Race Week Meet-ups
1. So it appears that about half of us are arriving on or before Wednesday of race week. Our training schedule has a bike recon ride scheduled for Thursday, so for those that are interested in getting together, we meet at the intersection of Sherman and Northwest Blvd (in front of the CdA Resort) at 8:00am and we can ride the first out and back along the north side of the lake which is also the run course. The ride is about 18 miles round trip and will allow you to shake the bike out and see the run course at the same time. I will point out and describe run special needs (at the library) and bike special needs (at the turn around).
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  Course Recon:Ride up to, but no more than 30 miles of the bike course. Drive out to where the critical section(s) is located in your car, then get to riding. Note that you must ride at goal race effort/watts. Be very careful to not blow your energy. The goal here is to get an understanding of how effort/watts of X feels on this particular hill; how fast you can take the corner here, etc. This all goes into your memory banks for race day! Coach Notes: Recon Ride of Critical Sections of Bike Course, CUT SHORT if you are fatigued or course not conducive/safe for recon. |
2. Thursday Night at 5:30 is the team dinner at Cricketts at 424 Sherman. The Halibut and chips is excellent!
3. Then on Friday there is a swim of the course scheduled in our plans. Lets meet at the flag pole out on the point at 8:00am, get a swim in and then get a group photo with Coach Rich and Riley the dog. I can describe the course if the bouys are not yet out there.
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 Recon Swim at Race VenueSwim no more than 30' total. Count strokes, focus on form, practice head lift, get your navigation markers, and think happy, confident, and smoooooth thoughts! Do at race start time to note environmental variables such as position of the sun, likely temperature, etc. |
4. The Four Keys Talk is at 10:30 at the Couer d'Alene Resort with Coach Rich. Register here if you haven't yet.
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Comments
Thanks for organizing this! I recommend you do a course recon on 95 vs the first out and back outside of town. That 95 stretch has the longer climbs and it would be a good opportunity for people to get their minds right, dial in their effort, etc.
Also, for a run recon, I'd drive out to Anthony's, restaurant near the start of the hill at the far end, park near there and just run up that hill to the turn around and back to the car. Again, just an opportunity to get your mind right about the climb on the run.
I'll cover all of this in my pre-race talk. Thanks!
Rich- my thinking on the race recons was that the first out and back would not only allow folks to shake down their bikes, but would also allow them to see all of the run course as well as both of the special needs drops without putting too much effort two days before the race. The Hwy 95 section is 38 miles of climbing and decending on a busy highway shoulder. More chance of fubar. Also since the recommended Thursday ride is 90 minutes, we wouldn't be able to get the whole loop in anyways. I thought folks would be better served wrapping their heads around the Hwy 95 out and back from the comfort of their rental cars. But, if you want us to ride the South loop I will set it up.
My thought looking at the course elevation/map was that I would drive to the start of the first long uphill on 93 (about 18 miles into the ride), go up and down the other side, go to the top of the next uphill, then flip it and go back to my car. That would get me all of what appear to be the six key "climbs" in a very efficient 18 miles. which I think it would be 60-90 minutes? I would plan to start that at the time I anticipate hitting mile 74 of the bike (i.e., the second loop) Haven't figured that time out yet, but we;re probably talking around 12:30?
My biggest concerns about bike courses are always the downhills, as I have gotten quite apprehensive about them as I get older and frailer. I like to get reassured that the downhill is not going to be a wrestling match with my brakes or a shimmy dance with my front end. I know I can climb anything without difficulty, very steady. It's the downhills I need to get comfortable with.
Not surprisingly, I also agree 100% with Rich about the run section as well. When I raced there 2011, I did it at the time I would hit that climb during the FIRST loop. I was pleasantly surprised to learn how much shade there was in that section at that time of day which allowed me a glass half full feeling going into the race. Which also made it al little easier to accept the loss of the shade along the FLAT levee that we were giving up to get those hills.
http://www.tribiketransport.com/services/reservations?action=shops&event_id=a0HA000000BfkTrMAJ
Downhills are my main concern too. And one uphill.
On the first part of the second part of each loop there is a part where the car separation is very poor. Bike speed is slow due to going uphill but cars are still going 40-50 mph 1-4 feet from you.
On the last part of the second part of each loop ( nearish end of each loop), is the most ridiculous part of the course. Fastest part of the course with a one lane passing zone. On the shoulder if memory serves. This was very borderline.
Fixed last year? Fixed for this year?
@Steve -- best to recon the run course by running it, and you can run just that short section (up the hill to turn around and back to your car) and see the only really beefy part of the run course, using your feet vs your bike.
I hear you on the hwy 93 section. But many people have never done a ~1-1.5mi climb at 4-6% so would be good to ride it, as perspective. I'm talking about the first climb, which I think is the longest one? I don't think it's necessary to ride the entire out and back, as it's that first hill which is the longest up and the fastest going down, if that make sense. So someone could just do 30' or, 30' back done...though I recommend driving all the way out the turn around and stopping at that gas station to get fireworks...because no Ironman is complete without buying a car load of fireworks...
@ Rich: That gas station is like a fabulous crazy time warp/parallel universe We walk in all sweaty thinking about our FTP and hydration and folks are walking out with 12 cases of cigs and a rack of beer. We size each other up and determine the other is crazy. We're both right. And everyone is genuinely NICE to one another. They could bottle that mojo and sell it to the rest of the world, IMO.
Just firming up my calendar. This is what I have including the official events. Input, corrections, updates?
Thursday: 08:00AM - EN Bike recon ride, Sherman and Northwest Blvd (is route still TBD?)
Thursday: 10:00AM – 5:00PM - Check In Option #1
Thursday: 05:30PM - EN Team dinner at Cricketts at 424 Sherman
Thursday: 02:00PM - Athlete Briefing Option #1
Friday: 08:00AM - EN Swim, meet at flag pole
Friday: 10:00AM – 5:00PM - Check In Option #2
Friday: 10:30AM - EN Four Keys Talk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort
Friday: 11:00AM - Athlete Briefing Option #2
Friday: 01:00PM - Athlete Briefing Option #2
Friday: 07:00PM - Athlete Welcome Ceremony
Saturday: 10:00AM – 3:00PM – Mandatory Athlete Bike & Gear Check-In City Park
Saturday: 02:00PM – Athlete Briefing Option #4
Sunday: 04:30AM – Transition Opens
Sunday: 06:40AM – Age Group Start, EN Domination and Ninja Execution Reigns
Oh, Geez! - I guess I better read the Athlete's Guide, huh? Looks like a lotta changes to the normal IM routine. Let's see: no tent in the parking lot, no Friday night dinner, $25 voucher for 8 restaurants instead, athlete briefing at 4 different times, "Welcoming Ceremony" free for non-participants (which I assume is the usual pep talk and tear jerking videos, sponsor appreciation, youngest/oldest racers, etc.Mike Reilly Emcee'd hoopla).
For those who've never done wan IM, the Friday night "Welcoming Ceremony" is probably worth your time, especially since your family/friends can be there for free, instead of having to buy a $35 meal ticket. For others, dealer's choice.
Is there any thought to having a 2nd bike recon option on Thursday afternoon for those who are using Tribike Transport?
- David
Anyway...looking at the schedule above, maybe there's an opportunity for an EN bike course recon Friday afternoon?
Friday afternoon bike recon sounds good to me, I'm probably getting in Thurs later afternoon so have to miss that one. Mainly interested in the first major hill set.
Bill
Yes, exciting!
I could make a bike ride on Friday between the Four Keys and 3 PM. Since we'll all be there anyway would it make sense to just regroup and ride shortly after the talk?
There wasn't a dinner at Whistler last year either. The voucher thingy was easy. Honestly all 3x I was at Penticton the dinner was a total CF and very Sherpa UN-friendly. I'm sure other races did a better job but I personally did not miss it.
It's almost impossible to create a pre-race recon schedule that accommodates everyone. I apologize for that.
I am doing a bike recon on Thursday at 8:00am that covers the Run Course out to where Bike Special Needs will be set up. Coach Rich doesn't like it but...
. For those that get their bike from TBT in the afternoon, feel free to set something up Thursday PM or if Friday is better for those late comers then set that up. I will likely run the hill at the far end of the course after the Thursday AM bike. I will have my Tahoe there and can haul up to 7 others out there. I believe Al T is biking the Hwy 95 section Thursday early afternoon. I've personally had enough of logging trucks on Hwy 95 until race day. Swim is 8:00am Friday morning, along with a Team photo.
Thanks for organizing all of this! Can you consolidate everything and get that to Brenda, so she can consolidate it in her communications to the Team...unless that's already being done, dunno.
FYI, I'm bringing my bike and my wetsuit, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to swim on Friday. I need to get over to the resort to confirm things are being set up correctly for the 4k talk.
Rich- We beat you to it by about 3 hours!
Just called Cricketts in CdA and they have updated our reservation to 45 mouths. Reservation is under my name, if you get there early.
Anybody know if/where the IM CDA Webinar from June 11 is posted on the EN site? I missed it last night, due to ignorance of the time zone differences.
Here you go:
https://app.box.com/s/abzb1o4f11j68k4hu9uy
I did the webinar on Wed night, processed it and my Rev3 Dells webinar (last night) this morning, handing the download links off to Brenda today. She's doing the IMLP camp this weekend so she'll get it out more formally in a bit. But please use the link above in the meantime.
Thursday: Our bikes will be ready for pickup at 1. We could do recon just after. Say 1:30
or
Friday: After the 4 keys talk.
I prefer Thursday from a logistics stand point as we will already have our bikes there.
Judson - I *had* been planning on riding starting about noon on Thursday. But the current weather forecast is predicting a disturbance coming through at that time, with an 80% chance of rain from 9 AM thru 6 PM. If that actually plays out in the forecasts I see on Wed, I may switch to a Friday time for the recon, right after the 4 keys talk then the predicted precip is in the 5% range. Despite living in the Pac NW, I really don't like riding in the rain if I don't have to.