Ironman 70.3 Boise : Official Thread (Page 21)

I was thinking of doing the Bear Lake Brawl (70.3) in UT in early Sept. I've heard it's a nice course, any thoughts out there?

Patsy

Ok, thanks. I do think my swim would be better since I was weaving back and forth like crazy. I kept trying to just follow everyone and it worked for a while but then all of a sudden no one was around me. I guess that should of been my clue that I was not swimming straight. Though I don't know how much faster I can be as I am just not a strong swimmer

I'll have to really work on the wife to see if she will let me spend the money. 

Having troubles getting over the mental disappointment of the day.

I think I was fairly on pace to where I wanted to be in the swim until after the 2nd turn.  After that I got far from the buoy got back on track then had a calf cramp that had me considering being pulled.  I was dead in the water till it I was able to relax and after trying to swim with it and more spasms I just dragged it to the finish. 

On the true no pass zone I got stuck behind some going up and out that was barely moving. 

I think I would have rather my feet stayed numb for the entire race vs just the 5.  Even with stopping to stretch twice it just wouldn't relax.  Between that and the sideways ankle Friday morning, right calf left ankle, my run was a good 10 + minutes slower.

I definitely don't feel like an ironman like I was planning to be.

I hope everyone got home safe.

I’ve never felt so ambivalent after a race.  On the one hand, I’m deeply disappointed we weren’t able to go the distance.  On the other, I’ve a certain pride over what we endured.  That wasn’t “poor racing conditions.”  It was unfathomably freakish.  Yes, Boise weather is unpredictable, but sleet in June?  No one saw that coming.  When the race winners – seasoned, multi-year professionals and Olympians – deem the day the worst they’ve ever endured, you know it was bad.  I expect we’ll never seen anything like it again.

I deeply respect the decision of those who chose not to race.  We all have a threshold, and when self-preservation becomes an issue – as I know it was for many – you made the right call.  And I’m sure letting go after all the sacrifice was a very, very hard thing to do.  For those who could bear it, steeled themselves and made the most of an extraordinary situation, it shows just how resilient we are as triathletes. 

This morning I reminded myself why I do this at all:  Because it’s a challenge.  Because it feels good, and if you don’t feel good, you really have very little.  I look around at my contemporaries who have long surpassed me in material wealth.  They’re winning that race.  I’d also bet they’ll beat me to the cemetery by at least a couple of decades.  Despite their successes, sadly they seem a largely unhappy lot.  I could easily befall the same fate, if inclined. 

After months of training, planning, sacrifice and pain, you’d think Saturday’s debacle might be enough to turn us weekend warriors away from this beautiful sport.  But I don’t get that feeling from any of the hearty souls in this group.   It was one race, on one day.  Yes, it was a BIG race; and yes, it was very disappointing.  Let’s all take a few days or weeks to relax, reconnect with family and friends.  Eat whatever we want.  Swim, bike or run a little just for the fun of it.

Then get up.  Dust ourselves off.  Find the next thing. 

And keep going. 

Well said.

I've done Boise twice and Hawaii twice.  First thing I said to wife after finishing was we're doing Hawaii next year.

^^^ Well put Hancock!

Though I think there may have been worst conditions, those on Saturday are amongst the worst I've encountered.

I'm beginning to re-evaluate my hopes of loosing weight, I think it's the extra body fat that kept me warm on the swim and bike (I was quite comfy on the bike where others are talking about freezing, or maybe I was just too hypothermic to notice? )  Yes, my feet were a little numb, but that's typical for me.  By the last aid station on the run, I actually dumped a cup of water on my head to cool off a little!!!  Am I a freak of nature???

I may also be the person to blame for the bad weather juju.  I tended to do a lot of my riding in bad weather and joked that it was weather conditioning for race day.  OOPS!!!  Just like my last long ride being hit by a hail storm and wild winds!!

SORRY!!!

My wife and 3 daughters were up at the start. After I finally got my wetsuit on, attempted to figure out what I was going to clothing wise for the bike, I found them over by a tree near where we had the wetsuits stripped off. I sent them to the bus and said just get on it to get shelter.  They ended up getting on the bus with the athletes that chose to not do the race.  Some of them said it wasn't worth it to them since they had others to do coming up anyways.  But some did say that if this was their first they probably would of done it.

I too am completely ambivalent about this race.  It does not feel like an accomplishment or an achievement.  It feels like a letdown.  Perhaps if the race officials would have looked at radar they would have realized the front would have moved through by 1pm. 

Why they did not tell people to move to the buses to stay warm is beyond me.  I stayed in the warm bus right until my wave start as did just a few other racers.  There was plenty of room as most of the buses were empty.

Being critical this is not my normal nature.  WTC knew the forecast 3 days in advance and yet they did nothing to prepare.  They let participants, family/friends, and volunteers become hypothermic being exposed to the weather.  What the F did they think was going to happen when they released the buses up to LP with 41 degree temps and rain?  The great volunteers at Lucky Peak got a tee shirt, a cheap soggy sandwich and hypothermia.

WTC took in a ton of cash when looking at the entry fee, shuttle bus tickets, and merchandise.  For goodness sakes people, spend some of it to ensure safety of all involved.  Again with the forecast they had plenty of warning.  At the very least a simple phone call from LP to downtown at 9:25 would go something like this.  "It's 41 degrees and raining up here.  Don't release the buses just yet people will freeze standing around for 2+ hours."

Yeah, I was one of the freezing souls that showed up on the first bus, I had NO idea that they were back there for us to sit in. WTC totally failed us, I was absolutely shuddering getting in the water after 3hrs in the rain and then getting on the bike was very scary, hard to control bike with uncontroallable spasms, nice, thanks WTC a-holes.

Patsy

I'm emotionally confused about how to feel after this race.
One moment I think that participants should have been more weather prepared (of course that would have meant wearing Gore-tex gear) and the next I'm pissed about not having known about the buses being there and open to sit and wait on.  And then I stop and think, why did we swim?  But I'm glad I did, though I'm not sure it was smart of me to do so.  Then I just saw the pic of me exiting the water... was I REALLY that bad and worn out???  UGH!!!  But I felt so good on the bike, like I could've gone more.

As a RD I get some of the issues(and perhaps am more forgiving for that).  And other's I don't.  Hindsight is always 20/20.

I think in the end, I'm really more pissed about the bus ticket charge, knowing how much I pay for a school bus ($80/hr).  They easily made $6 grand off of that deal.  What a bunch of GREEDY GUTS!!!

Hello all.  Wow, what a day.  I'm not sure what to think about it even now.  Like many have said, I was so cold at the start, I wasn't sure I was going to do it.  But then, I didn't know they were shuttling people back to T2, so I wasn't exactly sure how to get back into town.  Found my buddy, and we said we'll do the swim, then cut out.  We were already in our wetsuits, so figured what the hell.  From that point forward though, it go even colder, that was when the sleet started.   During the swim though, the sun started to come out, so we both individually, and also his girlfriend too, decided we'd continue on.  I have no idea how to evaluate the swim.  Did 41 on my watch, 42 on the race time, but just walked up the hill into T1 without any urgency, figuring I wasn't going on.  During the swim, tried to use it as training, but took a long time to warm up and get any rhythm.  My goggles kept leaking too.  So, all in all, I have to think it was an ok swim.

Bike was what it was.  Went really easy down the hill.  I dropped my bike off Friday night.  Saturday, about 5 minutes before they closed T1 I noticed my front tire was flat.  Pumped it up, again figuring maybe I wasn't going on, and if it was flat again it was a sign not to continue.  After the swim, it was still firm, so I went on.  But, I wasn't going to push it down the hill with the wet and a front tire I wasn't sure of.  Side note, by Sunday morning, my tire was still firm.  The valve stem was closed in T1, would someone really let air out of my tire?  Did the bike in 39, with the mindset of not pushing it and having a solid run.

For me, had a solid run.  1:54.  That beats the 2:17 sufferfest from last year, even with 40 less bike miles in the legs.  So, happy with that.

But, I'm not sure what I learned from the day.  With the bike cut, not sure if my bike training is on track, or my running.  Running is certainly improved, but is it where I want to be?  Nutrition?  Learned nothing for the day, at least I don't think I did.

There is a local HIM in two weeks.  Given that I feel pretty good today, I think I'll take this fitness and do that.  Call Saturday a long run training brick sort of day.  We'll see.

I do think WTC made the right call to cut the bike.  The winds and cold would have put a lot of people at risk.  And just a counter point to the complaints about charging for the shuttle.  Some of that is not so much to make money, but to make people accountable for showing up if they say they are going to.  If they make it free, everyone will say they will take the shuttle, and some percentage inevitably will not, making planning difficult.  By charging, it makes it easier to get a count of buses needed.  Whether $8 is the right amount, I have no comment.  I didn't use the shuttle anyway.

Congrats to all who showed up, whether you raced or not.  It was quite a day.  I'm looking forward to next year.  Maybe we'll have weather like we did on Sunday, which was beautiful.

I was very disappointed that they dropped the bike to 15 miles.

I will admit it was cold. My buddy was chilled and shaking prior to the swim. My hands were cold, but I was more worried about how cold I would be after getting into and out of the water.

When I got into the water, I felt much better and the swim went well for me. I targeted less then 45 minutes and hit it on the mark. The adventure began in the transition to the bike. BTW, the sun was out when I exited the water.

It was still cold and I froze during that period of getting a jacket, socks, and shoes on. Still sniffling now, 48 hours later. My transition time sucked bad. Not used to the bag thing, and I didn't practice before hand.

The bike went fine, 40 minutes which was 20 mph, which I planned for.

Ran 1:42, faded towards the end which was troubling since I normally negative split.

Can't rally count it as a legit race due to the distance. Not really wanting to wait till next year so contemplating another race to enter later in the year, most likely Austin.

I disagree with the decision to cut it, since the weather was nice once I got out on the bike.

Either way it was a learning experience... 

I am with wakblak on this one.  I don't think that they should have cut the bike.  2 reasons.  1) I think that they made the call too early.  Why not wait until 2 minutes to noon or even a few minutes after noon would not have set anything back too far.  Had they waited and checked the weather forecast again I think they would have seen that there was a break coming in the storm.  I was the 14th (second to last) wave at 12:51pm.  By the time I got in the water the rain almost nearly had stopped and the wind died a bit.  The 2nd reason, I think that the Ironman is getting "soft."  In other words, sissy!  I think that the race should go on as planned and let me as the athlete make the call if I want to bail or not whether I decide before the swim or in the middle of the bike or out on the run.  It is an IRONMAN!  It should be my decision to cut it short.  I signed a release of liability form.  I was cold, wet, cramped, and fatigued like everyone else going into the water but I want to be the one to make the call if I compete in crappy weather or not.  What made me upset was that within the first 20 yards of the swim I started to feel great and knew that I was basically forced to do a glorified Olympic distance.  Feeling was coming back to my hands and feet and my muscles started to relax.  What's worse, I continued warming up throughout the bike ride and by the time I finished the run it was sunny and into the high 50's, low 60's.  Let's just pretend that there hadn't been a break in the storm.  Well, maybe I would not have warmed up on the bike and I may have thought "this is enough" and thrown in the towel and not finished, but at least it would have been my decision.  

I hope that they don't end their contract to continue the Boise 70.3.  I think they have a great course, I just hope that IRONMAN authorities toughen up a bit or live up to the name IRONMAN.  

I hope I haven't made it sound like if you chose to hand in your chip that you are sissy.  That is not my intention.  Quite the contrary.  It was your choice to not continue and that's how it should be.  Some authority shouldn't make that call.  I think it is an individual choice.  I trained for all kinds of weather.  If I had a planned bike ride and it snowed, back in January and February, I biked any way.  In late March I started my OWS and the water was not much more than 45 degrees.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn, I'm only saying that I knew what I had signed up for and trained accordingly, as everyone else did, and for them to cancel 41 miles of a great bike course was very disappointing to me.

Congrats to all who braved the weather, finishers and non finishers alike.  It was a day that will go into the Ironman history books.

I just wanted to say a few words about the race this past weekend. 

I, like everyone else, trained hard for this race and was disappointed by the cold weather conditions.  But I do greatly respect the decisions that had to be made that day, by both the race directors and those that chose not to race due to the weather conditions.  But I don't train for just one race.  Being fit, active, healthy, and a 'triathlete' is about the choices I make everyday, not just one race on one day in Boise, Idaho.

I found a weather station near LP Res which recorded wind chills of 35 degrees at 11:58am Saturday morning.  Living in the Rocky Mountains, I train in these types of conditions all winter and spring.  I swim in cold water in preparation for early season cold water races.  I even had enough gear in Boise to safely do the entire race.  But many participants do not train in these conditions.  Nor did they have appropriate gear for those conditions. Nor do they even know how dangerous cold, wet, and wind can be in order to make an informed decision about whether to 'go for it' or not.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's not always just about us as individual athletes.  Sometimes decisions must be made for the greater good.  Rescuing hypothermic swimmers is one thing ... they are all relatively close to emergency services, warming tents, etc.  Rescuing hypothermic cyclists who are spread out all over 50 plus miles of traffic congested roads is another.  For rescue personnel, having athletes 'in trouble' is stressful and scary.  I would hate to put them in a compromising position just because I want to be 'tough' and complete a race.  I'm proud that I completed the Boise 26.3 but mostly I'm just relieved that no one was seriously hurt that day.

Just one more comment ... predicting weather conditions is pretty difficult in and around Boise.  You know the saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes."  I believe we just got hit with a fast moving cold front that was supposed to stay further to the east.  Sure, it was clearing by the time some of us got out of the water, but the pro's and 'faster' athletes would have been riding on slick, wet, cold roads for many more miles than the rest of us.  And it would have been MUCH worse out on the bike course where the winds were much stronger.

Being the one on here who openly reported that I bailed and walked away from the start I do have a few more things to mention.

I did a relay race a number of years ago in washington in early June. That year we had huge amounts of snow and then of course run-off in the rivers. The morning of the relay they canceled the kayak leg. Basically the local sheriffs office made them. They said that they didnt have the resources to support so many people in the fast conditions. It was the right choice but one that was really made FOR the race officials, not by them. So WTC could have been pressured by the local authorities to make the choice they did.

With 40 degree temps, 15+mph winds, and SNOW on the bike course I can imagine the support crews (EMTs, Sherrif, etc) were very concerned if they had 1100+ athletes on the bike course in those early conditions. I went to the bus to warm up. I made the choice to not do the race. I stood from 1130am until the pros went off at 1210pm and then STILL had 45 minutes to wait for my wave. My mind wasnt in it anymore. Of course when I was out there later (after the weather lightened up) watching you guys who did race I got pissed for a while that I didnt start. The conditions did improve. But no one knew that would happen.

Its possible that WTC may have had no choice but to shut the bike down. The funny thing is if they had offered to skip the swim, and then do the shortened bike and then run I would have done it. My fear wasnt the water. My fear was getting OUT of the water into the cold and then on the bike heading down that hill. I followed a guy who was on his bike coasting down the day before and he was 35mph coasting. I cant imagine the wind chill that would have been on race day.

Either way it is what it is. The first ever Tie in an Ironman event. The first ever Boise 26.3 distance.

I respect the guy who said that Ironman got soft on this one. Maybe they did. But those conditions were the worst Ive seen and I can imagine they didnt want a total disaster out on the bike course.

Heres to more races in the future. Im already trying to find a local HIM to add this year.

Treeman, I  know how you feel.  My heart was not in it either and possibly would have bailed as well had my wife not said "put on your big boy pants and man up". 

We will never know if the race directors were pressured to shorten the bike as they are not talking.  Did they look at the radar to know the front would have moved through by 1:20?  Did they consider delaying the start?  Hope WTC opens up and talks about the events of the day.  

What I do know is that WTC and race directors did not make any contingency plans to provide shelter at LP based on the weather report.  

After coming down the hill on LP with the wet and wind I think they made the right choice to cut the bike.  Hell I drove 2000 miles one way to do this race and disappointed when the announcment came out is only one feeling I had, but if they had not cut it short I would have foolishly tried to do it and might have gotten seriously hurt.  

My race was ok, but between the results saying I rode 12 miles and my bike computer saying I rode 14.35 I don't know what happened.  Like anything else in life it was an experience I'll never forget.   

Like some others have said I'm going to take this fitness and push it to Steelhead and see if I can at least completet the distance this year.  Good luck to everyone who raced and continues to race. 

On a side note this thread is for sure cursed.  On the way out to Boise I slipped in the pool at a hotel in Madison, Wisconsin and cracked my heel something terrible.  Although I completed the race I think I broke my heel during that slip.  I'll find out friday and if the xrays are negative then I'll sign up for Steelhead.   

Hey there,

Well, guess I too have conflicting thoughts on the race. I was near or at hypothermic by the time I hit the water, which was actually a surprising relief since it was so much warmer than the air but as pp mentioned getting out of the water was insane, I don't know how I didn't crash the bike from the crazy shakes I had going down the hill, crazy. So I guess in effect the officials saved me from myself b/c I know I would have ridden the whole course given the opportunity and looking back I just don't know if I would have stayed upright, my body may have shut down and bad things could have happened. But I also agree with another pp that mentioned Ironman is getting soft, I'm a believer in personal responsibility and if an athltete wants to race then let em but then I also understand how difficult a situation that would put emergency personel in rescuing the hypothermic and crash victims...anyway, there is a lot to consider when altering a race and I guess they did the best they could. It would have been nice if they could see radar and push race back but I'm guessing they had a very limited time they "owned" the roads, I think the towns keep a tight reign that which is a bummer b/c it could have been an ok day if only a later start was allowed.

 They did not do an adequate job in offering anything protective up at LP for the athletes, how much would it cost to throw up some leanto's(sp?) just to protect from wind and rain? really? or would it have been so hard to let us know the buses were actually on the property fully heated? that alone could have made a huge difference in my race so I'm pissed about that.  Anyway, just thought I'd share my rambling thoughts, I may try for Bear Lake Brawl in UT, anyone else interested in that or have any thoughts on it?

Oh btw, I highly respect the decision of any athlete that didn't do race, it was ridiculous conditions, and to tell you the truth I don't find much satisfaction in completing it, I wanted a 70.3 not an extended olympic and now I've spend these days recovering from an altered race and hoping I can get some mojo back for a race i want to do in July.

Good luck to the rest of your season everyone, it's gotta get better from hear right?!?

Patsy

Hey there,

Well, guess I too have conflicting thoughts on the race. I was near or at hypothermic by the time I hit the water, which was actually a surprising relief since it was so much warmer than the air but as pp mentioned getting out of the water was insane, I don't know how I didn't crash the bike from the crazy shakes I had going down the hill, crazy. So I guess in effect the officials saved me from myself b/c I know I would have ridden the whole course given the opportunity and looking back I just don't know if I would have stayed upright, my body may have shut down and bad things could have happened. But I also agree with another pp that mentioned Ironman is getting soft, I'm a believer in personal responsibility and if an athltete wants to race then let em but then I also understand how difficult a situation that would put emergency personel in rescuing the hypothermic and crash victims...anyway, there is a lot to consider when altering a race and I guess they did the best they could. It would have been nice if they could see radar and push race back but I'm guessing they had a very limited time they "owned" the roads, I think the towns keep a tight reign that which is a bummer b/c it could have been an ok day if only a later start was allowed.

 They did not do an adequate job in offering anything protective up at LP for the athletes, how much would it cost to throw up some leanto's(sp?) just to protect from wind and rain? really? or would it have been so hard to let us know the buses were actually on the property fully heated? that alone could have made a huge difference in my race so I'm pissed about that.  Anyway, just thought I'd share my rambling thoughts, I may try for Bear Lake Brawl in UT, anyone else interested in that or have any thoughts on it?

Oh btw, I highly respect the decision of any athlete that didn't do race, it was ridiculous conditions, and to tell you the truth I don't find much satisfaction in completing it, I wanted a 70.3 not an extended olympic and now I've spend these days recovering from an altered race and hoping I can get some mojo back for a race i want to do in July.

Good luck to the rest of your season everyone, it's gotta get better from here right?!?

Patsy

Darn, I heard there was hardly any hills! I'm stuck with it b/c the other choice is Vikingman and it's 2 wks after Emmett and that's too close for me. 

I did do Vikingman last year and had my best race ever but b/c of the chip seal I'm undermotivated to do it again. So many others had flats and I was just lucky not to experience that. The ride is flat and easy but it is four loops so that's kind of monotonaous, everytime you get on the chip you hold your breath and pray you're not the next one. The swim is spectacular and that's what will get me back someday, downhill swims rock! The run was nice but very hot, be careful planning nutrition.

Are there any other 1/2's near Boise that I'm missing? want only a 5-6hr drive though, thanks, if anyone has any info on that.

Patsy