Rev3 Training Day Review #2

(*sorry kinda long
Headed down for CTC's Training day for the Rev3 race Saturday July 17.  This day was a very organized event.

THE SWIM portion was very much a "clinic" of sorts and not a serious workout at all.  The buoy set up was maybe about a 400 yard loop.  While interesting, I'd probably have skipped it had I known it wasn't going to be a straight swim. I suppose I coulda broke off to do my own thing. 

If you go down the night before, might be worthy of a swim, very nice beach area, the water was really calm, though it IS a hike.  WAY at the back of the resort.  You need to drive to the back of the Resort toward the Marina, then hoof it.

The bonus of the morning going down was I discoverd a GIANT FAT HOLE at the base of the zipper of my wetsuit!  UGH!  Better Saturday than a race day!

THE BIKE:  FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS folks, while largely a flat course, some rollers, and as Rottie said, some false flats, the tradeoff is the wind.  It was nothing short of brutal Saturday, mostly in the 15-20 mph.  When I checked it hovered around 20 mph.  Cycling 14 miles westward into a headwind was very demoralizing. 

Race marshals are going to have a field day with drafting.  Everyone departed in groups, A, B, C, and it was very much group ride mentality.  I drifted off onto my own, b/c I'm so bloody slow and felt it was a more true barometer of what would happen race day.  As a solo rider most of the time, when I did catch up, I finally figured out why drafting is so appealing, hee hee!

The course they use is NOT the actual Rev3 bike course b/c of Cedar Point traffic so you'd be wise to get their map if you participate.  If you're going down to just bike with them on 21 August, we didn't depart until 9:30ish.  Their tent setup is right at the front of SawMill Creek Resort, and very easy to spot.  Infinit had a tent, Sailfish WetSuits and the Cleveland Tri Club as well.  They had a refueling station at mile 42.5.  CTC also had stuff at Sawmill at the start and finish.


Someone went to the effort to post the actual course on MapMyRide and is much easier to navigate than what Rev3 has up on their websit, IMHO.  So if you're randomly going down on your own, I'd use that one. 

As Rottie said, it didn't seem heavily trafficed, though I will say some of the CP traffic could be of the yahoo variety.  They were  very annoyed when we came out of Sawmill.  The roads weren't horrid but about what we're used to here I'd say.  Gravelly in parts, smooth in parts, seemed like parts used chip seal.  I don't remember any areas that were monstrously awful as in "beware for flat tires."

THE HEAT!  Ai yai yai.  It was 90 degrees Saturday, and riding on roads, many of them asphalt, was BRUTAL.  I had sunscreen on, but felt like my face was on fire.  The course is UNSHADED.  If September 12th is the same, it is going to be a very fugly day.  And we all know Ohio is like Michigan, never know what we'll get that day.

They also had a run course set up with aid.  I didn't use it as I was so bushed I only ran 10 minutes down to the marina.

You can use the lone shower at the indoor pool, but be forewarned.  There were about 100 people there Saturday.  For a slowpoke like me, I didn't need to worry about a crowd, but if you're a "B" cyclist, you might have to wait.  You just head into the lobby of the hotel, immediately to the left.  As you snake around, you'll see the indoor pool to your right.  Head into the pool area and to the right is the "women's" and "men's" shower room.

Also, they had a nice place to eat called Mulligan's Pub near the golf course that had a patio.  Even though it was warm, it was nice to sit outside (and well, we had Maxwell Smart with us :-) and very peaceful.