Early Season 70.3 Race Selection
I've been going back and forth on this question in my mind so thought i would throw it out to the team for any input.
I’m planning on doing Coeur d’Alene in 2013 as my A race. Coach Rich suggested putting in an early season HIM to have something else to focus on along the way. Looking at the calendar and my schedule, I’m considering 70.3 Galveston on April 7th, or New Orleans 70.3 on April 21st . I believe either race would fit into my IM plan building toward CDA. I realize I would be rolling the dice a bit with New Orleans given the swim was cancelled the last couple years, but it does look like they changed the swim location to be bit further inland. Does anyone have any feedback in terms of the pluses and minuses associated with either race?
) I’d like to take run at qualifying for Vegas in 2013 so that is also a factor I’m considering when it comes to race selection. Any help/guidance would be great.
Comments
I have not heard anything negative about Galveston, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some strong opinions. Hopefully others with direct experience on the two courses will chime in.
Texas (Galveston) - 4/7
NOLA - 4/21
St. George - 5/4
Florida - 5/19
I'd mention Oceanside, but it's completely sold out (including foundation slots). There is also San Juan, St. Croix and Hawaii in that time period, but assuming you have some limit to your budget. Of the races mentioned, I think St. George will be a beautiful but challenging race, NOLA has a bad rap, I think FL is pretty ho-hum (hell, I'm from there and racing in Orlando doesn't get me particularly excited), and I don't know much about Texas.
Now, if it doesn't have to be a 70.3 (thus no Vegas slots as downside), there are a lot of other great races you could. Off the top of my head theres Rev3 Knoxville and of course the legendary Wildflower, both on May 5th.
It's admittedly in the middle of nowhere, but if I had to pick, my vote would be for Wildflower. That is a race everyone owes themselves to experience at some point.
To be fair - I never have actually done the NOLA race because of the swim cancellation issues. The threat of a swim cancellation was probable the two times I registered for the race so I bailed at the last minute both times. I wasn't about to drive 5 1/2 hours to do a half-assed duathlon.
They changed the swim venue to a supposedly protected marina which they say will protect the swim from all the previous problems. I will believe it when I see it. They also took all the character out of the race when they moved the finish line away from the French Quarter and out to the Univ. of New Orleans. That really rubbed a lot of us the wrong way.
The race has a real, real bad history. I think in its five year history it has only been a full 70.3 two times and one of those "full" years they should have cancelled the swim but didn't. The race is cursed.
I have done Galveston (Texas 70.3) four times with number five coming next year. It's a really good race. Salt water swim in a somehwat protected bayou off Galveston Bay. It's not a fast swim despite being in salt water and wetsuit legal. The water is generally a little choppy which slows things down. The bike is really, really flat but it's really, really windy. It's basically 28 miles out and 28 miles back. Prevailing winds that time of the year come from some southerly direction so the first half of the bike is usually in a headwind/crosswind combo and the way back in a tailwind/crosswind. The first half of the bike destroys a lot of people because they race like idiots and try to stay at some predetermined speed number despite the headwinds. A power meter is an incredible tool on that course. The run is flat but it's usually a very warm and humid day for that time of year. Every year I've done it saw temps near the mid-80's and the humidity is off the charts since it's an island.
Qualifying at Galveston is not easy since it brings in a pretty strong AG field and ends up being a pretty fast course. I think Mark's biggest issues coming from Colorado will be the heat and humidity. That would also apply to the NOLA race. It's hard for people from the colder climates to come down to Texas in April and deal with 85 degrees and 80% humidity.
@Joe – Thanks for the response!
Thanks Stephanie! I’m from Parker, so it's nice to meet a fellow Coloradoan! I’m going to sign up for St. George as soon as I get a chance. For some reason I thought it was sold out, so I was pretty psyched to learn that it’s still open because it works out great on several fronts. Plus it’s logistically fairly close and I’ve heard the swim is on the cold side so that should be a good practice prior to CDA
Mark - The timing of St G also is good. It gives you time to recover from the HIM and still get your long RR rides in at the end of May and early June for CDA. In the wiki there is a post about inserting a HIM race into your IM training plan. You may want to check it out. I followed the guidance this past summer when I raced Racine HIM and then IMWI 8 weeks later. It worked well.
Thanks, Bruce. I'm locked and loaded with St. George having registered last night. Putting this race 6 or so weeks out from IM is about as close as i dare to go. I will for sure check out the wiki post you referenced. Thanks much!
Make sure you hit up Carl N, he did St. George last year and can give you some pointers on the course (I have heard its the same bike, only 1 loop). Good luck with the wind and hills man!!!
Ebe, thanks for letting me know about Carl. I'll reach out to him for some recon as we get closer. Yeah, i've heard about the bike course. it should be interesting. And by interesting i mean hard as hell!