kalalau's Group - FULL for now (Page 20)

That is a pretty good thread.  Lots of things I should've said here already. :-)  Make sure you attend the pre-race meeting if they have one.  I remember the Columbia meeting specifically because that's where I was given the idea to just wear my race bib under my wetsuit.

Drafting is 3 or 4 bike lengths but they will go over that in the meeting.  Are are allowed X seconds (30?) to pass, so you can draft while you approach, and then scoot around.  Once one guy's bike wheel passes the other, the behind person is then in charge of dropping back the require length.

It's good to read the "most common offenses" USAT page.

Go get'em Dave!  Hey are you going to wear socks?  Did you wear them in the last race?  Going sockless is a way to save some time, but don't do it without practicing it in training.  If you have foot problems with no socks, you might not finish at all.  It can get pretty bloody.  But some people can manage to go sockless and save some time.  You can use BodyGlide to slicken up the back of the shoe, or vaseline.  A friend of mine uses Gold Bond powder in his shoes so he can go sockless.

How is the aerobar idea going?

There are a lot of good transition tips in this great BT video:

Triathlon Transition Setup and Execution

It talks about things like running sockless, and having the shoes already clipped in the pedals.  I learned how to start/stop with the shoes on the pedals, from this video.  Takes a good bit of practice, but it's super cool when you start to get it.  The only problem I had when I did it the first time in a race is that I jumped off the bike at too fast a speed, so the shoe hit the ground and popped right off, so I wasted time in having to go back to get my stupid shoe. :-(  So now I know I have to slow down more.

Apparently I can no longer post from my cell phone, that is bizarre.  I wanted to respond to this over the weekend, it's exciting! :-)  I'm happy that you have gotten hooked, your race is going to be AWESOME!!  Did you meet folks who are also doing the race?

Kona's normally around 86 for a high but it can get a little hotter on the lava and the street because the heat just radiates off.  The heat is a challenge, but everyone is racing under the same conditions.  If you are a good athlete in Illinois, you are a good athlete in Arizona. :-)  Go rock that race.  Stay hydrated.  Dump cups of cold water on your head.  They might have ice water sponges out on the course as well.  You can tuck those in your shirt, under your hat, etc.  I haven't been wearing hats in races lately though because it just keeps in all the heat that I am trying to dissipate.

Stay within yourself.  Be willing to make adjustments during the race.

You can hang with the boys, they are not super human.

Weather reports for our two races:

6:30am Phoenix AZ around 76 degrees, probably around 80-81 when you finish.  Hot but you can do this, it's not 100. :-)

Columbia low of 63 around race time, rising to 75 in the middle of the day.  Probably be racing in the 60s most of the day.  Good racing weather, though it's hard to tell yourself that you don't want it warmer, when you are walking around chilly in the morning, and you know you have to jump in that cold water!

There is a great thread on being fast in transitions here:

Free Speed

You mean you haven't been eating 20 Jack in the Box tacos in training?  Darn, no wonder you're in the top 10 and I a lot further behind. :-)

Make sure you get good sleep tonight and tomorrow just in case you can't sleep the night before the race (me and Becky too).

The first race of the year is usually pretty nervous.  It doesn't help that the Columbia Triathlon thread is getting hammered with people obsessing over the race and the weather report.  I even got caught up in the "oh no, the transition area will be muddy!" craze. :-)  That said I think I will have an extra pair of socks on hand if I need to change them in T2.

I am not too excited about the prospect of a rainy bike course.  I was hoping to hammer it on the bike but that is impossible if I am not fearless on the downhills, which I am not, and will get worse with slick roads.

Thanks Abby!

Becky, just avoid wearing your wetsuit on the bike, and you will still avoid having a story like mine. :-)

I'm still pretty starstruck after talking to, taking a picture with, and having my arm around Chrissie Wellington.  Wow.  She's really easy to talk to.  She seemed to be ok talking as long as someone else was conversing. :-)  Torrenzo was approachable too but I don't know him well enough to ask questions.

I don't know about the BT dinner yet.  Seems unlikely I will be in the area at that time.  Right now I am looking to hit the noon mtg and then drop the bike off and I'm done!

Dave if you are still looking for pros to follow, I just learned tonight that Chrissie Wellington has a blog:

Chrissie Wellington

And Terenzo Bozzone is on Twitter.

Yeah she even had posters out, and was signing them.  She says "Anything is possible!  With Smiles, Chrissie."

I don't know what their schedule is tomorrow, but from what I hear, they are pretty available after the races.  You can probably get a hug if you told her she was your biggest fan. :-)  She does fly out Sunday though, so I don't know how that plays in.

They did the get-together session at 6pm tonight, not 3.  I didn't even get there til 6:50 and they were all still chatting away with people.

That's funny, I don't see instructions for the stickers in our packet.  Well, I was confused when I was a newbie, so just in case, here's what they are..

The smallest sticker goes on the front of your helmet. 

The bigger sticker with your number listed twice, goes on your bike.  You wrap it around your top tube, and stick it to itself, so your number is visible on both sides of the bike.  Make sure this sticker doesn't hit your legs as you bike, that will be highly annoying and might even cause chafing.  Some people will put this sticker on their seat post, thinking it's more aerodynamic.  That seems allowed, and I've done it at times if I can fit it there while still putting my tool bag under the seat. 

Bib of course goes on your bib belt, which you will wear on the run.  I don't see a rule that says you wear it on the bike this year.  Some races ask you to wear it on the bike as well.

So, if they really don't care about us wearing it on the bike, I will probably just wear it just for the run.  Otherwise I will wear it under the wetsuit and wear it the whole race.

Looks like rain tonight!  Nice to have our bike sitting out overnight.  Let's just hope the swim isn't canceled due to tstorms (unlikely).  Whatever the forecast, remember that our thoughts and fears are ALWAYS worse than it really turns out.  Even if it rains the whole race, it will not be that bad once we get started.  Even the folks at Lake Placid last year in the Ironman where it rained 5 inches during the day, said it was ok being out there once you got used to it.