Manatees - 2018 Edition Now CLOSED (Page 90)

It's FINALLY almost go time!!!

Heat is going to be an issue this year at Augusta. Expected high in the low 90s + humidity. Just got off the phone with my coach, there's a plan, I'm 90% healthy (still have a lingering sinus/cough thing), and this is the most prepared I've ever been for the race.

River also is currently right around 78-79 degrees, so it may not be wetsuit legal (which is okay with me), and running at pretty minimal flow (3500 cu. ft/second). It was 15,000 cu. ft/second a week ago!!!

I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing in general. I'm a realist, and know the heat could suck the life out of my run. It is what it is. I'll thrown down the best I've got on the day.

The exciting news???? Post Augusta...I'm going BIKE SHOPPING!!!!!! Currently leaning towards either the Trek Speed Concept or the Canyon SpeedMax.

Oh...and Rinny & Tim O'Donnell are racing. Current course record is 3:42:14.

Think it'll get beat? They'll be done before noon. Wind expected to be negligable...2-4 moh.

Well, that takes the pressure off for you LOL. 3:42--That's INSANE! I assume we are talking Tim, not Rinny. But she's probably not that far behind (and about the same on the run)!

Hope the river behaves itself, and your run goes well. Just keep hydrating (electrolyte drink)--especially important if you've had a cold as viruses and meds tend to dehydrate you--and doing the "ice dance" with sponges, ice, etc. It won't be ideal conditions, but I've done plenty of HIM runs in that kind of heat and it's possible to have a decent effort without ending up in the med tent if you pace well and stay hydrated. You'll certainly have an advantage over people who aren't used to it.



Edited by Hot Runner 2018-09-21 9:03 PM

I think there's a chance both the men's and women's records will go down ( think the women's record is around 4:10).

Swim will take the pros around 15-18 minutes because of the current (unless the Corps of Engineers play unfair and close the gates at the dam even more) and the bike route has 400 less feet of elevation than previous years.

Omg...the run today was SO hot! And I have a nice case of swamp butt from putting ice down my top and shorts (but boy did it feel good at the time).

Congrats! I wondered about your run. I was stalking you n Rinny N T.O.

the heat freaks me out - but hey you're the one that lives down there! HA!

Glad you had a good day

Congratulations!  I saw so many people whose run times were slower than expected, so i know the run must have been killer!

ETA: Good to see i am not a banned person/country and can post here!

Edited by amd723 2018-09-24 2:36 PM

Let's hear it for great runs!

Edited by jmkizer 2018-09-24 4:32 PM

Sounds like you're craving for salt.

Janyne,

That's a tough question to answer simply because it's a local race to me, so the logistics of racing it are pretty simplistic. This is the 4th year I've done the race.

Historically, this is one of the 'easiest' HIM races. Because of the river current, you can take about 20% off of your overall swim time. For 7 of the 10 years, the swim has been wetsuit legal. The three years it hasn't been wetsuit legal have been the last 3 years.
The bike course is new this year (after 9 years on the old course) and only has about 1500 feet of elevation. That said, I found this course to be a bit harder than the old one because of a few things: 1. All of the climbing takes place in about a 20 mile stretch, 2. The first 5 miles involves 8 railroad crossings and 7 turns, 3. The route isn't nearly as pretty as the old route (it passes the industrial paper plant, the sewage plant, and the airport--which was kind of neat when a plane took off). The run is flat, flat, flat and has GREAT spectator support. Truly, there's about 1.5 miles where there aren't people cheering you on during the whole run.

The one true challenge of the entire day is the potential for high heat. The last 3 years have seen temps in the 90s with high humidity.

One thing I absolutely do NOT like about the race is that transition is 1.2 miles from swim start and 1.5 miles from the finish. This isn't a big deal in the morning...walking from transition to swim start is kind of a nice way to settle your mind. There are shuttle buses available, but I've never used them heading back to swim. The real issue is that after racing for 70.3 miles, once you cross the finish line, you have to go get your stuff...1.5 miles away. If your car is near the host hotel or the finish line, you have some options: Drive your car to within 0.4 miles of transition, walk in, get your stuff, and walk out. But finding a place to park at transition is difficult. Option #2 is to ride the shuttle bus from near the finish line to transition, get your stuff, and ride your bike back to your car. I have a friend who lives 6 blocks away from transition, so I park in her driveway on raceday morning. Yesterday afternoon, walking my bike back to her house wasn't fun.





Edited by glfprncs 2018-09-24 7:33 PM

I had a solid swim and while my bike wasn't horribly speedy, I followed my FTP plan as coach prescribed.

The run, though, was just horrid. I didn't get into the water until 8:45 a.m. (thank you to all of those people who seeded themselves early to beat the heat, and then backstroked or held onto buoys), so I didn't get off the bike until after noon. My legs felt okay, but I just got SO hot. At each aid station, I dumped ice down my shorts, into my tri top, and held ice in my hands. I could run until the ice melted...then I got SO hot again. I was pretty much done by mile 10.

Post race, I was feeling pretty sick. I didn't throw up, but was pretty close. We had a medical emergency on the shuttle bus back to transition when another athlete passed out. A friend in my tri club was driving his car to transition post race to get his bike and passed out, hitting a parked car. I didn't feel well enough to eat until about 8:00 p.m. Need to figure out of my nausea was created by heat, dehydration, too much sugar, or the protein in my Infinit (or a combination of all of the above)

I don't really care for straight berry flavored gels. I still stand by my opinion that most of them taste like snot.
I tried pickles on my HIM last year during the run and loved them. They digested well and it was that salty juice that was incredible.
This year my son's "friend" was on the aid station with pickle juice. The first time I asked for it she looked at me like I had a third eye. I passed her a total of four times. After the second time she had one ready for me when I came up. She told my son she thought I was a little crazy, but seemed to like it. She did think it was a funny thing to drink.

It seems that I no longer live in a banned country and I can post again now

Edited by StaceyK 2018-09-25 12:55 AM

that's always my plan. pee lots and often.
(usually a nerve thing not a hydration thing)