Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas : Official Thread (Page 16)

Great info on the race y'all! This will be my first full IM also and I am very excited!

I work on an offshore oil rig (in Mexico right now), and am gone a month at a time. I train very hard while home, but for this race I had to leave Apr. 6th and will get home May 7th.

I am stuck to doing my training on a stationary bike and a treadmill now. Let me tell you, 1-3 hrs on that bike and up to 18 mile runs on a treadmill are NO FUN lol.

Anyway, I will get home 2 weeks out and plan to get me one good ride on the road (maybe 60-80 miles), a few short runs (maybe up to 10 miles), and some good 4K-5K swims that week and slack it off a week and 2 days from the race. Should be interesting!

As for the swim, I know I can do 2.4 miles without a wetsuit, but if I have the option, I am thinking...Why not wear one and save some energy...I am not going to be fast enough to have to worry about winning anyway, so it seems like a no brainer to me...Thoughts??

Cincyman, I have not rode this course, but it looks like there are some good rollers from maybe mile 40-70.

The length of the hill and grade will dictate if I stay in my aeros or not. 

I try not to push to hard up the hills and then use the easy power pushing down a hill. 

That's a good point about the length of hill and grade. I'm finding that shallow grade downhills I'm comfortable staying in the aero position, but anything more than a few degrees where the speed really builds and my hands stay where the brakes are. 

How did everyone's weekend go? I did 3k swim this morning, 90mile ride this afternoon, and have an hour run tonight. 

Getting close to race day!

I am guessing you live up there. Let us know if they do anymore work. I am guessing they will finish the north bound side and possibly go all the way to 105. With 5 weeks left...who know what they will do. But for us middle of the pack riders...this can be a big time sucker. But man, the second you get off the chip seal it feels like you are gliding on ice!

Lonestar Multisport folks were of the opinion it will be fixed by race day.  I sure hope so.

Please shoot me if I ever come to this.  Good Lord.

Actually, 4-5 hr trainer rides are not bad. Get 3 good movies going and your buffet set up next to you... the plus is you always have the bathroom right there.

Fixed? The gravel everywhere or an ashpalt overlay? It would be hard to believe that they would over lay it. A lot of the road up there are chipseal that has been worn down over time to the smooth roads we know of now. I am not very picky of chip seal but that stuff they have now is terrible.

Chip seal when laid down properly isn't all that bad, assuming you are on a carbon bike. This seemed more intentional then a road repair. The way it is laid right now it can be "brushed" with a street sweeper. The chip seal was not sealed, therefore it was like riding on gravel. The only chip seal before that was up in Grimes county (Richards Loop) and once you hit Montgomery the roads are great except for this new stretch. I really wonder if this a reaction to the local residents being upset about the increase in cyclist in the area.

Also, on the shoulder of the bridge over FM 2854 (just before the hard left turn) there were 100's of rusty nails. Be careful if you are riding in advance.

On a positive, I would rather them lay down some chip seal than swerve at me while riding out there!

They said it should be smooth by race day.  That's all I'm going by.

5 Weeks away folks!

FM 149 was resurfaced from 105 (Montgomery) north to the county line in Fall of 2011. The process they used involved a chip overlay of the existing road, followed by a smooth ashalt surface. The way I remeber it, the whole process took about a month to complete, but I could be off. I'd have an easy time believing this is what's going on, as there really are not too many rough chip seal roads in Montgomery County. During the 2011 Oilman race, about 75% of this section was still in the rough chipseal condition, and it was a slow bumpy ride.  

It sure would be nice if they'd add shoulders to this section while the crew's out there. That would go a long way in helping with the congestion / safety issues.

Agree. If I remember right, 149 on the oilman/Ironman course got finished at a clip of about 9 miles per day. Oilman happened about a day or 2 too soon, as the roads were great the next week. Also, 149 after jackson road on the return trip got a great shoulder when they redid it. Hopefully this will receive the same fate.

3500m swim on friday

108 mile bike (split 50 on trainer and 68 outside after it was light out) on saturday

5.8 mile run on sunday...man it was pretty hot on Sunday afternoon...I'd better get used to this!

I haven't minded some long rides on the trainer (and maybe you all are faster than me so it doesn't take as much time to go your prescribed distances), but 5 hours is about my max....96 miles seems crazy to me ....better than not getting the ride in though, I guess!