Timberman - Half Iron : Official Thread (Page 2)

Mandy-
Thanks for the inspiration.  I did hit the indoor trainer last night and passed on Heroes.  I'm glad I did too, because I was feeling like a slug.
Giving blood today for a blood drive.
Then in the evening I'll be giving sweat while doing weight training.
Peace,
~Sam

Hitting up Timberman this year as well, can't wait.  I did the Timberman sprint last year, just a great event and I can't wait to take on the longer distance this year.

As with others this will be my first HIM.  I did two sprints and an OLY last year and realized by the end of the season that I didn't take training seriously enough to really accomplish the goals I have.  So my offseason training started exactly one week after my 2009 races ended.  I want to build to the 12-14 hr./week range by April so I can really crank it up the last few months before Timberman, run training is most important as it's my biggest limiter so I'm out there 6 days a week...bring on the snow!

Anyway, I can't wait...look forward to chatting with you all during the offseason and lead-up.  Hopefully some people on here get some time on the course, if so post something on here ahead of time, my parents have a place one town over from Gilford so I'm planning on practically living there! 

Ray!

Welcome!  You people are amazing and inspiring.  I did several years of triathlon before stepping up to the 1/2 Ironman distance.  No regrets though, I still love the shorter stuff.

Donated blood last night...knocked me out and I didn't expect that.  I was going to do weights later in the evening, but no such luck.  Looking forward to it tonight.

I won't see the course until I'm there in August, the 14 hour commute to check it out just isn't in the cards.  However, I think you are wise to train on it come spring and summer.

Good luck and rock on.

Peace,
~Sam

Sam-

Happy to inspire someone, everyone around here thinks I am crazy..ha Super cool you gave some blood, it is OK not to give sweat after that, you might pass out...I just got back from a quick 3 mile run...might weight train later...or eat a cookie...The cookie is looking pretty good right now.

I would love to try to get to Guilford in July before the race, but I am not sure yet - maybe in early July after the 4th...maybe. I do think I am coming after work on the Thursday before the race and get a ride and/or swim in on Friday, maybe volunteer if I get there early like I plan.

Cheers!

Mandy

Hi all, I'm in for this race in 2010.  Really looking forward to the event - I am bringing the whole family up for a week and we are renting a condo and making a family vacation out of it.  Will be in NH from Aug 20 -27th.

Anyone else staying in the area?

Train Safe!

Welcome!  Is this your first HIM like alot of us or have you done the distance before? 

As I mentioned in my post, my parents have a place in the area (Laconia, one town over) so I'm gonna be up there throughout the summer and will be up there the entire week before the race to get my tapering done on the course.  I honestly CANNOT WAIT until the summer to get race-specific training in. 

Has everyone signed up already?  I'm actually waiting to scrounge up the dough for it...does it ever fill up before the New Year?  I remember checking last year and the HIM was still open in late winter, I hope to god it doesn't close in the next few weeks.

This will be my second HIM.  I started traithlons this year in May with sprints, and trained up for a local (New Jersey) HIM race in September. 

Made it to mile 30 on the bike, and had a flat.  My spare tube would not hold air, and there was no support van, so my race was over.  I will be back in 2010 with a freaking vengeance since I was so pissed off.  (OK, I'm calm now).

We'll also be in Laconia - at the Summit Resort.  Envious that you will be training and prepping on the course!

I heard from RD Keith that the Timberstock Festival, kids race, everything will be in place and awesome as this 2010 season is the 10th anniversary of the race.

Millman-
Welcome!
I registered already because I heard it fills up quickly and I don't want to take the chance of being left out.  This is an event I've had on my radar for a long time, but this is the year I'm heading east with my family and giving it a go.
My family (Wife, two daughters, 10 and 8, and sons, 6 and 1) will be going with me.  We'll be out there from Thursday until Tuesday.  My inlaws may go and want us to visit Maine as well.  Personally, I would rather just stay around the race venue the whole time. 
We'll be staying at the Rodeway Inn...I think in Gilford, but I'd have to check.  It's about 15-20 minutes from the race site.
Keep it on.
Peace,
~Sam

I signed up already - I know when I checked in May last year it was full, but I don't know how quickly that happened. Maybe send a note to the race director and ask how fast the race is filling - that might help you figure it out..You are lucky to have family so close to get some course training in - this is going to be your race! Very cool. I would like to get there once before the race, but we will see if it happens. I will be around on race week if all goes as planned with work.

I am pretty excited for race-specific training too. I hope I can hold my focus through the off-season and maintain where I am now so I can steadily improve over the summer. Anyone have any key races leading up to Timberman? I am thinking of an Olympic Distance sometime in early July (if I can find one close). I am considering the Sugarloaf Marathon this spring - but we will see, Timberman is my key race - I don't want to screw that up!

Hey BTW MillMan221 - That flat tire sounds like it was a nightmare! Bummer. Glad you are back to attack HIM!

Hi all! 
Im in for 2010 HIM as well .  This will be my third time doing this race.  I did it in 2007 and 2009.  The humidity this past summer really did me in on the run, but I admit I really didnt prepare well for the run anyway. 

I entered early this year because I wanted to try to get a low bib# and hopefully have my transition near the bike out/in, but in the past I have registered as late as January no problem.  The fact that this is the 10th anniversary may help it fill a little sooner, but I think people still have plenty of time to get in.

Ahh...Mike the veteran of this race.  Excellent!

~Sam

OH!  I'll be staying in Tilton.

Lead-up events.

More later.

Students need my attention.  Peace.

I will be there for my 1st HIM as well! Still working on race schedule for the rest of the season, but looking to do 1, maybe 2 olys before Timberman. Also doing the LI Half Marathon in May. I hope my training goes well. This will be my 3rd year of tris and I did my 1st oly this yr (was a disaster but thats another story I have a lot of work ahead of me to be able to get this done! Edited to add: Bringing the whole family up there and will be there from Friday to Tuesday. Staying in the area at one of the Inns at The Inns at Mills Falls.

Edited by elbi999 2009-11-20 3:25 PM

Brownie -

I'm not sure it's filled up by the new year before, but it hasn't been far off. This coming year, being the 10th anniversary, promises some surprises, and that may serve to nudge folks more than usual. As for the next few weeks, however, I think you'll be fine.

If you haven't done so already, join the the forum at www.timbermantri.com. Keith Jordan, the superb RD, does a good job of periodically updating registration levels as crunch time is approaching, and even if he is slower at this then you might like, just submit a post to this effect and he will answer it within hours -- even minutes, at times!

elbi -

That's a nice preliminary schedule you have! The half-marathon and two olys before Timber should really help you.

Have you chosen the olys yet? If you can do Mooseman international (June 5), that would be a great intro to Timberman. I think the Moosey course is a bit more difficult, but not by much. Another good oly, closer to you than Mooseman, is Pat Griskus Triathlon, in CT, around June 19. If you want to scoot up the Northway on June 26, a REALLY challenging oly is North Country, out of Hague. If features a massive, massive climb, and it would be great for building confidence for the first 12 or so miles of Timberman. The website for that one is www.northcountrytri.com.

All three of those races have certain amentities for kids, so you can bring the whole family to those, too!

MikeJ -

Yup, I'm going for the hat trick as well, but my two previous ones were '01 and '04 (and I did the sprint there this past season). Timberman '01 was the first year of the race, and it was also my first half-iron, so I'm feeling slightly sentimental about this being its 10th anniversary and all.

Hey thanks for the heads up on the Timberman forum!

Happy training! Sounds like everyone has some great plans for 2010 season.

Thanks Steve.  Mooseman will be a little too far for the oly.  I am actually looking at either the Pat Griskus in in CT or the HealthNet Oly the weekend before in CT.  Also thinking about the NJ State Oly in July- never did any of these but review seem to be good.  My daughter will be 7 by the time Timberman rolls around so she will be excited to do what ever kind of kids race they have going on.  

 

elbi999 -

Hmmmm. I'm not sure what Keith Jordan ended up deciding for Timber '09, but leading up to it he had felt that he would not have any kids' races. There was a fair bit of discussion about this on his forum, and after I finish here I will try to find where exactly that is located. But the gist of it was that he found WAY too many parents were too obsessed about how well their kids did, and it turned out to be an overall negative experience. And I vaguely remember something about parents being rude and/or abusive to volunteers.

The outline he has for TimberCamp, however, is quite nice, so I'm sure your daughter can have a good time, racing or not.

elbi999 again -

Well, he had the Little Buggers Kids Triathlon as part of BLack Fly this past July, so maybe it is still an option for Timberman. But I'll keep looking for the exchanges I mentioned above. I'm now wondering if I'm actually making something up here!

I did NJ state (sprint) this year and it was a great event.  Lake swim, decent bike ride and a nice run in the park.  Lots of volunteers and a great overall feeling to the race.  It's a big event (2200 racers this year) so it feels like a special event.

For 2010 - sprint and oly will be on different days - the one criticism from 2009 was a crowded course and the oly started after sprint - with the last waves going off like 10am so people were running in the july heat.

If you are looking for a good tune up - this one is a good one.

elbi999 once more -

The good news is my memeory served. The bad news is that Keith went with no kids tri. The thread is on page 5 of the forum at www.timbermantri.com, and it is titled (aptly enough) "Timberkids 2009". The author of it was tscanlon, and the last post was on Wed. Nov 12 2008. It is a real trip to read the various posts ---- baaaaad adults!

Fortunately, I printed off the Timberman info for 2010 before it got eaten up by the more "official" Ironman 70.3 website, and here is a rundown on what will be offered at Timber Camp on Sunday, August 22, 2010:

5:30-7:30 --- quiet time for early arrivals
7:30-8:00 --- breakfast
8:15-9:00 --- pre-camp meeting and get-acquainted activities
9:00-4:00 --- activities including skate park sessions, mountain biking, mini-golf, paddle boats and kayaks, pool swims, climbing wall, and an extreme water balloon toss. (These activities are for kids 6-13; alternate activities for 3-5ers are not specified yet.)
4:00 --- pick up

The cost is listed at $90, with $30 non-refundable upon registration. Mountain bike rentals (limited) are $5/day.

I hope this helps??

Mandy -

Be of good cheer! Going back through posts at the Timberforum, I saw one from terryinnh (one of Keith's Timbercrew, I believe) from last April 13 saying that the day before the ice was out on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Let's see ---- December.....January.....February......March......APRIL! It won't be long now!!!

Steve-
Thanks for your insights on the kid's happenings.  It was my hope that their would be a kid's fun run (not tri), but I understand where he's coming from if he doesn't.  He and his crew have enough to deal with, with just the adults.
Our kids do one or two triathlons a year and true to form, some parents are WAY too intense about the whole thing.  We ASK our kids IF they want to participate, we have them "train" enough to complete the distances (no time expectations), so they can have a positive experience, and then race day is up to them.  We cheer and encourage, but the rest on them.
Some parents get too fired up and respond as though the race will determine whether or not their child will win the Olympics in the future.
Peace,
~Sam