Ironman U.S. Championship : Official Thread (Page 17)

A friend sent me this course preview by Jordan Rapp.  I found it helpful.

http://blog.rappstar.com/2012/07/imnyc-course-preview_12.html

Thanks for sharing.  That was a good read. After checking out the course this past weekend, I was going post some very similar info to what Jordan wrote about.  I couldn't believe how up and down the course was.  I don't think I've ever seen/ridden a course with no flat sections at all.  Discipline is really going to be the key to having a good race here.  There are certainly some solid climbs on the course, but the key is going to be maintaining a steady effort throughout.  Your speed is going to fluctuate quite a bit, but if you're able to maintain a steady effort, your legs should hold up a lot better than if you have a lot of spikes in your effort.  This means not going too hard up the hills, but also continuing to spin down the hills as well.  

As for the run, I always recommend going out EASY for the first 5-6 miles.  Its very easy to get caught up in the hype and let your adrenaline get the best of you when you're leaving transition.  This style of our course is really going to make you pay for it if you go out too hard.  

I was triple bricking 9W and the run course that morning with my coach (what fun that was)...and this Urban swim was going on simultaneously.  I would have given anything to have known about this swim.  From observing the finish from the run course (up on the cliff above ross dock), it looks like it will be exactly (or very close to ) where we exit the water.  it looks like on the IM website that there is an additional ramp from the exit barge which will lead to the actual ross dock transition area (similar to the swim entry/exit ramps at the NYC Olympic).  They didnt have this extra ramp that morning, but where they finished was only about 20 feet from where we are supposed to exit on 8/11.  I tend to think the course was set up very similarly to what we will see.  The water looked very calm also, and absolutely perfect.  I hope we have the same conditions.

it's a shame that the organizers did not put much thought into organizing a similar event for those of us racing.  From what i heard, this was kind of underground, and sold out months ago.  If a local swim group had the wherewithall to organize this for 80 swimmers, i would have thought WTC could do something similar.  I'm local, but I'd venture a guess that many out-of-towners would have traveled here to get a test drive of the swim.  Just another unknown like the bike course that we also cant practice directly on.

Oh well, onward...hope everyone is staying healthy...i'm battling my body on a daily basis.

Nice!!! Always good to have a solid workout to put your mind at ease. My last big ride is this weekend, I am hoping to feel the same.

The Athlete's guide is now online on the Ironman website. I  think it answered my questions, aside from race day temperature and personal fitness.  One thing I noticed was the bike aid stations are 10 to 12 miles apart which seems a lot closer than other IMs.  They also will have Gu Chomps which I kind of like.

http://ironmanuschampionship.com/athletes/athlete-guide/

Yeah, the file was available last night (Israel time). I saw on their FB page that someone corrected a mistake that they made in the guide (Kona slots). They then replied that it will be corrected and reposted again shortly. I guess they're double-checking just to make sure nothing else is wrong as well.

Hi everybody,

This will be my 2nd IM (first was IM France). I am super excited as I live in CT and we finally have a full distance in our backyard (or close!-)

I have a question concerning the "mandatory athlete briefing" at 7:30pm on Thursday. Do you know if we HAVE to be there? I am asking because I can't stay that night in NYC ( 3kids waiting for me at home!!). Anybody has experience from other IM? I didn't do anything like that for France and I can't remember if there was one.

Thanks!

Charlotte