Raleigh half? (Page 9)

Is that a hint that I should race in my green speedo bikini brief?

Brian,

I just wanted to say again how much it is appreciated that you have decided to join this thread.  It really is nice to be able to "get to know you a little better".  Most everyone knows of Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) and some may know of Andrew Messick (the face of Ironman), but other than those two, I would guess most people couldn't name any other WTC/Ironman employees.

Just out of curiosity, could you tell us a little more about you?  Maybe where you are from and some other races you have directed that we might be familiar with or have raced in the past.

And I'll play along too: I've raced Louisville twice and was lucky enough to register online for IMFL for the race this coming November.  Raleigh will be my first WTC brand 70.3 and I'm really looking forward to it!  Like my profile indicates, I live here in NC and always have.  Born and raised a Tarheel!!!!

Alan 

Brian,

I implore you to NOT do this!!!

I can definitely swim 1.2 miles with a wetsuit, BUT I have yet to do it in the required 1 hour and 10 minutes.  If I don't wear a wetsuit, I think I'm in the 4th wave, but I don't know if I could complete the 1.2 miles without the wetsuit.  Swimming is by far the toughest part of the tri for me.  This rule could cause me and some others to have an undeserved DNF. 

I know for a fact that I swim with Raleigh 70.3 participants even slower swimmers than me and are also wetsuit dependent. Obviously we don't have a chance at an AG award, so that's not an issue.  And according to the records, the water  temperature on June 2nd for the last 10 years has been 82 or below.

Something else to think about is that those of us who depend on the wetsuit are probably equally slow on the bike and the run.  I like the way the waves are set up (even though I'll probably get swam over by 5 or 6 waves) and some of us were thinking it was so that you could get the roads cleared sooner.  If you do this with the wetsuiters, You'll have people out there and finishing after the run course cutoff time.  On top of that, your crews will be out at the lake that much longer packing up wetsuits.

If you want a special wetsuit wave, maybe you can put them between the pros and the 55+ wave.  That way you'll be able to get things packed up sooner and the roads cleared earlier.

No offense intended but the DNF is fully deserved if you cannot complete the portion in the required time. If you can't complete it, then its race over. Happens every year in Hawaii and it is heartbreaking, but its not like WTC is not clear on the rule. If you cannot complete the swim in the required time, this might not be the right thing for you. Or you need to work harder on the swim. Sounds harsh and I don't mean it to, but this is a tough race and you have to prepare and be realistic about it. WTC puts rules in place, in part, to protect you. The swimming one is one of those.

As for putting the wetsuiters up front, that presents other challenges in that now you have a bunch of fast people put behind a pack of slow people on a tight bike course. The fasties have to pass the mass of slower people. Passes are not the safest thing to do. WTC has done this a bunch...they mostly know what they are doing and have solid reasons for it.

I agree, don't put the slowest participants out there first.  With the narrow first 2 miles coming out of T1, that is a recipe for blocking and drafting violations galore.  Even for the FS Half I did last fall out there, I was having to "remind" racers to keep right if they weren't passing.  If we invert the field, we will have that all over the place, but with 2500 more racers than at FS Half.

Take a look at the Swim Waves as they are currently.  The 3rd wave is the M55+ which, generally speaking, could be one of the slowest waves and the 17th-18th wave is the M25-34 which, generally speaking, could be one of the fastest waves.  Generally speaking, faster swimmers are also faster cyclists. So, as it stands right now, the race is already set up to present the challenges of which you speak.

I actually dont mind how they structure the age groups and fast/slow as much as I have real concern for someone who has never swum the distance in the allotted time. Thats just putting yourself in danger. Makes me a little nervous if you have to depend on a wetsuit to make it.

And fgump, no hint about you at all :-)

I can do the distance with or without the wetsuit.  I've done much longer before both with and without, it's just the amount of time it takes for me to do it.  And I'm about 20-30 seconds/100m faster with the wetsuit. (yeah, my form sucks... been working on it for a couple of years and believe it or not, it's much better than it used to be)

I can also understand what you mean by the increased possibility of penalties on the bike.  While I'm at about the bottom 5% for the swim, I'm squarely in the MOP time or better for the bike, so once I get out of the water, I too will be having to deal with passing/drafting issue thre.

well hell if the weather stays as is it will be wetsuit legal in Raeligh. (I don't truly believe that, but I would not have an issue if the temp on June 2nd is reported as 76 on the nose)

White lake tomorrow (May 4th) is 66 deg at the moment and normally the WL HIM would be this weekend and that has traditionally been right at the 76-78 deg range

Fixed it for you.

Here's my stab at breakdown by swim wave:

Kick wildly...that'll clear some space for you...

Updated.  It's hovering at 67, and this week will probably drive it back down to 66.  Come on, hang in there...

(jordan lake.jpg)

This looks promising.  Looks like the biggest 4 week upward move the lake temperature has had is about 8 degrees.  That would put it at 75 come race day!  And today's rain in 62 degree temperatures is not likely to help increase that temperature any time too soon.