LongHorn Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Festival : Official Thread (Page 4)

JBrashear - 2010-09-22 2:12 PM

If memory serves, with Quadzilla involved you're looking at 40-50% grass running.  If I had to guess on the grade, I'd say at least 7%.  It's been a year since I was last there though, so somebody else can correct me.

3Aims - 2010-09-27 10:24 AM Will this swim be wetsuit legal?

evillarroel - 2010-09-27 9:38 PM

Most likely it will not.

Stickyrunner01 - 2010-09-18 3:36 PM I'll be making the trek down for the race... being a first year triathlete and a college student ($) is making working the details out a little tougher than I planned.

If anyone could give me some advice on what to do, this is what my plan as of now looks like...

FRIDAY:
Flight out of Indianapolis 8:05 am. I am planning on flying with my bike (in a soft case) and 1 carry on. I am not sure whether or not I will need another bag or not, but I am not planning on bringing a whole lot of extra stuff. Right now my main concern is my aero helmet.

Arrive in Austin ~2:25 pm. Cab to roommates family's house nearby. Dinner around 5 and athlete check in/expo before 7.  Short run. Assemble bike. GOOD NIGHT SLEEP.

SATURDAY:
Check bike/bags in at some point (ps, is it clean transition?, i havent used bags for a half yet)

SUNDAY:
Race.

MONDAY:
Fly out of Austin at 6:30 to be back for my 2pm class.

Anyone have any good recommendations or tips for me? I think I had nerve problems going into Cedar Point and I would like this trip to be as calm and relaxed as possible. 

dgunthert - 2010-09-22 2:54 PM

The distance is about right.  The grass accounts for probably 6 miles of the run.

Looking at the map, technically Quadzilla isn't back because we'll be running down it.  For those not familiar with the course, Quadzilla refers to the hill that runs along FM 973 and the course went up it.  In the mapmyride link above, it's basically from the 90 degree turn just past mile 3 to about mile 3.5.  I don't think it's anywhere near 7%.  I don't entirely trust the mapmyride elevation, but it shows only 3%.  I doubt it's much more than 4%.  It's doing that grade for 1/2 mile, especially the second time around in the middle of mile 10, that made it challenging.

No reason to celebrate running down Quadzilla, though.  Once you get to the bottom of it, you meander for a short bit, hit that semi-hairpin shown on the map, and have to run up a hill that's almost a mirror image, just not quite as long.

I was wondering...the MapMyRide elevation, if it's correct, doesn't look that bad.  It only indicates 167 feet of ascent.  That's a not flat, but I've raced a lot worse. 

dgunthert - 2010-09-28 9:54 AM



That number is just for one lap.  The hills aren't really all that steep, it just that there are relatively few flat spots on the course.

dgunthert - 2010-09-28 9:12 AM

Disagree.  I'd say the chances are no worse than 50/50 right now.  It was legal last year and we didn't have nearly as much rain in the weeks before the race.  The lake is probably cooler.  However, the new WTC wetsuit cutoff is also 2 degrees lower.

3Aims - 2010-09-28 9:36 PM

So, say the water is 76.2 degrees and not legal.  What happens if I wear it anyway and the water is less than the 84 degree cutoff?  The rules say no awards or WC spots, but I'm in the 6 hr range anyway.  What do they do?  I'm a newb. 

3Aims - 2010-09-28 9:36 PM

So, say the water is 76.2 degrees and not legal.  What happens if I wear it anyway and the water is less than the 84 degree cutoff?  The rules say no awards or WC spots, but I'm in the 6 hr range anyway.  What do they do?  I'm a newb. 

IUScott99 - 2010-09-28 8:40 PM So whats the skinny on the bike course...I read earlier in this thread that the first half is more hilly than the second. I've also heard that the course is generally up and down with no long stretches of flat road. If thats the case, then are areo bars necessary? Just curious how much time those that have raced in the past have spent in aero position during the ride. Are we talking < 30% of the ride in areo?  
Just wondering if dropping the aero bars and just ride in the drops for the "flat sections" will be better for me. On my long rides lately, I've found riding the drops just as comfortable as in the areo position without a big drop in speed/power. I've might even be faster riding the drops..  hmmmm 

thanks for entertaining my question.

se7930 - 2010-09-30 6:37 AM

I have a couple of questions ..

1. Will we be able to swim in Decker lake the day before the race?
2. someone mentioned the dual transition earlier and having to pack up your stuff in T1 to be delivered to the finish line after the race. Do you literally have to pack up your stuff in T1 while your are trying to transition ot the bike? I know its just goggles, swim cap, maybe a towel and wetsuit, but soing this while trying to get going on the bike seems odd.

Also, is anyone planning on being down there this Saturday to ride/run the course? I am heading there early am on Saturday and will be riding the bike course and make atleast 1 loop of the run course. ?

se7930 - 2010-09-30 8:37 AM

I have a couple of questions ..

1. Will we be able to swim in Decker lake the day before the race?
2. someone mentioned the dual transition earlier and having to pack up your stuff in T1 to be delivered to the finish line after the race. Do you literally have to pack up your stuff in T1 while your are trying to transition ot the bike? I know its just goggles, swim cap, maybe a towel and wetsuit, but soing this while trying to get going on the bike seems odd.

Also, is anyone planning on being down there this Saturday to ride/run the course? I am heading there early am on Saturday and will be riding the bike course and make atleast 1 loop of the run course. ?

dgunthert - 2010-09-30 9:44 AM

1.  I don't know of any reason you can't swim in Decker the day before, though I can't say for certain.  It is a city park, though, so you'll probably have to pay a couple of dollars to get in.
2. As mentioned, anything you leave behind in T1 needs to go in the bag they'll provide.  There's not much reason for there to be more than goggles, swim cap, and wetsuit.  Since there are wetsuit strippers, all your stuff should be in your hands when you get to your rack.  Here's your transition: get to your rack, shove your swim stuff into the bag, (maybe) pull socks on, put sunglasses on, put helmet on, grab bike, run to the exit.  If it's any more complicated than that, you're wasting time.  Everybody has to add that extra step.

There's nothing odd about it, really.  A full IM is even more complicated.  Even though most of those aren't split transitions, you have bike and run bags.  All your stuff is in those bags when the race starts.  When you get to T1, they hand you your bike bag.  You have to dump everything out, put your swim stuff in, then get your bike gear on.  When you get to T2, they hand you your run bag, you have to dump that out, put all your bike stuff back in, and then get your run gear on.  Now, the athlete guide last year was written with those "clean" instructions.  In other words, everything was supposed to be in a bag before you got to T1 and T2 and everything was supposed to be in a bag when you left.  However, prior to the race I confirmed that the only requirement was that you leave T1 "clean".  You can set up T1 and T2 just like you normally do and don't have to pack your bike stuff before leaving T2.  Not sure if there will be any changes to that this year.

The split transitions is more than made up for by having the finish over at the arena.

It is a city park, though, so you'll probably have to pay a couple of dollars to get in.

1. Will we be able to swim in Decker lake the day before the race?

se7930 - 2010-09-30 10:07 AM I also just noticed the swim waves were posted on the site ... they might have been up for a while but I just caught it today .... I have to wait till 8:40 to go off, 2nd to last group of the day!  Yeah!!!

GregInAustin - 2010-09-30 12:38 PM

Where do you see the waves posted? I can't seem to find them.

Thanks!