Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas 2012 : Official Thread (Page 38)

looks like the athlete guide is up.  I guess the race must be close...

The biggest thing to stand out to me is parking.  Shows you can not park in the mall parking lot or your car could be towed. 

The Athlete Guide came out this morning – more reason to be nervous. Swim will likely be wetsuit optional but if you wear it you start in a second wave 10 min behind. I swam a 1.15 swim in Arizona with the wetsuit but am swimming a little better now. The benefits for wearing it are mental security (added buoyancy) and saved energy. The Cons are that I will have to swim through the slower non wetsuit swimmers which in itself slows me down and introduces more ‘stress’ to the swim. What gives? What would you do? I guess if only the fastest folks don’t wear the wetsuit then by wearing it I could be close to the front of the second wave. #undecided

From where you are staying it is less than 10 miles.  FM1488 is the line between The Woodlands and Magnolia.  Some people call Magnolia the back of the woodlands. 

Magnolia is west of The Woodlands on FM 1488. I think the pool that you're referring to is at Magnolia High School right near the corner of FM 149 and FM 1488. The bike course goes right by it at around the 90-mile mark. 

In the athlete's guide it states that no compression is allowed during the swim but is allowed after. Is this new to the 2012 IMTX rules? I wore it last year on my calves so I could get in and out of transition quickly. This year I have brutal shinsplits that even hurt while swimming and was planning on wearing compression to help with this issue. I am already registered and plan on doing the race to the best of my ability with this injury, but wasnt really planning on dealing with it until the middle of the bike ride. How strict do you think they will be on this rule? If I do wear them do you think they will make me start in the wetsuit wave? Need some opinions to help my mental state at the moment.

Betting they will be strict on this one. At a recent IM event, they realized that people, lots of people, were cramming foam/noodles/inflatables inside the compression socks and sleeves. So thanks to the cheaters, everyone gets the privilege taken away.

Pools - The CISD natatorium is great option, but you'll need to check the "wellness swim" schedule on their website. Lunchtime is pretty safe. 5 bucks to get in. Also, the city of Shenandoah is opening their neighborhood pool for all athletes that week (25 meter, outdoor) for anyone who wants to swim. Might be shuttles too. I can't remember. If you're staying in shenandoah you're hotel will know. I believe goodie bags are planned for all athletes as well.

Curious to hear from those who did this race last year, but looking at the course it doesn't appear to one of the more violent swim courses. Only two "sharp" turns according to the map and being a single lap swim I would guess it would be much better than a 2 loop course like IMWI or CDA.

Sure there will be your fair share of contact but I think thats just the nature of the beast.

How many people do you think will take the 10 min late start and swim with a wetsuit? I wouldn't think it would be that high but from the sounds of the talk around here lately that number will be way higher than what I would have thought. I would think most would know going into this race that the water temp would be high and if it was a deal breaker would shy away from this race.

TJ Thanks for the info. I will be out there this Saturday for the open water swim and test the legs without the sleeves. I'd hate to start with the wetsuit folks and take the 10 minute late start as a middle of pack swimmer because of this need (at the moment) and not be wearing a suit. Man, I just can't imagine wearing a suit in the heat! Who wore one last year and how hot did it get? How did it affect you later on in the race?

How do you know which swim skins or speedsuits are legal? I don't see anything about that in the athlete guide. Is it on the Iroman website?

Thanks