IMKY bike route

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Well, I live in Dallas, TX and I did VERY little (if any) hill training before Kentucky this year.

I just rode, a lot. To try to prepare for a long day on the bike.

I didn't have any trouble with the hills... but my entire day was going 10 mph or 28-35 mph. I would pedal down the hills to try to get as much speed as possible (at 5'4" and 125 pounds, I have to pedal to keep up with a big guy coasting).

There are nothing but rollers after the first 35-40 miles. Up and down. Up and down. I think if I had done some specific hill training I might not have had achilles tendons issues at the end. Who knows?

If you want to just finish, just ride lots and don't worry about hill training. If you want to race it, get in some hill training.

When they say constant, they mean CONSTANT.  When you are doing your hill training, don't just push to train you legs, concentrate on your shifting as well because you will be doing a lot of it.  Remember to hydrate, it can be difficult due to the hills and shifting, but if it's hot (plan on it being hot) you will need the fluids for the run.

I did IM louisville this year and took jeep's advice. I took it easy the first 30 miles and only got out of the saddle 2 times the whole ride. It paid off becouse I passed a ton of people on the last 30 miles. Its nothing you cant handle. Just take it easy, you still have to run a marathon in the afternoon heat.

Just ordered my computrainer Real Course Video for Louisville so I will be able to train on "those hills". I will report back soon with how "tough" they are.

Ride your own race, and take it from me who was toward the front in the swim, there are a lot of FAST riders. Don't eat the paste. The hills aren't too bad after the first 30 miles or so. The first 11 miles are flat and fast then the hills begin. Nothing too bad, just get in some hills in the base weeks of your program. I live in flat flat flat michigan and had to do some traveling to get in the hills. I didn't have too much trouble with the course. I averaged ~19 mph in training and 17.7mph on race day and that was conservative.

It's not bad - BUT...I'm from there, so my "not bad" might be a little skewed. It was no where near as hard as what I ride everyday and was not as hard as I'd been led to believe.

There's one substantial hill, but it's got the accompanying downhill so it's nice.

I was out of the saddle a lot, but that's a personal riding style choice. Sitting toasts my legs, and I've got the aerobic fitness to take standing pretty well.

Do some long hill repeats on a trainer regularly and you'll be fine.

I live on the course and everyone here has it right. A CONSERVATIVE approach to the course for the first 70 miles will yield dividends on the way back in and later on the run! Though IMO, if you've done your bike training, it's not the bike course you should be worried about, it's going so hard that you're too drained and unable to handle the heat/humidity/sun later on the run. (Just as a baseline, the ambient temp on the run course the last two years was 100+ w/ over 50% humidity)

But for some intel on the course, here's the skinny:

- River Road: Pancake flat. The winds are typically still in the am
- Left onto 42: Upon taking the left, you'll hit significant hill lasting approx 1mi. Next hour or so are just larger rollers but are net uphill.
- Rt onto 1694: Hilliest section of the course. Enjoy the downhill, very shaded area. BE CAREFUL on the downhill!!!! If you make a mistake to the right, you're off a 5-foot drop into rocks. Mistake to the left and you're head-on with athletes coming back up. Be aware of people passing you and of passing others. This is my favorite part of the course and where I do my hillwork, but it's also the most dangerous. A little hint from the local..... when you've made the turnaround and are climbing back out, stay to the RIGHT around the first curve. The road is banked to the left and the right side is net flat; you'll have an extra 1/4 mile of flat instead of climbing.
-Rt onto 42: More rollers, net uphill. Very scenic, nice houses and horse farms
- Rt onto 393: After the first 3-4 miles, you have IMO the best downhill of the course. This is, like the rest of the course, followed by a long climb. At the end of the road, you'll hit the aid station and for those of you who are mis-behaving; the penalty tent.
- Left onto 146: Special Needs will be on your right. Finally, a flat stretch. Flat section lasts about 5 miles before hitting rollers. Nice road here, but you'll have an afternoon headwind and the sun will be beating down starting to warm things up. Follow this through LaGrange and enjoy the crowd on the downhill. LONG downhill to the sharp turn to the left onto BallardsSchool Road. (I think that's the name, I forget)
- Left onto BSR: Very shady area, windy road with some climbs. If you're out riding the course before the race, BEWARE OF THE DOGS on this course, they'll chase you. At the end, you have a long downhill followed by a 90 degree right turn.
- Rt turn onto OldSligo: Steepest hill of the course, most will get out of the saddle here.
- Rt turn into leSprit Parkway: Very sunny and hot. Rollers on this part of the course, and this road is net uphill. You most likely experience a headwind or a cross-wind. Enjoy the scenery here. Some of the most expensing horse-farms in the US are here. You'll riding through a residential area here so the last section is a .5 mile climb to the end of the road.
- Left onto Hwy53: This road is newly paved, so the road will absorb a lot of heat. Road is sunny overall, most of the time you'll have a cross-wind that will feel like a headwind; though typically not strong. Decent rollers here.
- Left onto 42: if you're riding the course, the old-time store is the best place to stop on the course for water, etc. They have a pump out front that you can douse your head, shirt, etc. One you make a left, you'll normally have a tailwind (depending on what time of day) The next 10 miles are all rollers. A good area for savvy riders to save their legs.
*** When you hit 393, you make a left for the 2nd loop
**** When you hit this part on the 2nd loop, the rest of the course is net downhill, then flat again down River Road to T2.

Hope this helps! As always, if anyone's in town and wants to ride the course, send me an email!

Thanks for the heads up!  Sounds like an interesting course!

I live in Orlando and did all my bike training on a trainer using hill focused Spinnerval DVD's. The hills were much easier than I anticipated. Because I train in the Florida heat and humidity, I didn't have any problems with that. If I had a choice to train in the heat and humidity and no hills or hills and no heat and humidity, I'd chose to train in the heat and humidity. From what I saw, that seemed to bother other people quite a bit. The hills were not that bad for a flatlander.