Cranberry countdown

Hey All,

The Mrs. and I are going down to pre-ride Saturday.  Anyone know what time the park opens and if it costs to park?

Thanks

Not with the training you've been logging lately!

Jaldrova, the "hill" out of the water IS sort of steep but it's very short so don't worry too much about it.  The bike course does have some hills but nothing too bad.  It's really pretty flat with some small hills now and again.  I have not seen the run course yet.

Adco, I don't know when it opens but its free to park.

Mav and I are going down on Sat as well.  We are going to swim at 8am and ride after.

See you guys there.

I emailed the parks department and they said this:

The Ted Williams Camp is open from dawn until dusk and there is no fee to park. There should be no swimming at the pond unless you have a lifeguard present – which you would have to hire one as there are none on duty.You can certainly bike anytime from there

I know people have been swimming there without a lifeguard.  I here there is a local tri club that has been swimming there on Monday nights, and pretty sure I've read here that people have too.

I'm going to try and bike / run Saturday either early morning or around noon.

jim

I rode the bike course this morning and it was a nice ride.  The 2nd half of Vaughn street and either Walnut or Marion are pretty beat up in spots, so keep that in mind.

I did the run section after that which is pretty flat aside from a hill near the end of Pickens street.

I saw lots of riders, and I think I saw a pair of BT'ers riding out of the park as I was coming up the last stretch of the run.

jim

the only thing that I can add is about the swim. The course is around the edge of the pond, kind of like an hour glass. Where the "hour glass" pinches in, the lake is VERY SHALLOW. I have hit my hands on the bottom in a few places. Two things you can do to avoid this. There are flags in the shallow parts, marking them. If you stay closer to the bouyes, you also avoid this issue. I on the other hand, revert to more of a breast stoke and cut the shortest distance I can since the swim is my stonger sport of the 3.

Now for a gratuatous hijack. I have a room to share. If there are any interested BT gents out there that are interested, let me know.

 See you all there, and lets have lots of fun!! Joe

Like Joe said, the swim can be a bit weird in the 2 shallow spots, so try to stay near the buoy line and you should be fine.  It's a narrow-ish start but it thins out pretty quickly.

I tend to push a pretty large gear and stand up on hills.  I've actually ridden the entire course during the race on the big chain ring.  So no, it's not very hilly, but not dead flat either.  You'll see the bottle exchange in advance and it's at a section of the course where you'll be going slow enough.  Just toss off an empty before you get to the exchange and then grab a new bottle from a volunteer.  It's really easy.

Rolling.  No major hills.  About 50/50 as far as being in the shade or in the direct sun.  I hate running, but as far as run courses go, this is one of my favorites, so that says a lot right there.  Pretty quiet roads, very little traffic once you're off the road closest to the transition area.

They loop the exit around the back so it ends up being the same distance for everyone and there is no advantage to being racked near the entrance.

Thanks for the info above.  Posting here is like nervous chatter for me.  I swam the lake tonight and I see what you mean about the shallow points.  I took more of a direct line instead of hugging the shore so I'd be in deeper water.  Very calm tonight and only saw a couple of canoes and a sailboat.  Met a couple of swimmers in the parking area as I was cleaning up and they were heading out themselves. 

jim

Ahh, you'll be fine Jim.  That's always the way it is, you start weirding out in the weeks before the race.  On race day morning you're a bundle of nerves, and then 3 seconds after they blow the horn for your swim start, everything goes away.  It's amazing how that happens! 

Take care exiting the water, it can be slippery climbing the stairs and watch out for the occasional tree root too.  Also at the bike start, watch out for the speed bumps as you are leaving transition and heading out to the road.  The first year I lost a water bottle while crossing one of those bumps and I'm not 200 feet into the bike loop!  Enjoy the bike loop, get into a groove during the first 5-10 miles and the rest will be fun.  If this is your first Oly distance, just keep telling yourself to save a little energy in the bank.  Better to finish strong with something left than to get through the bike totally trashed and have to stagger/walk through the run!

Only a few days left! Weather looks good - as of now, but it did for the Danskin as well, but..

Question: for the post race hang out, are people bringing grills, beer (is it allowed?) etc? I know there is a cookout hosted by the race, so I'm just curious.

Thanks,

Beer- Yes.  lol