Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon (Page 6)

I went to the course last week and drove the bike course. Following are my 2 cents.

Jean Glock Park is very nice with a large beautiful beach. I’m not sure exactly where the transition area is going to be because of what I think is going to be a new parking lot under construction in the vicinity. I suspect it will be completed before the race, but if it isn’t that could be a pain.

Getting out of the park, Higman is a little narrow with some rough pavement (not too severe), and there is no shoulder. There should be no cars, so this shouldn’t be a problem. North Shore Drive is a little wider and a little smoother. Klock Rd has good pavement and gets you out of the park.

Getting on M-63, the race will get going in earnest. It is pretty much flat and once you get out of town, there are trees on both sides of the road that will break the wind if it is E/W, which is likely. The wind break will be helpful. Keep in mind if you are riding this road alone that there isn’t much shoulder and quite a bit of traffic. The shade trees makes seeing bike riders a little difficult, if you don’t have 1700 friends riding with you.

Once you get to CR-376, the ride is pretty much in the open with few trees, little shade, and rolling grades. The pavement isn’t too bad and the road is straight. One potential challenge area is the intersection of CR-376 and M-140 about 4 miles along CR-376. This is a pretty busy highway and hopefully will have police to stop cross-traffic.

68th and 48th are OK. Keep in mind that the blocks on numbered streets are ½ mile each. No problems on CR-687 either. The corner of CR-687 and CR-376 has a very small convenience store for anyone who wants to ride the course before the race could stop and get a drink here.

The next left run onto CR-376 is not a problem. Next is a right turn onto 66th street. This section has the only hill of any significance on the course. It’s not too long, but it is fairly steep. This is the only real hill on the course.

Getting next onto CR-378 (where an aid station is supposed to be) is the first really crappy pavement. Road crews were putting down “pitch and chip” and the loose gravel was pretty bad. I’m hoping the road is better by the time of the race or they reroute this section. There was pitch and chip on one other road. I think it was 72nd street, but I don’t remember.

CR-380 is the last open country road and then you get to the Blue Star Highway, which becomes M-63. At this point there is some shade with trees close to the road that will likely be great wind blocks. It should be pretty fast going heading for home, but there are some upgrades that (at least for me) will be a pain. For anyone riding the course before the race, there is another store at around 46 miles where you could get a drink.

With respect to swimming, I did 3 open water swims in Lake Michigan about 30 miles north of Benton Harbor. The first swim the water was probably upper 60’s with the current going north. The second swim the current was southerly with temperatures I’d guess in the mid 70’s. The third swim, the current was southerly with waves about a foot. This time the water was much colder, probably closer to 60F. This swim I went 25 minutes into the current and it took me only 19 minutes to get back. I’m glad the swim will be all with the current.

If it's a little warm, as it usually is at Steelhead, I'll try for a bottle of GEF every hour on the bike, with a gel from a flask every 45 minutes washed down with water. I can get away with PowerBars the first part of the bike but I don't usually bother. On the run I'll try for GEF at the first aid station, GEF at the second, water and gel at the third - then repeat.

Nutrition for me will be the following, with some flexibility depending on how I feel.  I do have pretty much an iron stomach on the bike.  However on the run my stomach is not so iron and I will greatly reduce intake, therefore I make sure I get a lot of calories on the bike and pre-swim.

Pre-swim - Cliff Bar on walk to swim start = 240 calories,  sip some diluted accelerade and water = 100 calories.  Take an endurolyte as well.

Bike:
Accelerade (seems popular with this group), concentrated 24oz bottle = 360 calories.
Kids cliff bar, smaller and easier on the stomach than an adult one, = 120 calories.  Nice to have a little food in the stomach
3 honey stinger gels in a flask with some water to dilute = 360 calories.  I am thinking about breaking up an endurolyte and mixing it in the flask with the gels.
1 clif shot gel, for a change of taste = 100 calories

Bike total = 940 calories over 3 hours

Run:
Carrying my camelback.  I will take 3 gels with me and take one every 25 minutes or so.  I will also grab some GEF to drink from the aid stations, this will add a few more calories for me. If needed I will grab a gel from the aid stations as well. 

I will probably still tweak this a little bit, but that is the basic overall plan for now.

Greg

Well, I've finally got time to report on the bike course. Sorry for the delay. First off, the weather was beautiful. mix of sun and clounds, probably around 75°. A little wind that made the west leg a little tougher, but not a huge deal.

Nick's description is pretty spot on, so I'll just add a few points. The first main stretch after leaving the park I can see being a bit hariy. M-63 is a pretty busy road, and the whole time I was wondering how passing would be. There are parts that have a small bike lane, so passing would likely put you on the main part of the road.
M-62 at the begining has some potholes to contend with. They have marked the bad ones with white spray paint. The pot holes weren't bad because you can avoid them. Worse than that were sections that were bumpy. Not big enough to call them potholes, but they were patches that are unavoidable.

CR-376 was a nice stretch. I would learn later that it was nice because there was a 10 -15 mph breeze at my back. About 2/3 the way east, there is a run off crossing the road. It is about 6-8 feet of sand and gravel covering the road. I would guess this will be cleaned up.

The turn onto 68th street is nasty. Like nick said, they have laid pea stones on 68th street. They are mostly packed in, leaving a bumpy, but stable ride. The turn however, is just loose stone. You must slow down here. It is the same turning off 68th onto 48th.

After that, I don't remember any course problems. There is a decent sized uphill on 66th street, but it doesn't last too long. Nothing comes to mind on 378, 72nd, or 380. Once you get back onto Blue Star, you are in good shape. The north end of the course here is pretty good. Smooth roads. There is a nuclear plant nearby. Don't stop here to pee. The signs say they are authorized to use deadly force.

On the last mile of M-63, the southbound lanes are under construction, leaving only 1 lane and no shoulder/bike lane. Again, I think this will be fixed by race day.

The biggest problem with the bike course is that some idiot decided to put a 13 mile run right at the end. What were they thinking....

The course is marked very well with paint on the roads. Each turn is clearly labeled. If you ride prior to the race, you don't need to worry about bringing the map.

that's about all I can think of. I'll download my garmin data tonight so people can see the elevation if interested.