Hy-Vee Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 5)

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There is a local bike store on site and they are nice enough to supply four or five community pumps. Again, the earlier you get there and the earlier you get your tires pumped up, the better off you are.

I keep hearing about a grass lot that people park in so that they don't have to take the shuttle.  Can anyone reveal more about the location so that I can find it when I go for a practice swim this evening?  I took the shuttle last week and found that it adds a lot of time and hassle to the whole process...

Thanks for your help.

Here's a link to the spectator map on the Hy-Vee site.

http://www.hy-veetriathlon.com/webres/File/VisitorMap2010-2.pdf

Last year there athletes could park in the spectator parking. Of course, the more of us who park down there the more difficult it makes for our family members to find a place to park as well, but then again, they have a spectator shuttle also.

Ok, that answers my question.  Thanks for your help. 

Does anyone have a feel for how early that lot fills up?  I am sure my wife would rather park there instead of taking the shuttle with our 8 month old. 

I am hoping to run Hy-Vee, but if I do it will be on short notice and a shoestring budget.

Any thoughts on how to save/avoid lodging fees?  I only know one person for sure that is going, and I don't know yet if he is traveling alone or not. (Therefore I don't know whether it is an option to try to split a room or something.)

I might just sleep in my truck, but I'd still have to find a place to park it.

I just did my first tri a couple weeks ago, the sprint in Kansas City at Longview Lake.  I have heard so much about the size of this race and the schwag that it just sounds too good to miss without a fight.

Any ideas much appreciated. 

-eric

175 is now the fee and must sign up on site....that is steep. I pay that for 1/2 Ironman races. Gas + race entry is pretty pricey for last min sign ups.

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Are wetsuits that big of a crutch?  I don't own one so its completely moot to me, but at my first race I didn't hear anybody in a suit saying "I feel so warm in this lake I might just take a nap." They were cold too.

Any gain in floating seems to me would be offset by the trouble of getting the darn thing on and off anyway.  And you really wouldn't want a wet bike and run for the privilege of a wetsuit would you? I'd rather be dry whenever I wasn't in the lake.

I survived my sprint in 60º water so I can't see needing one when the lakes warm up.

And I enjoy swimming, but I am no star athlete in the pool. Solid, but pretty slow even amongst triathletes.

I just hope it doesn't storm on race day or right before. (Mud wouldn't be much fun either. Yuck.) Wetsuit situation doesn't mean much to me, but I just can't completely get why it matters so much to so many.

-eric

eric,
i'm guessing you have not tried swimming in a wetsuit  while it is true that they can be difficult to get on/off, they have several advantages that make up for it.

as i said to a friend of mine, "they make you feel like a kid again."  the suit will not only keep you a little warmer/more comfortable,  they provide extra buoyancy allowing you to float more easily in the water.  this translates into better body positioning and seems to enable faster times with less effort.  

for some people that are not as strong in the water, this can provide an extra amount of confidence knowing that the suit will provide them with help during the swim.

also, i get in with my wetsuit and i have to make very little effort to tread.  so, again, for those "less-than-strong" swimmers there is a little more piece of mind that if there is a problem, they can more easily float in the water to help them figure it out.

of course you don't need a wetsuit.  it's all about your goals.  don't let anyone look down their nose at you for not wearing one.  you da man.  but if you haven't tried one, maybe you should borrow one from a friend and go for a swim.  i guarantee it is a completely different experience

best of luck on sunday, we'll see you out there! 

So -  a couple of things
First, I don't think they are taking the temp correctly.  I was there at 8:15 yesterday and did an interview and by the time I signed in at 8:30 or so, I was told that the temp was 75 and it was just taken.  I got in the water and I don't believe it is 75.  I think they are taking temps on the surface and at the shoreline.  That is not how Tim (the head ref this year) will take it on race morning.  He will either go out in a small boat or wade out just above the knees and hold his thermomter at least 1 foot under the wateer for 60 seconds.  I am going to go out today after the downpour that is coming and take the temp myself during practice using the correct method and report back.  I think that right now we are talking about 73 or a little colder.  They have kind of changed the weather forecast - as I watxch it right now, and we are expected to get about an inch of rain that will subside by noon-ish and then get warmer - into the higher 80's with a much hotter heat index.  Saturday is supoposed to have off and on rain all day with a high in the mid-80s.  The low on Saturday night is supposed to be 68.  Remember that the head official has to take the temp on the day of the race and he has to do it before transition opens (4 AM for this event), so when Hy-Vee is taking temps in the 10 AM area, they are kind of cutting out the lowest temps of the day. 
Funny story, I while I was swimming yesterday I came in from my first 500 yard loop and I saw two ladies in one piece suits standing in the water about thigh high acting like they were just freezing.  I looked at them again and said"It's not gonna get in warmer ladies" and they looked at me and smiled, when I noticed that one had a GBR on her back and one had an AUS on her back.  They were a couple of the ITU athletes out for a practice.  I started my second loop and about 100 yeards in a couple of small boats came racing by me - wait, not boats, those two ladies came flying by me.  Yikes - they were flying. 
As far as doing Hy-Vee for cheap at this point in time - that's not gonna happen.  $175 for entry - gas and food while you're hear.  Lodging - I have no suggestions.  I would offer up a spare room in our house, but there are already three triathletes stayig here and we are out of even floor space. 
I would be up for getting together for a little BT dinner after bike check in (yes, it's on saturday and yes, all you do is put your bike in the slot and bring everything else on Sunday. 
As for the "spectator" lot.  I sugest that athletes use this.  The reason I say this is that spectators don't have a lot of stuff to haul in and out.  If you are an athlete, you need to bring all your stuff in the morning, then - after the race is over they willl open up transition.  If you took the shuttle, you have toi take the shuttle back and then come back to that lot anyway and park again in order to go and get your bike to load into your car.  You cannot take your bike on the shuttle bus.  Park in the grass lot (which is really very large) to the east of Raccoon River Park.  Better for everyone involved. 
Lastly - wetsuits make a huge difference in longer events.  I swim about 15 to 20 seconds faster per 100 in a wetsuit (mostly becasue it keeps my legs from sinking).  Taking a wetsuit off does not take that long as long as you have practiced it.  As you leave the water you unzip and pull the suit down to your waist.  Get to your spot and slide the suit down to around your anxles and then step and pull.  Use a lube (I like Body Glide) and it comes off easy.  30 second expenditure in T1 for saving 3 or 4 minutes in the water, plus the energy that I save by being able to glide better. 
Someone asked about rocks and mud.  The beach is a very fine gravel.  Not as fine as sand, but not painful to walk on that will still stick to your feet.  When you leave that you are on a wooden ramp that takes you into T1.  Transition is grass, but it has a slight drainage slope back to the beach.  Mount line is out of the grass and on asphalt.  Transition is the only grass area or muddy possibility on the course. 

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I had an offer for a place to stay from someone on ST, waiting to confirm that. So that's one less thing I have to deal with.

I'm also trying to get ahold of one other local that is racing to see what his plans are for travel and lodging. It would be nice to share on gas costs, but I don't know anyone else from the area that is going.  If anyone from Kansas City was heading up I could probably work something out with them.

I think wetsuits have their benefits definitely, but the booing and hissing you hear about when they aren't allowed seems a little much from the crowd sometimes.

I'm concerned about the weather.  How bad would it have to be to end up with a canceled race?  Or a missing swim leg?  I'm guessing cancellation is highly unlikely between the branding and the pro purse, but anything could happen I suppose.

-eric

I'm about to hit the road.

If you want to track me down, just look for a guy with bright pink fingernails. 

Water temp yesterday pretty good.  Cold about fingertip level 100 yds out.  Doesn't taste as good as the pool, and can't see the line on the bottom.  It is still going to be like a Smelt run!  Can't wait!

During the age group race I'll be in a gold volunteer shirt at the corner of 35th and Grand as a bike course marshal. But in the afternoon I'll have the same shirt as in my picture to the left--dark red with a blasé snowman. If you see me, please say "hi" and introduce yourself!

i'll be in 25-29 wave shin/bib #323.

If you see me, say Hi... i'm super friendly.  My name is Joel.  I'll be in a Steelhead 70.3 tri top.

My wife is very pregnant so my cheering crew wont be around so it'd be nice to have someone to talk to before / during the race.

edit:: Is anyone else completely blown away by the amazing amount of SWAG we got from the expo?  At packet pick up I asked the lady handing out the jerseys how much I owed her.  hahahahaha

Edited by jtaddei 2010-06-12 9:05 PM

Eric,

They cancelled the youth/childrens race today because it was storming pretty hard (woke me up from sleeping in!)

At first they postponed it for 3 hours but at hour 2 they called it because there was another cell coming through.  The ITU races are major bling worthy and I wouldn't put it past the organizers to cancel the age group race because of bad weather but allow the pros to race if it passes through.

They cancelled the kids races because continually postponing it would have "made it impossible" to be able to run the expos and bike check in for age groupers/elites.

If you checked your bike in this evening you probably know all of this already though.

I'm here. Made it in and got checked in last night. Headed out to the HS shortly.

Pink nails = faded_memories= eric

-laters

How disappointing! They shortened the age group race to a sprint.

The personal upside is that I didn't have to stand in the rain as long (I was a bike course volunteer), but the downside is that the shortened run course means they didn't go past my mom's house and my daughter didn't get to see them.

From the athlete's point of view.... I know I'd be horribly disappointed if they shorten it next year when I'm doing it. But maybe the athletes also appreciate not being out in the thunderstorm as long?

Here's hoping it clears off by 12:30... 

Ok, so looked at the results and MAN...the swim distance was definitely longer than they had told us.  No way that the fast people in AG were swimming 1:50's.  And the bike results seem slow as well, was anyone wearing/carrying a GPS?

Yea, the other triathletes that I know that raced and I thought the same thing at first but our times also include that fairly long stretch where we were out of the water and ran up to the transition area where the timing matts were. I'm saying the swim was more like 500 meters with about another 50 yards uphill run to transition. Just my thoughts.

Swim was long for sure even with the run. How much...no idea.

Bike "seemed" long - At least I hope is was. Although two 180's and bike path may have just made it a little slower.

Run 'seemed short' - but my girlfriend had at least 5K. She started it in Transition though.

I went without westuit (mistake), I was really rushed and didn't want to deal with it. Also, forget my flat kt (luckily didn't need it) and my power tap head. So no power data or distance. Mis judged how long it would take to get set up with lines to get into transition + plus long walk from our parking spot.

I'll be back for the race. I really enjoyed watching the ITU race. We left shortly after the men starting and got back to Chicago around 10pm. We had to drive through more rain too....fitting end to the weekend.

Yeah, bike seemed long to me too...
I don't really ever race with a flat kit anymore.  Considering running with a can of Vitoria Pit Stop (Even though I run clinchers).  I left as soon as they let us get our stuff out of transition.  Felt kinda bad about riding through all the runners, but there wasn't much else I could do.  I sure hadn't brought 2 changes of clothes with one set being for cold weather.  I was freezing after I cooled down from the race.  I got back to Davenport around noon...drove in that stupid storm the WHOLE FREAKING WAY.

I was sitting in the stands waiting for my GF to finish when the PA guy said T-Storms in 5 mins and sure enough....boom!

We went running back to our car (friends hooked us up with parking)...I too felt bad about every one in Transition with a race going on....


A team mate just sent me his power and garmins numbers.

Bike was 13.2 and run was 3.15