Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin : Official Thread (Page 3)

Quadzilla is a "fun" little hill that will make your legs burn, and your lungs jump out of your chest. 

Its a grass hill that is probably a 80-100 gain in elevation in a short distance.  You'll do it 2x.  Theres an aid station at the bottom of the hill, and a timer at the top to see who climbed it the fastest for the day.
The good part about it is the hill running down to up seems to be longer than the hill back up.

This will be my 2nd HIM for the year.  Orlando 70.3 in May was my first and I am looking to beat that time as well as have fun.  "Quadzilla" sounds challenging so when I see it, my mind will need to shift into Dolph Lundgren mode: "I Must Crush You."  Also driving down from Memphis and  trying to be there on Friday so I can check out the area etc.  Looking forward to it!!!  )

Great point on the weather, I have been trying to train in the middle of the day when I can due to the heat exposure.  Hoping that it is cooler on race day. 

I'm in for my first HIM.  I'll be the slightly (snicker, chortle) overweight soccer mom who's too stubborn to know when to quit! Not going for speed so much as simply getting through the race.  I went out to watch it last year and couldn't resist giving it a go this year. 

For those of you who aren't locals, the weather around here is unpredictable at best.  October is usually moderate temps - I'm actually more worried about rain than heat.  But this year has been weirder than most.  We had a stupid-hot and dry summer, then one week of pleasant temps, then 2 weeks of gray drizzly weather. All that to say who knows what it will be like on race-day.  The saying around here is that if you don't like the weather, wait 20 min.

I went out on the bike course last weekend.  Gotta watch for the giant cracks on some parts of the road!  There are two short steep hills that will kick your booty if you don't know they are there and are in the wrong gear. #1 is immediately after the right turn onto Blue Bluff from Lindell, so you'd better be gearing down as you get ready to make that turn.  #2 is shortly after the turn onto Monkey road at about the mid-way point - at least you can sorta see this one coming.  The other hill of note is a series of longish climbs on Taylor - none of them bad at all individually, but they build on each other so they'll probably get your attention.  The rest of the course was relatively fast in my opinion, and a pretty route. Kudos to Keith and his team for such a nice course!

4 weeks and counting!

Got the email about the Sunday night BBQ tickets and it got me thinking. Didn't they give away a tri bike at the "after party" last year? Me and the athlete I came to support slept through the after event last year  - but I haven't heard a mention of any big ticket giveaways for this year. Have you?

Any BTers going to the Sunday BBQ?
 

I have a bike case due to traveling a lot.  I use FEDEX Ground to ship my bike and have no problems at all.  Typically takes 4 days to arrive at my destination.  UPS charges extra money if you don't pack your bike in a brown box! Shocked me when I shipped with them and that was the last time.  If you don't have a bike case, some bike shops rent them.  Hope this helps.

As for taking on a plane, also recommend plastic bike case.  Southwest charges $50 one way.  All other airlines start at $100 one way.