Marlborough Triathlon : Official Thread

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I am signed up for this event...the RD does a great job with these events.  Definately a step above many of the other competitions...plus you get great gear no silkscreen Ts, real stuff you can use.  Did Cohasset with this series and was pretty good.

They are pretty strict about drafting rules though and are generous with penalties.  No passing on right, you have 15 seconds to get your front wheel ahead of the person you are passing and they have to drop back 15 feet once passed...Cohasset was very strict here but was also a qualifier.  Will be interesting to see if as strict with Marlborough.

I wish I signed up for this...I am doing danskin that day...3,000 women on that short race route ...what was I thinking.  If I find danskin too crazy I will be doing malboro next year.  It's a nice lake.  I swam across it last week with a friend who kayaked next to me.

I was in the area so I drove the bike course today... bring your hill climbing legs on Sunday! Also, some sharp turns and some good downhills. It will be fun.

I am also doing this race. I'm planning on going and first driving and then biking the bike portion this coming weekend. From last year's race reports, and posts here, it sounds like the course is hilly. What goes up, must come down, though and time can be picked up on the downhills.

I'm looking forward to it, and then I'll have two weeks till my first Olympic at the Cranberry Tri!

Curlzm, I had concerns about the water being a little swampy @ 85 deg....How was it....I want that JetBlue transition flight

Hi everyone! I'm signed up and looking forward to racing with (and hopefully beating) my brother in law. It will be his first tri, my 4th. We rode the bike course a few weeks ago and it is indeed hilly.

I'm curious about the two separate transition areas - I've never done a race with T1 and T2 in different places. Any suggestions for how to prepare, other than bringing 2 of some items (socks, sunglasses), just in case? I'm afraid I'll end up at T2 only to discover my sneakers are at T1.

From what I've read and determined, I'll be heading to T2 first, setting up my run stuff (shoes, race belt, hat, garmin watch, small drink), then biking down to T1 with the rest of my stuff (wetsuit, helmet, bike shoes, goggles, swim cap, sunglasses, backpack with little things like body glide, drinks, etc.) to set up.

After the race ends I'll end up biking back to T2 to pick up my stuff and then biking to my car (wherever that happens to be). It does sound a bit confusing, but it'll probably be a bit more clear when we get there on race day. The racks will have our names and numbers, so it isn't a free-for-all.

It's simple - check in and get marked by T2.Drop your run stuff off at T2.Ride to T1 which is about 1/2 mile away. This year you won't need a wetsuit, so you will only be leaving goggles and cap. After the race, ride down to pickup your stuff.I am debating not racing, as I am concerned about water temps - too high - anyone swim recently and have feedback heard high 80's.Bike course is very fast (hit 49 mph last year on the downhill. Lots of climbing, so leave the disc at home.

I did this race last year.

Just enjoy the hills on the run. They're significant, and you'll be doing them twice - just in case you did not enjoy them enough the first time around. Hehe.

If you can, try to get all your kit into a backpack - that way you can ride up to T2, set up your bike/run transition, then ride down to the start and rack your bike. And, if you don't use a wetsuit you don't have to ride back down to the start afterwards. Arrive early... 

It's very different than Sharon. This is a very hilly course both bike and run. Very fast downhills. The only issue with the school is you have to bunny hop the speed bumps. Sharon is very flat. I am concerned about water temps but may just use the snorkel for the swim. It's a very fun event!

Did the bike course today - three loops of the course. There are definitely some hills - the only real bad one seems to be coming back on the end of the loop to the high school. My speeds went from a high of 42 mph on the downhill to the causeway to a low of 14 mph on that last set of hills.

There's also a very sharp turn at the bottom of the first big downhill - I realized that my brakes aren't all that strong trying to take a bike down from around 40 mph! I'll make sure that I take that bit easy on race day.

It was pretty windy and that causeway area had quite the cross wind - pretty fun maintaining a straight line with my race wheels on. I just hope that it isn't windy on race day.

You should be fine...you don't need the brakes - honestly.  I hit 49mph last year with my 808s and stayed in tuck without touching the brakes.  I did have some slow folks that can make it a bit hairy.  Do you T1 with shoes in?  I passed about 20 people during the long run down the causeway to bike exit out.  I am likely racing, although may use snorkel - yeah, I know a bit gay but I really don't want to suck in +80degree pond water and I always take water in on my swims.  Not using the wetsuit though.

It's looking like the water is going to be in the 80 degree range, meaning my full wetsuit is a no-go. I wear a 2XU one-piece tri suit. I'm wondering how this will be in the swim. It has a front zipper. I'm not about to go out and buy another tri suit just for this race, so I guess I'll find out on Sunday!

The weather for race day is looking great - high of 80 degrees means probably temps in the low 70s for the race. That will be great, especially on the 'little' hills.

Tri suits are designed for swimming so if the fit is snug, why worry? I signed up for Marlborough too... this race starts at 9am... that's just way too good to pass up. I am aiming for top position in the middle of the pack, heh.

Seems like quite a race for my first. After all of the discussion on hills I'll be driving the course Saturday, hopefully it will calm my nerves and not have the opposite effect.

Think of it this way: everyone has to do the hills. Some of them are a little steep, but it's not like some people get to skip them. Just don't kill yourself on the hills for the bike because you'll still have some to deal with on the run. If it's your first, enjoy it!

If it's your first race, I suggest that you try to do a slow burn - don't swim too hard - the objective is to make it out of the water without losing your breath. On the first bike loop go easy, get a feel for the course.  Just accept that you will be slower on the hills. Other people will (probably) pass you. That's fine. Use your gears to make the hills as easy as possible. Then, when you get to the run you can decide how much energy you have in reserve... and you can burn up everything you have before you get to the finish line. 

Most of all, just have fun. I have no idea what kind of athlete you are, but 98% of us will never win one of these things so it's all about fun (at least, for me it is!)

Good luck everyone, and have fun! I ride a Blue Triad and have about as much hair as Mr Clean, so say hi if you see me.

Good luck, everyone! I won't be there (Swim session/lesson this AM in prep for my 1st race next month!), but I plan on being on the course with you next year!

All done! I missed out on 3rd place in my age group by 3 tiny seconds! The guy that beat me for that podium spot passed me with about 1/2 mile to go, and I could tell he was a much better runner than me. Even so, I hung with him, but he out-kicked me at the end. I checked my Garmin 305 and I was down to 4:45/mile at the end!

And to think, that's the pace that the pro's on the European circuit can average for a 10K winning run!

I thought the bike course was more difficult than the run course - the run course was less hilly than I expected - I should have gone faster on the first loop, but I held back. As a result, my second loop was down near 6 min mile. The run was also 3.4 miles, not 3.2.

It was a fun race today!
natethomas2000...  you smoked that course!