Anyone up for Over the Mountain?

My husband and I did Savage Man last year.  The hills on that were killer.  Hope this isn't the same.  Luck for me it will only be my husband racing this one.  Good luck to you on your first race!  You picked a doozy and I'm sure you'll do great.

I learned ALOT doing that race. Read my race report from last year. Good luck!

http://www.triathlontrainingblog.com/?p=640

Here's the important stuff...

Things I learned:
* Always get to a race early so you have plenty of time to set up, especially important for THIS race!
* Always bring your own water to put in your water bottles (they did not have water at T1 setup)
* Have a good nutrition/hydration plan. I thought I could go by feel for a ’short’ race like this. Not true! Actually, I cannot think of olympic as a ’short race’ any more. (they did not have anything but water on the run, and it was HOT, so bring some electrolytes or something).
* Don’t trust the weather report. I got a really bad sunburn!
* peddaling down fast hills probably isn’t worth the energy. better to tuck and enjoy the ride!
* I can’t wear sunglasses with my Rocket Aero helmet because they steam up.
* bring your own post race snacks in case they don’t have what you need at the race (they had NOTHING salty!)
* not worth it to skimp on how much water you carry during the bike. Surely I lost more time than I saved in that fiasco!
* When I got home and took my wetsuit out of the trash bag, it was very hot and the rubber was sticking together. I had to carefully peel it apart. Now there is a small tear in my new wetsuit! Lesson: don’t leave a wetsuit sitting in the sun in a trash bag all day! I should have taken it out right away and laid it out in my car. (they put your wetsuit in a white trash bag, that you pick up later in the day - get it as soon as you can!)


Edited by keyone 2009-05-17 7:23 PM

Oh sorry - not my first triathlon
My first time doing Over the Mountain...

The one thing I found helpful was to pack 2 transition bags.  One for T1 and the other for T2.  That way you have everything separated before you get to the race site and there is less confusion.

Good luck!  It's a beautiful swim and ride!

This was my first OLY.  Plan ahead on getting to Moss Lake.  You take a bus from T2 over to swim start, so, as previously posted, pack two transition bags.  It's an in-water start, and a neat course.  No real turns, just a big arc if I recall.  Got a little wavy out in the middle, but not bad at all.  The run up the boat ramp is a little steep.

The bike is, well, hilly.  There's this one long hill entering KMSP that my buddy told me I'd just start laughing on.  And he was right.  I did.  Running an 11/23 at the time, it was a struggle.  A 12/27 is a much better choice.  I'd go a lighter weight/less aero setup, as it is a somewhat technical course in spots, with not a lot of flats to see the benefits of aero.  I'd suggest pre-riding or driving the course to know where you can carry speed, and where you'll need to be prepared for turns.  It's a fun course, but you do have to deal with some local traffic at points, which can be frustrating (the first 5 or so miles out of T1).

The run.  This is the race that made me decide I wanted to learn how to run in a triathlon.  It absolutely humbled me.  There was sports drink on the course in 2007, though I don't remember what it was.  It didn't matter; it didn't agree with me.  The course is rolling for the first mile or so, then somewhat hilly for the middle mile, then rolling again for the last mile, then repeat the sequence.  But I was done on the first lap.

Check my RR for stats.  They are not impressive.  However, it was a fun race, a good way to get my feet wet in the distance, and I had a buddy on the course as well.  He's racing it again this year, and we expect good things.

It's not as hard as it sounds.  Now Bandit's-that's one to keep your head down for.

Good luck!

Edited by fgump 2009-05-18 10:15 AM

Thanks - That is good advice all...

Hi,

Hubby and i signed up for this.  How hilly is hilly?  Neither he nor I have any experience riding in the mountains.  We live in a hilly area I would say 5-8% grade for a quarter mile is what we are used to.  R we talking 2 miles of straight up hill or are the hills shorter?  I don't mind the grade being intense if duration is short and vice versa..

You'll probabloy do fine. It's hilly, but not mountainous!