Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas : Official Thread (Page 3)

Scott,

When I did IMTX in 2011, Scholl and I stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn that's maybe a bit over 1/2 mile away.  I couldn't make the walk back.  I paid $5 to have one of those golf cart taxis drive me back. 

Ran Twin Cities marathon early October. Have been neglected swimming and biking all summer and all year. Is anyone else in a similar situation and have to pick up significantly??? Been doing a lot of travel lately, will only be 2 days per week until late December.

First IM for me.

What part of Fort Worth? i live in the North part near saginaw and Lake Worth. There are some teams that meet that are not far from me. Also the local bike shops around us all have thier own rides every week.

That was a fun ride, minus my freaking flat.

Where did you get the flat at?  I saw about four dudes with flats.  One guy hadn't even made it a mile out of T-1.

About mile 3.  Had to jump around a dude who couldn't hold his line and put my rear in one of those potholes.  Ticked me off quite a bit.  LOL.

I have to get proficient at changing flats before IMTX.  I would have been waiting for the support vehicle.

If you feel you are ready for an Ironman and are comfortable doing 5-6 hour bike rides on a trainer than go for it. I am from northern Illinois and I will be there.

Hey - It's not a mistake - If you are familiar with racing in a hot/humid environment already from previous summer races you'll know what to do. Just try to give yourself a few days to acclimate down there and try to get in some warm workouts the week before and you should be set.

I am in sort of a similar situation - I stopped all running and swimming in June after IMSG but have been doing a lot of biking (mostly indoors) so need to step it back up nice and slow - especially with running!

How is the bike? According to Ironman, it is supposed to be fairly flat. Would you agree?  I will be using a road bike instead of a tri bike. How are the winds on the return trip back to town?

I would say it's fairly flat with miles 20-70 considered "rolling."

Here's my Garmin file from 2011: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/88047320

Wow nice bike split - Very helpful... 2700ft of climbing? That sounds pretty rolling. What are the roads like out there? Pretty smooth? Wide?

Thanks.  I think I can get close to a 5:05 bike split for next year... weather depending.  I spent nearly four minutes not moving as I made a potty break and a stop at bike special needs.  I'll skip special needs and maybe pee on myself on the bike.  

The wind can be a great equalizer if we catch a bad day.  2011 and 2012 weren't "that" bad from a wind perspective.  Winds that time of year normally come from some southerly direction and strong winds would mean a miserable second half of the bike as it's mostly south.

The roads are pretty decent by Texas standards.  There's a couple of patches of Texas chip seal but nothing too bad or too long.

It's not close to 2,700 feet.  That's the Garmin 500.  It's right at 1,600 feet.  Wind adds some invisible gain so depending on the weather that day you could add a few hundred extra.  

Not that IMTX is hilly or anything but it has some rolling and more elevation gain than IMFL.  It's a more challenging course for sure.  There's also the heat factor.

The swim at IMTX is terrible in every way imaginable.  There's zero visibility in the water and it's way too narrow and only gets worse with the canal portion.  It's also a non-wetsuit/wetsuit option swim if wetsuits are your thing.

Somewhat clear LOL.  Lake Woodlands is a brackish green color.  I would classify the bike course as having some rollers, my coach from Connecticut would classify it as flat.  Guess it depends on perspective.

Haha.  You'll be lucky to see the foot about to kick you in the face.