Is this considered difficult?

The profile doesn't look too bad to me, but I never did the course. There looks like a couple of steep climbs, but they have decents on the backside.

I think Mullholland makes that look pretty flat.  You've gone up bigger!

Awesome, just what I needed, thx

Don't you think you should have checked out the profile before you predicted a top 200 finish?

The first 29 miles are flat with a slight tailwind. At mile 29 is a steep (out of the seat the whole time climb) but it's short 1/4 mile at the most. then you head west for 10 miles. It's agradula climb, nothing hairy but no flats or downhills and 3 small climbs (again nothing to out of your seat for) then you head downhill for a few miles and turn west. It is flat but with a brutal headwind for 15 miles. If you don't blow up on the first 29 miles you will be fine for the rest. Good luck
Tom

I'm sure you have seen this but if not here is a profile of all IMNA courses. Just click on the courses you want to see.

http://www.ironmannorthamerica.com/comparebike.html

Thank you for the description, top 200 finish was predicted for Solana Beach

wow, that's awesome. Florida looks like a piece of cake.

Edited by velasqu7 2005-02-15 12:50 PM

Piece of cake? Chucky, you must be an awsome biker then, 102 miles not matter how flat should be gruesome... at least for me!!! This will be my first IM distance race.......   I don't want to lose respect for the distance...

I don't know about a "piece of cake". Being in the same gear hour after hour after hour can be a real pain. At least with a hilly course you get to use some different musles.

haha, I've never heard anyone say "boy, this flat ride is killing me, I sure can't wait to hit those hills over there!"




Okay, maybe my choice of words came off a bit flippant (what's new), so let me rephrase "Relative to the other IM bike courses and every other bump in the road, Florida is a piece of cake."



Edited by ChuckyFinster 2005-02-15 2:13 PM

Hey Chucky,
I don't know if you heard the run course might be changed because part of the street in Oceanside harbor got washed away with the rain we had amoth ago. Here is a copy of an email we got with the new course directions if they don't get road repaired. I don't the think the run profile will change much.


Update on the Ralphs California Half Ironman Run Course
By: Roch Frey February 13, 2005

Dear Athletes,

We have received many e-mails and phone calls regarding the fact that North Pacific Street south of Harbor Drive has been washed away by a rain swollen San Luis Rey River. In addition to connecting the coastal neighborhoods of Oceanside to Oceanside Harbor, Pacific Street has been a major thoroughfare for the Ralphs California Half Ironman run course.

Because of the possibility of this happening (the road was last washed away in 1998), we have had a contingency run course in place with the City of Oceanside since the first year of the event (when it was an Ironman in 2000) and it looks like we might have occasion to use it this year. While it's still possible that repairs may be made to this section of N. Pacific Street in time for our March 19th race date, if it isn't we will use the back-up run course plan.

The contingency run course is as follows:

- Exit transition south bound on N. Pacific Street.
- Turn Left on S. Harbor Drive.
- Turn Right through pedestrian tunnel and bear right (south) around parking lot to Riverside Drive and onto Carmelo Drive.
- Turn Right on Monterey
- Turn Right on North Coast Highway
- Turn Right on Neptune
- Bear Right onto main Bike Path
- Turn Left on Bike Path spur under RR bridge
- Turn Left on N. Pacific Street
- Turn Right on Breakwater
- Turn Left on N. Strand
- Turn Left on Wisconsin
- Turn Right on S. Pacific Street
- Go approximately 1/4-mile and turn around near Hayes Street
- Turn Left on Wisconsin
- Turn Right on S. Strand
- Turn Right on Breakwater
- Turn Left on N. Pacific St.
- Turn Right on Bike path spur under RR bridge
- Turn Right on main Bike path
- Bike path bears left onto Neptune
- Turn Left on North Coast Highway
- Turn Left on Monterey
- Turn Left on Carmelo
- Carmello bears right into Riverside and around left (south) side of parking lot
- Turn Left through pedestrian tunnel under RR tracks
- Turn Left on S. Harbor Drive
- First Loop - Turn Around near N. Pacific Street
- Second Loop - Turn Right on N. Pacific Street to Finish line

Train safe and we'll see you on Saturday, March 19th!

Hope that helps...it probably won't since I live here and I don't know where those streets are, but I thought you would want to know
Tom

I had a buddy just finish IMFl. He said he would much rather do a hillier race just because you spend (in his case) 5.5 hours in the same position. At least in AZ there is a change every 10 miles or so

thx MadCow, if it rains this weekend (again), I'm going to roll on down to oceanside and drive the course. thx again for the heads up.

Hey Chucky,
Unless you are in the military, I wouldn't drive all the way down to check it out. You can't drive the bike course since it is on Camp Pendelton. And the run is a 3 mile stretch of boardwalk and side streets. Hardly worth the gas money.

crap, well, there goes that idea. Well, crossing my fingers that it doesn't rain.