B2B 2013 registration (Page 2)

It usually sells out late  or very close to it the last couple of years...750 I think, The 1000 slots for the half are gone by late summer 

BigFatPanda,

I can understand your "fear" of the marathon at the end of the triathlon.  At IM Louisville in 2011, the run was my first marathon at that point.

If you have to, you can always walk the marathon.  It will take some pretty good mental toughness but I've done it twice.  Depending on your pace, it would take between 6-7 hours for the run(walk) alone.

Just something to think about.

Alan

I've done Louisville and B2B Half. I am also racing B2B full this year. I feel as though I can give you an honest, short assessment of both races.

Louisville (IMKY) can be HOT, humid, and quite overwhelming if you don't do well in the heat. It's also somewhat hilly. The swim is a not a wave start, it's staggered, and it's mostly with a slow current. The bike ride is somewhat hilly, but not too bad. It's through Horse country. It's beautiful. The run is flat, flat, flat and the crowd support is great. The race ends downtown and it's quite the sight! It ends in an area that is full of restaurants, pubs, and stores and is quite the atmosphere!

B2B is awesome. Not quite the crowd support as IMKY, but fun, fun, fun! The swim is fast, the bike is flat and fast, although there can be some wind at times, and run looks to be fairly flat. Support is great and once you finish, the atmosphere is fairly nice. Lots of vendor tents, food, drinks, and some family activities (my kids loved the bounce houses). 

Both are awesome races. IMO, B2B is a better planned race.

Signed up for the Half a couple of months ago. It will be m 2nd half so far (Did Poconos 70.3, which, I'm assuming/hoping, had more hills than B2B!)

Any recommendations on where to stay?

Thanks a ton,

Chris

I like the Best Western because it is not the host hotel but is only 1 block away.  It is also between the finish line and transition 2 (Convention Center).  Takes all the worry away for post race.  Also, the run course runs along the back (river side) side of the hotel.  Makes it easy for spectators/friends/family.

Chris, I started a thread a couple of months ago on B2B lodging asking the same questions, which led me to the Best Western as mentioned in the last post.  The Best Western is right next to the convention center and has some views of the finish.  That thread is also in the North Carolina forum and has some other suggestions if you do a search.

Scott

Thanks for all the help, jsut booked the Best Western for Friday and Saturday night!

Let the training commence!

Any goals for this course, any tips?

I'm trying hard to get around 5:15, with my only other Tri to date being Poconos with a time of 5:48 (37/2:59/2:04)!

Not totally familar with the Pocono course, but based on profile maps I would say 5:15 is a great goal. With another year of training and the difference in the course I can see you going 5:15.

If I were you, my goal for this race would be to set a HIM swim PR!!

I'm reallllllly hoping I can do that

My Poconocs Swim was my first OWS over 1/2 mile...Kind of freaked out, so I'm hoping everything I hear about this swim turns out to be true!

Now that I have the hotel booked, and my trip planned (Driving from NYC Thursday night, spending the night in Richmond with a friend, getting up around 6 Friday to finish the trip to Wilmington!), I'm getting so excited to start really training. Other than a marathon in May (1st one), this is pretty much the only race on my calendar!

Cheers,

Chris

How's the training going for everyone?

I'm just getting back into it after 2 weeks off with a couple breaks in my orbital bone (long story)...mostly trainer rides and a couple runs a week. Itching to get back into the pool but with the broken orbital, probably another 2 weeks or so.

Is the swim as nice/fast as everyone says it is? My only open water swim I've ever done was the Poconocs 70.3, and I'm trying to gauge if it's realistic to drop from 37:00 to 30:00. I started swimming a couple months before that race (Ended up doing back stroke a lot )...any takers?

Cheers, Happy training,

Chris

In my view swim is worth 8-10min on standard lake swims.

what?! wrong! I always swim that fast!

You can do anything you set your mind to...perfect first Iron Distence is B2B just the best for first timers

Thanks for the encouragement Ken.  I've been getting some great base training in.  Our first baby is due in 1 week though!  My plan is to wait and see how that changes life and make sure I can commit to a decent training plan.  If I shoot for it, B2B will definitely be the race I go for.