Race Rehearsal in Arizona this Saturday (10/26)

Wolf Gottschalk

Hey EN Teammates!

Very excited to be heading out to AZ for the final race rehearsal this weekend and psyched to meet up with fellow IMAZ'ers!

Thought I'd throw this thread out to see check in on people coming, logistics of the ride and questions, and Saturday post ride.

ROLL CALL: Sound off if you're going to be there on Saturday for the ride. Let's get a head count (and group picture)!

LOGISTICS AND QUESTIONS: What time does the ride start? More specifically, does anyone want to ride together or is this more of a "see you at the start" and then ride separately. I know that it's a race rehearsal and people will go at their own pace, etc, but it seems that quite a few of us might be pretty closely grouped. Do we want to meet up prior to the start? If yes, where and when? Group picture might be in the dark, but that's what they have flash photography for.  Does the ride start somewhere where you can setup a "transition"?  Can you run directly from where you end the ride, or do you need to drive somewhere to then do the run? I'd like to run the IM course (or at least a chunk of it). Is that possible with minimal delay coming off the conclusion of the bike?

OTHER QUESTIONS: I'm staying at the Hyatt Place (1413 W. Rio Salado Pkwy.). Is this fairly close to the ride start? I was going to drive the car to the ride start so that I could also stash my run gear in the car (again, assuming that I can "transition" where I parked at the end of the ride). How are others going to do this? I'm coming in Friday afternoon and wanted to try and still get the swim workout in. Is there a pool close by where I could pay an entrance fee and swim?

SATURDAY POST RIDE: Anyone want to meet up after the workout, either that afternoon or evening? I was planning on doing a little recon in the afternoon, checking out the hotel at which I'll be staying for the race and the local digs, bike shop, etc. No plans, though, in the evening and was going to grab some beers and dinner somewhere (anyone have recommendations?).

Hope everyone has rocked their testing and workouts this week!

Wolf

mayarab

I will be riding this Saturday. Sunrise is at 6:41 and the temps are supposed to get up to 90, so starting right after it's light would be preferred (I don't do riding in the dark). The gas station at the corner of Beeline Highway and McDowell is a popular place to park for people riding the Beeline. The loop is about 22 miles long. It's about 8 miles from Tempe Town Lake Park to the gas station (10 miles from Hyatt Place) - so people can take their pick on routes - multiple loops of just the Beeline or add the section to/from the lake for some flat riding (more traffic and lights to deal with though). I'm the turtle in the group, so I expect I'll be riding mostly solo and will wave as you fly by.

You could run right from the gas station parking lot, but it wouldn't be ideal. It's a 10-15 minute drive to the Marina (mile 7 and 20 of the race course). There's good, free parking and bathrooms there and it's easy to get to. The one hill on the course is less than 1/2 mile from the parking lot, so you can get a feel for what that's like if you run just the north side of the lake park of the course. The south side is basically flat and a lot more people during the day to maneuver around.

We're staying in Tempe for the night and our favorite eatery in the area is the Thirsty Lion in Tempe Marketplace. They have great food and drink, good prices and comfortable atmosphere. They are having a costume contest Saturday night, which could be entertaining.

Betsy can probably suggest pool options. I only swim open water in the Phoenix area.

Tribe Multisport on Indian School Road in Scottsdale is my favorite store. I believe they will be having their annual pre-Ironman event on Friday afternoon before the athlete dinner. I won a set of race wheels last year in their raffle.

Al Truscott

I'm a *little* bit jealous of the folks doing their RR in the AZ heat this weekend. But since we're having an extended dry spell here in the Pac NW - no rain for a couple of weeks, and none forecast into forseeable future - and when I checked last minute fares, it would be > $500 for the trip, I decided its OK to put on the leg warmers and jacket, and go for it here. Not sure what day yet, some time next week, maybe as soon as Tues.

david ware

Last year the organized ride started at TriSports in Tempe. Have not heard from the. This year. There was an email last year with info... Betsy or Rian have you seen anything? I parked in the garage there and changed (t2) at the car.

mayarab

The website for the group doing the supported ride has no details on it. Trisports store in Tempe no longer exists. The good news is there is no football game at the college this week-end, so riding by the stadium is less of a challenge, but there is still a lot of traffic in the area to deal with. I normally need to reload my fluids every 2 hours, but if the temps are going to higher it will have to be more often than that, so if the support isn't out there I have to shorten my distance between trips to car. There is another option on the north side of the lake, off of Curry, that would be right on the run course but takes out some of the congested riding on Rio Salado. There's a park on the corner of College Avenue and Curry Road. Curry Road goes all the way to McClintock (bike course).

Scott Alexander

Posted By Patricia McQuade on 24 Oct 2013 09:01 AM


  Trisports store in Tempe no longer exists.  

Well, THAT was a quick demise!

david ware

I knew TriSports was closed but thought the ride would still start there. Betsy: do you have Tim's email? I think he was the one that set this up. (Typing this on the runway at PHX waiting for gate to open) ;<)

Wolf Gottschalk

Made it into Tempe with bike intact (so far...need to unpack it and see what didn't stay cinched down). Sent an email to the POC (Tim Bolen?) real early this morning for the ride tomorrow, followed by a phone call and another email after I landed at the airport. I don't have any details/instructions, etc for tomorrow's ride. The website says "TBD" and "details coming soon". Anyone in the Haus have info on where to go, what time, etc?

Going to try and go find a pool now to swim and get in a quick run before it gets dark. Excited for tomorrow!

Wolf

david ware

I am going to try to be at the garage sort of behind Monti's at about 5:45. There is a tent at Mill and Rio Salado that should be stocked with supplies. There was an aid tent at the gas station at the start of Beeline and another just before the turn around. I only used the one at Beeline. After the ride I went back to the car changed, went to the tent to refill liquid for the run. I ran a loop around the lake ending up at the tent. I will bike in EN bike jersey on a white Kestrel. I think Betsy also has a Kestrel? I will run in my EN singlet. I can be reached at (314)814-5545. .

mayarab

Spoke to Betsy earlier this evening. Since the supported ride is only providing Gatorade and Water, I will be starting my ride at the gas station at the beginning of the Beeline so I can use my car as an aid station to refill with Perform every loop. Want to do my RR based on the drink I will be using during the race and my bike only carries 2 hours max of fluids. Plan to start around 6:30 because I don't have lights on my race bike. Will be wearing my EN singlet and riding a blue/black Specialized. Hopefully we will connect over the course of the 6 hour ride. Not sure if I'll be running after the ride - didn't get to do a long run this week, so might be doing that Sunday morning on the course. Phone 619-851-7509.

Wolf Gottschalk

Tim gave me a call a little while ago, and essentially communicated what you guys already know about this ride.

There are 3 aid stations setup: at the start (corner of Mill and Rio Salado), at the gas station at McDowell and Beeline, and at the turnaround of Shea Blvd and Beeline. He said that there are numerous places along Beeline (e.g. gas stations, Circle K) to take a "bio break" when needed. There is one Sag vehicle cruising the route to support as well. He also said that you can bring your bottles (bundled and/or marked with your name) to the aid station at the start and leave them in the coolers they have available and then just grab them every time you pass by.

The hotel I'm staying at is only 1.2 miles from the start of the ride. I'm going to just ride to the start instead of putting the bike in the car and driving over there. After the ride, I'm going to do a quick shot back to my hotel, grab my run gear and then run back over to the ride start to run some of the race route around the lake. I'll be riding/running in the EN tri singlet. Riding a white Cervelo P3 with FLO disc in the rear. I was going to start the ride at 6:30a since I won't be riding with lights either. My cell number is: 571-437-4354.

I didn't get a chance to do the long run on Thursday, so I was going to do it on Sunday morning instead before I catch my flight back home.

Looking forward to seeing you guys tomorrow!

mayarab

For those in AZ for the race rehearsal, my husband and I will be headed out shortly (around 5:00) for dinner at the Thirsty Lion in Tempe Marketplace (corner of Rio Salado and McClintock). Anyone's welcome to join us to commiserate about the challenging ride today. Give me a call at 619-851-7509 if you want to join us. Good food and drink options, reasonable pricing, friendly atmosphere.

Betsy, hope you are able to get your shifter fixed so you make another go at the race rehearsal.
Wolf, hope you got your tire fixed to hold air for the 3rd loop.

For those who were not in AZ today, the Beeline Highway was brutal, particularly on tires. Lots of people practicing their flat repair skills. The wind was blowing the wrong direction all morning and it was plenty warm. Temps should be much better by 11/17.

Betsy Kantor

Yes it was a long challenging day. I did not have any flats out on the Beeline-though several of my local friends did, Walt had two and Dave four (so he txted me). My gear shifter to the rear derailleur snapped off as I rolled up to the registration tent at 0600. Hmmmm not good. Tough it out. The chain was stuck on largest chain wheel in back. The front derailleur worked so I had 2gears-1 and 11. It was OK out to and up the Beeline but just sucked for the 11mi trip coming down-just spun out, coasted. The joule didn't even register my crazy cadence. So at the turnaround I rode out to Tribe multisport, an 8 mi round trip. They couldn't fix it-no shift set in stock and it's a several hour job. But, they manually shifted with pliers the rear chain to mid cassette. That saved the ride. I did my other two loops in 2gears again- but 5 and 15 gave me some power going down beeline and I shifted back and forth on the flat and incline. I was pleased with my moving time per joule overall so barring any disaster race day, I feel on target for time goal. My Vi was 1.1 which might explain why legs felt tired on the run. Came home and cleaned me and bike up as one of my other shops had the shifter set so I will have it back wed. As Pat said, it was crazy windy. Just expect it then you won't be upset as it almost always is!