Giant Acorn International : Official Thread

I am there.  Looking forward to the warm lake swim!

I did the Rumpass in Bumpass Sprint, which has a slightly better name. This will be my first distance over Sprint. Looking forword to it. It was a nice course, but I hope the change the start of the run. The trip through the woods was tight and jumping over ditches wasn't fun at the end of my race.

This is going to be my first triathlon!

I did Rumpass in Bumpass there in the spring as my first triathlon (except for a mini-sprint at the Freedom Center) and I think it was a great way to get started!  The course is beautiful and the rolling hills are pretty gentle.  You will get the full open water experience, but it is a nice lake, and you swim around a little "pennisula" so you are always pretty close to the shore.  I'll be there again for the Giant Acorn sprint.  I am looking forward to comparing my races!

This will be my long anticipated first tri, too! What are y'all's thoughts on wetsuits? I don't have one, and it sounds like this lake is pretty warm, even in October.

I'm doing the OLY this year. I did the sprint last year and wore a wetsuit. If the lake's anywhere over 70 I'm not wearing one I believe. It was a bit warm last year and with that short a swim it didn't do much but heat me up.

Boiled down, if you don't have one and don't know if you want to buy one either rent one or go without, it's not a problem if you want to go without.

I am in!  I did the Nation's Tri this weekend as my first Oly.  I am hoping this one isn't too close and my body will be recovered, but  I wanted to squeeze one more in before the end of the season.  Anyone else do Nation's Tri?

for the ones that have done this event in the past.

How flat or hilly is the bike course?

Did the sprint last year---pretty flat bike course with a roller or two thrown in but nice, fast bike (and I did it on a 15yr old MTB).

I am fearing the possibility of DFL!! I wanted this to be my first Intl. distance and was ready to train, then...(place any excuse here)... I didn't. I have struggled to get in the pool for any real distance, struggled to get out and bike any rides over 25 miles (at least I did a few), and I am slow at running. Does anyone know where to find last year's race times? I guess i could look at Rumpass in Bumpass.

I'm in but this won't be my first.   I'll be wearing a wetsuit unless they prohibit wetsuits.  I don't wear the wetsuits because of being cold.  I wear the wetsuit because it makes me a lot faster in the water, anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds a hundred faster.  That can be a lot of time over 1500 meters.  Also for beginners, wearing a wetsuit can help with your confidence in the water.  The extra bouyance makes people feel safer.  In addition, if you're a poor swimmer, I think you would want to get out of the water as soon as possible.

Anybody that would like some help with transitions or anything before the race, I would be glad to help.

On Sept 1st, they said the water temp was 86. I guess it's gotta drop at least 2 degrees to be legal. I could with or without, doesn't matter. Wetsuit certainly helps the swim, but I hate getting it off.

Wetsuit allowed this weekend or no?

So I thought i registered on 7/31 for the sprint.. i never did. I think my computer crashed at teh end. This was to be my first tri.   I am exremely ticked off....at myself.. .. aaarrrgghh.. all this training.

Any good ideas on getting into the race?  I've emailed this morning.. we'll wait to see if there is a reply...

My bro i law is registered.. i'm going to go with him to pick up his race packet on Sat to see if there is any way I can weasle myself in.  Any ideas are always appreciated...

Olympic is still avail. Same course, just little longer.

Well the event details are posted (wave starts, water temp will be Thurs night...) AND only thing of note is the change to the run course----looks like same as Rumpass....doesn't sound like a good thing from those that did that race---didn't like the trail run.

This came yesterday:

Giant Acorn Triathlon

Welcome to the 2009 Giant Acorn Triathlons. These are the last races of the series and it is the conclusion of the 5th year of the Virginia Triathlon Series. This email is to highlight a few important tid bits of information regarding the event.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Water Temperature: This will be posted on the event page Thursday by 9PM. The official race temperature will be taken on the morning of each race by the USAT officials. This WILL BE a wetsuit legal event.
Start Times: International Distance - Saturday at 10AM - Plan to get to the RACE SITE no later than 8:45AM. Sunday's Sprint also starts at 10AM. Again, plan to arrive no later than 8:45AM.
Parking: Please follow the direction of our parking volunteers as you approach the marina. You can park along the dam access road or in the grass lot at the marina. Do not park on the access road to the marina or along the bike and run routes.

Water Temp was 76 degrees last night at 6pm.

Sounds like great weather.

Hourly forecast looks darn near perfect

10 am
Mostly
66°F
Mostly Sunny
From SW
4 mph

11 am
Mostly
70°F
Mostly Sunny
70°F
From SW
4 mph

12 pm
Mostly
73°F
Mostly Sunny
73°F
From SW
6 mph