Raleigh half? (Page 16)

Hey don't sweat it Coppertop - If you can't go wetsuit, invest in a good SwimSkin - it may be Placebo, but I swear I prefer 'em to wetsuits and I swim like a Bulldog! Slow and labored, that is....

In all seriousness, I find that in long-course swimming for me (I am a former Football player - for real - I didn't learn a decent stroke until I started Triathlons), finding a Kayak takes more energy than it's worth unless one happens to be right in your vicinity when you're gassed.

What I find works GREAT though is rolling over onto my back and just "flutter"-kicking and breathing for 30 seconds or so (assuming you're far enough into the swim and conservative about your position relative to other swimmers) - I try to make sure I'm not completely disrupting anybody - the fact that I'm often bringing up the rear doesn't hurt!

It allows me to relax - I focus on feeling the water (if it's cool, think of the swim as hydro-therapy BEFORE a heck of a workout!) and I try to find a cloud, a bird, God, whatever up in the sky -

Swimming, especially over a mile, for those of us who didn't learn it at a young age is, at least in my opinion, really hard for life-long athletes because the manner that we GET O2 is so different - count your breaths over a minute on the bike or on the run vs while swimming and it's completely different.

YOU'RE AN ATHLETE - find a way to breathe the way you're used to if you get tired - relax - go practice is tomorrow!

I believe you'll be amazed at how refreshed you feel when you roll-over and start swimming again.....

As I like to say when giving unsolicited opinions, my advice is worth exactly what you paid for it - take it or leave it!

Edited by WilliamBallace 2013-05-29 12:42 AM

Hey one more thing - shout out to the gearheads - go check out TJ Tollakson's CRAZY rig in T1 before the race - how he rides that cockpit on that crazy contraption for IM Distances blows my mind!

Edited by WilliamBallace 2013-05-29 12:45 AM

Heard the weather report this morning of "warmest day of the year on Sunday" and thought about you guys.

Good luck and Embrace the Suck!

Lake is still at 74 today. This is agony. Wish it would just spike to above 76 and be done with this guessing/waiting/praying/rain dancing.

Don't guess. Don't wait. Don't pray. Don't dance.

Go ahead and accept it now. This race will not be wetsuit legal.

This is way too fast to get any detail, but it does give some perspective of the roads we'll be own. Note; the run course is not fully shown. It only shows it up to mile 4, then reverses. There are another 5 miles on greenway that it misses.

http://www.wral.com/entertainment/out_and_about/video/12490880/#/vi...

OK - I was pumped before but every time I catch up on this thread I get more excited! Taking the kids with me to packet pick up on Friday night and to the lake to drop off the bike.

Does anyone happen to know if our adoring fans and family will be able to get onto the campus at Meredith to cheer us on? My husband scoped out the course and says that would be the shadiest/nicest place to cheer.

Swam at Lake Johnson pool outside yesterday and they said water temp was 76. Swam at Falls Lake Sunday - neither seemed that bad once you get moving.

Been trying to do at least a few miles run in the afternoons this week while it's 80+ degrees out to try to get used to it - it's gonna be a sweaty one. Something else to prep for is the smells! A couple horse farms on the bike, Char-Gril and Snoopy's on the run - then on the greenway, the Jasmine and honeysuckle are in full bloom.

Good luck, be safe and have fun everyone!
Kristi

One option would be to park at Ridgewood Shopping center (Ridge Road and Wade Avenue) and have them walk/ride down the greenway to meet at the bottom of the hill, right past where we will go under Wade Avenue. Or, they could park at Waffle House on Hillsborough and cross the street.

And you are taking your bike out to Jordan Saturday, right? Not Friday.

They could also try to park on campus at Meredith. They have a secondary entrance on the eastern side of campus off of Faircloth Street and two big lots. One of which is real close to the last hill climb after the underpass of Wade Ave.

It is summer so there shouldn't be many students on campus and I don't think there is a guard house at that entrance... so if someone stops them they can just say that they are there for the race (worst they can say is no).

Hey all - you're going to need to amp up for the race. The SW Wake News reports that the Holly Springs police expect cyclists to be moving along at 25-30 mph.

Giddy-up!

On another note, I rode part of the course today and they have put in the mile markers and turn arrows. I guess this means it is getting real...

Wave and say hello when you pass a guy on a black Kestrel. He'll look like a triathlete but will be moving slower than you would expect.

Did they arrange for a tailwind and the whole way? Good luck to all!

Did they arrange for a tailwind and the whole way? Good luck to all!

This user's post has been ignored.

This user's post has been ignored.

74 for the 5th consecutive day. But today through Saturday will push it over the edge.

Did you feel the heat out there this morning? Broke a sweat on a 2-mile walk...

Just got a notice of road closing in our neighborhood for the race - looks like a lot of the bike route will have roads at least partially blocked - good news!

The Ironman Triathlon Sunday in Raleigh will affect several roads as contestants bike, swim and run their way across Chatham and Wake counties.

More than 2,700 people from 15 countries and 43 states have registered for the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon. The race begins at 7 a.m. at Jordan Lake with a 1.2-mile swim. Racers then begin a 56-mile bike ride to downtown Raleigh.

Riders will enter Raleigh’s city limits on Lake Wheeler Road at Tryon Road. They will travel north and then turn left on South Saunders Street and then turn right on South Street. A transition area will be in place between Salisbury Street and Wilmington Street for the final leg – a 13.1 mile half-marathon.

The race is expected to impact traffic in Raleigh from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Police will be present to direct traffic along the route.

Road closings:
• Fayetteville Street between Davie Street and Lenoir Street will be closed from 6 a.m. on June 1 until 11 p.m. on June 2;
• The right lane of U.S. 64 between Pea Ridge and Beaver Creek will be closed from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on June 2;
• The right lane of N.C. 55 Bypass between Avent Ferry Road and Old Smithfield Road heading north from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.;
• Lake Wheeler Road north of Tryon Road from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.;
• Exits along the I-440 Beltline to Lake Wheeler Road from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.;
• South Saunders Street between Lake Wheeler Road and South Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
• South Street between South Saunders Street and Wilmington Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
• The left lane of Wilmington Street between South Street and Edenton Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
• The left lane of Edenton Street between Wilmington Street and Salisbury Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
• Salisbury Street from Edenton Street to Hillsborough Street from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.;
• Hillsborough Street from Salisbury Street to Meredith College from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
• House Creek Greenway Trail from Meredith College to the Art Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and,
• Fayetteville Street from Morgan Street to Lenoir Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

They lock that gate sometimes so have a Plan B if you do this.

ETA:  Ben & Jerry's is directly across Hillsborough from Meredith.  If you bought something and were a customer...

Edited by jmkizer 2013-05-30 12:20 PM

We live right by Meredith, so the family would be walking over. We've been going to Meredith once a week for guitar lessons for the last 3 years and have never found that gate by Wade/Faircloth to be locked - but it would be just our luck it would be locked this year.

I had to attend a school production for my little one today in Apex. I took the long way over lunch from Apex to Raleigh, via 55/Sunset Lake/Optimist Farm/Lake Wheeler. I think I saw a pro on the bike course...

5-mile markers are taped on the road. Looks like the 45-mile aid station is right at an uphill at West Lake Elementary. That is a perfect spot for a handoff if you need it. I'm not sure where the 34-mile one is, but I think it'll be on Avent Ferry just before Highway 55. That's the one I'm planning to hit.

Also, drove in on Hillsborough Street, and the Ironman crew was out on their Kawasaki Mule putting down run markers.

Fayetteville Street is closed off close to the Marriott...lots of tents and such going up.

See y'all at registration tomorrow; I'll be there noon to 6 helping out. Rest up and hydrate.

Bill

Hey gang-
I have a connection with the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, and just got the inside line on an interview with the N&O. Look for a profile in Tim Stevens' column in the N&O sometime over the weekend. He might mention me in there somewhere. I tried to make us look normal.

hmmm. seems like it would be nearly impossible to convince people that someone who gets up before sunrise to get in hours long workouts, wears spandex, obsesses about carbon fiber, wears a funny looking alien helmet, shaves his legs, and thinks that running AFTER biking is fun is "normal." looking forward to reading the article.

75 this morning. My linear Excel trend (Louiskie) predicts 76.05 Saturday and 76.4 Sunday.

I wonder, does WTC have a thermometer that will measure in 0.1 degree increments or just single digit increments?

Well, their restriction is 76.1, so I figure they have to know where that 0.1 is.