LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron (Page 9)

I was never a fan of Shiner Bock...but I did the LAF Ride for the Roses in Austin a few years back and in the finish area Shiner provided the beer and they had a good IPA!  And some other good varieties besides the basic Shiner Bock.

KEJ - 2008-09-25 5:24 PM we've thought about doing a beer station, but it can't be "official".....USAT frowns upon it

You should ask the local Hash House Harriers.  They often will do them for major marathons.....

Keith, Looking at your logs, you've got nothing to be concerned about.  Its always better to be slightly underprepared, than overprepared.

x2 Can't wait to get to Austin!

You mean slightly underTRAINED versus overTRAINED.

You always want to be PREPARED.

Yes, good correction Jen.

I believe USAT rules define how the water temp is supposed to be checked.  It's something like 6" below surface on the course.  I wish Keith would just check it 6' deep and stick the thermometer in the mud.  Maybe then it would be <78. 

A quick note on wetsuits...  (I'm a USAT official, and do water temp readings on a regular basis; and, no, ice cubes are NOT part of the measuring process)

There are actually two different cutoffs:

- Up to 78 degrees, wetsuits are totally OK to use

- At or above 84 degrees, no wetsuits can be worn at all

What happens between 78 and 84?  In this range, you the athlete have a choice to make.  You can choose to race with a wetsuit in this range, but you WON'T be eligible for age group or overall awards, USAT national ranking points, etc. (this would also exclude you from accepting a 70.3 championship slot).  You WILL get splits and a finisher's time, finisher's stuff, etc.  All wetsuit wearers are moved to a new wave, usually at the end of the others; you would also be moved from your regular age group and have your results listed in a separate category.

I have no idea what the current temp is for LongHorn.  Readings will be taken Friday and Saturday mornings; if it is still borderline for a cutoff temp, the official call will be on race morning.  The temperature will be available at the athlete meetings and packet pick-up.  

So, IF it turns out to be somewhere between 78 and 84, it'll be your choice whether to swim with or without.  If you are thinking about wearing a wetsuit, I would recommend a test swim before race day to see if overheating might be a factor.

Only thing worse than swimming in bath water is swimming in a wetsuit in it.  If you've never overheated in a wetsuit trust me when I say the benefits in speed you might gain will catch up with you later.

There are benefits to swimming without a wetsuit...

Okay guys, what are your goals for Longhorn.........?

 Mine:

Have fun.

Respect the distance.

Look around transition at 2300+ cool bikes.

Learn something about triathlon

Learn something about myself

If I have to pick a time.....6ish hours... (but I'll be happy with just a finish!)