St. Anthony's Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 6)

Speaking of pre-race dinners......is the Carraba's we went to last year still open? Maybe we've broken the cycle of driving restaurants out of business?

Yes they are still open! LOL

3 weeks from today and it is go time!!!!

I am in - coming down thursday - staying at the Hilton (the one about 20 minutes from race site). 

Hi guys!  I know long time since I have posted here.  I've been in triathlon retirement for over a year now.  I used my 2008 deferral this year so I'm in.  I am not trained at all, so this will be interesting.  

 However I have a problem.  I don't have a hotel room.  Anyone got an extra room, or need a roommate?  I don't want to sleep in the transition area under the stars :-)

 PM me if you can help out.

jldicarlo (see previous page) was looking for a roomie...

I sent you PM.  I'd love to stay there.  I'm surprised they let BT'ers stay there after some of the rowdy post race parties we've had there in the past. :-o LOL

"I am unfortunately out due to a broken hand.  I thought I could train through it, but that led to the bone moving, so I am just going to take it easy and watch.  Deferred until 2010."

Dave sorry to hear that.  That really sucks!  Looks like you had been training pretty solid and were well prepared.  Well there is plenty of season left.  Get well soon.

Where is the best place to park race morning for both athletes and family members that are coming in a little later? Any logistic tips out there? ....Thanks...Jason

There are several parking garages near the venue..

This map is for the Grand Prix but you can see the location of the garages...

 http://www.discoverdowntown.com/public/grandprix/DT-StPeteMap-GrandPrix2009.pdf

Oh man I an sooooo ticked off...

So I was a good boy this year.  Booked a small hotel (The Pier Hotel) in downtown St Pete 2 blocks from the transition area back in October.  Gave us a really good rate of $150 a night.  I called last night to confirm the reservations and they have us at $280 a night.  Same conformation #.  Bulls**t!  (and we're staying for 3 nights so that adds up)

So I’m arguing with the manager and he’s being a pain in the butt.  “Sir, we do not change rates for no reason.”

“Right.  You change them to get more money, that’s your reason”…

Grrrr… so pissed off and not sure what I’m going to do.  If anyone is bailing and has a hotel near downtown for a decent rate let me know.  I'm considering waiting until the day before the arrival date and canceling just to tick them off.

Anyone know where I could rent a bike (tri-bike) on short notice (st. pete's, tampa or sarasota).   Shipping/Carrying my bike on the plane just seems like a hassle right now since I will be flying with my two small kids.  Thanks!

No, unfortunately, I just decided today that I didn't want to ship my bike.  Not very smart on my part.

Other Shops in the area that MAY rent bikes are Florida Bicycle Sports and Chainwheel Drive, both of these shops will be at the race.

Not alot in the weather forecast to make one believe the water temp will drop, gonna be pretty difficult to find the infamous "cold spot".  As somebody had mentioned, it IS NOT WORTH waiting for the wetsuit wave (unless your wave is in the back anyway).  That run is super duper hot 1 - 2.5 hours later, ask the poor under 40 women they stick in the back.

Thanks so much everybody, I just rented one from Outspokin!  That's a relief!

Time to start weather speculating. So I am seeing conflicting reports on my 2 favorite weather pages, weather.com and wunderground.com. Fortunatelly, they both have it as a beautiful day, but wunderground.com is showing the entire week about 5-7 degrees cooler. Cross our fingers that either is correct, but it looks like lows in the low-mid 60s, highs in the high 70s to mid 80s. Not that you can trust a weather forecast 10 days out, but I would rather them show a beautiful day and hope it is correct than show a miserable day and hope it is wrong!

I have booked a room at the Hilton Carillon Park.  Anyone else staying at that hotel and want to share a rental car? If anyone wants to share the room I got two beds.  I would love to save some money!  I'm throwing good money after bad, by opting to use my deferral from last year.  I should have just said the heck with it, and stayed home.

What's the game plan for night before, race day, group swim, etc, etc?