Beach 2 Battleship : Official Thread (Page 2)

Originally posted by cgregg

 

So, I'm no expert, but that looks pretty significant for the Full peeps!

It looks like us Half folks with an 8:30am start (for just the first wave, and as late as 9:25 for the last wave) will only be catching the tail end of the incoming tide, however...  some of the later waves might actually be at slack tide, then?

In any case, it's a much larger tide than last year - 4.59 feet vs 3.98 feet.  Six inches higher is a lot of water that has to flow in.

 

Originally posted by alltom1 In 2011, I went 44 mins for the full and I'm a mutt swimmer. The chart looked just like the one for this year... Yeah, folks doing the full are going to get lots of help. People in the last few waves of the half(like me), not so much. Que sera, sera... Good luck to all with the hard part of the training arc..

Originally posted by melanfi

I'm in for the half distance. This is my first half ever, and as of right now, my first race longer than a sprint!! I am signed up for an olympic distance in September (Kiawah) as a warm-up race.

As for training, I had been training up for a half distance tri in the spring, but I got discouraged because I couldn't get enough time on the bike. I backed out of it in March, and restarted my training plan June 1st. I still struggle to get enough hours on the bike.

Take this weekend for example. I have a 45 mile ride with a group that I could do, or 40 on my own. I am leaning toward the 40 miles on my own for a couple of reasons, one of them is practicing aero position. I'm nervous about aero.

I am doing a plan that my coach put together - he has trained me for a couple of marathons. I would say that training is hovering around 6 to 8 hours per week. I also switch workouts around between days and occasionally skip a swim. I also go slightly "over" on the runs, because it is what helps keep me sane during the work week.

Originally posted by alltom1



Just my $.02usd, but I would suggest the 40 miler in aero instead of the group ride. Getting acclimated to being in your aero bars is worth way more than a few extra miles of sitting in on a group ride. Your coach knows best, tho...

Originally posted by sinnerman

Hi folks,

I have signed up for the Half and this is my first half. I am super excited but also am little nervous about what to expect.

Seems like a few of you have done this race before and I had question about the wetsuit.

I have a half sleeve wetsuit which I have used in sprint races in the past (with water temp low as 57 F with a compression top underneath in one race) for the last 3-4 years and am very comfortable with it.

I am trying to figure out if I need to rent a full wet suit for this event.

Any thoughts/advise would be great. thanks and good luck with training and the race.

Thanks!

Originally posted by alltom1 If you got through the race in 57' without any trouble, you should be fine in a sleeveless at B2B. While the air temp at the start last year was pretty cold, I don't remember the water temp ever being colder than high 60's the years I've been there. I'm pretty sure there are always swimmers in less than full wetsuits and I'm not aware of anyone saying they had a problem. My .02USD, YMMV. For the record, I will say I think B2B is a perfect race for your first half...Good luck with your training.

Originally posted by GODAWGS Just finished IM Lousiville and signed up for B2B any recommendations for swim booties or caps for the race without spending a lot money? What kept you warm?

Originally posted by jmkizer

I've done the B2B half once and the full twice and not needed swim booties.  In fact, I didn't feel the need to add to my wetsuit collection and just used my sleeveless.  It's a fair bit of distance (400 yards?) across a parking lot and roadway from swim exit to the transition area.  The booties may help with that.

People with booties, do they help on the run to T1?  

For me, the cold is not in the swim but on the bike.  If you don't want to wear a vest, get a one or two gallon zip lock back and shove it between your top and your skin and drop it at an aid station when you no longer need it.

Originally posted by alltom1

So since we're less than thirty days out, I guess it's time to start thinking about race day execution rather than getting through the daily training slog that leads up to a 70.3 or 140.6. Right now is the heavy lifting part of the training arc for most of us but here are a few thoughts to act as a diversion.

I've been to B2B every year - four Halfs and this will be my third Full(I'm changing my registration here at the last minute - I'll be the most undertrained guy in the field!) and I've seen the race go through some changes - mostly subtle, some are more noticeable, but there are few truisms that I think have held throughout. For your racing consideration:

- On the swim, you want to strart sighting off of the SeaPath Marina Condos as soon as you make the left turn towards the Marina. It's the tallest building on that shore and is visible as soon as you make that left and marks the point of the water exit.

-By now I'm sure everyone knows all about the long trot from the swim ladders to T1. Like most people, I'd just done it barefoot and while it's a little painful, nothing too awful. Last year, one of my race-mates said he'd been leaving flip-flops at the swim exit and suggested giving it a try. Holy Cow - that really made a difference. Much faster to T1 and much less hurty. Small thing but the small things definitely accumulate in a day that long..

- On the bike, we ride on I-140 for about 15miles I think...It's a two lane interstate and we ride in the left lane closest to the median. Orange traffic cones are present continuously and will be on your right as we ride past. They are usually set about a foot inside the white stripes, though, and that means they are cutting into our riding space. Those cones have no give whatsoever - DO NOT CLIP the cones! Every year, someone or several someones go down after making incidental contact with their wheel or a pedal and it's not pretty - best advice I can give is to give the cones a nice wide berth so that when the wind blast from a car/truck going past in the right lane makes you wobble a little, you won't find yourself right on top of a cone. Again, I see wipeouts on this stretch every year.

- To wit the comments above, it is really important to call out 'on your left!' when you're passing on this stretch. There is not that much room to work with because of the cones that encroach into our lane, and when cyclists start to pass each other three across, it gets kind of interesting. Ounce of prevention on the way to a perfect race day...

- The very end of the ride takes us over the river and into downtown and I read on Slowtwitch that the grating on the bridge has been changed since last year's race and not for the better(this is from a Wilmington local - I haven't seen it myself). Regardless, the best approach to this stretch is to try and approach with as much buffer between yourself and the rider in front of you as you can get. It won't be completely in your control but if did you go down, you would probably prefer it to be your own fault and not because someone else didn't know how to ride their bike. The RD will probably have some comments about the changes to the bridge at the race meeting on Friday.

- For folks doing the full, stash a long-sleeve in your run special needs bag if you're going to be on the course after dark - it does get kind of cool once the sun goes down.

That's about all I can think of just this moment but I'll speak up if I can think of any more pearls of wisdom about B2B. It's a great race and I know all of my BT mates are going to have a great day!