Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon - Olympic Race : Official Thread (Page 3)

i have to drive 25 hours so it better not be a du!

The thunderstorms they are calling for this week are expected to be brief hard storms.
The kind you get when the sun starts to set and the dew point drops.  I don't expect it'll have any major impact on the water temp or conditions. Though we might get a slightly faster current in the river.
The up-side though is that the river is nastier when it's been stagnant, and we haven't gotten a lot of rain lately. So a few t-storms may actually help the water conditions.

The river isn't "stagnant" by definition.  It's rain that causes water quality problems.  That said, as long as most of it is done by Thursday night, it shouldn't turn the race into a du.  But unless we get a lot of rain, it won't cool the temps much either.  I would bet on non-wetsuit.

Look on the bright side.....our T1 times will be so much faster without wetsuits!

and less likely to chafe behind the neck!

I got to swim in the river last night...81 degrees and beautiful! Water was nice and clean with a slight current.

awesome. i am kind of worried about the weather forecast for the oly now.

updated forecast:

Isolated T-Storms

High 90°F Low 70°F

Precip:		30%

Partly cloudy, chance of a thunderstorm. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the low 70s.

With an early start it won't be quite as bad temp wise...we won't hit 90s till after the race. That said, it will be very very hot out there. I was thinking that being in one of the last waves is a huge disadvantage due to the weather alone. You are starting 45-50 mins behind and even if I was just equal in performance to the pros and elites (which I totally get the pros and AG elite starting early that is not my point) I would be starting the run 45 mins later which at that time of day could mean 5 degrees warmer. Since I am much slower than they are, I will more likely be starting over an hour behind them which means by the time I finish it is probably 10 degrees warmer than when they started the run. These are just random thoughts going through my head today and are not a gripe/complaint or anything else. Can you tell I am pretty tired from my IM training to be thinking this kind of crap?

So I'm doing the Phily Tri this Sunday, a little concerned about the weather. I think I saw 94 oF at the highest temp. Swim should be ok, maybe no wetsuits? Can anyone tell me where the " 4 technical hills" are located based on the map (will the hills drain you?)? I live in NY and am unfamiliar with the course. How is MLK for the run, flat?

Hills are each time you leave the river and head into the park.  They are all fairly short.  They shouldn't "drain you", but I guess that depends on how hard you climb them and what kind of shape you are in.  The technical part comes on the way back down towards the river.  Most of them have turns at points where you will have picked up some speed, so you need to be careful that you can navigate those turns along with the traffic of other bikers.  The most dangerous, in my view, is the one coming right back into transition at the end of each lap--high speed with some relatively sharp, narrow turns towards the bottom.  It is best to take these conservatively.  Even if you are confident in your own bike handling skills, other bikers may do some very unexpected things in this area.

The run is nearly dead flat (very slight incline along part of it heading out towards the Art Museum).  The enitre back half is on unshaded blacktop.  Expect it to be very hot on Sunday.

x2.
Everyone be careful on this hill.  You can fly down it, and with the turns and crowded course, it can be dangerous.

Yes but how much did you pay for that technicolor suit??

JohnnyKay (all)- Thank you for the intel. Expecting to use the gears on the way up, didnt think the technicality was on the way down- but it makes sense (narrow roads).  Thanks again. I suspected the course to be crowded with the two loops. The run may be the worst part b/c of the weather. Hydration hydration hydration.

Btw, 81 oF in the water last night? Wow, that's awesome!

I ride down Black Road often. There is a tight right turn at the bottom and you go under the highway so there's often a stark light to dark contrast. Add in the rough road surface, the spectators (yes, they will cross the road there) and the other racers (some of whom are heading for dismount and some of whom are heading for their second loop) and it can be hairy at times.

best $5 I ever spent! (also ugliest suit I ever bought as well!)

Also, is it wrong that I consider 94 cool compared to the 100 at Eagleman 2 weeks ago? lol

Saturday is the sprint race in the morning, but I think you could drive it in the afternoon.

I've been reading all the posts with great enjoyment. I don't really post that much anymore, but I was looking through craigslist and I found this...I thought some folks might know someone who would be interested: an olympic slot for the race on Sunday.

See everyone out there this weekend! I'll be volunteering on Saturday, so please say hi!

https://post.craigslist.org/manage/1808057266/bafei

I'm not sure what the traffic is like when the streets are open.  Maybe one of the locals could answer your question.  Mrbbrad?



Edited by TriMyBest 2010-06-24 6:04 AM

The roads on the East side of the river (opposite transition) will largely be open to traffic then.  I believe they will remain largely closed on the West side (along the river, at least) for most of the day (there are kids' races in the early afternoon).  Typically, it is not an easy course to pre-ride and there are a few times where the course goes the "wrong way" down a one-way street.  But, if you are just trying to run over it to familarize yourself with it then you should be able to get around most of it OK.


Edit:  Oh, and traffic in the park (the sections that go up away from the River Drives) is generally not too bad and usually moving at a modest pace.  Traffic on the Drives (especially the East side) can be hairy at times.  There's a combination of paved & dirt paths along most of it that you can hop onto if that appears to be too much of a problem.

Edited by JohnnyKay 2010-06-24 7:30 AM