Does anyone know the likelihood that the water will be too warm for a wetsuit? For example, has anyone raced it in the past? Were you able to wear a wetsuit? I doubt it will be too hot, but wanted to check.
Thanks for the warning on the crowded bike course @Chris Ciannella ! That is a bit disappointing to hear, because I'm a slower swimmer and a faster biker. Hopefully I can find plenty of room to pass people....
Fyi..a friend just told me that parking is very confusing . All the feeder parking lots look the same. They suggested taking a photo of where your car is. She rode around on her bike for one hour after the race looking for the correct lot.
Last year was wetsuit optional, which was a discussion right up to just before the start. 2015 was a wetsuit year and usually is a wetsuit swim I believe.
It it is a fast course, I love the bike but the run can be dull at times (but still relatively flat)
I must confess I don't have the mojo like I have had in prior years. My training has been so-so. Swimming is my strength and that has been on fire - I think my form has never been better and if I don't PR my swim, I'll be disappointed.
My big concern is bike endurance, power is fine. I've only been doing 1 big outdoor ride a week. My indoor wednesday morning rides have been exceedling difficult all summer - not sure why either. Once I get on the trainer, I feel like I'm climbing Everest and have to quickly reduce my power to 80-90% - it saps what little mojo I have. Hoping to get 2 outdoor long rides in this weekend - I'll feel a lot more confident if i can pull that off and still feel good after
My runs have been OK, running 2-3x a week. Longest run has been 10 miles. Hoping I can do 11-12 miles tomorrow morning.
Hows everyone else doing? Not much longer!
Where is everyone staying? I'm at the Baymont Hotel off of Stevensville Rd.
I had a pretty big training weekend. On Saturday it was pretty stormy outside so I rode my trainer for 2.5 hours then went outside and ran 6.5 miles - rain stopped, but the heat and humidity was just brutal. On Sunday, I got outside and rode 40 miles. My NP was in the high 160s and my HR was low 130's - didn't have much in the legs from Saturday's big effort, but overall felt pretty good.
Didn't do anything today - I usually take Monday's off.
Hey team, thanks for the updates and info! Thanks @Yvette Metz for the tip on parking and the link to past race results & temps! Thanks for the info @Dawn Cass . Sorry about the delayed reply @Chris Ciannella , but thanks for the training updates (I've been reading them in my inbox & wanting to reply, but haven't gotten around to it yet. So much training!). My training is going well, thanks. I've been a little short here and there this month because I was traveling. But I did get an extra big volume week this week. My legs were feeling thrashed yesterday on a crawl up to the gym to do some PT exercises. I moved my final RR from Saturday to Sunday since my hip was a bit sore (old imbalance injury, that is kept in check with regular PT). I was traveling a lot in July, so I had to do a lot of time on indoor spin bikes at gyms . But I did get some nice ocean swims in Florida and some beautiful trail runs in Michigan's UP and Storrs, CT (UCONN).
I'm chronically shorting the swim, but usually get close to the prescribed 8000-9000 yards for my intermediate program. That is probably why swim is my worst event. My outdoor swims are SO much slower than my pool swims (~1:50-2 min / 100 yards outdoor vs. 1:31 for 1000 yards indoors). My wetsuit is from 2010, so I think it might be a little too tight. I bought a sleeveless wetsuit and I'm going to try that on today & if it fits well, take it for an OW swim today.
My world got turned upside down when my bike shop found a chunk out of the chainstay of my TT bike. I'm trying to get it to a carbon repair guy who can do it by 8/13 so I can have it back for Steelhead. I have to do my final RR on my road bike . (It is a nice bike, but so much slower than being on a TT bike).
I'm not sure where I'm staying. I live in Grand Rapids, MI, so if worst comes to worst, I can drive down morning of event.
Still figuring out what top I'm going to wear under my wetsuit too (way behind schedule!).
But I am excited. I was very pleased with how well my body handled the large training volume this week!
@Larry Peters - that is not good news. I wish you well.
Good week - swam 5,700 yards, ran just over 15 (missed a run) and biked 56. Yesterday's RR went well - encountered very strong headwinds on the last 20 miles of the bike, it sucked! More importanly, I was happy with my run. I pushed the run with an average HR of 151, which is not sustainable during the race. My target HR for the first 6 mils of the run on race day will be between 140-145.
I was up at the Warren Dunes this past Monday (7/31) and if my water temp indicator is accurate, Steelhead may or may not be wetsuit legal. Water temps ranged from 76-82, it was a bath tub and great for swimming.
Woah, thanks for the warnings @Chris Cianella and @Jeremy Behler ! I hope it is wetsuit legal, but I guess we'll see. I was swimming in Petosky this weekend and the water was comfortable without a wetsuit. But I was also comfortable in a sleeveless wetsuit (not too hot). But that is a lot further north.
@Chris Cianella, Nice job on the race rehearsal & thanks for the well wishes! My final race rehearsal was pretty painful. My quads and tricepts were murdered from the previous week's big volume push (I did a bunch of make up swimming on Saturday and the RR on Sunday and did some make-up biking on Monday-Wednesday). My Tri-bike is being repaired, so I was riding my road bike. I was shocked at how exhausted my arms were holding myself up in the drops of my road bike (trying to be more aero). So the bike was a disaster. I was in zone 1/2 pretty much the whole time. The good news is that I rode the "tunnel of trees" north of Petosky and that is a beautiful stretch of road that many people travel to drive, motorcycle or bike. It was my first time there. I was surprised and happy that my run off the bike was decent despite how poorly my legs performed on the bike (probably in part because I was biking so easy).
Enjoy the taper everyone! I'll be in Boulder, CO for a wedding this weekend and I am sad that I won't be able to go out for some monster workouts in the mountains... .
Does IM Steelhead provide any suggested hotels or hotel discounts for athletes? I'm probably to late to get them even if they did.
I just booked a room at the Redroof inn. I was waiting because I thought of driving the 1.5 hours down from my house on race morning, but I decided that was a bad idea.
I am probably up for a team dinner @Chris Ciannella , but my sister and my Dad will be with me. My sister is flying in from Texas!
I guess I should also consider the fact that @Coach Patrick 's race week podcast suggests getting extra food at lunch and not going out to dinner so you can spend more time relaxing (and avoid the crowds).
Race specific question: The rules say you have to stop at stop signs & obey all traffic laws. I understand these are open roads, so I see why they say that. But they also say: "Athletes must obey all traffic laws while on the cycling course unless otherwise specifically directed by an official, race monitor or designee with actual authority." So I'm wondering how often athletes actually have to come to a complete stop on the bike course (like a stop sign). Or are there typically officials that wave you past them? Thanks!
Comments
Yes, I am racing it. It will be my first 70.3.
-(Larry) Rob
Thanks!
-Rob
http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/steelhead/race-info/faqs.aspx#CrsSwim2
I'm racing too. Will be my 4th time at Steelhead. Bike course gets a bit crowded so be careful.
I'm sure it will be a wetsuit legal swim
Check this out
http://realendurance.com/event.php?a=T1152#weather-summary
It it is a fast course, I love the bike but the run can be dull at times (but still relatively flat)
I must confess I don't have the mojo like I have had in prior years. My training has been so-so. Swimming is my strength and that has been on fire - I think my form has never been better and if I don't PR my swim, I'll be disappointed.
My big concern is bike endurance, power is fine. I've only been doing 1 big outdoor ride a week. My indoor wednesday morning rides have been exceedling difficult all summer - not sure why either. Once I get on the trainer, I feel like I'm climbing Everest and have to quickly reduce my power to 80-90% - it saps what little mojo I have. Hoping to get 2 outdoor long rides in this weekend - I'll feel a lot more confident if i can pull that off and still feel good after
My runs have been OK, running 2-3x a week. Longest run has been 10 miles. Hoping I can do 11-12 miles tomorrow morning.
Hows everyone else doing? Not much longer!
Where is everyone staying? I'm at the Baymont Hotel off of Stevensville Rd.
Got my run in yesterday, 12 miles in 2 hours. I'm a turtle! Then I spent the rest of the day in tropical like humidity at a golf outing.
Only swam 1,000 yards today - I'm just beat
Big day tomorrow! I'm afraid I wont be fully recovered to an effective dry run
Cheers
Chris
How's everyone's training going?
I had a pretty big training weekend. On Saturday it was pretty stormy outside so I rode my trainer for 2.5 hours then went outside and ran 6.5 miles - rain stopped, but the heat and humidity was just brutal. On Sunday, I got outside and rode 40 miles. My NP was in the high 160s and my HR was low 130's - didn't have much in the legs from Saturday's big effort, but overall felt pretty good.
Didn't do anything today - I usually take Monday's off.
Last big week before we taper!
I'm chronically shorting the swim, but usually get close to the prescribed 8000-9000 yards for my intermediate program. That is probably why swim is my worst event. My outdoor swims are SO much slower than my pool swims (~1:50-2 min / 100 yards outdoor vs. 1:31 for 1000 yards indoors). My wetsuit is from 2010, so I think it might be a little too tight. I bought a sleeveless wetsuit and I'm going to try that on today & if it fits well, take it for an OW swim today.
My world got turned upside down when my bike shop found a chunk out of the chainstay of my TT bike. I'm trying to get it to a carbon repair guy who can do it by 8/13 so I can have it back for Steelhead. I have to do my final RR on my road bike
I'm not sure where I'm staying. I live in Grand Rapids, MI, so if worst comes to worst, I can drive down morning of event.
Still figuring out what top I'm going to wear under my wetsuit too (way behind schedule!).
But I am excited. I was very pleased with how well my body handled the large training volume this week!
I'll look for you at Steelhead!
989-245-0333
Feel free to text or call.
@Larry Peters - that is not good news. I wish you well.
Good week - swam 5,700 yards, ran just over 15 (missed a run) and biked 56. Yesterday's RR went well - encountered very strong headwinds on the last 20 miles of the bike, it sucked! More importanly, I was happy with my run. I pushed the run with an average HR of 151, which is not sustainable during the race. My target HR for the first 6 mils of the run on race day will be between 140-145.
My two favorite weeks before the race - taper!
Have a good week!
I was up at the Warren Dunes this past Monday (7/31) and if my water temp indicator is accurate, Steelhead may or may not be wetsuit legal. Water temps ranged from 76-82, it was a bath tub and great for swimming.
Carry on....
I raced Steelhead last year and it was not wetsuit legal for the first time in it's 14 year history IIRC.
@Chris Cianella, Nice job on the race rehearsal & thanks for the well wishes! My final race rehearsal was pretty painful. My quads and tricepts were murdered from the previous week's big volume push (I did a bunch of make up swimming on Saturday and the RR on Sunday and did some make-up biking on Monday-Wednesday). My Tri-bike is being repaired, so I was riding my road bike. I was shocked at how exhausted my arms were holding myself up in the drops of my road bike (trying to be more aero). So the bike was a disaster. I was in zone 1/2 pretty much the whole time. The good news is that I rode the "tunnel of trees" north of Petosky and that is a beautiful stretch of road that many people travel to drive, motorcycle or bike. It was my first time there. I was surprised and happy that my run off the bike was decent despite how poorly my legs performed on the bike (probably in part because I was biking so easy).
Enjoy the taper everyone! I'll be in Boulder, CO for a wedding this weekend and I am sad that I won't be able to go out for some monster workouts in the mountains...
Does IM Steelhead provide any suggested hotels or hotel discounts for athletes? I'm probably to late to get them even if they did.
Thanks!
(Larry) Rob
I'm at the Baymont Inn, which is at I-94 and Red Arrow Highway, which is about 20 minutes south of Jean Klock Park.
We should plan on meeting race morning or even a team dinner the evening before.....
I guess I should also consider the fact that @Coach Patrick 's race week podcast suggests getting extra food at lunch and not going out to dinner so you can spend more time relaxing (and avoid the crowds).
Maybe a team late lunch or early dinner?