Oriolepwr and QuincyF's Magical Mys-tri Tour "The Sequel" -On Tour!! (Page 9)

Stomach update:

Feeling better, plan on wearing my whale outfit, going to packet pickup today incase I need any last minute items.

Seriously Now:

Transitions opens at 5:30, closes at 7:15.  What time should I get there and how much time do I need to set up?

Tom- or whoever you are-

I say for your first you can't get there too early. I would say no later than 06:00am. It doesn't really take you long to set up but it's nice to get the nerves out to not be rushed, get to meet some of the other athletes and just learn the lay of the land. Make sure you find the entrances and exists for the bike and run and know where your bike is in relation to those. Then too if you have any unexpected surprises you have time to deal with them. You also have porta potty time- which with a trisuit takes a little longer- well for women it does anyway- I guess I don't know about men's-lol. You may be amazed how many times you can potty in an hour and a half.

Should I fill my water bottle with energy drink for the run?

What do you usually bring on your runs? For my first tri I just relied on the water stations. I don't like carrying anything and at that time I didn't have my race belt that had the bottle holders. The races I've done have some type of energy drink and water at the aid station. Both only had one aid station at the 1 mile mark. The courses were a loop so it basically gave you access to it at mile one and mile two then you were at finish line for mile 3.

Also one more suggestion. If you are bringing a water/energy drink bottle on the bike - fill it half way the night before and freeze it. Then race morning fill it the rest of the way. Gives you nice cold drink for your bike ride. If the temps will be fairly high you may want to freeze a little more than half. For my first I only did half and it had melted and was hot alreay by the time I needed it. However my tri was in New Orleans at the end of May. Can I just say HOT!

I was planning on 2 packs of oatmeal for breakfast before I leave at 5 am, enough time and enough food?

I would think that would be fine. I like one cup of oatmeal, a banana and a cup of coffee- but that's strictly a personal preference thing. I'd say go with whatever you usually eat for your brick workout days. When I did my first tri, my friends and I would do a mock tri of all the distances at least once a week, for a few weeks. Really helped us tweak what we liked and didn't like for race day. On race day we just did whatever had worked for us in training. Oatmeal and scrambled eggs were the two meals that did the best for me. If I do oatmeal I add the banana, If I choose eggs I add spinach, tomatoes and ham cubes and make it like an omelet or a wheat wrap.

Thanks for all the encouragement gang.  This has definitely been the funniest week we have had on the Mys-tri tour.

Tom

Seriously Now:

Transitions opens at 5:30, closes at 7:15.  What time should I get there and how much time do I need to set up?

Should I fill my water bottle with energy drink for the run?

I was planning on 2 packs of oatmeal for breakfast before I leave at 5 am, enough time and enough food?

Thanks for all the encouragement gang.  This has definitely been the funniest week we have had on the Mys-tri tour.

Tom

I'm right there with ya, Tom!! My first sprint is on Sunday, and I'm startin' to get some butterflies!! I'll be thinking about you!!

Quincy - How did your "Running Lactose Tolerance Heart Rate" test go?? Hope you did great!

Shelly - I am going to do the West Point Lake Sprint in Lagrange, GA. I was able to get my hands on a wetsuit, so I think I'm good to go. My husband is going to do it too, and since he is Indian, and not quite so hardy as a viking, I told him if I find him like this coming out of the swim...

I will simply step over him and keep going!!

Quincy - How did your "Running Lactose Tolerance Heart Rate" test go?? Hope you did great!

Shelly - I am going to do the West Point Lake Sprint in Lagrange, GA. I was able to get my hands on a wetsuit, so I think I'm good to go. My husband is going to do it too, and since he is Indian, and not quite so hardy as a viking, I told him if I find him like this coming out of the swim...

I will simply step over him and keep going!!

Ok I am laughing so hard that I just might have peed my pants- hehe. Not really but it sure came close on this one.

I thought that might be the one you were doing. The lake temp today is 72 degrees which actually would be fine with or without a wetsuit. So you really should be fine either way. If you haven't ever used a wetsuit before I'd recommend trying to get a practice in wearing it. My friend totally panicked and literally pulled it off in the lake half way through her swim. It was an interesting sight and really killed her swim times-lol. I haven't ever used one so can't speak from experience- just what happened to my friend and what I've read.

Have a great time and don't forget to post a race report.

Shelly

Ok I am laughing so hard that I just might have peed my pants- hehe. Not really but it sure came close on this one.

I thought that might be the one you were doing. The lake temp today is 72 degrees which actually would be fine with or without a wetsuit. So you really should be fine either way. If you haven't ever used a wetsuit before I'd recommend trying to get a practice in wearing it. My friend totally panicked and literally pulled it off in the lake half way through her swim. It was an interesting sight and really killed her swim times-lol. I haven't ever used one so can't speak from experience- just what happened to my friend and what I've read.

Have a great time and don't forget to post a race report.

Shelly

Tom, 

I agree you should show up early, hang out, meet a few folks, and allow yourself time to calm a bit.

I was amazed at the rookie mistakes I made when my mind was running on adrenalin. ie: put my helmet on before my shirt, mounted my bike at the rack, never accounted for jello legs entering T2, etc.)  But looking back I remember how much fun it was anyway. Don't worry about those issues, just be prepared to have a few. That is part of the fun.

Your nutrition sounds fine, but I would caution not to add something that you haven't tried prior to a workout. I prefer water on the run, but do what works for you. 

PS:     - bring a 5 gal bucket to sit on in transition (unless you do the shoes on the bike thing already)

Enjoy it man. You are gonna have a blast.

OK... a real question!

The website for the race says that they will be starting the swim in a wave start. Is that kind of like the corral system for large marathons/races? How do I decide where/when to start? I don't know what my open water swim for 600 yards is...should I just give them my pool time, or should I try to convert it myself? Is there a correlation between pool and open water times? I'm assuming I am going to be quite a bit slower in the lake, but I really have no idea how it will compare.

OK... a real question!

The website for the race says that they will be starting the swim in a wave start. Is that kind of like the corral system for large marathons/races? How do I decide where/when to start? I don't know what my open water swim for 600 yards is...should I just give them my pool time, or should I try to convert it myself? Is there a correlation between pool and open water times? I'm assuming I am going to be quite a bit slower in the lake, but I really have no idea how it will compare.

Dang, I brought up a controversial subject? This one was not even on purpose. 

Guess i have some thread reading homework to do. 

Good luck Sarah and Tom. Hammer it out. 

Oh and Quincy, "It's only wafer thin!"

Sarah,

Usually you can just google the lake name and there will be links to the corp of engineers sites for that lake or a community website for the lake, etc. My dad and grandpa have been fishers all my life and water temps were always being discussed and checked. I googled West Point Lake and actually found one site that said today's temp was 70 degrees but it didn't seem very authentic- it was a fishing site not an official site for the lake. So I did a little more searching and there was an official site with a number that you could call to get information. I called and the lady said 72 today and probably slightly warmer for the weekend.

I had to do the same thing for my first tri because it was debatable if I would need a wetsuit or not. I actually looked up the previous year's temps for the lake and temperature trends to make my decision.

hth,

Shelly