Oklahoma City Redman Triathlon - Half Redman (Page 2)

Well i did it last year and there was a heat wave in august for like 3 weeks it was above 100 and it was still legal.  What they said last year was that they got out and deep until they find a 78 degree temp.  The top of the water is always much warmer than 4 feet down.

Thankfully, it sounds like Redman is the opposite of the triathlons around the KC area. Somehow all our water temps manage to be just over race legal every single time.

If you knew how much my wetsuit improves my swim, you'd understand my water temp obsession. I can swim all day with or without the wetsuit, but somehow I average >20 sec per 100 faster with it on. Probably something to do with my legs dragging the bottom of the pool/lake without it.  

This being my first HIM, would like to have the extra comfort level starting out, but I'll be fine either way. 

lisac957 - 2008-09-01 7:29 AM Locals - what is up with the roads on the bike course?? They're probably the worst I've ever ridden on! Are all the roads like that in the area? Uneven surfaces, potholes, chip seal that makes me wonder if my bike is slowly vibrating apart... My main concern is that in the really bad areas you have to move to the left to avoid potholes and gaping holes in the road. If the course is congested, it could pose 'crossing the center line' risks (if a rider is passing a rider trying to avoid a pothole) that otherwise wouldn't exist with better qualtiy roads. Anyone have any trouble with this last year?

All oklahoma roads are bad. I wouldn't worry about the traffic of riders becuase it's only a 300-400 person race.

Ok still, 600 people in one lane with a few bad spots is better than 2000 in one lane on good roads. I didn't have any problems last year and don't even remember the roads being bad.  Maybe i'm just used to riding them in oklahoma. I swear we have the worst roads in the nation.

lisac957 - 2008-09-02 9:29 AM

lrobb - 2008-09-02 8:56 AM

Ok still, 600 people in one lane with a few bad spots is better than 2000 in one lane on good roads. I didn't have any problems last year and don't even remember the roads being bad. Maybe i'm just used to riding them in oklahoma. I swear we have the worst roads in the nation.

Definitely. Really the only bad spots are on waterloo - the ice storms this winter weren't kind to some sections of it. Then there's 4 miles of pretty rough chipseal (also on waterloo). It will be one lane only for both directions this year on that first stretch of MacArthur, not one lane north and one lane south like it was last year.

I was wondering how they were going to handle getting out of the city with all of those stoplights! Is that 600 total for both the half and the full? That's not bad. I've been in sprints/olys with 800 people on a 2- and 4-loop bike course - that was interesting. I call that chipseal section the "CHIP SEAL OF DEATH" road, hehe. Freaking wasp stung me there too

Last year there were only like 290 HIM finishers and like 120 Full finishers. Apparantly there are more this year according to the above post. But they cap the HIM at like 700-800 i think. So i wouldn't worry about being to bunched. Last year was NOTHING like this year at kansas with all the people.

From the redmantriathlon.com forums:

August 20
Air Temp (High) 80
Water Temp: 77.5

August 25
Air Temp (High) 86
Water Temp: 77.9

August 28
Air Temp (High) 93
Water Temp: 79.5

Hope the cooler weather is trending the water temp back down.

I should know this, but want to hear from someone who has done this race before.  On the bike course do they have people handing you water/gatorade, etc at the aid stations?  Just want to make sure I don't have to get off my bike or anything to get stuff. 

Yes they will have water and gatorade endurance that they will had you. You do not have to get off your bike.  If you want any nutrition you will need to stop though.

Thank You very much, that is what I wanted to know. .   Just like Ironman then. . .grab it on the fly. 

You got it!  Slow down point at the volunteer and grab the bottle. Alot of them will actually run with you a bit if there is room to make sure you get the bottle and it doesn't splash to the ground.

So, yea... thought i would spice up this thread some.

So i just looked at the 10-day forecast and *knock on wood* its looks like its going to be a beautiful weekend. I thought Ike might linger up in the area for a few days and drive temps down but it doesn't look like it will.

So what kind of swag do they have for sale at this event? stickers, shirts, etc? Any neat goodies in the race package? (for those who are local/have been)

-andrew

Awesome, thanks for the weather update Andrew. I was kinda wondering the same thing about Ike hanging around a bit.

peace, John

From the redmandtriathlon.com message board:

 09/15/2008 10:35 AM Just got off the phone with the city! Lake Hefner water temp is: 73.6! Sounds like a chilly one! Looking forward to seeing you all at the race!