Ironman 70.3 Vineman : Official Thread (Page 4)

Ready for the Taper Madness, all???  Hmmmm??  Ten day forecast has the high on the 11th at 86 degrees with morning clouds and 53 degrees.  Let's hope for that marine layer to stick around a while and keep the pm temps down!

Oh, the madness!  They're coming to take my baby away from me on Saturday (they = Tri Team Transport, baby = bike....obviously!).  One more medium-ish ride tomorrow and a short ride Saturday morning.  Then the real madness starts.

Uh oh.  I hope they are wrong this time:

These high temps here in the West mean a lot more time spent in Air Conditioning and has resulted in clogged sinus, drainage and a little chest congestion.  At least that is what I am choosing to believe - that it is not a summer cold, but I'm upping the vitamin C just to be sure.  Just went on a 1.5 mile walk and things got better, so seems to be a case of 'dry air sickness'.  We'll find out later when I go out to train.  Today was supposed to be a triple brick (2500 swim, 2 hour ride, 20 minute run) but I may choose to skip the swim as breathing could be an issue.  But I'm waiting until later in the day to train and make that call as I want to train in the heat.  Here in the SF Bay Area we have microclimates so today it is supposed to be 86 where I live, but a 30 minute ride away it is going to be 102 - so that's where I'm headed.

Ain't taper grand?

OK Elena, it ain't so.  At least for now.  Looks like they've knocked about 10 degrees off the forecasted high now.  Who knows what the final number will be . . .

You can get a swim in on Fri or Sat.  Johnson's beach is a public beach open from 10-6, I'm told.  Current forecast is for a high of 87 degrees now!  Looking good.

Do you know if they'll have the buoys set up before the race?  I wouldn't mind doing an easy swim through of the race course if it's set up....mostly to find the shallow spots and know what to avoid.

Seriously can't believe it's less than a week away!!

Nicole, I don't know when they set up the buoys, but the river is pretty narrow so you should be able to swim it and get a good feel for it anyway.  Take a look at this video and you'll see what it will look like.  At about 1:30 they have a good overall view of the course:  Vinemanswim

OK, good news on the weather front.   Seems to have settled into being a high of 82-83, let's hope they stick with this one!

Elena, the run course is a single loop.  You can see it here: http://www.vineman.com/Assets/Maps/Vineman+Ironman+70.3+Run+Course+Map.jpeg

There will be one parking lot in Guerneville which will provide a large parking area for athletes and spectators. Follow the signs and directions of the volunteers on race morning to get to the parking lot in Guerneville. Your vehicle must be removed from the lot before 6:00 PM when the gates will be locked for the day.

There will be NO parking at Windsor High School on race day. (this also means NO overnight parking on Saturday night - your car will be towed!) Parking will be available 1/2 mile north of the high school at the Windsor Town Green. There will be a shuttle bus running continually between the Town Green parking lot and the High School between 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM. Do not block driveways, fire hydrants, or park in places where you ordinarily would not park...if you park illegally, you will be ticketed and/or towed.

Post Race

1. Shuttle buses depart from the north parking lot at Windsor High School to transport athletes back to the swim area between 11:30 AM and 5:30 PM. Bikes are NOT allowed on the buses.

 You can find the entire race program here

Is everyone ready???  Got your checklists out and laying out your transition areas in the living room?  Debating between the white or the dark tri-suit?  Huckleberry or Raspberry gels?  I know this describes me.  This is the first time I've had separate transition areas, so that additional factor has me double checking stuff.

Weather looks like it is going to cooperate.  Depending on which site you check, you can find a high temp between 82 and 87.  We'll be starting out in the low 50's but warming up quickly.  Looks like we will have the marine layer providing overcast until about 9:30 or 10:00, so a good part of the ride should be nice and cool.  For those of you who want the gory details, here's what NOAA says hour by hour:

I'm planning to attend the 9:30 meeting so that I can lay claim to a decent spot in T2.  Hope to see you all there!

-Tom