Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island : Official Thread (Page 4)

This will be my first year doing this race.  Does this sound like a good plan?  Drive to Providence Friday, register and hopefully drop off my T2 stuff, then go to the Holiday Inn (10 miles from T1) Friday night.  Saturday drop off my Bike at T1 and spend the day at the beach (staying at Holiday Inn again Sat. Night).  My Wife will be driving to Providence from T1 so getting a ride is not a problem.

Does this sound like it will work?

Does anyone has the bike course for computrainer? If so would you mind PMing me or emailing me to [email protected]?

Thank you!

T2 last year was not even fully set up till Saturday morning.  So dropping your stuff off on Friday is not going to happen.  And Register on-line now... it may sell out; unless by register you mean pick up your packet and stuff.  

Here's the best piece of advice I can give my fellow BT'ers ... and this is only for us :  Go to the Expo on FRIDAY!  I went Saturday morning, and I went first thing, and we stood on line forever.  And if you have a (at the time) rambunctious 4yr-old and 2-yr-old with you, it's not fun... not fun at all.  Downright brutal even    Spending a day at the beach on Saturday is a good idea, just stay hydrated, put on lots of sunscreen; I plan to relax under an umbrella. 

So having done the race last year, this is what I am going to do: get to the Expo on Friday afternoon ; when I'm at the expo I am going to grab one of the early parking passes to set up T1 (they give you a pass with an hour window to set up your bike) ; get a good nights rest Friday night inmy Providence Hotel ; Sat morning have a nice breakfeast, drive down to T1 in Naragansett; set up my T1 area, then chill on the beach.  Then the next morning get up at 3:30 to stand in line for the bus and watch drunk people coming home from partying walking into things.  Was a blast last year. 

Again: here's my breakdown of the bik course:  first 1/3 is flat -- second 1/3 is lots and lots of rollers -- last 1/3 is one monster steep climb followed by a ride through a very urban area with potholes so big that you can lose a small family in   But seriously, I hope they fixed the roads, cause the last 5 miles of roads was really bad.  Like on a scale of 1 to 10 they are about a solid 3.  And expect pissed off drivers shouting at you cause the cops block off about 25 intersections and the Rhode Islanders weren't thrilled about it.  Actually, even during the run they were pissed the roads were closed and they were voicing their displeasure. 

And YES everything you here about the MONSTER HILL is true.  It's unbelievably bruuuutal.  And it's worse the second time.

Oh, and if it's like last year the bike is cool, very mild winds ; but the run was very hot and humid.

OK - I posted this last year on BT and ST. I think it is a pretty accurate snapshot of the course. FWIW, I am going to ride about 45 miles of the course on Sunday morning after the RISP 5k. If anyone is interested in joining me shoot me a PM.

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The swim is in the Harbor of Refuge. It is a protected harbor on the southern coast of Rhode Island, just west of Pt. Judith Light. The area is a man made breakwater with two entrances. The only time it gets bumpy in there is when there is a big swell on from the south east (great place to surf)...does not happen to often. Current is really not much of an issue unless you are close to the entrance to Great Salt Pond.

Here is my back-of-the-pack-hack impression of the ride. Take it for what it is worth...

Starting out on Sand Hill Cove Rd. to Ocean Rd - this section of the course is nice and flat and is the most exposed to wind off of the water. There should be southerlies this time of the year. In the AM it is usually dead calm. The road itself is nice and there is a decent amount of room. I would expect not too much traffic before 7:30...anytime after that on a nice weekend and things will be jammed.

As Ocean Rd leaves the southern beaches the road winds a couple of miles until you get to the 'pier' area and the Coast Guard House (hard to miss....big stone structure going across the road next door). It gets nice and straight and the road is in decent shape. Going past the Narragansett Town Beach the road opens up a bit and becomes 4 divided lanes...again, flat and fast. The lanes narrow into Boston Neck Rd. There is a decent amount of room on the shoulder here and the roads are in good shape pretty much all the way to Wickford.

The course cuts over to a side road on the way to Rt. 1 and 102. This road is a bit narrow. Rt. 1 is another 2 lane road with a decent shoulder. Taking a left onto 102 and heading west, you will find that the population starts to drop off a bit and the roads become somewhat less traveled (especially when you get past the Rt. 4 overpass).

Rt. 102 and Rt. 3 is a mixed bag. Some rolling hills and the roads are fair. In my experience these roads are not as well traveled as others in Rhode Island. I usually train on these roads and I have not found it to be all that bad. I would agree that this is the most difficult section of the course. When you get on Rt 3 the road gets much better...smooth ride and there is a very nice downhill through the Big River Reservation area. As you get into Division Rd you will get more rolling hills and, again, mediocre roads.

Shippetown Rd into Crompton is nice and wide with a little bump going over Rt 95. The roads were pretty messy through here and you start to get back to a denser population. There is a nice down hill towards Rt 3 as you pass the pond...wide road and in decent shape. Look out for nitwits crossing the road without looking. There is construction on Sandy Bottom Rd toward Washington St. but nothing to be concerned about. Pretty flat through the town of Coventry.

The course continues north on Rt 116 toward Scituate. There is a gradual rise out of Coventry that flattens out quickly. This part of the course is very scenic...the only thing I did not like was the lack of a decent shoulder to ride on. There are also a few rough spots as you head toward the northern section of 116. There is a short hill coming out of Hope Village and then a nice downhill before my favorite section of the course...

The right turn up Rt. 12 is hateful...especially for a big dude like myself. Nice and steep (for me). After a gradual flattening out there is a slow slope toward Comstock Pkway. Should be pretty fast from the top of Scituate through to Atwood Ave. Simmonsville Ave is quick and easy and bottoms out as you cross Atwood to Central Ave.

Central Ave to the Silver Lake section of Providence is mostly neighborhood....it goes from GOOD to BAD very quickly (as do the roads). Plainfield to Pocasset to Valley is just hateful. Very surprised that the route runs through here. Watch the road as it is pretty much sucks....unfilled potholes, etc... Orms to Smith and into T2 is OK. Be thankful that you do not have to run through there!

OK - that is my take on the bike course. Please keep in mind that it comes from a hack who should have stuck to sailing full time instead of coming up with a plan to be an endurance athlete.

Anyone want to know how much the run course sucks? Hint, the used part of the run course as a street luge course during the X-games. From the transition area you run to the base of Thomas St and Angel St. Both are part of a very nice hill...not very long but quite steep. After the hills you basicly have flat course until the base of Blackstone Blvd...mostly through Brown University. The Blvd is 1.9 miles of a slight rise. U - turn at the top of Blackstone and back to the transition area. Do loop again. DONE.

VM

From the swim exit to T1 is a 40 yard run through beach sand, over a sand dune (wood stairs) to a large parking lot that services the state beach. As your exit the stairs they had three wading pools set up with wetsuit strippers. They also had a water table set up there.

You had full access to your bike on the morning of the race.

jmk-brooklyn - 2009-05-10 10:24 PM

vm354 - 2009-05-10 9:00 PM

From the swim exit to T1 is a 40 yard run through beach sand, over a sand dune (wood stairs) to a large parking lot that services the state beach. As your exit the stairs they had three wading pools set up with wetsuit strippers. They also had a water table set up there.

You had full access to your bike on the morning of the race.

Thanks! And you have to stuff your wetsuit and goggles and whatnot into a bag before you get on the bike, right? (Is it wrong that I'm focusing on these minor details two months away from race day?)

Yes, you have to shove everything into your T1 bag before you leave. Wetsuit, goggles, cap, shoes you wear that morning, any garbage, etc.  Your bag will magically appear in Providence for you to pick up after the race. Now go focus on running some hill repeats! Kidding - now's the time to go over in your mind how it's all gonna work so ask away!

I must be getting mentally prepared for this race.

Secured my lodging for the race (staying in Newport - as we're making it a weeklong vacation following the race).

And running a hilly 10K this weekend where the 5th mile is almost straight uphill.  (last two times I did this 10K race, nearly had to crawl at the top)

how's everyone's training coming along?  By my estimations, we're 8+ weeks out!

Jim - I for sure will have a pump - last year I didn't and it wasn't a problem - they've got pump volunteers there and there were a bunch in transition that got swapped around. But you're right - no pumps in your bag.

My training is going pretty well, but my A Race is Eagleman.  I'm going to have to figure out a BRIDGE plan of some sort for the month in between.  Something tells me I may end up lighter and in better shape for RI than Eagleman.   

I'm going to concentrate on some wicked long and steep Hill Repeats the next two weekends.  I know as long as I am prepared for all the rollers on the bike, and that MONSTER HILL, it'll be a fun race