Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains : Official Thread (Page 7)

So excited for this event! my first competition in anything in 12 years and am down 38lbs so far. I really hope they keep the swim in as well mainly cause I don't want to feel like I bought a wetsuit for nothing

When is everyone going in? For all you first timers does if anyone is going at it alone and wants to get together on Saturday morining to fumble through the set up process feel free to drop me a line. I must admit I do feel a little overwhelmed getting everything set up and going from one transition to the next so I made a checklist. Let me know if I missed anything

Swim - wetsuit, towel, bodyglide, goggles, throw away socks, a couple of gu's to start

Bike - towel, helmet, shoes, 2spare tubes (for me), CO2, multitool, sunglasses, gloves, possible jacket or wind breaker?, short sleev and long sleeve top?, 2 water bottles with energy drink pre-mixed, energy bar and some gus

Run - shoes, hydration belt (?), gus, towel again

Did I miss anything? first time race so want to be prepared in transitions

Its been fun to watch/read this thread and have enjoyed the overall positive tone throughout.  This is shaping up to be a lot of fun.  Like many others, this will be my first 70.3.  Its been a fun year of training and I am thoroughly enjoying the taper.  Keep up the good conversations.  There has been a lot of talk about the bike portion, overall, do people that have practiced on it find that they are slower/faster than their normal bike average time?  It looks like constant up and down, with not much flat time.  Seems like a tough course to pick an average speed goal without having completed the ride before.  

Anyone complete the run?  No one talks about the run course.  Looks like one big hill at the half-way point.

Enjoy the final week!

Dream Chaser - 2011-09-26 9:40 AM Some more positive news - looks like the gravel road Larsens Lane, which apparently has a large hill, will not be paved so they've re-routed to Lessig Lane which (rumor has it) is much flatter and faster!! 

And here's a tip for swimming the first and last leg upstream against the current; find a strong swimmer to draft off.  Stay right on their toes and you'll be in there slipstream and save roughly 30% of your energy.

Happy the road will be smooth, but disappointed that it's going to be flatter.  Who signs up for a race with "Mountains" in the title and wants flat?

And with the swimming, also be prepared to go steady and consistent however long it takes to get around that buoy.  Wonder if we'll be able to do that porpoise maneuver, I don't know what that jump/dive technique is called, normally used for a long run-out at the start.

And with the current, I would think they'd do something if half the field likely wouldn't make the cut-off, or even the turn-around buoy.  Give new meaning to the term "negative split".  Still, it is Ironman, so who knows.

brigby1 - 2011-09-26 11:32 AM

Dream Chaser - 2011-09-26 9:40 AM Some more positive news - looks like the gravel road Larsens Lane, which apparently has a large hill, will not be paved so they've re-routed to Lessig Lane which (rumor has it) is much flatter and faster!! 

And here's a tip for swimming the first and last leg upstream against the current; find a strong swimmer to draft off.  Stay right on their toes and you'll be in there slipstream and save roughly 30% of your energy.

Happy the road will be smooth, but disappointed that it's going to be flatter.  Who signs up for a race with "Mountains" in the title and wants flat?

And with the swimming, also be prepared to go steady and consistent however long it takes to get around that buoy.  Wonder if we'll be able to do that porpoise maneuver, I don't know what that jump/dive technique is called, normally used for a long run-out at the start.

And with the current, I would think they'd do something if half the field likely wouldn't make the cut-off, or even the turn-around buoy.  Give new meaning to the term "negative split".  Still, it is Ironman, so who knows.

Thanks for the advice. I'm a little worried about swimming against the current, luckily it's not for long. I've also been really working on my swim and I wanted to see if I could improve my time on my own without the assistance of a current, but I guess I can see if i move up in my AG as a test of improvement.

I wish I knew how fast it was at the Rev3 Knoxville course.  It might help calm some fears more to have actual numbers, but everyone made it up and around there.  We had to go upriver a bit there and we could see it moving.

I've been working quite a bit on my swim too.  I know it's a lot better in the pool and I think it's better on the lake swims too.  Had some earlier races measured well off so I still have no idea about how well my race pace is doing yet.  This course won't really be any help now either, unless you are sure you kept a consistent pace and want to work out the numbers.  That may actually help me pace it better as I'll be more likely to monitor my effort appropriately instead of worrying about time.

Dream Chaser - 2011-09-26 10:40 AM Some more positive news - looks like the gravel road Larsens Lane, which apparently has a large hill, will not be paved so they've re-routed to Lessig Lane which (rumor has it) is much flatter and faster!! 

And here's a tip for swimming the first and last leg upstream against the current; find a strong swimmer to draft off.  Stay right on their toes and you'll be in there slipstream and save roughly 30% of your energy.

Anyone starting with the Clydes (or that I catch up to) is more than welcome to draft off me.  I'm be wearing the getup in my profile picture.  Under my wetsuit, of course.  Oh, and I'm shaving the beard before the race for good luck.

DreamChaser - Thanks for the info. Guess I'm just really nervous and excited as I have never done any triathalon so its hard to know what to expect considering. Everything is completely new to me which honestly is part of the fun for me. I'm deranged that way.

Best of luck to everyone!

I wanted to get fit. I actually tried to do a full first bu couldn't get into one. My main goal was fitness and weight loss. To date I am down about 37lbs. I was a big cyclist even at my heaviest so I did not consider a sprint or an olympic any real challenge to finish. I needed something BIG that would motivate me even 1-2 years out which is why I had planned on doing a full IM as my 1st one. Once I realized I couldn't get into a full, a freind sent me the link for this to register. I figure why not as I am already 1.5 years out from my original committment and goal.

It has been a memorable, enojyable, painful at times journey for me so far. Compared to what some people train I don't do too much I guess as I had a couple weeks here and there of 12-13 hours but generally get about 8hrs in. I started eating better. Weght started melting away. I weigh less now than when i started college although not at my lightest when I used to race MTB. Cycling is my passion. Swimming is enojyable. Running plain sucks ( have already had knee scoped twice). I am better at it now but it will never be my strongest discipline.

I have signed up for IM Couer d'Alene in June of 2012. This will be the end of my (just over) 2yr journey to weight loss, general fitness, and goal of pushing my body and mind to find out something new about myself.

Sorry for long winded answer I just get excited knowing its only a few days away now

Awesome stuff man! First time will always be very memorable. As you race this Sunday at some point take a moment to look around you and take it all in. You'll be energized all the way to IM Couer d'Alene

Will traffic be allowed in the morning to the Smithfield Beach for the family and friends?

Also, T2 set up: Saturday or Sunday morning only?

Buses only to the beach.

T2 Setup is Saturday only.

Thanks Brigby1. Great news on T2 to save time on the race day.

I still think the swim part seems shorter than 1.2 miles, unless the run to T1 is part of the distance.

Just want to jump in on the conversation, does anyone else feel that once they get done with the swim the rest will be somewhat easy?  I'm confident I can get through the bike and run with no issues but the swim leg mentally is draining me.  It's not so much that I can't do the distance but swimming against the current is worrying me. 

I do and feel much, much uplifted when I get on my bike. I think many people don't do tri's for that exact reason - the swim. Think of it this way - If it was that easy, everyone would do it

Also, the wave start should make it less crowded. The current will be the strongest in the middle of the river, so I am planning to keep more to the side.

btw, nice picture choice. 

igokiev I agree the swim is most intimidating, in fact I practically taught myself how to swim starting in Feb.  I mean I could stay afloat but I looked like a wounded fish splashing all around.  After watching videos and others swim I feel like I've come a long way.  My confidence increased once I completed an open water 1 mile swim on Sept. 10th in 37 minutes.  This is my first Half Ironman and second triathlon overall, I completed a sprint back in July and was pleasantly surprised with my results.  Good luck to you and the other 1,998 athletes. 

The guide they posted shows the swim starting upstream, then mostly downstream, go passed the exit, and then swim back upstream to the exit.  Doing that, they should have no problem getting the buoys in the correct positions to get 1.2 miles.

Dream Chaser - I was just checking in to this - according to elevation on MMR, both Lessig and Larsens lane are less than a 1/2 mile long and start with a slight downhill that flattens out - is there a different section of the course that was re-routed?  I haven't had a chance to ride it, so not familiar with which roads had gravel and which didn't.