Subject: RE: HITS Triathlon Series: Ocala - Half Iron Course : Official ThreadWe had fun too! The bike course wasn't hilly at all, just some gentle rolling hills. Never had to come out of the big ring in front and never had to stand up or pedal hard. Roads weren't unusually rough either. Not smooth, but not too rough. It was pretty open, so could get hot depending on the weather. Pretty scenery though. We also rode the asphalt part of the run course. Some rolling hills there too, but I don't think they will be enough to slow anyone down (I'll already be going slow by that point!). The section of the run down SE 101st avenue has very rough pavement. Luckily it's less than a mile long, one way, so shouldn't be too much of an issue, but it's making me rethink my shoe choice. Again, pretty open the entire way, so heat could be an issue if the weather is right (or I should say, if the weather is wrong!) We did run the 3 mile trail part of the run through the park. It's basically a hard-packed sand road. However, the sand was not as hard-packed as I would have liked it to be. There were sections where the sand was loose, which made it hard to run, so we ended up having to run on the grass along the side of the road. Maybe about 25% of it was loose like that. Again, not too big of a deal because I'll already be going slow, but having to zig-zag around to look for the hard-packed section and having to run in the grass can be big energy zappers. But it hasn't rained here in forever, so hopefully a few storms before the tri will pack it better. Lots of shade on this loop, so that will be a plus if it's hot. Also really pretty scenery here too. We didn't get in the lake, it was too windy and we were too tired, but the beach area looked nice and the water was fairly clear. The park is really pretty, we're looking forward to the tri! I don't feel like it will be one where you want to try to make a PR, but overall doesn't seem any more difficult than any other courses. |