Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island : Official Thread (Page 10)

Is there a mandatory athlete meeting, seems that Friday/Saturday are littered with athlete race briefings. No mention of them being mandatory. Also anyone know if they are providing the gearbags for T1 that they will use to transport our crap to T2. I seem to recall they did last year.

I should be heading up Friday for the expo if anyone wants to meet up. Then running back up Saturday to drop my bike off hopefully earlier in the day than later. Doubtful I will hang around much Saturday.

looks like the cool kids are going to the expo on Friday.  in addition to the expo, I'm going to the Roger Williams Zoo.  ok, you may now be jealous...

is it strange that I feel partly excited, partly terrified and partly relieved that this race is almost here?  I've been training for so long, I just want to be standing on the beach in my wetsuit already...

None of the race breifings are mandatory.  At the Expo you will get a Black Bag - that's for all your T1 stuff.  You will bring that bag down to the race with you on Sunday morning, along with your Race morning bag (forget what color that one is).  Your race morning bag will have your Race Day nutrition and any extra clothes you have.   Race morning (after you set your bike up) you will check that bag and give it to volunteers on a truck.   When you come out of the water for the swim part of the race, you will rip off your wetsuit and stuff it into the Black Bag.  It's a Clean Transition, so everything must go in that bag.  That Bag too will be collected by the volunteers after everyone has left T1 and will be transported up to T2.

In T2 will be your T2 Bag with your running shoes and anything you need for the Run: visor, gels, etc... 

I know it sounds confusing, but it's not.  It will all be explained again at the Expo and it's all in the Athlete Guide.

Quick Rehash:  Go to Expo get a bunch of different colored bags.  Your T2 Bag you will stuff all your running stuff into and on Saturday afternoon you will drop it off in T2, which is right in front of the State Capital Building in Providence.  Also on Saturday, you will drop your Bike off in T1, which is down at Narragansett.  You will get a parking pass at the Expo that will designate which time you can go down and drop the bike off. 

Race morning you will bring your Morning Bag with you that will have your Bike Nutrition and anything else you need for Race morning: helmet, shoes (if you choose not to leave them clipped onto your pedals the night before), any extra clothing you wear to the Race and then take off and don't need; THEY DONT WANT YOU PUTTING BIKE PUMPS IN THESE BAGS   Also in the Race Morning Bag will be your empty Black T1 Bag.  You place that beneath your bike so when you come out of the water you shove your wetsuit and anything else into it.  Your Morning Bag which will be checked onto a delivery check Race Morning along with your Black T1 bag will arrive in Providence by the time you are done with your race.  Your number is prominently displayed on the bag via sticker and after you finish, to the left of the finishing chute will be a big tent with the bags hanging from poles in number order. 

Again, it sounds confusing but it's not and it went very smooth last year.  They even had volunteers at T2 helping you open your T2 bag and get your running gear sorted out.  That blew me away.  It was awesome.  Full Ironman concierge service    

I will be there on Friday with my "Speaker City" good luck tee. Bright red...hard to miss.

VM

Getting very excited now!! Won't be leaving NJ till Sat. morning so unfortunately won't be at the expo till noonish - hopefully the crowds will be less than last year.  If all goes well, I'll do a quick swimmy once we get down to the beach.

The Expo is decent.  It's at the Rhode Island Convention Center, which has reeeally long escalators   Last year we got there early Saturday morning, but still had to wait around an hour to get in!!  The Expo has the usual vendors, stores, etc...  Best Expo I was ever at was the NYC Marathon Expo -- that was special. 

I also will be making a weekend out of it.  Leaving Friday morning from NH with the whole family (2 kids, wife).  We are planning on going to the zoo on Saturday, should be fun.

I have to say I'm pretty nervous (first HIM).  I should be OK but that shark report and the hill on the run have been keeping me up at night.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

This might be a REALLY REALLY stupid question, but I also wanted to prove the saying wrong that "the only stupid question is the one left unasked."

Is there any differentiation between Ironman logo / gear for a Half Ironman and a Full Ironman?

They don't have an M-Dot with a "half" or a "/2" under it do they?  Or they put "70.3" after everything?

I don't want to be an M-Dot poser when I'm going to be only half an Ironman...