Galveston 5150.....Oct 23 2011 (Page 3)

This is my first season as well.  My first tri was in April and it was wetsuit legal, I rented one for that one.

I have a HIM scheduled for April, so I went ahead and bought one for this race so I'll have it to train with in the winter.

You can try renting one from Bike Barn or Tri On the Run.  WetsuitRental.com might be able to get you one by race time, but it might not either.

Right now the temp is right at the cutoff (76) to be wetsuit legal.  After the cold front it should be below but I think you could do the swim without it, you will just be a little colder and a little slower. 

Also, if you have never swam in one before, and can't get it with time to get in the water before the race, then I wouldn't do it.  Wetsuits can feel restrictive and may take some getting use to.

The participant list is up on the website:

http://5150galveston.com/athletes/start-lists/5150-galveston-participant-list/

BIB 302 Wave 6 (Yellow) 7:55

ETA: BTW- Anyone know if the WTC normally provides wetsuit strippers?

Bib #261.  7:55 a.m. swim start.  Yellow cap.

NewClydesdale, we should look for each other.  I'm the 6 foot tall skinny guy with glasses who'll probably be last in our age group.

I'll be the bearded guy who will be behind half of the folks out of the water, and get passed by 1/4th of the field on the bike, and the remaining 1/4th will pass me on the run.

Here's the latest on water temperature, from the official update e-mail they just sent out:

The current water temperature is approximately 77 degrees. At this time it is too early to determine whether or not the swim will be wetsuit legal. It will come down to a race morning decision.

Only 453 individual competitors in the 5150.  253 In the sprint. 

This is a much smaller field than we have seen lately in Houston.

As for water temps, I have been following this site: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/wgof.html 

Might not be the location they are using... but gives me a good idea.

WTC just cancelled the 5150 in Clearwater.  I think it's the third or fourth race they cancelled in 2011 for lack of interest.  I'm thoroughly amazed Galveston wasn't cancelled with those low numbers. Running the event the same day as their Austin 70.3 was dumb at best.

Don't expect it to be back next year.

Wave #4 - WOW that NEVER happens here in Houston 7:45.

#79 pink cap!

Make sure y'all say hi when you pass me on the bike. I'll be on the badass blue Orbea with the star on the rear wheel cover.

#273  M40-44 - looks like my age group/gender is well represented with 55 of the 433.  I'm a middle of the pack guy usually, but I suspect I'll finish in a lower tier with this field.  Maybe we'll all qualify for the world championships with so many 5150 races cancelled?

Interesting - 30 Professionals, 14 Elites.  I saw Brad Pigage on the Elite list - who just broke the course record along with two other guys at Andy's sprint tri.  He's such a cool guy.

See you guys there!

All the reports I have seen the last couple of days say "isolated thunderstorms" which has me a bit anxious.

The latest forecast from The Weather Channel shows a 30% chance of storms, but not likely until the afternoon.

Also, it may not be all that windy—the forecast says SSE winds of 11 mph. I'll take that.

Water temp has been in the upper 60s to mid 70s from what I have seen.  As for weather:

6 am 71°F Feels Like 71°F

9 am 76°F Feels Like 79°F

12 pm 80°F Feels Like 82°F

3 pm 81°F Feels Like 82°F

Additional Hourly Forecast

If the storms hold off till 3 that will work.  I should just about be done.

I know it's just horse shoes and hand grenades at this point, but the hourly forecast doesn't have anything more than a 10% chance of rain until mid-afternoon.  I wouldn't be too anxious about the weather.  We should all be well out of the water before there is a chance of anything.

Funny - looks like three of us were saying the same thing at the same time.  Party on!

good luck tomorrow ya'll!! should be a fun race

Yep, I'm pretty much ready to roll in the morning.  Glad we are swiming in the bayou, I did 10 mins out by the gulf and those waves would make it interesting.

Congrats to Keri for getting Hardware! 2nd in her Division.

I took about 10 minutes off of my Houston time but I was still very much in the back of the pack.

The swim seemed like it was pretty fast based on the overall times, not sure if that is just due to the wetsuits or I'm just imagining it.

I was looking at my speed data from the bike and I jumped about 5mph after the turn around.  There was more of a headwind on the way out than I realized.

I'll say that the WTC put on a decent race, but I wasn't blown away.  I might just be spoiled by OnUrMark's races.

Still, I look forward to being back on that course in April.

Couple of more thoughts:

I'm suprised there were only 382 finishers.   With 453 signed up that is a lot of DNS/DNF.

Did anyone else hear what sounded like gun shots on the bike course, I think it may have been a nail gun for one of the houses, but it got my attention.

Lastly, I saw a ambulance heading out on the bike course when I was on my way back in.  Any one know what happened?

congrats keri! thats awesome!

i'm not 100% positive about the ambulance, but it could have been (1) for a rider i saw that had fallen in the first few miles along the sea wall road (not sure the name). another rider had already stopped for her and was trying to flag down someone with a phone or (2) my dad said he saw a few people pulled out of the water on the swim. 

did anyone do the sprint and noticed the swim distance seem off? the race was advertised as a 400m swim, but it seemed way farther. when looking at the results, even the top finishers swam the "400m" in 8:XX and 9:XX. 

it was a fun race, but i'm with newclydesdale, i've been spoiled by onurmark races. i will be back next year though!