Ironman 70.3 Augusta : Official Thread (Page 3)

Love to join ya, but I have to work that day   I'll wave as you ride by my workplace!

23rd?  As in Thursday?  Bummer, seems like most peeps will be working that day...including me.  Otherwise I'd be in for the ride.

not to be a splitter upper but im looking at the 24th later afternoon if anyone wants to tie it in with ttp mistletoe .

This is totally off topic- but the there's going to be a local 10K (Broad Street Rmable) downtown on the Sat. before the 70.3.  It's a pretty flat route that starts/ends downtown and they have a kid's race as well.  If you have active family members that are coming with you to spectate, this might be something fun for them to do the day before the Augusta 70.3.  It's still in the planning phase, but you can visit www.augustastriders.com for a little more information. 

Edited by runnergirl 2009-07-14 7:21 AM

Hey Everyone -

So I'm new on here and trying to figure things out lol. . .

I'm really excited to be doing the 70.3 - it will be my first. I'm a runner converting to triathlete/cyclist

I rode the bike course this past Sunday with a group and well if it doesn't change again - I like it. The scenery is nice, pretty flat with a few good hills It will be a fun race I think and good for the Augusta area!!!

Brittany

What's the general consensus on wetsuits? I think I read it might be as high as 78. Would love to get by without one if possible? First HIM for me too.

not sure about the wet suits - I don't think its required. The water is cold but not bad - I jumped in the River a few weeks ago wtih a few friends to cool off after a 5k race and it was a shock at first but fine once in the water!!!

Which on were you lol - sorry I'm bad with names and met everyone for the first time except for Steve and Andy.

Make sure to train on hills.  If you're not a strong climber then the middle section of the course could be challenging.

I'm not familiar with Chattanooga but if I were a first time rider doing the course as just a ride - I would consider it average. There are a few climbs in there but nothing crazy. It is flat until about mile 20ish then you start a long up hill climb that is graded probably about 3-4% just take it easy and don't go all out as you start to climb and you'll be good - in the middle of the course there are a few other short climbs; one coming off a down hill nothing extreme and I would say the most would be about a 6-7% grade climb.

You will be fine on the course I'm sure!!!

It'll be wetsuit legal, but you'll be able to get by without one. Water temp should be in the low 70s on race day.

Hey Fred and Anne (aka Mr. and Mrs. Cube) good luck and stay cool!! (Can anything be hotter than the Florida 'African Grasslands'?Good luck to everybody !!

OK....
Just back from riding the Augusta 70.3 Bike Route (1 loop, 56mi.)
Right off the bat, let me say this. I have been doing Tri's for 5 years now and have lived and trained in Georgia for those 5 years, so those people reading this from other states please remember I write this from a "Georgia" training on hills, point of view.
People who live and train in Georgia are going to LOVE this course. Its nothing you haven't seen or trained on already. Let me say that again, ITS NOTHING YOU HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE!!
On a Georgia difficulty scale of 1-10, I gave it a 5!!! Fun, challenging, but wont kill you.
If you have done the West Point Lake Oly, that 24mi course is HARDER then this one.
Who ever laid out the route, Congrats!! There is something for everyone. Flats, short leg burner climbs 6-8%, longer grinder climbs 2-3%, slight downhill sections to max out the big ring -1-4%, etc.
I did the ride with my wife Ann and she is still building for Augusta as this will be her first attempt at a 70.3.
So we just took it easy and made it an enjoyable ride/day.
We stopped twice. Once at the Hot Spot on Whiskey Rd at about mile 24, and again at the quickie mark on Pine Log at about mile 40.
Time: 3:38:52
Total Distance 55.28mi (from transition at the rowing club)
Avg Speed: 15.1
Avg HR 119
Max HR 153
Now for some details:
* Your first real climb isn't until mile 17.2!!
* Heading out of T1 its mostly flat and Old Jackson Hwy is mostly flat and big ring funable. Only a few slight 1-2% rollers. But don't take it out to fast suckers!!!!
* First climb is once you turn on Rt 1 at 17.2 miles. Short 1/4mi climb at about 5-6% Then again at about the 20mi mark.
* Rt 1 is also a bit chippy road surface wise.
* It's mostly flat/rollers thru Whiskey Rd, Old Whiskey Rd, Cherryville Rd, and Woodland.
* Your next hills begin on Gray Mare Hollow, couple of nice grinders at 3-5%, about 1/4 to 1/2 mi long.
* Once you make the turn off Gary Mare onto Silver Bluff there is a good grinder at about 6-8%, short 1/4 mi. Wife threw the chain downshifting.
* On Boyd Pond I say open it up. Nice downhill, twisting sections of - 3-5%. You can easily hit 40mph.
* Biggest longest grinder is on Horse Creek, 2-5% that goes on and off for 2-3 miles.
* New blacktop on Herdon Dairy, nice and smooth.
* Pine Log is mainly flat and can be Hammered. But it is also choppy surface wise with lots of little bumps. We had a slight wind in the face.
* There is a nice, short, downhill section on Pine Log JUST before you hit Atomic. Take advantage of it as it ends into a BIG grinder of 8-12% for about 75-100 ft.
* The first 1-1.5 mi on Atomic heading back into T2 is on rollers then it flattens out and you can really Hammer it or use it as recovery time before crossing the bridge back into Georgia.
* From miles 49 thru 56 is a drop of about 300 ft in elevation.

So there you have it.
Print it, copy it, study it and come prepared!
Also, there are a lot of cool little restaurants in downtown, 2 blocks from the Marriott.
Its going to be packed and I can tell the vibe is going to be great, cant wait.

FM

Has anyone thought about a BT get together?  Just wondering. 

I'm in!

I thought about an after party at my house. Should we BT'ers consider something like that?

That would be good.

The Cube is planning a pasta dinner on Saturday at Luigi's I believe.  So it looks like the pre race dinner is in the works.

134 BTers doing this race?  Wow!

I got reservations at Augestino's in the Marriott lobby for 5pm on the 26th. Party of four.
Call over now and reserve your table so we can all sit close/together etc. Im going to be packed so I thought a reservation would be good and then we can just go up to the room and zzzzzzzzz.

FM

134 BT'ers to race Augusta HIM so far? I want to have an after party but my neighborhood cannot support that load of cars. Maybe everyone can bike or run over...hah!

Maybe we can do a post race party downtown at Nacho Mama's??