Raleigh half? (Page 17)

Normal? Whats that?

I worked at registration from 11:30-4 today. Lots of energy down there! Didn't see Laura Bennett, but had my eyes open for her!

Great deal (IMHO) on a backpack w/Ironman 70.3 Raleigh logo...$59.95. Athlete tee w/all entrant names on it in the shape of M-dot 70.3 is $26 or so. Water bottles $5.95.

The official word I got, from Judy at the WTC desk, is that you can lay out your gear in T1 AND T2, unlike what the athlete guide said. Sounds like there will be some bike support in T1, but pumps might be scarce.

Three bags; green for morning clothes, blue to put bike gear in pre-race, and swim gear in post-swim, red to put run gear in pre-race. No word on if your bike gear has to go in the red bag before you depart T2, but I highly doubt that's required.

Confirmed the last wave (or waves) will be wetsuit waves if it's not legal. Water temp was 75 this morning at 8am per Corps of Engineers.

T2 is almost set up, just have a few cars to tow.

That's all I can think of for now. Hydrate and carb up tonight!

Got my packet this afternoon. The IM shop has stuff at surprisingly reasonable prices. I'm not buying anything until I finish though. Afraid of the bad karma.

Did my last short ride this morning. the "10" mile marker taped on the road is now reduced to a "U". All the rest of it is gone, but I imagine they'll fix that by Sunday. Turn arrows to get you to Pea Ridge Road are still there.

Good luck to all!

I got mine this evening, too. I cut out of work early and the only issue I ran into was finding parking. I couldn't go into the deck because of the car top carrier, and all street spots were taken. Drove about 1/2 mile away and found one finally. I'm planning to take the cartop thing off for Sunday, so I will have more parking choices.

Other than that, everything was easy as a pie. I did not make the talk. Did anyone go to that? Any good info?

My bike spot is in one corner of the one of the blocked off lots. Should be easy to find so long as I enter the right lot!!! Does anyone know if we'll be properly directed to the right lot? I know when I"m in race mode, I won't want to read signs telling me to go here or there depending on my race number.

I am bib 1111. How cool is that?

Bill I went to college with Laura. She was a Reback at the time. Very nice girl back then as I am sure she still is.

Pumps will be scarce in T1???? I have latex in and will have to top off prior to start. No pumps is no good.

I can't imagine 2500 pumps. Got a mini pump you can take?

picked up my packet. im pretty sure ill pack my wetsuit, just in case. i assume that it goes in the green morning bag if i dont use it on the swim? anyone mind confirming that for me?

i keep imagining that the bus ride to jordan lake will be exactly like the helicopter scene from predator (except maybe just a bit more p.c.).

its going to be a hot one out there, ladies and gents. good luck and godspeed.....unless you have an orange swim cap.

Yep unused wetsuit in green morning clothes bag. If you use it, in blue bike bag.

great, thanks, fgump. i just missed you at registration. i ducked out of work early but had to drive in from durham.

is there a secret phrase i can say, like in fight club, so that i know you are someone from BT? i know the secret sign for a fellow slowtwitcher is a raised middle finger.

I'm going to be wearing my bright green retro Trakkers kit. I'll look like Godzilla. Or maybe that Gekko from the Geiko commercials. Anyone need a quote on car insurance?

My chip does not have my 1111 race number on it. Does that matter? Ooooh, I hope fgump accidentally got my chip. bwahahahaha!

Carol,
Pros were the only ones whose chips didn't match their bib. Way to go!



You're good. Chuck Norris approves.

i watched how they did the chips... they are blank and they assign whatever number they want to a chip with a laptop.

went to the meeting...

KEY ITEMS:

NO shoes attached to bikes [i guess to many people wiping themselves out or others]

2 LOOPS at the museum.

Once you reach the top of the killer hill from hell after the bridge and make that right turn [the fork in the path next to the water fountain] to go to the museum you begin a double loop of, if memory serves, is the BLUE loop. You will see when you make that right turn the 6 mile marker then 50m down the path is the 7 mi marker.

time for the fun to begin. happy racing everyone.

Edited by bullyboy 2013-05-31 8:57 PM

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This user's post has been ignored.

Thanks for that intel bullyboy. I could not figure out where they were getting the distance as I came up short when I ran the posted route. Oh that's going to suck too.

Thanks for all the great info everyone! Heading in from Camden out by the east coast of NC today. Hitting registration and then out to the lake. Would be nice to have a pump available tomorrow morning!

Yes, thanks very much for this little tidbit. I did a race once that had an extra loop like that, and in the heat of the moment, I skipped it so ran short. I had to DQ myself. They had volunteers directing, but even so, it was confusing, and when I'm in race mode, I don't think so good. Hope they make it real easy!

I just stopped and got a travel size pump with a gauge and regular and presta valve options to throw in my bag. I'm #1388 if anyone needs to borrow it tomorrow. They were telling folks to deflate their tires today because they had a few pop with the heat. Didn't want to have to stand in line with 2700 people trying to fill up my tires tomorrow.

Yes - the 2 loops at the top of the museum was a new one for me. It doesn't mention that ANYWHERE!

Have fun and stay hydrated!

If I'm not there and you need the pump, feel free to dig in my green bag and get it

I also deflated my tires to avoid popping. I packed a travel bike frame pump (no gauge). I'm #1111. I might use yours instead since it does have a guage, so thanks! They also said if you bring a pump too large for bag, you can mark it clearly with your number, and they'll transport it back.

Good luck all. Going to be epic!

I also have a mini pump. #1805.

Last question everyone: anyone know where the green bag goes in the morning? Leave it in transition or is there another drop place?

It would be nice to have access to my bag after they close transition because my wave doesn't go til 8:05 or so.

Also, I'm packing a couple extra tubes in case I get out there in the morning and find my tires flat (given my flat history at races, this would not be surprising). So if anyone discovers they need a spare tube or a pump, again, #1805

Oh man. The last thing I need is to get there and have popped tires from the heat. Fortunately, I didn't have them fully inflated and they are only a few months old. I saw a bunch of people pumping theirs up before taking them into T2 for the drop-off. Hope it works out ok.

I'm going to bring a few spare tubes as well.

Not even going to bother with the wetsuit. And I might count on the kindness of strangers for a bike pump.

#870 here.

After doing 10 years of these things, this is the first time I've had concerns about even finishing. If I can gut it out to the halfway point of the run I should be gold.

Couple thoughts as I sit here in Charlotte recovering:

- Very well run inaugural event. Volunteers in particular were outstanding!
- Confusing info on wetsuit. On Saturday night I heard the lake temps were up to 79 degrees and the race would not be wetsuit legal so I left my wetsuit in the car only to see people with them on Sunday morning. Ultimately my mistake since I should have brought it just in case. Good swim practice even if my times were slower.
- Enjoyed the bike course. Frankly not as difficult as I thought it would be.
- Run course was tougher than expected. We were warned about those hills around the museum but in my head I dismissed them somewhat (how hilly can Raleigh be?). Lesson learned!
- Bummed about developing a really painful "stitch" in my side three different times. Haven't experienced that particular problem in a few years and certainly wasn't expecting it today. I worked it out each time but it really slowed me down. Otherwise I felt surprisingly strong despite the museum hills and my run time could have been much better.
- It was certainly warm out there, but it could have been worse given the initial forecasts. I think the aid stations did a great job prepping for a hot race.

Overall a really solid event even if my finishing time was a little disappointing. Hope all the BT'ers out there had a good race.

Edited by Patrick E 2013-06-02 4:41 PM

Same thoughts on the wet suit back and forth, but I resolved to go without the wetsuit and accept the challenge. I figured I would make up a little of the time I lost on the swim in transition! Bike course was a blast and not too bad. Some good hills, but everything seemed to equal out with the race back down the hills for me...I rarely get to go 35mph out here in flat Camden. Improved on my last HIM bike time, but almost wiped out on a big one when the guy in front of me lost a water bottle...phew. The run was BRUTAL and my slowest to date. The only thing I was focused on was keeping my core cool. Walked every station, lots of ice and sponges. The hills at the museum were crazy and looping twice was something else. Anyway, all that made the Ironman experience worth it as you don't accidentally finish these events! Broke 6 hours and absolutely had a blast. Congrats to all you finishers! Great job BT'ers!