Ironman 70.3 Timberman : Official Thread

I have alot of research and little time so I am hoping some of u can help me out. I did Muncie today. They shortened the course due to the heat. They are giving us a discount on one of four races this year and Timberman is one. Does anyone know the area, Is there a good campgound close? Are there things for the wife and seven year old daughter to do? We are talking about not going to see the mouse at Disney and going there instead. The wife has always wanted to see that area of the country. Any suggestions?

I am sure there are a lot of campgrounds.  I am just not a camper. 

There is plenty to do in the area and lots of kid friendly things.

Kid friendly attractions:  Santa's Village (small Christmas themed amusement park - FUN, rides aren't big), StoryLand (same deal but fairy tale based), Polar Caves, water parks, tubing in the local rivers, etc.  There's also Mt. Washington and lots of hiking in the area, etc.  Lake Winni, itself has a tourist area - Weirs Beach.  Flume gorge is a great hike, top of Cannon or Loon Mtns on the trams, festivals, etc. There's outlet shopping too. 

You are also close enough to head out to the Maine coast - Kennebunkport, Portland (a little farther away).  Grab some lobster!

Try this site:  http://www.visitnh.gov/

Mouse/Disney is definitely one way to go.  NH/Maine would be a totally different type of vacation.  Active but not so commercial.  Depends on if your daughter really wants to do Disney. 

Greetings All:

Just registered here. Quick Intro: I live in Gilford, about 1 mile from Gunstock. I swim, bike and run on and around the sprint and HIM course.

The camping question. Consider right at Gunstock. That is the "athlete village" location and camping there ranges from "wooded" to open field. 

As for the bike course. There are a few climbs on the Sprint part of the course (that is also, mostly, part of the HIM course). Right out of the gate, you climb. There are then come inclines to deal with till the turnaround. You then climb again. Once you crest the hill just before Gilford Village (Hoyt Road) you hit the fast part of the sprint.

AS for the HIM bike, there are some hills on the short turn outs on Rte. 106. 

The run for the Sprint is a slight incline out and fast back. The HIM course runs past the sprint turnaround and has one small hill on the way back, just past the 5K turnaround point. Somehow, it gets steeper the second time around.

I've not yet signed up for this but am considering the HIM. 

Welcome to Gilford. 

Training is going great so far, staying healthy and that's the key.  The lake is gorgeous, about 77 at our dock last weekend, so if you're counting on wearing a wetsuit hopefully the weather will moderate a bit, which is likely.

I've ridden the course a few times this summer as I have a cottage up there and love getting into the hills.  The road is rough in spots so be prepared for "New England cobblestone".  I'm not trying to alarm or scare anyone, but I'd practice some climbing if possible.  There's nothing super crazy, but there are definitely some hills.  While there are much tougher hills up around the lake, Marsh Hill (about 10 miles into the course) is not really what I'd call a roller.  Paul is a very strong cyclist and triathlete in general, so take his comments with the appropriate caveat! 

Having biked the course a few times in recent weeks, here is what I recall of road conditions:

Rte 106 heading south on the stretch NORTH of Belmont: the breakdown lane has many spots where the pavement is broken up with lots of cracks. I've been forced into the travel lane a few times. 

Rte. 107 on the return (the fast downhill ) pavement is pretty cracked up.

Frank Bean Road (the turn near the Laconia Ice Arena) is rough

Intervale Road (Rte 11b near Beans and Greens Farmstand) is pretty cracked up.

There is also road work going on on Rte 11 right at the entrance to Ellacoya (start and end of the bike). They are currently grooving sections of the road. I'm not sure if there is a total repave or just patching going on there. 

	Distance			Elevation		Grade
Cat	Start	End	Length	Min	Max	Avg.	Max
	9.59 mi	11.22 mi	1.63 mi	646 ft	954 ft	3.6%	--
	43.62 mi	44.25 mi	0.63 mi	888 ft	954 ft	2.0%	--
	48.52 mi	48.99 mi	0.47 mi	748 ft	814 ft	2.7%	--

Thats the data from the worst of the hills on the course.

Here's a link to the route on mapmyride.com:

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43084574

Looks like, from the posted signs, that Rte. 11, from the start at Ellacoya and for 6-miles from there (well past the turn onto 11B) gets paved starting next week. Wish they would do Intervale Rd as well.  

Lot of riders showing up on weekend mornings now to ride the course. 

Riding the bike course tomorrow AM. Always best to do so on Sunday morning, early. 

I use ridewithgps.com, and it has incredible stuff for elevation.  I'll try to attach a pic - the ticks are 200 ft.  I don't know where mapmyride gets their climb data, but Marsh Hill is well over 1 mile - closer to 2, and the first hill after getting onto 11B is more than .5 total for sure, though there are some "rest" spots.  There are certainly no mountains, but Timberman does have some hills.

As it was said in an earlier post, it's probably best to use a compact though it's certainly doable with "normal" gearing.  I'm no Schleck, but I rode it this past weekend with a 53-39 and an 11-26.  A few hills had me wishing I had a 34/28 combo, but only a few times did I really want more gears.  And it's true that there a lot of people riding the course and I'd assume it'll get busier as the race approaches.

They are definitely paving route 11 from Ellacoya next week - all the way to the turn at 11B and beyond, but that part of the highway is almost pristine already so I'm not sure why they are paving it.  There is more traffic on that road, but it's almost perfect right now so it seems like a waste of $$$.  So there are still a few rough sections on the course, but overall it's not a bad course in terms of road quality, but I'm from New Hampshire so that could be relative.