Timberman - Half Iron : Official Thread (Page 33)

Sam - congrats on the race!  I probably sound like a broken record but very impressive, you've had some fantastic results this summer!

Ben - great work this weekend, that first and last stretch is very difficult, definitely good to scout it out pre-race.

I did another race-pace effort on the course this Saturday, it went pretty horribly.  I had a two hour ride on Friday and my legs just weren't recovered so holding my goal wattage wasn't in the cards and the entire ride back--in a strong headwind no less--was BRUTAL.  Then a 50 minute race-pace brick to follow, which wasn't much fun!

Today's 90 minute run went much better, I did it on the Timberman course and it's a challenging out-and-back, definitely more difficult than the sprint portion led on.  There are a few little rolling hills and the steepest of them is halfway through the 'back' portion of the out-and-back, so we'll be hitting it at about miles 5 and 11.5.  Also, there's a solid 1.5-2 mile stretch of the 'back' that's way off camber, the pavement falls off toward the lake on the left and it makes what will be a challenging run that much more difficult. 

Anyway, the run went great, I was worried how I'd hold up after the brick on Saturday (and a 45 minute swim just beforehand) but I felt real strong, add farleks every mile and pushed the tempo the last few miles.  Hopefully I'll be ready for a full 13.1 because today will be my longest run leading up to it (just under 11) but my running is definitely getting better.

Also, one of my parents neighbors--who's seen me going out for training every weekend--happened to have his camera as I was leaving on Saturday...unbeknownst to me he took a few photos and sent them to me (what a great guy!)--if you happen to see someone in this getup on race day give me a shout, it's most likely me (or someone with similarly terrible fashion sense!)

Ray





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Haha, thanks...the helmet's new and it's taken some getting used to--from a 'I look like a complete TOOL in this thing' standpoint.  I just keep telling myself 'it's free speed...it's free speed' and I get over it.  I was worried about the heat factor for a 2.5 hour race-pace ride (the aero helmets don't have the same ventilation as standard road helmets) but so far I haven't noticed it at all, and as strange as it sounds I can feel the aero benefits--the added 'slipstream' effect--of the helmet. 

I'm still not gonna be averaging 24+ on the ride like the pro's--I'd need a new pair of legs and lungs for that--but every little bit counts, right? 

Ray -

I think the aero helmets are cool looking. granted i wouldnt wear them for anything other than racing, but they're cool for that.

I was pretty happy with the scouting. Rach wasn't feeling too hot, and with the extra miles we didn't do it all, but we did drive the rest of it, and there's a lot of fairly flat in the middle (falsely flat up and down), and the downhills were wicked fun.

Does anyone have any ideas on when we might know the wave order? I'm hopeful that I won't be in the last wave so I might have some additional time in the "just in case" category.

it sounds like everyone is doing well .... racing, training, previewing, etc.

just under two weeks left; i know i am getting excited.

it seems as if the heat wave has lifted a bit in NJ (although this week will be hot) - I think lake w has cooled off as well and we'll be likely to have a wetsuit swim. 

I really like the idea of meeting up somewhere ... I will go back a re-read the postings and hopefully offer some additional thoughts.  My family is arriving Friday 8/20 midafternoon. 

Brownie-

Thanks. That's a broken record I won't get sick of hearing.

Here is the link to my race report.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=221373

Brownie-
I forgot to mention, that's a great photo. It looks like you are about to put down the big hurt.
Good stuff.
Peace.

Nice Brownie.  Train like you race.

I was wearing my aero helmet bombing up to the tip of Cape Cod and back yesterday in a race simulation effort.  Need to get used to the race setup.  The ventilation, sound, weight are all a little different.  I wear it once or twice a week leading up to a race.

I'm on vacation til Wednesday.  Probably going eek out a long run in the next couple days and then the rest is filler I think.  Might get some strides in one day too to keep the legs turning over.
I can't swim right now.  I've had an ear infection all week but what's in the bank is in the bank at this point.  Hoping to get a couple swims in later this week or next week to get my feel back.

I'll be up there Friday with the family.

Then I'll say it again: great race, Sam!  

I particularly liked the part about the sock...the seemingly endless amount of time it took to fix the sock (though in reality it was probably just 5-10 seconds) probably saved your feet from pain and blisters, and in the long run may have saved you time when factoring in any performance drag the upside-down sock would have had.  After experiencing the pebble in my shoe for 7.2 miles last weekend I can say with absolute certainty that keeping your footwear clean and straight is absolutely imperative!

Anyway, I enjoyed the RR, great result.

Hey all - some good things happening all round.

Sam - Holy Smokes man another great race! Congratulations, really enjoyed the race report.

Ray - love the photo, you look like you are ready to hit the roads in Timberman in style and with an engine to match.

I did a sprint Tri on Saturday which was a lot of fun, race report below if anyone would like to view.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid... />
 I also did a 25K run through the Turkey Swamp in Freehold NJ, and just saw that I picked up second in the F 30-39 group. It's amazing what a well chosen wig and a little rouge will do!

http://www.bestrace.com/results/10/100808TS3.HTM

Jokes aside I was aiming for around 9 min pace and got close to that. This was very much a training run and a confidence booster for Timberman.

Cheers and Happy Tapering...S.

Trying that race report link again : http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid...

Thanks for the various kudos re: my recent race that I received from several of you.

Simon- Nice work at YOUR race. Here's a suggestion for your Garmin issue. Have the spectator you will see last before T2 (wife, child, what-have-you) yell out to you "Garmin! Garmin! Garmin!" When I used to use my cycling computer when racing I would forget to push the "start" button, so I had my wife shout "Computer! Computer Computer!" (or something like that). She only had to do it at one race and then I was good.
Another thing, I think an ocean swim would be a cool experience...though I'd be quite nervous. The closest I've come to that experience during a triathlon is in Lake Michigan with 2, maybe 3 foot swells. Good for you with your swim.
Having rough roads in a trithlon is a pain. If there is a rough section that's one thing, but a constant rough course is no fun.
I'm with you regarding the results too. After doing a race I want to know how I did for the given distances. The distances and timing need to be done correctly. I would rather know that a swim course is 480 yards instead of 500 or the bike is 17.6 miles long instead of 18 miles than to look and think I had a wicked fast time when I didn't.  OH! If the course is on mapmyride, use the "tools" button, plug in your time and it will calculate your pace. You'll also see if the course was measured properly (more or less).

Ben- I live in WEST Michigan. South of Grand Rapids between the towns of Caledonia and Middleville. I have a friend from college who lived in Monroe however: Pete Bodary.

Peace.

Simon, great race!  I've had that happen in the past where a course just doesn't seem to match up with the distances they provide.  It's a little odd that they have the #1 run split (13:59) as a 5:00 pace, and the 3rd place run split (16:49) as 6:00 when going by a 3.5 mile distance the splits would be 4:00 and 4:42...same thing on the bike.  I just think their distances are off, which stinks because it doesn't tell you how you really performed.  As Sam said, if you really want to know then map it out...regardless great race, an ocean swim to start must be awesome!

To everyone who's looking to meet up: Is anyone going to the Champions dinner?  Personally I'd like to have our meetup either Friday around lunch time, or Friday for dinner.  Saturday is going to be a little hectic with registration, bike sign-in, the pre-race meeting and last minute stuff, and for me I'd like to have dinner with my family and get my mind off the race--I know if we meet up on Saturday it'll be constant talk about the race and nerves will start flying (well, MORE nerves will be flying!).  

Anyway, I can do a Saturday dinner if people are going to the Champions dinner or would simply rather do it on Saturday, I'm more just throwing Friday out as my preference.

GETTING TOGETHER- I agree. I think Friday evening/dinner may be the best option.

Swim waves (http://www.ironmantimberman.com/2010TMHSwimWaves.pdf)

Bib numbers (http://www.ironmantimberman.com/2010TMHBibs.pdf)

#2282 for me (and oddly enough there's a Chris Brown who's in M30-34 and is #2283; I'm keeping a CLOSE eye on my number, last thing I'd want is a mixup between the Brown's)

Who wants to bet that #1 and #28 win again? 


I really don't like that I'm going off at 8:10...I might bring a pillow and blanket, if I have to drive there at 4:30 to get parking then I'll be waiting around for a solid two hours before I even have to start thinking of moving. 

Edited by Brownie28 2010-08-10 9:13 AM

I hear ya Brownie, but you are better off than me.  I am so bummed. I am in the last wave.  That seriously blows.  I will bring a pillow and blanket too, but I won't be able to sit still.  I am #2597

Chrissie Wellington and Andy Potts are back. Hopefully I can hit the run before they finish! ha!

Last year Chrissie was at the finish line personally putting the finishers medal over your head and congratulating you. She is the best!

Friday works for me - Saturday not so much.

Sam, I don't think I know Pete, but I've been through your neck of the woods plenty of times. We've got family in Muskegon and Whitehall. My dad grew up out that way. We always take the long way back from Mackinaw to stop for a visit. 

So a quick postscript for my Tri race at the weekend. I reached out to Greg Davis the Born to Tri race results coordinator asking about the accuracy of the course and he says the only inaccuracy was that the run was 3.2 miles and not 3.5 miles. Bike and swim distances/times were accurate. New results to be published later today apparently. 

So as it stands I had 2 Sprint PR's in the race averaging 22.5 on the bike over 15 miles and 7:18 pace over 3.2 miles. It won't have much bearing on Timberman but nice to see some progress in the "red line" sprint format all the same .



Edited by sjwwebster 2010-08-10 11:23 AM

I couldn't be any more excited than I am right now (except I will be more excited each day until the race). 

I totally didn't understand that the 8:30 limit is for the course closing from the last wave, not the maximum time for each wave. I go off with the day glow green, so I have 30 extra minutes of buffer. As this is my first 70.3, having that buffer makes me really happy, though I hope I dont need it. My wife has about an extra hour going off at 7:20. She's excited because it gives her some buffer on the swim, her weakness.

Also, we were even more lost than I thought during our scouting ride. My wife transposed 11A and 11B so after going past the ramp to 11B and going into town, we turned around went back and past the park to find 11A. We started climbing immediately past the park and wound up doing what I think are some pretty difficult climbs, which I think more than prepare us for anything other than the super steep climb at mile 10. 

We're going to go back up again this weekend and give the real climb a go. Til then I've been doing hill repeats in the neighborhood. Found a bike bridge attached to an overpass that's right by the house. No idea of slope, but it takes at least 100 feet long, takes good effort to go up it even in my 2 lowest gears. Until it gets easy, it can't hurt.

Also, friday evening get together works for us, too, though probably at least 7 PM to be safe, as we hope to leave Boston no later than 4 PM. 





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Simon- Fantastic! Proof in the puddin' baby.