Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 118)

Dirk I'd love to be there with you guys but I will have to take a raincheck this year and hopefully you guys do it again next year. I'm in the same boat as Warren I've used up all my credits for the season and then some between the Syracuse and Wisconsin trip plus all the stuff I have been purchasing for IMWI, I'm already in the doghouse. I think my wife would kill me or at the very least divorce me if I were to go to Indy this year.

I'm glad to see that a good portion of the group may get to go and race together. I think that would be great to see as many of the Junkies who can make it be there. I'll still get to see JoAnne at Syracuse and Brenda at Wisconsin this year and looking forward to that.

x2 and I would have to agree with Matt I would be in the same category, boat anchor sounds about right.

JeffY - 2013-05-13 5:16 PM

trigal38 - 2013-05-13 4:05 PM

bswcpa - 2013-05-13 3:51 PM Whoops - my bad, Dina. I'm sorry but I thought I'd remembered reading you'll be with family that weekend. Don't know where my old mind came up with that info so please forgive me. I don't know about it selling out. And even if I did know if it does or doesn't, I don't trust that I'd know it correctly.

You remembered correctly! My Mother told me back in December that her brothers/sisters talked about a family reunion that weekend and Mom was giving us a heads up to save the date but now no one has stepped up to make it official if that makes sense. Mom said someone would be sending out an email with time, place etc but so far I have not heard anything. So, I'm not sure. I don't want to ask too many questions or you know where I'll be - planning the whole thing!

You can tell your family that you have another family reunion that weekend so they need to pick another date! 

I just acquainted myself with the course map.  This is a FAST course!  Well, the bike course does have a lot of turns through the city, and one turn that's tighter than 90 degrees.  But if someone knows how to rail the turns well, it shouldn't slow too much.

Maybe Dirk can tell us what the road surface quality is.

The run course is flat too, so will be fast.

And talk about spectator friendly!!!

Not only is the swim in a 40 foot wide canal with a couple of bridges over it, but the bike route and run route are both 2 laps for the Olympic distance race.

 

Dina, I am with Jeff.  Tell the family that you work on a first come first serve basis and.......well, we asked first!  At least with a firm date anyway.

Your assessment is correct.  This is a fast course.  The bike course has varying road surfaces.  Lasy year they repaved a section of the course that made it much better but there are still some pretty horrible roads to ride on.  The first year I rode this route I told another athlete as I was passing them that "I didn't realize I would need a cup for this race."  Okay, it wasn't that bad but I did lose a couple of fillings.

Seriously, there is a pretty bad section across the back of the loop that can be pretty bad.  Last year there were at 5 flats through this section.  Here's a link to my Garmin Connect route from the race.  Here's the recon:

• As you come out of T1 you will be on a wide walking bridge.  (It's wide enough for two lane of vehicle traffic but is limited to pedestrians.  This is also the run out too.)  When you exit T1 you will be on the left side of the bridge and head toward a left turn onto a narrower sidewalk.  Watch out for pedestrians where it narrows to a normal sidewalk width.  Last year I encountered a small family on the sidewalk.  Yeah!  I know, it should have been closed!
• When you get closer to the street there is plywood lying on the ground to get you to the street.  So watch out there.
• Once out of the "loop" and onto the main roads it is pretty decent roads with some vehicular traffic but this is pretty well taken care off with traffic cones.
• You'll take a right turn onto White River Pkwy west and stay on that for a little more than 1.5 miles.  But just after the 2 (14.5) mile marker there are some really, really rough tracks there.  BE CAREFUL!!  Last year for my second loop the street was thoroughly littered with water bottles.  Be careful of that for your second loop! 
• From the rail road tracks to the beginning of the 6th (18) mile it's pretty decent.  The roads are basically smooth but there are a couple of intersections that can be rather bumpy but as long as you're ready there not a problem.
• Mile 5 (17) begins some of the tighter turns through the backside a park near the Velodrome.  The tightest turn on the course is here.  Watch out for some sandy gravel if they've not swept it.
• About 6.5 (18.75) miles in is a right hand turn and this is where the road gets really rugged.  The intersection where this begins is W 29th St onto White River Wapahani Trail. It is a really rough section all the way to mile 8 (20).
• Then there is a hard right turn at mile 9.5 (21.5) but you can keep some pretty decent speed as it's a slight downhill and the intersection is pretty clean and smooth as I remember it.
• From here the rest of the loop is pretty good.  No tough turns and the pavement is pretty good.

Note:  The bike finish area can get really congested if there are slow cyclists in front of you.  Be ready for the breaks and come out of your shoes a little early to avoid being caught unable to get out of your shoes in time.

I can recon the run course tomorrow if you all would like.  Right now it's time for bed.

Chiming in on the post race convo - I think everyone is different.  I personally can remember feeling "freedom" after my big races... like I could do whatever I wanted, play some b-ball or soccer.  I would never do it during training b/c of lack of time and fear of spraining an ankle that would cause me to miss a week of training.  I can also remember feeling sort of depressed, like "what now?"... and being very unmotivated to workout.  I also relate to those that need a race of a goal to get me motivated... 

My advice: get on that pig and hold on tight!

I Would like to get some input on my IM next season.  I have been looking at elevation charts to try to determine which one I would like to do but I currently can't make my mind up.   The most likely races are Wisconsin and Louisville but I did look at Texas.  Texas would be  definite long shot because of distance and airfare with bike shipping added.....It's almost completely out.

IM Wisconsin has a greater elevation gain but is held when I would expect decent temps.

IM Lou has a better looking elevation graph but is held in August and notoriously hot.

Thoughts?

Dirk, I have no idea about the IM races, which ones fill up fast.

I will not be able to attend the junkies Reunion...dang i wish I could, sounds like fun.  I've been hanging low waiting for the group to open and gosh ya'll are wide open, I've missed a LOT but I've read all the post.

Jen, when H has the big V, tell him it hurts like all get out.  The nurse beside me put an ice bag on my forhead because I was about to pass out I think.  When they cut the tube, it felt like someone just kicked me there...and there are 2 of them...oh what I had to look forward to...maybe they just didn;t get it dead enough...  Tell him good luck and glad it is him..not me... but there is an upside, in the future no more worrying about getting pregnant.

On a better not, it is getting HOT here in the afternoons, mid 80's.  Also now taht the weather is nice, there is no pool time since all the "kiddies" are in the pool and hey close off 1/2 the pool for them...look like it will be OWS until it rains or and the kiddies don't come out or until it cool off.

Planning on riding 30 miles to Jen's town this weekend to run a 10K race and ride home...supposed to be great weather, low's mid 60's, high's mid 80's

Ya'll contineue to work out hard 

Dirk I can't comment on Texas since I don't know anyone who has personally done that one. All I know is that it is flat and can get hot even though it's in May.

My friend did IM LOU last year and it is a great race. Very well supported but it can be very hot. The bike course is not as technical as IMWI but you do have rolling hills and such so it is not a flat course. I think he did it in around 5:30 and he is a good cyclist. I heard the same for the run there is some elevation but it's not terrible the one thing I have heard is there isn't much shade along the course so when it is really hot there is no relief from the heat. The one thing about IM LOU which a lot of people don't like is it is not wetsuit legal and it is a TT swim so it scares off some people who are not confident in their swimming ability. Plus it does not fill up right away so you could literally sign up a month before the race. If those things don't turn you off it really is a great race but I think it can be tough especially with the heat.

Two other guys I have trained with have done IMWI and rode the bike course. I'm sure JoAnne could talk more to this than I can but IMWI is considered the 2nd hardest IM course. The bike course is very technical and lot's of hills. There are 3 main hills that you need to climb. The course is 18 miles out and two 38 mile loops and 18 miles back. There are also lot's of turns on the course. The thing about the bike course is you are never resting, you are constantly changing gears and adjusting to the terrain.  That's what makes it so tough, people tend to go out too hard and they pay for it and the course wears them out. The run is not bad it's pretty flat except towards the end of the race towards the finish. It's a two loop course. The swim is a mass start and a single loop in Lake Monona. This race is also very well supported and the temps can very you can have hot weather up in the 90's or you can get a nice cool 60 degree day or you can get something in between. If you do this one you need to sign up the day registeration opens it will sell out that day.

The reasons I choose to do Wisconsin is that it is a tough course and I wanted a challenging course to do. It is a very well supported race, Madison really embraces the race. And most importantly it lines up well with my training schedule especially the OWS time. Since I really will only have the end of May to mid to late September to swim in the lake I thought this would give me the optimal training time for my OWS in the lake. It also gives me the most time to train outdoors on the bike and for the run.

The other two you might consider are Mount Tremblant and Lake Placid. The guys I train with have done those races and they rave about them. The bike courses are hills though and they both have different profiles but they are great races that are also very well supported.

The other thing you might consider is not flying but driving to your destination which might help save you some money with the travel expenses. I am going to drive to Wisconsin over a week ahead of time. So no airfare cost and no bike shipping cost. I also have a timeshare so I kept the cost down as well trading it for something in Wisconsin. Whatever you decide to do start thinking about it now especially if you are going to do a race that fills up fast like Florida or Arizona. They sell out instantly.

Brenda, shoot if you heard me talk you would think think I was (probably am) so dumb.  have ya'll ever seen the show Moonshiners...could ya'll unhderstand JimTom, I think was his name...

Now Brenda which Ironman do you relly think Dirk should do?  lol

Brenda good luck to your daughter at the track meet and I'm sorry to hear that she's lost her track shoes. I hope that doesn't hinder her chances to do well. I also agree with you but did not want to say it but if I was Dirk knowing you and JoAnne were going to do IMWI next year that'd be my choice too.

Dirk, Does it have to be an Ironman race?  If so, you need to do IMWI.

I’ve always thought that for stronger athletes, harder courses are better.  You will kill that bike since you’re strong and fearless and light.  One other thing is you are emotional, and I think Texas and to a lesser degree IMLou will drive you nuts with drafting.  IMWI, with its hills, separates out and there is far less drafting.  And Brenda has a lot of great reasons to pick Wisconsin as well.

Brenda, she should race barefoot!  It's a track.  It's a smooth, relatively clean surface.  She would love the feeling of weightlessness. 

But her CC shoes will do her just fine too, of course.

I don't know anything about IM.. yet. We do have one Tri Club member in town training for his first IM, which is going to be Louisville. He is 56 years young and a great swimmer.

Sounds like everyone is steering you toward IMWI.... I say do IM-Panama City Beach, Florida in November. Karl and I amre here to support you and the family.   

I've told people that I sweep the swim course. 

Great... just great..... The hubby likes to proclaim that he is a big, tough guy at 6'1 and 240 pounds and has a high tolerance for pain. I believe otherwise. I am not going to tell him what he is in for, but at least I now know that he is going to be in some serious pain. He about passed out from pain when he had a boil lanced on his back years ago.

I've given him two children and told him I didn't plan on putting chemicals in my body to mess with my natural chemistry (birth control), which could affect my training and general health. So, birth control will now be his responsibility.    

Agree with Jeff's assessment and will add the biggest issue here is likely the mental side.  Encourage her to just totally bring whatever she has on the day with whatever equipment she has on her feet.  Positive, positive, positive.  She WILL qualify!

bswcpa - 2013-05-14 8:43 AM WILL - Thanks for my morning laugh. The pig/monkey video is too funny. Love when the monkey falls off and chases the pig down to get back on for another ride. Chuckle, chuckle... DIRK - You know which IM Im going to HIGHLY recommend you doing, right? Just throw Texas out, because travel would be crazy and you couldn't go and do a training weekend there. With both Louisville and Wisconsin you could. Here's the reasons you should do IMWI in 2014: 1) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 2) Per RunTri.com, Wisconsin is an easier course (even with the tougher elevation) than both Louisville and Texas. (OK, so it's a miniscule difference, but still) 3) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 4) Tony will be racing there this year and you can glean alot of good info from him. 5) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 6) The crowd atmosphere can't be beat - there will be folks cheering you on the whole time. 7) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 8) There's a campground just 4 miles away from transition with a bike path leading to the race site, so easy access. Camping will save you travel dollars and you'll be sleeping in a familiar bed so you'll get better rest. I've searched, but Louisville has no camping facilities close. 9) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 10) Madison is a great town and Lisa and your girls would love the Saturday market around the capitol building. 11) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 12) Now that you're older you'll need the cooler weather of September because the heat of Louisville would just be too much. Simply put, I selfishly would love to race with you there. Taking myself out of it, though, I'd still say Wisconsin has Louisville beat from the research I've done. The heat, swim and lack of camping took Louisville out of contention for me. I'm not sure which one is more spectator friendly so I'd definitely check into that for Lisa's sake. It's a big decision so I'll pray for you. Tonight's my daughter's sectional track meet and she's seeded first in her two events. Unfortunately we had a tear-filled night because she lost her track spikes. We tore the house and cars apart and can't find them. They don't use them in practice so she thinks she may have left them on the track after last weeks meet. Unfortunately no one turned in anything. There's no time to break in new shoes so she'll wear her cross country shoes tonight. Don't you hate when stressful things come into your kids lives? I know this is a learning experience for her so I'll keep trusting the Lord to give her peace today. She needs to finish top 4 to go onto regionals. Like KARL said in his southern accent - "Ya'll continue to work hard!" (love ya, Karl) Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

You make some pretty important points.  Especially points: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11!!  While those are valid points I am in a bit of a conundrum with what to do.  I have been leaning toward Wisconsin anyway and I'll have to be paying attention closely so I can try to get in.

Are you planning on volunteering this year to make sure you get an entry slot?  I know IMWI sold out pretty quick last year.  Kind of like Tony was saying but I thought it sold out in hours not days.

Too bad for Tennie!  Hopefully she's done or is doing well as I write this post.  I really doubt she'll have much of an issue qualifying.  I will obviously be checking FB soon to see if you've posted anything there.

Tony, The IM athletes I know have a very similar opinion of IMLOU.  The heat can be pretty ridiculous but the swim isn't of concern to me.  I have heard the IMLP bike course is really tough.  Lots of hills on that one!  I will likely keep the course closer to home to save some expenses.  As it is I will likely need some new gear, such as cassette, and a bike fit too. 

Either way I'll be watching my expenses next year and probably cut a few races out to pinch some of those pennies.  However,  I will be keeping Tri-Indy on the schedule for Lis.

Actually I think it does need to be IM brand,.  I know it sounds weird but it will be a mental thing for me.  When you mention IM to anyone they seem to have an understanding of at least what the race means, although they don't have real knowledge of the race distances.  They will think I am crazy.......er than they already know I am.  Besides, I am not sure I will do another IM after this one.  It is a sort of bucket list kind of thing.  Because of the time it takes to train for this distance I am not sure I want to commit to doing something that time consuming more than once.

Emotional??  Have you been reading my race reports again?  Please don't do this and then call me on it.  Because I'll DENY! DENY! DENY! 

Strong??  I am not sure I agree with this either.  I might agree that I am strong after I finish an IM but I don't think I can agree prior to finishing.  I'll be a tough guy later, I guess.  When I have a finishers medal.

When it came to my "big V" I didn't really have any trouble.  I actually didn't have a lot of pain.  It was more te idea of what was happening down there that made me very skiddish.  I was just very mentally uncomfortable!!!  Lis was there when I had it done and she was laughing at me during the procedure.

After I was done with the procedure I took the rest of the day on the couch with some ice and Nsaids.  Then on the following day I worked with the fire department at a local race track doing EMS and Rescue work.  A friend of mine went duck hunting with me the day after his vasectomy.  I really didn't think it was that bad.  Of course I would not be anxious to go through it again though!

There are several local IM racers around here and they seem to choose Wisconsin, Lou or Florida. I volunteered at Lou the year my friend Tiff raced it but I was stuck on a corner all afternoon directing & cheering the runners so I didn't see a lot of the course. The line to start the swim was sooooo long, I can't even imagine everyone starting at the same time. It just wrapped around as far as I could see. She lucked out and the weather that year was not that bad - 80's if I remember right. I mean that is still hot when you are running a marathon in the middle of the day but it could have been a lot worse.

We had our first open water swim of the year tonight at Tiff's pond. I brought the kids with me because DH had a meeting. I was standing there spraying oil on myself to try and squeeze into my wetsuit. It must have taken every bit of 15 minutes just to pack myself into that thing and the whole time my kids were jumping right into the water with their clothes on LOL!

My husband had it done 3 years ago. I was with him during the procedure and the only part that looked really uncomfortable was when the dr. numbed the area (they inject a local anesthetic). After that he said he felt some tugging & pressure but no pain. He had it done on Friday and was back at work on Monday. It is AWESOME not having to think about birth control and to know we won't be having any "surprises"

I tried to be very nice and supportive (and I was for the most part) but when he was still lying in bed the Sunday asking me to make him lunch, etc, etc...I reminded him how I probably felt pretty similar physically after I had an episiotomy with our 3rd child. Yep, I felt just like you do now, but I managed to take care of a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a newborn... a few minutes later, he got out of bed and unloaded the dishwasher

DirkP - 2013-05-14 7:49 PM

bswcpa - 2013-05-14 8:43 AM WILL - Thanks for my morning laugh. The pig/monkey video is too funny. Love when the monkey falls off and chases the pig down to get back on for another ride. Chuckle, chuckle... DIRK - You know which IM Im going to HIGHLY recommend you doing, right? Just throw Texas out, because travel would be crazy and you couldn't go and do a training weekend there. With both Louisville and Wisconsin you could. Here's the reasons you should do IMWI in 2014: 1) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 2) Per RunTri.com, Wisconsin is an easier course (even with the tougher elevation) than both Louisville and Texas. (OK, so it's a miniscule difference, but still) 3) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 4) Tony will be racing there this year and you can glean alot of good info from him. 5) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 6) The crowd atmosphere can't be beat - there will be folks cheering you on the whole time. 7) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 8) There's a campground just 4 miles away from transition with a bike path leading to the race site, so easy access. Camping will save you travel dollars and you'll be sleeping in a familiar bed so you'll get better rest. I've searched, but Louisville has no camping facilities close. 9) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 10) Madison is a great town and Lisa and your girls would love the Saturday market around the capitol building. 11) I plan on racing there and JoAnne, too. 12) Now that you're older you'll need the cooler weather of September because the heat of Louisville would just be too much. Simply put, I selfishly would love to race with you there. Taking myself out of it, though, I'd still say Wisconsin has Louisville beat from the research I've done. The heat, swim and lack of camping took Louisville out of contention for me. I'm not sure which one is more spectator friendly so I'd definitely check into that for Lisa's sake. It's a big decision so I'll pray for you. Tonight's my daughter's sectional track meet and she's seeded first in her two events. Unfortunately we had a tear-filled night because she lost her track spikes. We tore the house and cars apart and can't find them. They don't use them in practice so she thinks she may have left them on the track after last weeks meet. Unfortunately no one turned in anything. There's no time to break in new shoes so she'll wear her cross country shoes tonight. Don't you hate when stressful things come into your kids lives? I know this is a learning experience for her so I'll keep trusting the Lord to give her peace today. She needs to finish top 4 to go onto regionals. Like KARL said in his southern accent - "Ya'll continue to work hard!" (love ya, Karl) Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

You make some pretty important points.  Especially points: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11!!  While those are valid points I am in a bit of a conundrum with what to do.  I have been leaning toward Wisconsin anyway and I'll have to be paying attention closely so I can try to get in.

Are you planning on volunteering this year to make sure you get an entry slot?  I know IMWI sold out pretty quick last year.  Kind of like Tony was saying but I thought it sold out in hours not days.

Too bad for Tennie!  Hopefully she's done or is doing well as I write this post.  I really doubt she'll have much of an issue qualifying.  I will obviously be checking FB soon to see if you've posted anything there.

Tony, The IM athletes I know have a very similar opinion of IMLOU.  The heat can be pretty ridiculous but the swim isn't of concern to me.  I have heard the IMLP bike course is really tough.  Lots of hills on that one!  I will likely keep the course closer to home to save some expenses.  As it is I will likely need some new gear, such as cassette, and a bike fit too. 

Either way I'll be watching my expenses next year and probably cut a few races out to pinch some of those pennies.  However,  I will be keeping Tri-Indy on the schedule for Lis.

Dirk I think either IMLOU or IMWI would be great choices they are both great races that are very well supported. I think you'd have more company though doing IMWI and it would be great to see a bunch of the Junkies taken the course on together next year.

I would agree with you on the one time thing as well. I think I sort of underestimated the effort it would take to get ready for IM. Not the training aspect I knew that was going to be tough but I think the hardest thing about it is trying to find balance in my life between family, work and training. I've tried not to stress too much about it and have tried to make this a challenging and fun experience for myself. However on the other hand I also think at times that I can't wait for this to all be over!

The other thing about it is that the thought of IM is always looming. I have not let it consume me but I have to admit I am always thinking about it. As much as I believe I can do it I'm always thinking "can I do it?", "will I be ready?" and "am I doing enough?". I guess it is typical of what first timers go through. I would probably like to do another IM in the future but I will definitely not be doing one next year. One of the guys I train with said it best, he said IM takes alot out you and I would have to say I agree and I haven't even done it yet!

Jo63 - 2013-05-15 7:10 AM Finally caught up! Tony & dirk thanks for the recommendations for nutrition I will give both a try. Will, I did use PBJ 's and bananas last year, I need something solid, I just went to a nutriontal talk on Sat she also recommended pretzels as it also has the salt factor. As for motivation I have to have something scheduled for after Syracuse, we are doing a Saprtan run in Septmeber so I will check out Tri-Indy and talk to my husband and see if we can swing it! Dina, was the water temp cold??? Brenda how did your daughter do? Dirk as far as what IM, you should definetly do IMWI. There is so much support from the spectators, you will love it! I too am volunteering just have to sign up for something all the funner stuff was gone by the time I decided to do this and..... If you volunteer you can go and cheer Tony on and stand in line To sign up on Sept 9 with Brenda and I and help me celebrate my 50th birthday

JoAnne no matter what happens after the IMWI this year if for some reason I lose my mind and get caught up in the euphoria of it all make sure you and Brenda do not allow me to line up and sign up again next year! I've already told my  wife to take away my credit cards and not to allow me sign up for ANY full distance IM race next year!