Ironman Canada-Whistler advice thread from the veterans
I thought I'd write something up with advice and tidbits about the race and logistics and all that.
Getting to Whistler
I'm assuming most people will fly into Vancouver and drive up from there. For us Americans the customs line at the Vancouver airport was extremely long. I think it took me 90 minutes to get through. Oddly enough, there was a dedicated line for people flying in from China. They got through in minutes. So if you want to get through the customs line real fast I'd suggest flying to Beijing first and then flying to Vancouver.
Getting through Vancouver is a pain in the butt. The airport is on the south side of the city and Whistler is obviously north. You have to drive through Vancouver to get to the Sea-to-Sky Highway that goes to Whistler. It took over an hour to get out of Vancouver. Smooth sailing once you're on 99.
The drive to Whistler is spectacular. Soak it in.
ADVICE: Stop at a grocery store in Vancouver and get your supplies and groceries. There's not many grocery shopping options in Whistler. Just a couple of smaller markets that are expensive and without huge stock. There's also a Walmart in Squamish which is a town between Vancouver and Whistler.
Accommodations/Activities
I'm assuming everyone has made hotel or condo reservations by now. I stayed at the Hilton last year. This year I'm staying at the Pan-Pacific Whistler Village Centre. There's plenty of places to stay in the Village area. Prices are resort level but not super expensive and they don't seem to poach us during Ironman week (unlike Placid or Couer d'Alene).
There's plenty to do in the Village area. Lots of restaurants, shops, ice cream parlors, etc. I was there without my family last year. This year the family is coming with me. I didn't pay much attention to kid friendly activities last year but I need to check into that more this time around.
The Peak 2 Peak Gondola ride is a must do. Watching the mountain bikers come flying down the mountain was also fun.
Riding the course pre-race
Be very, very careful if you ride any of the course pre-race (especially the Pemberton to Whistler section). That part is hilly and twisty and turny in spots with minimal shoulder to ride on. Add in a constant stream of logging trucks and it was a little sketchy at times.
Race day is much better as most of the roads are closed to vehicular traffic.
Swimming the course pre-race
Alta Lake is open to the public so you can go and swim whenever. It's not like other IM venues that have an official pre-race swim because the lake is closed to the public (like IMAZ or IMTX).
There's not much parking so plan on parking up on the road leading to the lake and taking the short walk down.
The lake is about two miles from Whistler Village but it takes 15-20 minutes to drive there on the meandering roads.
Racking bike the day before
They will shuttle you and your bike down to T1/Alta Lake to drop off your bike the day before. Allow for time. It was almost a two hour process. The shuttles were at T2.
I don't think they allowed vehicles down there so driving yourself wasn't an option as I recall.
Official Athlete Dinner
There's no athlete dinner at Whistler. They gave us meal vouchers that could be used at many of the restaurants. This is a way better option, IMO. I don't do athlete dinners with 1500 other people so that was always lost on me. I'd much rather eat with friends and family than 1500 type-A stressed out folks. At least I get something out of the voucher deal.
Race Morning
Head over to T2 first. T2 is the large parking lot that's more or less at the corner of Blackcomb Way and Lorimer Road if you're looking at a map. Get your T2 stuff ready then hop on the shuttle down to the T1/Swim area. Once again... allow for time. No vehicle traffic allowed at T1/Swim area so you have to take the shuttle.
Swim
No vehicle traffic allowed in the lake area on race day so we had to shuttle in from T2/Whistler. That worked fine. Whistler has shuttling down to a science due to their experience with the Olympics in 2010.
Water temp was probably in the upper-60's and was pretty calm (late-August race date last year). It was a deep water, mass start about 150-200m from the shore. Two loops without a water exit between loops last year (which was probably a mistake because I'm sure there were people that cheated). Not sure if that will be different this year.
Lake was relatively clear so you could see people.
T1
The T1 area was way too small last year. Hopefully that will be rectified for this year.
Bike
Here is the elevation chart per my Garmin:
I had close to 6,500' of gain for the ride with over 2,000' the last 20 miles. It's not an easy bike course. Don't expect a PR bike ride here.
There are some stunning views to be seen on the bike course. Take a moment to soak it in.
T2
Nothing particular about it. It's in the parking lot previously mentioned.
Run
Not an easy run course either. Not brutal (like the Syracuse 70.3 run course) but there's enough uphill running to make it challenging but fair.
Here's the profile per my Garmin. I had about 1,300' of gain on the run course.
Post-race
Last year had the worst post-race food I have ever experienced at the 15 WTC events I have done. It was awful. Hopefully that has changed this year. A pizza pretzel was the featured item. Horrible.
I strongly recommend the Scandinave Spa for spa/massage/recovery the next day. It was awesome!
http://www.scandinave.com/en/whistler/
Let me know what other questions I can answer.
Comments
When you did the race last year (Whistler course) what did Garmin show as your total bike elevation gain?
Thanks!
The old accurate elevation thing is hard. gps not accurate. Ironman does not use consistent methods for all the races to get elevations on the bike maps. Etc.
i got 5320 ft on my gps last year.
i have done:: cda. old Canada. new Canada. texas. Regensburg. Arizona. Utah. tremblant.
New Canada definitely the hardest bike course.
Worse than CDA? I wish I didn't even ask! : )
question for those familiar with the course: what cassette is ideal? I currently ride with a 12-27 cassette . I am not a great climber, but not terrible either. However, with the gearing I have, I definitely cannot 'flatten out' hills. Would switching to a 11-28 be worth it and really make a difference?
Some may benefit from 11-32.
Does switching to a 11-28 cassette make sense with a 53/39 crank set?
Jan. What is your ftp and weight?
Regardless, if you have that poor gearing in the front, then definitely 11-32 in the back May need a new derailleur for this depending on what you have.
Robin, my rear derailleur is Ultegra. Current FTP is 230 . I am 5'10" and 145lbs.
Jan. So you are a pretty strong cyclist.
Regardless, everyone, compact on the front (50/34) and 11/28 on the back. My wife enjoyed compact on the front and 11/32 on the back.
if you have to keep the standard crank on the front, then must have 11/32 on the back.
There are some significant grinding hills and you will have problems otherwise.
So, Jan, check with your bike shop about changing the front or see if your rear derailleur can handle 11-32.
@Robin, thanks for the advice. I will certainly look into what is possible and how to keep it most cost effective.