Ironman Wisconsin : Official Thread (Page 11)

One giant rectangle seems a lot nicer than a smaller rectangle done twice on the swim.  Seems like a great change to the course.  I also had to laugh when they announced they made changes to the bike course, but did NOT remove any of the hills.  Whew, glad they didn't make it easier for us

March was a little better for me:

Daffodil,

Long story short.  You don't have to worry about the changes to the bike course.  You won't even notice the difference.  They are very small changes.

The longer version is this: It looks like they added a little "jaunt" (read very short distance) by Rimrock road when you first start and took out the equally short strip going from G to 92.  Instead taking Messerschmidt road.  These are all on the way out to the loops.

Don't stress and Happy training!

Thanks!!!

March was bigger than February for me to.  I took two days off because of being sick and 2 days off for other reasons (one day before I got sick, was very tired - likely because I was getting sick and one day I was getting an oil change after work and it took to long so I missed my class.  Other than that hit *most* of my scheduled workouts.  I guess I missed about half of my strenght training sessions .  On the bike, I only enter my miles when it is outside on the road.  I feel pretty good about where I am now.  I weight less (even if marginally) than I did at IMFL, and I am confident that I will be able to drop at least another 10 lbs before race day so I'm feeling good!

I rode the course today and adding Messerschmidt is going to be interesting.  It's basically another section like Witte, big roller coaster style hills.  As a point of reference I hit 41.8 mph without pedaling.  The climb up is longer then the ride down. In total there are approx 4 up and down hills but 1 hill in the middle has a climb that can be done with a little pedaling.

I drove the new section including Whalen.  As of this morning there was a sign up saying Whalen would be closed from April 9 until June for repairs.  That's very good since it would be one of the roughest sections, including Stagecoach.  

Take all of this with a grain of salt since it was a miserable ride because of weather and performance.  

Thanks for the info!

Volunteer site is open! I snagged a prime shift on Saturday so we can spectate all day Sunday. If you know people looking to volunteer, let them know.

http://www.volunteermadison.com/ 

FYI...this is where a lot of us camp when racing or volunteering for Moo. Great place for camping.  This will be our 4th year here.  It is right off the capitol view bike trail and 10 min bike ride time from the swim start.  

https://www.reservedane.com/parks.aspx

Lake Farm Park

Wow, that looks like a much better option.

I saw that one on the map, but I didn't think we could fit our RV in there because it's pretty big.  
I think I'll be switching. 

Tires

I know this is a common topic, but I wanted the opinion of our current posting forumers.

I'm new to riding in general and haven't had too much experience with many tires.  I quickly found that the Vittoria Zaffiros that came stock on my Felt B16 didn't last very long.  My LBS recommended Bontrager Race X Lite Hard Case tires and I've been using them since I blew out the Zaffiros.  

I'm imagining that I might need a new set of tires by the time our race hits this year and would like to hear some opinions on what I should use if I want a good tire to run at Ironman Wisconsin this year.  A tire that I can reliably race on (I'd prefer to not have a flat) and also train on when the race is over.  I don't plan on being very fast on the bike course, so I'm not one who is concerned with every single gram.

I have noticed that a lot of people like the Continental GP 4000's and the Michelin Pro 3 Race tires.

Suggestions and comments are welcome.

hmmmm....I use the Pro Race 3's and would probably use them at IMWI this year.  Interesting on the flat tire thing, I hadn't heard they are prone to that.  Either I'll work on my tire changing skills this year or just get the Gatorskins

Or good luck on our part.  I've heard others also make this complaint of the PR3's.  Just hasn't been my experience so far (knock wood!!).

I did after the 2nd flat but couldn't find anything.  My 3rd flat the tire went down really fast (not a complete blowout) while I was cornering and the rim chewed up the sidewall.  I checked again and used the tire for my next ride.  Everything went fine then about 10 min after I got back and the bike was sitting still the tire blew, most likely due to the sidewall but that was enough for me.  I went inside and ordered the gatorskins.  

I'll most likely switch back to the PR3's or PR4's for IM but I am going to stick with the gatorskins for training.

This race is really timed in a unique spot. Do the Half, race it hard, and you will end up starting your taper for IMWI just as you finish your recovery from the race, which most likely will include a couple of easy days before the Rev 3 race. So that is a month of decreasing volume leading into IMWI, could be good or bad.

Talked to my coach a lot about this and if I race Rev 3 this year it will most likely be the Olympic. Still get in some great intensity and hills on the course, but I can get right back into high volume training the next day and not have to sacrifice 5-7 days of training leading into my taper.

Just some food for thought, and everyone's body responds differently. But if you are racing in the M25-29 group I say do the half and really bury yourself in the race! 

You are safe.  I am racing the men's mid-life crisis age group (40-44).

After riding the course this weekend I don't think I will do the half this year.  It would be right at the start of my taper but since this will be my 1st IM I don't want to mess up too much.  I will, however, be riding the Devil's Head hill every Sunday until IMWI.    I did the hill twice this weekend (1 full ride up, a ride back down and then rode/walked the 2nd time up).  I was pretty amazed with how tired my legs were the next day.  

If anyone is riding this course or just the hill to practice please be aware that there are two dogs at the end of Bluff Rd and the start of the last portion of the climb on Tower Rd.  I don't think they will bite but they did chase me for 50-100 meters up the hill and the lead dog was acting fairly aggressive, enough so I had to take a swing at it to make it back away.

On the ride down the back side I hit 46.93 mph while coasting and I used my breaks for part of the way.

how long is this climb and how much gain does it have?