70.3 Austin

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a fan of the Austin 70.3.  It's just not that good of a race for a variety of reasons.

My personal opinions aside, it sounds like you have some good reasons to do the race.

As to your questions.  You only really need to be there the day before as you must pick up your packet and rack your bike the Saturday before the race.  That's it.

The race course is challenging.  The bike course is kind of hilly but not too bad.  The run course is pretty tough.  Not the toughest I have done but definitely a tough course.  Reason #1 why I don't like the event is the terrible road conditions on the bike course.  Be prepared for that.  The middle 30 miles is on some pretty rough roads.

There are no hotels near the race site (reason #2 why I don't like the event).  The closest hotels are next to the Austin airport about 6-7 miles from the race site.

There's not a lot your husband will be able to do at the race site because there's absolutely nothing close by.  Reason #3 why I don't like the event is because it's on the wrong side of Austin.  It's a darn shame the race isn't on the Lake Travis/west side of town.  This race does little to showcase the Austin tri/cycling scene.  Maybe there's a Waffle House and some meth labs in Manor but that's about it. 

Thanks so much the help! I was really excited about this race but now I am having doubts. I thought it would be 9 to 10 hours from my house to Austin but it is more like 6 1/2 (7) hours with stopping for food/bathroom breaks. 

I am worried about the course being too hilly both for the bike and the run. I live where it is mostly flat and to train for hills I have to go about an north or ride/run up and down the levees on the Mississippi River.

I did read on a review of the race that the roads are terrible. That worries me a bit. I don't have a super expensive bike but I don't want to damage the one I do have or have to change my tire during the race more than once (hopefully not at all)! 

My husband and I do have friends coming to cheer and support me from San Antonio but I don't want them waiting around all day. Maybe they could sneak off for a few hours to the nicer part of Austin. He loves Waffle House but he's not too into Meth 

Have you done the Augusta 70.3 by any chance? I am also considering that one but that is an 11 hour drive from me. I also have friends going to that race so I would have support but no free place to stop and rest if I need to on the way back.

I certainly don't mean to scare you away from the race completely.  Not my intention.  There's just some less than ideal issues with that race that can be avoided by a change in venue (road conditions, hotel distance, things to do).

The bike course isn't that bad.  It's not flat but it's not super hilly.  It's "challenging" but not overly so.  The big challenge on that bike course is dealing with the godawful roads.  I live in Texas and I'm used to riding on cruddy chip sealed roads but the roads on the Austin 70.3 course were at a whole different level of bad.  I wouldn't worry about stuff breaking on your bike but prepare for a teeth rattling ride for about 30 miles with some parts obviously worse than others.

The run course is a bit of a beast.  Race day temps can also be a concern as anything is possible in Texas in late-October.  I did the race in 2011 when it got to 90 degrees during the run.  It made a tough run that much tougher.  It was cold this past year.

The Augusta 70.3 is one of those races I'd like to do and is on my future hit list.

I had a friend who did it this past year and she said it was pretty cool. I was worried about the temp also. It gets crazy here in Louisiana also. I enjoy racing in cool/cold weather but I do not do well in the hot weather. I guess there is a chance of weather that you don't want in any race.

I think I am going to try Augusta this year. Either way it will be hard but with training I'll survive! Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!

Thanks for the Augusta recommendation. My husband said he had been there to visit a friend before and he said is was crap. Then again he wasn't racing so he doesn't really know how the race was. That is what was/is important to me. 

How was the course?

Be glad you didn't do the race in 2011 when it was literally 25 degrees warmer.

This is why I won't do Austin again.
Great RD, great time of year, lots of things right about this race. But the road conditions make it dangerous (IMO), which trumps pretty much everything else for me.

In addition to the bad conditions of the roads from about miles 15-45, the last 10 miles or so back to T2 are even more dangerous as your riding on a very busy road with about 5 feet of shoulder for the cyclists.  It made passing really, Really, REALLY difficult.  I was in one of the later waves and had a 2:30 bike split so I was doing all kinds of passing and that part was nerve-racking.  The irony (in an Alanis Morissette kind of way) was that was probably the best road conditions on the whole darn course.