Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 2)

I'm only tapering a week... I went nuts last year with a two week taper - plus I blew off most of my June training - so I'm going hard for the next 2 weeks, slightly easier the 3rd and really easy the week before.

Hoping for nice weather!  Last year was great - slightly overcast for my run - which was perfect.  I'm hoping for a better run this year - eat less drink more will be my mantra! *laughing*  I didn't notice the wind as much as others - but I train in wind all the time - I swear it never stops around here... *sigh*

If we get a vote, I will  vote for slightly overcast!!!

i was in sj/bh over the 4th and trained a bit on the course and thought I would share a few comments.  

the swim:  the current did seem to change from day to day.  the morning i went out on 7/3 it was flowing north and i swam from the pier to jean klock with my wife in a kayak beside me.  beautiful morning and between the wetsuit and the push from the current, the swim was easy going.  who knows what we'll get on race day.  also wondered if the water might eventually warm to the no wetsuit zone.

the bike:  i rode out and back on blue star highway twice to check out this stretch of course.  the first time sucked as they were resurfacing the road and had traffic sharing a single lane - when i saw the cars coming right at me, i bailed to the east.  the second time out was great - the new surface starting around enterprise way was smooth and fast.  however, as has been pointed out, the north headwind slowed me down a bit coming back.     

the run:  well, the course is marked already so i just followed the arrows!  the path through the whirlpool campus had some cracks.  fairly flat, but good to know about the hill on benson road loop.

some of this info probably not new to those who have raced steelhead, but thought i would share....

cool, good info. I have never been out there to race.

I wasn't thinking Lake Michigan would be that warm.

My taper started even earlier.  Cut the bottom of my foot on a rock in the surf at Waikiki Beach, so I've been hobbling around as a tourist, eating a lot and not running.  That's OK...I'll somehow survive...

yea, it was warming quite a bit over the fourth and i see today its at 76 degrees according to this site  http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/michigan/m52.html

so laffenguy, you are stationed in bagdad and flying in for this event?

Yes I am. I have my 2 weeks R+R and I am going to start it with this!!!

Flying in the night of the 28th, putting my bike together on the 29th and making sure all is ok, then up to Benton Harbor on the 30th.

All the close by hotels were booked, I got one in Dowagiac (sp?) about 20 mins away

Just look for the guy on a blue and white Stevens bike. I will probably have the only Stevens bike out there.

so you're doing the 'ole tri+r+r !  very cool.  i'll be arriving from madison, wi on the 29th as well and i'm staying at my inlaws who live only a couple miles from the race site.  clearly my journey to the start line is nothing like yours.  i'll likely be celebrating my finish (fingers crossed) at the livery, which is a cool brew pub in an old historic building in benton harbor.  first round for any bt'ers is on me.

in any case, thank you for your service laffenguy.  is it really 120 there today?

I think I can talk my wife into being a DD for the night. Cold beverages might just be what the doctor ordered.

Yes, it is 120 here today. I did 50 miles on my bike and went thru almost a gallon of water!!!! And I started at 0530, its was 88 then, over 100 when we finished.

Well,  I'm in.  What the heck.

drink the kool aid!!!

I am holding steady and will start on Monday.


Bike goes in a box on the 24th............

I am registered an looking forward to this event even though my running has been almost nil since March when I was diagnosed with a pelvic stress fracture.  Last week I started a return to running plan with one minute of running and four minutes of walking . . . so the run is going to be slow going.  I should be good with the swim and the bike. 

As this is my first HIM, I'm really looking forward to it!

I am registered too.  This will be my first HIM.

I have a few questions, if anyone is familiar with the race:
1)  Approximately how far out from shore is the swim course?
2)  We don't have to jump off a dock into the water for the swim start like they did when the race first started a few years ago, do we?
3)  If it is actually cool enough in the morning where we are wearing sweatshirts/pants and want to wear them down to the swim start, is the only option to leave the clothes with a friend/family member who is there watching?
4)  How many aid stations are there on the run course?  I couldn't really tell from the course map, but it looks like they are less often than 1 per mile.

Yay! Congrats!!!

1. The swim course isn't far from shore.  It's a beach start and a straight line.

2. We started from the beach last year.

3. I go to the local thrift store, buy a pair of warm-up clothes, run them through a hot wash with bleach and leave them at the start.  That way I'm out maybe 10$ at the most and they get picked up and donated or someone who can use them picks them up.

4. I'm not sure - but there were a lot of them.  I would guess every mile?

Like Silver Wolf said, its along the shore. Its probably 30 yards or so out, in about 10-12' of water.

Last year they had a drop off point where you could leave a bag of items.  They put it all on a truck and deliver it back to the start/finish line.  Most people I saw just wore their wet suit half on and didn't bring anything with them - that's what I did and will likely do again this year.

I agree with SW, it was close to every mile - if not right on, then pretty close.

Thanks guys, that makes me feel better. 

The pier start was only an option if you started South and swam North to JK park.  Pretty cool to do so in 2006, but they've eliminated it even for swimming from that direction.  Now you wade out into the water and swim parallel to shore. 

Water temp should be 70-73, but could be as cold as 65 or so if winds push a lot of cold water in.  It can change in a matter of hours, but would unlikely ever be warm enough that wetsuits aren't allowed. 

There are probably at least 10 aid stations on the run.  So it may not be every mile, but you might be able to hit an aid station more than once. 

Will we get body marked the day before when we go to packet pickup?

Yes, you get marked at the Expo when you pick up your packet and have the pre-race meeting.

Whooohoooo! I'm excited!!! I had two great workouts back to back and I start taper tomorrow! Yay! 

Plus ... the KOA has the BEST donuts! Yippeeeeeee!!

Anybody interested in a meet-up Friday evening (or Saturday evening)?  We get to BH/SJ once a year, so I'm not in a good position to guess on restaurants, but we expect to hit the area sometime Friday afternoon. 

What about at the Expo?  We're getting in on Thursday afternoon and I'll swim probably 3-4ish on Thursday at the race site.  But Friday late afternoon I'm planning on being at the expo and to pick up some pasta to snack on.