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2013-05-14 4:28 PM
in reply to: #4543918


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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread

I'm not too terribly concerned about tapering...  If I thought I had a shot at being competitive, it'd be a whole 'nother story.  As it is, my goal is just to finish...  Stretch goal: not poop on myself.

The swimming and biking this week is just to find a breathing rhythm and see what I can actually do...  And to figure out how the bike works.  Last time I rode a bike, 10-speeds were common and 18 was cutting edge.  I think this one has 27.

I know I can do the distance in calm water.  How much chop can I expect? I know Carlyle can get pretty ugly when the wind is kicking, but how bad has it really been in years past?

In some events, if you sign up for the long distance course but fall behind a set pace, you have to take the short course (i.e. half marathon vs full).  Is there anything like that here?  Will slow Olympic participants have to turn back at the Sprint distances? Is it even an option if I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed?  If I turn back at the Sprint bouey in the water, can I do the rest of the sprint course or do I get booted from the course entirely?

I'm planning on wearing an unpadded Speedo jammer for the whole event (because that's what I have).  Any concerns with this (aside from seeing a fat guy in a speedo)?

Do y'all carry cell phones on your bike in case you have to call in an emergency or catasrophic gear failure?  Do you carry spare tubes & tire-changing gear?  Do y'all practice changing tires?

Biggest fear...  That I enjoy doing this and become one of those gear junkies.  All my gear was either bought used or borrowed (save for my discount eBay speedos...  couldn't pull the trigger on used swim trunks).  I can't afford/justify "good" gear.



2013-05-14 4:38 PM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
I'm going to be your cheerleader here. I think that if you can swim your goal and cycle like you plan and then run what you plan, then you won't be the last guy out there. Did u look at the times from previous years? No turning back, bro, no cutting short.

No phones on course, no music, either. I don't know if that means you can't stuff one in your bike bag or down the back of your speedo, though.
2013-05-14 5:23 PM
in reply to: #4543918


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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
I'm heading out for a group ride with the crew from Bike Surgeon now (Shiloh, IL), then maybe 1,000 meters at the Y.  Let's see how that goes...

I plan on training this week, then making a go/no-go call on Friday.  That's the last day before prices go up again.  I've already been bit for $160 this week with Muckfest postponing to July 6th.  I can't afford to throw good money after bad, so if I can't do it, or if they cancel, I don't want to lose another $100.

Thanks again,

Fat Boy

2013-05-14 9:39 PM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
I like going the day before to scope out the transitions and visualize them. I also swim the sprint course a a leisurely pace stopping several times to look around. I like to bike the run course at a moderately easy pace then run about a mile just to stay loose.

If this is your first tri, I suggest googling utube for transition videos.

My first Oly was Carlyle and I posted about it here http://blog.ransick.org/2011/05/my-first-oly.html.

I did Carlyle the following year and posted about it here http://blog.ransick.org/2012/05/gateway-olympic-2012.html.

Here is my race checklist http://blog.ransick.org/2011/04/hes-making-list-and-check-it-twice.... , I started with one from BT. Let me know if you can't find it.

Chop isn't usually too bad because the water is protected from the south and west sides and the wind usually comes from those directions. If the wind is from the north or east, all bets are off. That said, the bike out is north and east which means head wind most of the way back for typical wind conditions.

2013-05-14 10:32 PM
in reply to: #4543918


17

Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread

12 miles on the bike tonight, then an even K in the pool.  I'm feeling pretty good about this...

My swimming is almost entirely upper body, so my legs feel pretty good coming out of the water.  I'm a little worried how my shoulders will feel an hour into the bike.

Thanks for the blog links.  I read most of the previous race reports on here, but I'll check those out tonight, too.  I did check finish times, and I think I'll be pretty near the back of the pack, but I'm ok with it. I also checked a number of transition videos.  I got permission from the Y tonight to do a few laps in the wetsuit just to see how that feels (it's a heated pool, so I don't want to push it).

I'm going to set up my own T1 in the drive way and give it a couple trial runs. 

I once heard someone suggest that you could carry all your gear into T1 in a 5 gallon bucket, then leave it for a stool to sit on.  Legit advice?

Thanks again,

Fat Boy

2013-05-15 2:51 AM
in reply to: #4742901

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
FatBoySTL - 2013-05-14 10:32 PM

12 miles on the bike tonight, then an even K in the pool.  I'm feeling pretty good about this...

My swimming is almost entirely upper body, so my legs feel pretty good coming out of the water.  I'm a little worried how my shoulders will feel an hour into the bike.

Thanks for the blog links.  I read most of the previous race reports on here, but I'll check those out tonight, too.  I did check finish times, and I think I'll be pretty near the back of the pack, but I'm ok with it. I also checked a number of transition videos.  I got permission from the Y tonight to do a few laps in the wetsuit just to see how that feels (it's a heated pool, so I don't want to push it).

I'm going to set up my own T1 in the drive way and give it a couple trial runs. 

I once heard someone suggest that you could carry all your gear into T1 in a 5 gallon bucket, then leave it for a stool to sit on.  Legit advice?

Thanks again,

Fat Boy



I wouldn't do the bucket thing. Bring a beach towel, fold it in half length wise. Closest to the end goes your bike stuff (shoes, socks, helmet and glasses). Next row, run stuff (shoes and hat). Next row , sports bag with all your miscellaneous stuff you need.


2013-05-15 5:19 PM
in reply to: #4543918


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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread

Ransick,

Thanks for the blog links.  I got a lot of useful info out of them, particularly on the gear checklist. There's stuff there I never even thought about...

Fat Boy

 

2013-05-15 7:31 PM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Have you gateway vets found the water support to be sufficient on the run? I have a fuel belt I could run in, but was going to run without. This will be the hottest I've run in this season, so I'm a little worried.
2013-05-15 9:23 PM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Danno77:

Last year support was plentiful, but that did not make run much easier. No shade + no wind + reflection from water makes for a very hot run.

Does anyone know if they provide ice on course? Don't remember from last year ...
2013-05-15 9:24 PM
in reply to: #4744522

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Last time I ran it, it was super hot so the RD increased the number of stations and bought a bounce more ice. Tough to recall but I think on a cool year they had two stops so you would hit each twice on an Oly of the first one twice for a sprint. On the hot year, I think they doubled that on very short notice since I was freezing at Effingham the week before and getting Sunburned the week after. If you want more race experience, check out Effingham which is usually the weekend before (I haven't looked it up). Well run, a little smaller, nice course, etc. definitely worth a look. If I was racing this year, I would be doing both Effingham and Carlyle if it fit in my training plan. Both well run, both nice courses, both beginner friendly.
2013-05-17 6:56 AM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
As I was packing I remembered an item that you will want if you are wearing a wetsuit.  Body Glide (or a similar product).  Two years ago I got a nasty wetsuit burn (hickey) on the back of my neck.


2013-05-17 7:07 AM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Thanks for the reminder! I've only used my wetsuit a couple of times indoors and for nowhere near 1500m! I'd been planning on getting some BG, but until you reminded me I had totally forgot!

Also, can I get a fuel reality check?

Aero bottle plus 2 water bottles all full if Gatorade on the bike, a cliff bar mid ride, three Cliff Blox at the start of the run + whatever water I get on the run course.

I did similar on a ride/run brick the other day and it was MUCH cooler. I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade, 3/4 of that cliff bar and three Blox. It seemed to work well, but I had a hard time getting that bar down.

Previously I did a 35+5.5 brick where I used only water instead of Gatorade, drank only two bottles and then cramped so bad on the run I almost had to walk and ran like 9:30 miles!
2013-05-17 8:11 AM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread

Nutrition is very personal.  I would stick with what worked for you in training.  I try to take in 20oz of water with Nuun on the bike.  I also take a small hand held bottle out on the run and refill at the aid stations at the heat dictates.  I have enough body reserves (read: fat) that I usually only take one gel toward the end of the bike.  As I stated earlier, I am a back of the packer and hope to finally break 3 hours this year.

2013-05-18 10:34 AM
in reply to: Gmax101098


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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
I had a minor spill on the bike on my last ride on Thursday. Started on a hill in a steep gear. Couldn't get moving. Couldn't clip out. Fell on my shoulder.

Good news is, the shoulder was already on the schedule to get rebuilt. Bad news is, I'm not sure it'll let me swim. I couldn't lift my hand above my nipple until this morning. The ibuprofen and icy hot seemed to help some over night. I'm heading out to Carlyle now to see if I can move it well enough to stay afloat.

If I can do a couple hundred yards, I'm signing up!

See y'all out there!
2013-05-18 2:30 PM
in reply to: FatBoySTL

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Ouch! Hope you can pull it off.
2013-05-18 2:33 PM
in reply to: Danno77

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Originally posted by Danno77

Thanks for the reminder! I've only used my wetsuit a couple of times indoors and for nowhere near 1500m! I'd been planning on getting some BG, but until you reminded me I had totally forgot!

Also, can I get a fuel reality check?

Aero bottle plus 2 water bottles all full if Gatorade on the bike, a cliff bar mid ride, three Cliff Blox at the start of the run + whatever water I get on the run course.

I did similar on a ride/run brick the other day and it was MUCH cooler. I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade, 3/4 of that cliff bar and three Blox. It seemed to work well, but I had a hard time getting that bar down.

Previously I did a 35+5.5 brick where I used only water instead of Gatorade, drank only two bottles and then cramped so bad on the run I almost had to walk and ran like 9:30 miles!


I agree with Mike. Stick with what works for you. I've done an Olympic on as little a good breakfast two hours before the race, as one gel before the race and one gel on the bike and drinking water to thirst. I couldn't have gone much further, so I wouldn't recommend that few of calories.


2013-05-18 3:13 PM
in reply to: ransick


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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
I hope I can, too, ' cuz I just registered!
2013-05-18 6:24 PM
in reply to: FatBoySTL

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Good luck racing tomorrow everyone!
2013-05-18 8:37 PM
in reply to: ransick

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
See you guys there bright and early! I'll be wearing a red and black Scheels tri top and tri shorts, so say "Hi," if you see me! (My USAT age is 36, so that might help ID me, too!)

Best of luck to everyone, hope that everything goes right, and you all feel as strong and healthy as ever. Stay hydrated, stay safe, and be fast!
2013-05-19 8:33 PM
in reply to: Danno77

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Well, how'd everybody do? I failed to meet any of my expectations at all. I'm so bummed I don't even know what to say. I had a mini freak out on the swim. Time wasn't hurt horribly, but was about 5 minutes slower that I expected, 2nd half of the swim felt fine. Then the bike was just OK, I know I'm slow in the bike, I was hoping to meet what I've done in training lately, maybe exceed a little because of race adrenaline, I went about .2mph ave slower than I expected, .4 slower than I hoped.

Then the run happened. I don't even know what to say. I felt like I always do coming off the bike for my brick workouts, half a mile goes by and the kinks never worked out. In training I've run 8min miles on average after a 25 mile ride and felt great. Today, that never even happened for one mile. I don't know what my overall run time was, but it was bad, had to be close to 10min/mile. Threw up once, spat it out, took water at every station, tried Heed at one, and almost tossed again. Walked at just about every water station and up that hill that's about 1.5-2 miles before the finish. I've never had such a bad run.

I was hoping to hit 2:30 today, expecting to hit 2:50, wound up somewhere around 3:05. I have NO clue what happened.
2013-05-19 11:16 PM
in reply to: Danno77


17

Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Times are up: http://www.your-results.com/results/index.cfm?EventID=16

I'd never done a tri, so I was just guessing at what I could do based on my training efforts. Turns out I was pretty close...
Swim: 41:39 (target was 45:00)
T1: 6:13 (never did practice)
Bike: 1:20:20 (target was 1:30)
T2: 2:36
Run: 1:13:05 (target was 1:10)
Finish: 3:23:52 (target was 3:30)

All things considered, I'm very happy with my very first tri. With the busted shoulder and the dive wetsuit, I couldn't use a crawl stroke very long without being in incredible pain. I ended up doing most of the swim with a side-stroke. I think I was close to last out of the water, but I'm still happy with it. I think if I had a sleeveless 5mm tri wetsuit (and a good shoulder), I could probably get that swim time down by 5 minutes or better.

Lessons learned...
1) Do not wait to hydrate on the back half of the bike. Loading up right before the run was a bad idea. It took about a mile of sloshing for my stomach to settle.

2) 250lbs in unpadded shorts on a narrow seat for 1:20 really hurts. Maybe I need to consider tri-shorts.

3) Hammer Heed tastes worse that lake water.

4) Keeping my water bottles on ice in a small soft-side cooler was a stroke of genius. Had cold gatorade and water on the bike, and ice water when I came back in for the run.

5) No need to carry nutrition on the bike. I didn't use any, and even though I didn't have breakfast, I didn't really miss the nutrition.

FYI... the bike course was about 3K short of 40k. Rather than make the last turn to the right at Walcott, they had us head straight up to Keyesport Rd. I discussed it with the race organizer. Apparently, they made this same change last year. The average speed on the result page does reflect the 37k (23mi) distance. I only bring it up in case you're comparing your times on this to another race.


One last thing... Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. Had it not been for y'all, I think I would have probably chickened out when I busted my shoulder on Thursday.


2013-05-20 7:05 AM
in reply to: FatBoySTL

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Congrats all for finishing.

I proud to say I finally broke 3 hours (2:56:57) in my 4th attempt. I had a great swim (for me) at 31:55. Bike started well and I was on pace for a 1:10, then my chain popped off as I down shifted from big chainring at the bottom of the hill on the way back. Took a couple of minutes to get it sorted out, but still ended up @ 1:13:51. The run just plain sucked. Legs felt fine, but I was having stomach cramps. I think I need to practice with the new aero bottle, as I took in too much air. The humidity really took it out of me as well. I was hoping to go just under one hour, but ended up at 1:06:02.

As to the bike course, it has been that same route each year and yes it is short by my calculation as well. I hear they once had it go further, but it was too much of a hassle to add the remaing 3k.
2013-05-20 12:03 PM
in reply to: #4543918

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
Nice job everyone! Really tough day on the course. Had an ok swim: despite a cramped hamstring at turnaround managed to beat last year by 3 min. Had a great bike about 7-8 min better than LY ... and then had a crampfest on the run. Had to stop twice bc of both legs cramping up at the same time. Ended up running 3 min slower than last year (with a slight negative split due to cramps at miles 1 and 2). Overall 8 min PR. Happy with the race overall, will have to figure something out with the cramps.
2013-05-21 11:20 PM
in reply to: Anton84


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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread
So is anyone doing the half-Ironman in Effingham on June 9th? I'm thinking of giving it a shot.
2013-05-22 6:24 AM
in reply to: FatBoySTL

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Subject: RE: Gateway Triathlon - Olympic Course : Official Thread

Originally posted by FatBoySTL So is anyone doing the half-Ironman in Effingham on June 9th? I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

There is a thread started for this. I will be there either doing the aqua/bike or volunteering - depends on the weather . I live in the area, PM me if you have any questions about the course! It is not a big branded event but a small, home town, low key race run by some really great people who LOVE triathlon.

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