Ironman Lake Placid : Official Thread (Page 47)

I guess what i am upset about is the prestige and scene that is a mass start. Last year I sawm the average swim time, 1:20 exactly and never once was kicked, swam over, punched, or even had my feet tickled by the person behind me. There was tons of room!.

This year I have dropped 15 minutes on my swim time with the grand idea that because of that I was going t get out on the bike course and not have to pass people constantly for the first 20 miles. That will still happen but instead of rewarding the fast overall time people to not have to deal with that issue, the fast swimmers/slow bikers are going to be even farther ahead making people pass constantly for almost the entire first lap!

On a plus side, the first transition tent should be much less packed. last year i couldnt even find and open chair to sit down on to put on my socks!

I can't say I have a huge issue with the new start.  Anyone who has done a big race knows it takes a while to cross the start line.  In fact, watching the swim start last year...I saw LOTS of swimmers who didn't cross the start line until 5+ mins after the cannon.  Now they won't be penalized.  My time starts when I cross.

As for not knowing who is where in the race...who is the race really with?  Them?  Or you?  And does it really matter until the last couple miles of the marathon?  If I get motivated to run a little faster because some guy is ahead of me with a M35 tat on his calf...great.  I'll still do all I can to track him down...even if I don't know if he's "really" ahead of me.

Just my 2 cents...11 weeks and 3 days.

Food for thought. My reaction to the changes were like many of you. Irritated, but not really sure why. Then I started to view the changes from a "big picture" perspective. What does WTC have to gain from the changes? Not much. Get more people involved? How? Most all the races sell out in minutes if not days anyway. It doesn't expand the field. So how would these changes be a revenue generator for WTC? I don't think they can.

I think the driving force behind the changes is from their legal team and likely their event insurance provider. Once the USAT and others commissioned research and studies, and published recomendations publicly to race directors and the public, it in effect forced their hand.

Can you imagine the next swim death, the victim's families attorney in the courtroom grilling WTC on how they had received all this information from sport governing bodies regarding swim safety and they chose to ignore it and not implement any changes? Verdict: 100 million dollar lawsuit in favor of the plaintiff.

What happens to the market value of the brand then? If you want the truth, following the money will almost always take you to it.

I don't blame WTC for making the changes, I think if I were Andrew Messick I would do exactly the same thing. Off the record, I am sure he didn't want to make changes, but like I said, I don't think he had a choice.

Will these changes save lives? possibly, but not likely. Stuff happens, you can't always protect people from themselves. Another example of why we desperately need Tort reform in this country. Every corporation operates in fear of baseless lawsuits.

Ok, thats enough hot air from me. Thanks for letting me get that out. I'm going to ride my bike now and be happy that I'm able to line up at LP under any race rules. Being at the finish line in Boston has given me fresh perspective to " not sweat the little stuff". Be happy.

I'm not sure how I feel about the swim change.  Like someone else said (Tankboy, maybe?), I might be more bothered by the change in direction.

I do know, and you'll all be able to pick me out at the athlete briefing because I'll be the one asking, that I will be asking for perfect clarification on whether I need to be at the start by 5am to line up, or whether I can show up at 6:15 and wander into my seeded position.  I think that is what is concerning me the most right now.

I am in my first week coming off a recovery week, and every workout is feeling like crap!  I hope I can shake this quickly, or the next 16 days before my next day off will be awful!

I'm going to remember that and tuck it away for future rotten days. Thanks for that. I was stuck dwelling on Boston and the negatives of that day for a couple weeks, but you are so on point with your comments.

I'm going to work until 2 and go bike riding on a beautiful sunny day with my biking buddy who is also doing LP. She's 24 and still immortal

Looks like a lot of t-storms here tomorrow, so OWS might be cancelled and biking is out.

So 3 hours on the bike today (who works?), swim 3600m and  long run tomorrow. Sunday is Mothers Day and we are having early brunch, so back out on the bike for 4 hours and short run. Should put me at 10+ hours on the bike and 12km on the swim. Onward it is!

As a slower swimmer (1:35-1:45 likely), I guess I should like this change.... BUT, I guess I like the mass start.  Great energy, more communal feeling, the countdown is awesome.  After all these months of training, the actual start is one of the highlights of the day for me.  I also like that as a slower starter on the bike, I didn't have to deal with the uber-As running me over.  I have a feeling that the bike is going to be a mess for the first loop, for some reason, as the different levels of competitor are around each other.  Finally, it makes it easier to find the "right" someone to draft (mass start) unless you recruit a team ahead of time .... hmmmm.

If I was really worried about making the swim cutoff, how would I not start immediately (an extra 30 min! by my read)???  Or if I just want to get it out of the way, and want to run more in the daylight???  I really wonder if the 6:30 initial start will be way crowded as you get the uber-As and others like above start then, or if you just want to cut off the butterflies?

In the end, whatever.  As long as the finisher medal doesn't come in pieces spread out over a half hour, I'll deal.  

Healthy training all!  JC

I'm heading out for an early solo 4-hour ride tomorrow, then heading into the city a little ways away for a 10k charity race on Sunday.

Mother's Day weekend provides some logistical challenges, but hoping for 3-4 on the bike and a longer run.  Likely to be indoors, due to weather.  Not exciting...the workweek was best in months, though.  Little swimming, little biking, little running... might actually enjoy this triathlon thing after all!  Happy training!  JC

Crazy weekend here in Philly. Dad Vale Regatta is the largest college rowing event in the US and Susan B. Komens Race for the Cure is the largest 5k run/walk in the US (100,000+). I picked up my ex's race packet yesterday, first time I saw a 6-digit bib number. It was incredibly crazy trying to get out of the city by bike for yesterday's ride. I live 3 blocks from where all this fun happens.

I'm heading to the gym to swim and then to the shore to have dinner with my mom and family. I will get up early and run, have brunch, return home later tomorrow afternoon and bike.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!

Are the roads repaved through Keene? I have an invitation to a friend's house on memorial day.

Boy the shore was nice, even though it rained buckets up until 7am this morning. My sister and BIL just bought the house as a fixer-upper, so no furniture, just sleeping bags and work to do.

Had a great 11 mile run this morning on the boardwalk, hammy held up OK. Not sure the cigars and vodka helped the run though!

Boy it feels good to be back on track with training. A good week:

Didn't have a huge week, at least compared to you all!  Missed my long run today; was hoping I could work around Mother's Day, but alas, that is life.  That said, was back to a full training week relative to the past few.  

Being three weeks out from Quassy, curious what you all do race morning?  I want to dry run my own routine before my long rides over the next few weeks, as Quassy is my big logistical test.  I typically have a bagel, a banana and about 20-30 oz of sports drink.  Used to do Ensure, but would get a rotten gut from it.  Happy training all! JC

This bike setup feels right now.  Got the DSW for gels and iPhone.  The down tube cage for primary hydration.  Zip tied bottle over the aero bar for secondary hydration, and behind the saddle for repair kit.

First race for this bike at Quassy soon.  Can't wait.

On the training front, I really wonder if 60 min of swimming a week is really enough to get by.  Life keeps me from doing the 3x1hr30min a week when I trained for IMFL 2012 (I swam 1hr35min there).  The bike and run has also been feeling flat.  About 8 lbs heavier too so hoping to drop those by race day.

Looks like a good setup. Will you be able to pack enough nutrition in the DSW for LP? I have the same one. I'm able to get a tube and tire levers under the seat, so in the DSW bento box goes the CO2 cartridges and inflator, and emergency/backup gels. I will probably throw a couple of those mini Snickers in there as a treat. Primary hydration is going in the aero bottle up front, and primary nutrition on the down tube. I started using Infinit in training and am pretty happy at how my body handles it. I'm still deciding if I should go with one bottle behind the seat as secondary hydration, or only grab bottles off the course.

Have you had your phone in there yet? For me, the phone takes up too much space in my DSW and I've taken to taking it in a waterproof pouch in my jersey pocket. I wouldn't have my phone during a race. I've got a fix kit jammed under the seat and my multi tool in the DSW. I doubt I'll have my multi tool for the IM race ... just my tire stuff under the seat.

I've got two water bottles on the back that I'll have my Perpetuem (400 c per bottle) in and will switch out at Special Needs. Then water in between the aero bars. I'll have the DSW loaded with Hammer gels and salt tabs if I need them. 

There is a contingency going up to LP on Sunday for a couple loops, a run, and we are bringing out wetsuits just in case! 

All are welcome to join and at least start with us.