Ironman 70.3 Racine : Official Thread (Page 2)

Originally posted by seitz1124

Hello all! I'm thinking of adding Racine to my race calendar this year. I just looked at Tri Bike Transport and it's going to cost $450 to get my bike up there from Orlando…YIKES!!!

I'm willing to rent a bike. Does anyone know where I can rent a bike in the area?

Also, keeping in mind that I live in Orlando and it's pancake flat, how hilly is the bike course? It didn't look to bad, but I just did Raleigh on Sunday it was brutal!

Thanks!
Theresa

Originally posted by kerichar

This will be my first Half Ironman! Myself and a friend chose it because of the location (friends and family nearby= no hotel cost!) and the fact that it was flat. Training for me is going great. Feel like I am hitting some high points on my bike and in the water. Running no mater what the distance is my biggest difficulty. I have been finding brick workouts easier than before, I am hoping because of my training.

My biggest dilemma that I want to sort out now vs. race weekend is whether or not to wear a wetsuit. I love the water...grew up boating in southern IL...in all of my water experiences I have only worn wetsuits in extreme cold. I scuba dive, and if I was going to buy one, I would prefer for it to be "usable" in more than one sport. In this case, I don't know if that is a possibility. AND I am just not completely convinced I will need it. I swam this weekend in a lake at 76 degrees and it was fine. Any thoughts.... what does the temp in the lake normally run in July, and what is the temp right now...anyone know? Really getting excited at this point about the race!

Originally posted by Jo63



I would suggest getting a wetsuit, I live in Racine and only once in the past 8 years was the water tempurature above 70 it made it to 72 that day otherwise expect cold. I remeber one year getting in, putting my face in the water and it was so cold it literally took my breath away, i believe they said it was 58 degrees that day .......i am actually checking on what is legal to wear as far as boots, gloves, neoprene caps.

Originally posted by jkilborn

My wife and I drove the bike course this weekend. First several miles still over Main Street with the expansion seams--bump, bump, bump. Rest of the course seems unchanged except for a portion of Kraut Road (50th St?), which was totally repaved. Looks pretty good. We were worried it would be like the Kettleman Duathlon we did in the spring--the word "killer" hardly seems adequate to describe those hills, and Racine seemed pretty tame in comparison.

J Kilborn--total newbie from Forest Park, IL.

Originally posted by cynner

Thanks, Jo! Looks like we have a decent wave start again. Whoo Hoo! A little extra time on the course for these old gals. :-)

Originally posted by jkilborn

The one big question I still can't answer, even after visiting Racine, is where people park the morning of the event. We'll be coming up from a hotel in Kenosha, so I assume at least 30 minutes from the race site, and we saw that the parking garages are a good distance from transition. We also noticed there are a ton of streets near transition (beween Main and the park) that seem to have ample on-street, unrestricted parking (though I know we'll be battling with 2000 other race participants). Since we have to return our bike pump to the car on race morning (no pumps in transition :-( ), I'd like to not have to walk 20-30 minutes back and forth in the dark.

So locals and other experts, where should/can we park on race morning?

Thanks!

Jason Kilborn--still a complete newbie from Forest Park, IL

Originally posted by jkilborn

Thanks--I'll give the on-street parking a try and hope for the best, then. Doing the Bigfoot tri in Lake Geneva on Sunday as a tune-up (and the ITU in Chicago next weekend). We'll see!

Jason K

Originally posted by TriSlate

. . So now I keep hearing about the water temp and that it might not be warm enough on race day. . . . I hate to waste all the training I have done but I also would hate to do a half that isn't actually a half if the swim gets cancelled. Decisions...

Originally posted by jkilborn First a sort-of response on the water temp, and then an unrelated question on bike aid ... At the ITU here in Chicago this weekend, everyone was up in arms about the "cold" water, and race officials promised a contingency plan if it was "too cold." It ended up being in the high-60s, and though lots of people were grousing, it felt perfect to me, and the race went off without a hitch. Based on what I've seen of the water temp reports up there in Racine, I can hardly imagine the water in Racine being below 65 by July 20, and I've heard nothing about a potential cancellation for cold water. Given what I've read about the water conditions due to wind last year, and it WASN'T cancelled, it doesn't seem likely that the swim leg will be cancelled come hell or, literally, high water. Now on the bike aid stations. Can't figure out how this works, and I'm hoping a forum called Beginner Triathlete will put up with such a basic question: How do the aid stations on the bike work? Do you just whiz by and grab an item of aid from a half-mile of volunteers holding various items (like they do at Kona, or in a running race, but at higher speed), or do you have to stop (like in a century ride)? And if they offer you a bottle of water/Gatorade, do you just ditch your own bottle and use theirs? I can't seem to find any discussion of how the bike-aid process works, and it would be great to know in adance to plan fuel and hydration strategies. Thanks!