Ironman U.S. Championship : Official Thread (Page 9)

I stopped by a few days ago to check out some of the run course.  I only needed to do 4 miles for my training program so I just ran 2 out and then back and I must say you NEED to get some steep hill training into your programs as this run is going to be a b*tch.  When I signed up for this race I expected it to be somewhat flat but in the 2 loops we will be doing inside the park there is nothing flat about it.  You are either climbing or descending and they are pretty steep so they are not easy climbs.  The run is on the blacktop the cars drive on in the park and not out on the streets.  It is all inside a park of sorts which will be totally closed to traffic, aside from emergency vehicles.

I think the elevation charts they posted for the bike may be a little lighter on the elevation gain than in real life.  IMNY is saying the elevation gain on the bike is 3898ft but I think it is actually over 5000ft.  I drove one loop of the bike course with my Garmin Edge in the car which has an altimeter in it so the elevation should be more accurate than a standard GPS and came up with 2998ft of elevation gain in the one loop plus the distance to and from the transition area which has some climbing as well.  The total I drove was 59.94 miles and the elevation was 2998ft and it was all along the course we will be riding.  Even if you drop a few hundred feet off as a margin of error and to drop the extra distance when doubling the mileage I drove we are looking at around 5500 - 6000ft of elevation gain on the bike vs. the 3998 they published.  Not sure where they got their numbers from but I hope they are correct and not my Garmin Edge     I have a feeling mine is closer to the truth.

This will definitely be a sufferfest and with the august heat and humidity I am sure the percentage of DNF's will be high for this one. 

Anyone planning on doing most of their training in flat areas had better find some hills to work on.  I feel bad for people traveling from the flatter regions who don't have the option to train on hills as this will be a major shock to the system.

I think it is because nobody knows the course and nobody can give experienced tips to first-timers. that's why Tremblant is short too.

and, if it is because, as you said, it is full of beginners and people who never did triathlon, well...that's good for us: we will go there and catch the Kona slot

Hello Team Ironman U.S. Championship - just catching up after being away from this thread for a while. Thanks to everyone for posting the elevation information. I live in South-western Ontario Canada and it is as flat as it gets where I live and it has me a bit concerned since this will be my first IM. Oh well, will have to do some traveling in the spring to get some good hill work in I guess.

 KC

looking forward to this race. i have hotel booked in NJ.  first IM for me.

will be doing the NYCTri a in July as a tune-up.

for those of you who want some hills - consider Rev3 Quassy HIM (June I think).   That is one brutal bike (and run) course.  even the swim is uphill

The organizers are saying it should be wet suit legal but nobody can say for sure until the day of.  If you are allowed to wear a wetsuit you should as they do make you faster.  I prefer a full wet suit as the extra neoprene will make you more bouyant.  There are a number of suits that also add ridges and other things to the forearm of the suit to get more drag when you are doing the pull phase of the stroke which will also make you faster.  If you do find the full suit to be restrictive then by all means go for the sleeveless, my wife does, but there are advantages to going with a full suit if you can wear one.

Hope that helps  

The water temp will be right around the wetsuit legal cutoff, so be prepared to not wear it (it was about 77 degrees for the NYC Tri last year, which was August 7th).  It should be a fast swim, but may be choppy.  And even if you don't care about a Kona slot, with the air temp and humidity in NJ/NYC at that time of year, it's just too hot.  As far as jellyfish, I know that one year they were an issue for the NYC tri, but they certainly weren't last year.  But if it's close to the cutoff, again, it's probably too warm for a fullsuit.

took the Palisades home today from a trip upstate.  was able to catch on to the route where it passes 287 (nanuet area just before the tappan zee bridge).  Lots of long steady climbs and equally fast descents.  Not a lot of flat areas at all.  The only thing i was thinking the whole drive is that you basically have a 2-lane highway and since this is a loop course, you are going to have some people pushing 45+ MPH on the same section where people will be laboring up a hill with very little room to spare.  I do hope everyone pays attention.

Took the palisades right down to Ross Dock and the view is aboslutely stunning.  Perfect area for a transition.  be sure to gear your bike properly as you will be climbing immediately and steadily.  If your heart rate is spiking after the swim, it might even make sense to take some extra time in T1 because the ride out of there onto the Palisades is STEEP and long.  I was down there at low tide this morning and the water was pretty murky and shallow.  I swam in the Hudson for the NYC tri and its not as bad as everyone says it is, but today it was nasty.  I have a short video of the ride down into tranisition that i'll post when i have some time.  Hit the Hills.  Seriously.  This course is no joke.  I'm planning to get over there again several times in the near future so for any of you non-locals, I'll video as much as I can.  You dont want to see this for the first time on August 11th.

Dave - thanks for the information and I am looking forward to your videos. This will be my first IM and first trip to New York so any pics, vids or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Safe training.

KC

@runnerx - let me know when you plan to ride.

and as far as the "hilly" aspect goes - i pulled up my Rev3 Quassy bike ride from '09 race - it was 3450 ft of climbing ... and i didnt capture the first 5 miles (i thought that garmin was on but i didnt hit the button correctly) so total climb was higher. 

so that looks like 3500+ for 56 miles.

what's the best intel we have for this 112 mile route?

Accordingly the site, the total gain is 3,898ft on the bike and 2,137ft on run.  The bike doesn't look like it will be as tough elevation wise as Quassy, but is still tough.  However, that run is looking extremely challenging!