Whidbey.

Water is very warm come race time. In 2006 when I first raced there I'm pretty sure they measured the water off the end of the dock and a few feet down to make sure it was wet suit legal temp wise. Last year it was a bit cooler, but still very warm swim. If there was a very unusually hot summer this year, I could see the water temp being warm enough to not be wet suit legal. I doubt this will happen, just saying if saw super warm temps. Right now the local lakes are cooler than normal due to the rain and colder than average temps.

magic, thanks for the info. this will be my second HIM. looking forward to it. i too, think whidbey will be more than "hilly" enough for me to train with. im gonna try and get out there in a few weeks to check the course out. 

Ya, I need to pick a day and head up there for a training ride and lap on the run course. July is more likely for me though. Taking the week of July 19th off of work and doing a big volume week, so I'll have time to do a week day trip to Lk Steven's.

Got clearance from the doctor to get back into the water on 7/12 so I am going to give Lake Stevens a run. Got hit by a car training for Ironman St. George 3/27 and thought my whole season was done. Not looking for a PR here, just looking to compete.

Magic -
I did Pac crest last year and the bike really ate me up.  that long sustained climb up to Mt. Bachelor was brutal.  It doesn't sound like lake stevens has this type of sustained climb but lots of smaller climbs?  Does anyone know the total amount of climbing on the route?  Is there one climb in particular that is ugly?  Looking at the the elevation chart, there are a couple of climbs, but the change in elevation doesn't look to bruising.

Thansk!

i am riding with a compact double and an 11-23 cassette. for those of you that have done this course, would you say that this gearing is adequate? 

in japan, without my bike, and sick and tired of riding the stationary!!!

thanks 

I did this race last year with a standard (53) double and 11-23 cassette and didn't feel that there was an issue with gearing.  However, I'm racing IM CDA with an 11-28 and may keep that setup through Lake Stevens, depending on how that works out.

Sorry, had looked at this tread in a long time.

The bike courses are very different. There is only one real longish climb at Lk Steven's, nothing like the Pac Crest course. I think that Lk Steven's only has like 4 miles of flat road, the rest of the course is rolling hills and a few stepper ones. There are two fast decent sections and you will be going faster than any cars on the road.

To me Lk Steven's feels a lot shorter than Pac Crest. At Pac Crest It's a grind to get to the summit of that bike and then there is that long down hill section. Nothing like that Lk Steven's.

Magic -
Thanks!  I just got back from this years Pac crest and a buddy of mine that does it every year is always disappointed with his run time because he gets eaten up on the bike and the grueling climb. I am not looking for a PR this year a LK Stevens, but looking to put in the right training to feel good about it.

well i drove the bike/run course today and lets just say i hope they close it to traffic on race day.... absolutely no shoulder and some fairly sharp turns. hopefully we dont have to stop at all the darn stop signs!!

should be a beautiful ride, some pretty decent climbs(love the last one going into town on 16th ave, great descents. wasnt all that impressed with the first half of the run loop. seems like a pretty shoddy part of town. the part along the lake looked great. 2 decent hills, other than that pretty flat. 

it looks like the bike and part of the run parallel the centennial trail. for anyone that has done this course before, do we get on the trail or just stay on the road? 

6 weeks to go!! 

How is everyone's training coming along?  I think I'm (mostly) recovered from CDA and ready to get crackin' on the HIM build.  Have a couple of sprint races coming up, though, so I may have to race my way back into shape.

Just started ramping my training up last week. Been focused on marathon training all year, so I need to pick up my biking and swimming a bit more. Going to take all of next week off of work, do a stay at home vacation and a monster training week. Will then concentrate on speed work till tapper time.

This will be my 3rd time at Lk Steven's, looking forward to it!

Edited by magic 2010-07-13 11:23 PM