Having never done IM TX; depends on your goals -- doing a cool race with a small town vibe IMCDA; shooting for a PR and not having to consider cold IMTX
I have a date for revenge on IMCDA in 2014, but want to do TX sometime.
Well, I'll be darn. I didn't even know Texas was still open. Texas is a great race, though I have to agree that the swim is slow, congested and in my experience, has a lot of contact because the swimmers tend to funnel. It was so hot that I had to hurl during the bike, and most of the run is a cooker. Still, if I can scrape together $650 before it closes, I might do it again. The Woodlands is a very nice venue.
I've done both of them 2X. I personally like IM Texas better and have signed up to do it a third time in 2013. Both are great races and race venues.
CdA is the typical IM small town that gets over run with the event. The whole town loves the race and comes out to support it. Typical pre race chatter is water temperature. Snow melt makes the water very very cold for the longest time. Magically every year the water warms to high 60s the day before and the race goes on . The water is very crowded and I have had panic attacks both races. If it's a little windy, the water can get choppy and it makes it hard to see. They have changed the bike course since I last did it. Roads and conditions are pretty good. Rolling but not difficult, IMO. The run has one big hill that you do twice and most people walk it up. It can be very demoralizing if you are in a bad spot mentally. Great fan support all over the course. The temperature varies from year. One year I did it, the temps were high 90s and very humid. Made for a tough day for a lot of folks.
IM Texas is outside Houston. Really nice downtown area of the Woodlands with lots of shops, places to eat and all kinds of hotels from top end to Motel 6 type stuff. Heat wise, temps both years have been mid to high 80s. Humidity is hardest for most I think. Probably 90%. I had sweat dripping off me all day long. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! There has always been chatter that it could be much, much hotter, and with that comes much windier. I haven't seen that yet. The swim is a one loop course in a man made lake. Typical IM swim. Chaos at the beginning, but the lake is wide enough that if you want to swim wide you can. Very warm, so no wetsuits if you want a Kona slot. I'm from Northern CA, so for me the bike course is flat. Locals think of it as a little hilly. Fun downtown take off then 100 miles of open space. Lots of the run area has only minor shade, so if you are running all afternoon, it can be tough. Three loop run course is fun, IMO. Great to run through the downtown section along the canal. To me the hardest issue with this course is that it is quite early for everyone outside the State, and the heat/humidity factor is hard to absorb if you are coming from the West Coast or spring on the East Coast. IM CdA gives you one mor month to prepare.
Joe, come do Texas with me. We might actually get to meet this time, unlike this past weekend. You already know how to roll in the heat.
FWIW, I did CDA this year. Although I enjoyed the race (with the exception of the swim, which was brutal), its not on my list as a repeat option, unlike the Ville which I will be doing again.
Comments
Having never done IM TX; depends on your goals -- doing a cool race with a small town vibe IMCDA; shooting for a PR and not having to consider cold IMTX
I have a date for revenge on IMCDA in 2014, but want to do TX sometime.
CdA is the typical IM small town that gets over run with the event. The whole town loves the race and comes out to support it. Typical pre race chatter is water temperature. Snow melt makes the water very very cold for the longest time. Magically every year the water warms to high 60s the day before and the race goes on
IM Texas is outside Houston. Really nice downtown area of the Woodlands with lots of shops, places to eat and all kinds of hotels from top end to Motel 6 type stuff. Heat wise, temps both years have been mid to high 80s. Humidity is hardest for most I think. Probably 90%. I had sweat dripping off me all day long. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! There has always been chatter that it could be much, much hotter, and with that comes much windier. I haven't seen that yet. The swim is a one loop course in a man made lake. Typical IM swim. Chaos at the beginning, but the lake is wide enough that if you want to swim wide you can. Very warm, so no wetsuits if you want a Kona slot. I'm from Northern CA, so for me the bike course is flat. Locals think of it as a little hilly. Fun downtown take off then 100 miles of open space. Lots of the run area has only minor shade, so if you are running all afternoon, it can be tough. Three loop run course is fun, IMO. Great to run through the downtown section along the canal. To me the hardest issue with this course is that it is quite early for everyone outside the State, and the heat/humidity factor is hard to absorb if you are coming from the West Coast or spring on the East Coast. IM CdA gives you one mor month to prepare.
FWIW, I did CDA this year. Although I enjoyed the race (with the exception of the swim, which was brutal), its not on my list as a repeat option, unlike the Ville which I will be doing again.
Thanks all for the feedback...I pulled the trigger on IMTX.........I'm not afraid of the heat....see you there Roy!
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