Ironman Kansas 70.3 : Official Thread (Page 6)

The Branson bike course does have killer hills.  I used to live in the area and there are some very good long or steep or long & steep hills on the course.  Some friends did it last year and just couldn't find comparable hills in Southern Illinios.  Both are better athletes than me, and they really struggled on the run.  The run course is super flat, but the hills on bike course sapped their legs.

I had planned on doing the Branson Half as my first HIM.  Unfortunately, I have a work project due every year about that time and cannot take the time off.

From what many have said, the weather seemed to play as big of a role in Branson last year as the hills. It was kind of an unusual heat wave that rolled in there in September.  Speaking of the hills, its good to know that at least the IMKS 70.3 is helping to dispell the myth in the World that all of Kansas is flat. I am in the Kansas City area on the Kansas side, and I wish for a 3 or 4 mile stretch of just flat road.  Plenty of hill training around here ... unless you are used to climbing the mountains outside of Boulder   I did learn that flat is not necessarily always better though. I did IMFL in November, and that was 6 hours of constant peddling, not very many chances to take advantage of downhill coasting.  Continued happy training everyone, I for one and am looking forward to daylight savings this weekend, more daylight hours = more opportunities to train outside. 

I'm gonna give myself about 2 years of events and Halfs and see how it goes.  I was looking at a lot of the Full and they fill up quick.  If I feel good after Branson, I might volunteer at a Full in 2012 to make it easier to try and get a spot for one in 2013.  I have 28 events planned for this year and see if I can get them all done.  Of course some are just some 5Ks to get out and about early on a Sat with some more half-marathons, sprints and Dus mixed in.  I'm 3 for 3 so far and I have a trail run this Sat and another half marathon the sat after next, but we'll see how it all works out.  Uncle Sam and my Twins also throw a wrench in things sometimes, but that's expected.

Yeah, I did the Hotter N Hell 100  bike race in Texas last year, then I did the Big Dam Bridge 100 mile race here later.  I thought Texas was gonna be rough, but they had some hills here that just sapped me.  I still did pretty well, but sure didn't feel like running afterwards.  Ha

CJKelly - That's right, that heat and humidity can be a killer.  Nice that Ark has some pretty warm weather.  I usually do about (2) 50-60 mile rides here each week in the Summer (or whenever the weather cooperates).  I spent almost 6 years in Alaska before I moved here and my first Summer was killer getting used to the humidity. 

Daylight savings time this weekend! Don't forget to set your clock ahead...sure, we lose an hour Saturday night, but it will be so nice to have the extra daylight to get running/cycling in after work (weather permitting).  College basketball games have made the 2 hr indoor rides on the trainer tolerable, but it still gets boring without the scenery. Looking forward to my first 3 hr outdoor ride.

Are my goggles too tight if my face is still embossed with goggle rings 2 hours after exiting the pool?

Wetsuit owners:  what is the coldest water temp you will tolerate in open water?

I looked like I was wearing eye shadow on one eye for about a week because I put on an old pair of goggles that had shrunk a bit, and left me with a partial black eye!  It was a good look for me.

If a race is wetsuit eligible, I put mine on.  I have a sleeveless and a full, and now would only wear the full if the temps are sub-70.  Anything above that, and I go with the sleeveless.

If you want to see a wild down hill bike race, check out the below link, or cut and paste into your url.  Crazy stuff, I would have died on at least 10 different occassions doing this. 

http://www.gadling.com/2011/03/03/downhill-bike-race-in-chile-is-insanity-at-its-finest/?ncid=&a_dgi=aolshare_email

The premium sites are really for those RV-camping as they provide water and electric hook ups. If you are tent camping, just the basic one is what you need.

Yeah, no real good map available and unfortunately I didn't save the electronic one from last year. We took a "primitive" spot last year and I think it worked out well for us since we were just setting up tents. I can't say with certainty for the whole campsite, but there were are a few primitive sites near us that were void of shade and trees. It got hot out there Saturday and Sunday afternoon and the shade made a world of difference. Maybe that'll be something we can request when making the reservation.

I put a reminder on my Outlook calendar at work so I can call first thing Monday a.m.  I am hoping the Park staff can be helpful in selecting a spot.

What will the water temp be when you do your first open water swim workout for the season with your full suit? Currently lake water temps in central Kansas are in the 40s. 

I hope to get out there in April.  I want the water in the 60's before I am going to get in.  I have a sleeveless wetsuit.

cjkelly0729 - 2011-03-14 9:39 AM Have to admit, already not a fan of the new campsite registration process.  Busy signal going on for an hour and 45 minutes at this point.  Understand it is likely one poor guy in the ranger booth having to do this, feel sorry for him as well. Would gladly pay the Active.com surcharge at this point

I was afraid of that.  I am going to try to call in during my lunch hour.

Glad to see the info about Branson - I was trying to decide about that one. I am starting off my tri season with LoneStar in Galveston April 10, and then Kansas. Likely will do Redman full aquabike to get that timing down before going into IMFL.

You are right about the Hotter N Hell ride - it is fairly flat. I did it two years ago, before I got into the tri world. But it was a sweet trip, getting into one of the pelotons... we screamed for the first 60 miles (to Hells Gate) at a 20+ average, no stops.

I did the Triple Bypass ride in Colorado last year (figured there aren't too many triple bypass survivors completing the TB ride, and I put it on my bucket list while in recovery from surgery). Pretty awesome hill climbing there! Tahoe is a great ride with some climbs as well.

The water here is in the 60s, and I am starting to see a number of wetsuits out now. There is a small lake near me which will see this elephant-in-seal-skin this weekend.

Looking forward to meeting a bunch of you in KS.

Keep the rubber on the pavement, and happy training!

I'm glad I just happened to check back with this forum today. Campsite reserved, training-hijacking travel is over and one month until my first major event of the season (Go! St. Louis half-marathon). Injuries are healed and I'm able to complete my workouts with the appropriate amount of pain. Bring on Kansas! 

Right On!  Yeah Hotter N Hell was a blast.  That was us as well.  We didn't stop til mile 60 and I think we had a 24.5mph the first hour.  I can't remeber how many people we passed.  Only part of the race I felt like a stud...then after mile 60, the feet started hurting.  Ha.

I was amazed at how full some of the rest stops were at the beginning due to all the people we passed, but I guess 1,000's just get on the road and ride without paying and still use all the services.

Just made my camp reservation.  Staying Saturday and Sunday at site 21. 

Every little step makes race day seem a little closer.

Just ordered my first trisuit.  I should be receiving it end of the week. 

 I will be taking the bike in for an overhaul soon.

Come on Spring time!!

Congrats on the first trisuit purchase, Gmax.  May I ask where you went to purchase it? Website?

Also, thanks for the answer on water temps for early season open water training.  We're supposed to have record-breaking heat here in Central Kansas on Thursday (85 forecasted), but the water temps will still be in the upper 40s, maybe lower 50s after the hot day.

I actually purchased from H a n n u l i n k via their e-bay.  They operate out of Oceanside, CA, but have online sales and some e-bay auction items.  They have their own line of clothing.  It was only $50 for a trisuit, normally priced at over $100.  We shall see how good the quality is.  Their e-bay rating is very high for service and product quality.

it keeps removing the vendor's name?