HITS Triathlon Series: Ocala - Half Iron Course : Official Thread (Page 3)

Since it starts at 7am and I personally don't see myself finishing by 7pm. I'm pretty sure I'll have a headlamp in my bag at the 1/2 way point!

Looking forward to the race!  Getting antsy........

I'll be right there with you!  Adding a headlamp to my packing list now.

It's going. I've lost a little motivation for swim training as it seems to be getting more difficult to get to the pool around the kids and husband's schedule. Spending more time on the bike, as that is definitely my weakest sport. Feeling confident that I will finish strong, barring mechanical issues on the bike--which was my goal when I started training 4 months ago. 

This is my first half-iron race--I've only completed a sprint in the past as a whim (signed up 2 days before the race)--So I want to finish strong with a smile. Any time goals are just icing on the cake. 

Just wondering though, am I going to be the only rider in the iron/half-iron distance without aero bars? Is this a huge mistake? I've already spent more on this endeavor than I should have and I'm comfortable going the distance on my road bike. It seems as though the only real sacrifice is extra speed, right?

Thanks for any input. 

A tri bike/aerobars is definitely going to be faster but if you're comfortable without them and time isnt an issue then dont stress over it.

That being said, $$ wise you can probably find a used pair of clip on aerobars on the classifieds for like $30...

Swimming is spot on.  Did the full 2.4 in the pool this week and felt great.

Biking is good too.  Headed out for a century on March 2nd.  Anyone in Atlanta want to join me? I'm on the slow end - 14-15 mph.

Running - not so good.  Got tendonitis in my ankle.  The fabulous folks at 1st Choice are helping me heal, but going to have to take some time off running.  Guess it's more bike and pool time for me.  Makes me a little nervous since my longest run was scheduled for this weekend, but it is what it is.

Not an official one, just on my own.

I'm pretty biased but Amelia Island is a great place. Really depends on what you're looking for as there isn't really much to offer here but the beach (which is what I like most about it). Check out this place for a nice quiet weekend. If you're looking for more shopping ect then St. Augustine is the better place

I'm not a big fan of Jekyll Island's beaches. The island itself is beautiful but the beaches are more like mud than sand.

Wow, thanks for sharing that.  Gonna try to get back up there and check out the new route.  The out-and-backs make it more fun so you can see the other racers and know how far behind you are.  

We rode the course previously - looking at the new map, it looks like the only "new" part will be the last right turn onto Salt Springs Highway that goes NorthEast?  Hoping that won't make it too hilly.  The previous course seemed pretty nice hill-wise.

Anybody ridden the new route?

People who review it keep saying its "kind of hilly" but i dont understand how 600ft of gain can be considered hilly...

I plan on running a Hed3 and a disc cover. I doubt it will be to hilly and/or windy to not run the disc

I haven't ridden the entire course, but have done parts of it.  Ocala and central FL in general can be hilly when compared to the rest of the state, especially coastal cities.   For people from outside of Florida, I doubt it will be perceived as hilly at all..  There are some rollers, but nothing like you would see in the Clermont area.  I did Augusta 70.3 in Sept, which people from Florida all told me it was pretty hilly but everyone else said was pretty flat.  For comparison, it was ~1400 ft. of elevation gain.

I'm riding it (or at least the majority of it) Thursday afternoon and can paste the elevation profile of my garmin if anyone is interested.  I noticed someone created a strava segments for the first 24 miles of the new course..  here's a link that has the elevation on it..

http://app.strava.com/segments/3593142

And to answer the other question, this will be my first race with race wheels- 88mm carbon clinchers front and back.  Getting excited!

Definitely post your garmin info and your opinion of the course. Based off of that strava link (thanks for that) it looks like most of the hills are .25-.5miles long at 2ish%.

Thats Flat.

Here's the garmin profite from my ride of the bike course today.  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/284401863

Although I live about 20 minutes from the park, I never ride in this general area.  So this was the first I had seen a lot of the course.  Overall, the roads are in good condition.  There are a few rough/pacthy sections of road.  There are not a lot of big intersections, after leaving the park and heading out the first few miles, I only recall about 3 or 4 places where I had to stop at intersections.  That should make it easier to support!  All the roads are 2 lanes with little to no shoulder.  There was a fair amount of traffic.  I was by myself today, and the wind was moving me around a good bit.  There were quite a few cars that didn't give me much room, so I was hesitant to spend much time in the aerobars.  I will feel a lot more comfortable on race day when there is another 600 out there with me

As far as elevation, it was similar to what mapmyride and Strava show.  I have elevation correction enabled, and it shows just under 600 feet.  There were some rolling hills, though, it was by no means pancake flat.  But I'm a big dude who doesn't climb too easily and I never had to shift out of the big chain ring so the climbs are short and not that steep..

I also jumped in the water for a quick 10 minute swim to feel out my wetsuit again.  It wasn't as cold as I was afraid it would be, probably mid 60's or maybe a little cooler.  The water is really shallow.  I walked out well over 100 yeards and still hadn't hit waist deep.  It is projected to hit the low 80's over the weekend and into early next week, so with the water being so shallow I'm sure it will warm up some.  Then hopefully it will cool off some before next weekend! 

See you all then!  Happy taper!

Thanks for all the info on the bike!!

You're making me feel much better about the water. When the rumors spread it was in the 50s I wasn't too thrilled.

Now, like everyone else, I'm praying the weather forecast is wrong..