Help Picking a N.East 70.3 in early 2012 (longish)

Try the Patriot 70.3 it was a great race for first timers.  Small field, cheap, flat course.  I loved racing it this year.

If you think the Rev 3 bike will be "too hard" then the Mooseman bike will likely be "too hard" too.  I would also be weary of doing a first year event.

Having done three of your four choices, I would go with Quassy.  Its a fantastic race and the bike is fine so long as you train and pace yourself correctly. 

Forget Mooseman as a first.  Hard bike and absolutely frigid water can make the bike even harder.  Awesome course though. 

Don't sweat trying to cherry pick a half - though there really is no such thing as an easy HIM and absolutely no such thing as an easy IM.

Thanks to everyone for the information and the June races that arent listed on big boards yet.  Food for though on my next 5k jog/walk...

I am in the same boat trying to pick a first time HIM in June that blends hard and fun.  The distance is hard enough for me.  Throwing in super cold swims, tour de france climbs, and sufferfest runs don't make it fun (for me). I also am thinking about the same races.  I believe I am going with the Patrtiot Half in Freetown Mass.

And for goodness sake stop cherry picking races.  Just sign up for them randomnly without checking into anything.  What could possibly go wrong!

Based on what you've said I'd still pick rev3 since it's closest, it's a good event and has the park.  There's nothing jaw dropping that you'd have to get off your bike and walk or anything.  You've been training a bunch too it looks like.  If I were you, I'd head over there one weekend and check out the course in the next month or so while it's still nice out.  You can drive/ride part of the course and check it all out.  Probably worth the effort before making the decision if you are worried about it. 

Also, if it seems too hilly skip it and then take that knowledge and then look up the other courses and compare them all on mapmyride and mapmyrun so you can see the elevation profile.

I think you mean SOUTH EAST Mass., so its a bit of a drive from NY. Looks like a great race though, its on my list for possible tune up HIMs before IMLP.

Well said! What would be the point of this website if we didn't try to seek out info to make the best decision for us/you.

It appears I've managed to ruffle some feathers here.  Let me clarify - I (me, personally, not others) would not shy away from a HIM or IM that otherwise met my needs (time of year, geography, ease of access for family, etc., etc.) just because some element of it (e.g. hilly bike) was particularly difficult or didn't play to my strengths, but it appears based on the other posts I'm in the minority with that opinion.

And yes, I am amused by people (plural, not specifically OP although admittedly I used him as an example and I apologize he took offense) that come to the IM training forum and use the word easy in their thread starter.  I view that similarly to the number of threads that begin with something like, "I can't really swim and I can only train for a maximum of 4 hours a week but I can do an Ironman, right?"  I can't help it - these types of threads amuse me but again, I appear to be in the minority here.

So, sorry to get people worked up.  To the OP - I hope you find a race that suits you, train well, and have a great race day experience.  Finishing an HIM is a great feeling of accomplishment.

I did Patriot this year for my first year and had a great time.  I think it's a perfect first half.  Swim is calm, bike is rolling, no real hills at all.  Run is flat. 

I am looking at races in the same time. I think I am going to do Eagleman. I don't bring my kids out for long races, not even Oly's except for NYC when they can come later.

Thanks, I don't know why I didn't think to just ride the course in advance, but I didn't. I guess that is the benefit of picking races ~1 hour from home. Road it yesterday and it's got some pretty good hills, but so do my training rides (most of which are shorter than 56 miles, though).  That was a big help.  I went awfully slow and didnt feel like i could do 13 miles running after, but that is what the next 8 months are for, getting faster while saving some fuel for a run. 

Luckily, I did have enough fuel to keep up with the family at Lake Compounce when we met afterward.

Also, I like the idea of using mapmyride to judge races that are further out of town.  I haven't been doing this long enough to really understand the route/graph information and now at least I have one benchmark to compare the lines on a chart to the burn in my legs.

REV3 quassy puts on a great show.  Perfect for families.  I've been doing races for 4 years and this years REV3 quassy was the first time the family saw me cross the finish line...kids are even allowed to run the finishing chute with you.  Plus, they usually give you 2 free tickets to the park.

The course is hilly, but you have the home court advantage (I'm 45 minutes from Quassy and wouldn't miss it), so you have plenty of time to get comfortable with the hills. Go for it...the other great thing about doing Quassy early in the season is every other race seems EASY after that bike!!