Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon (Page 15)

Has anyone got any information for spectators? I heard this was a spectator-friendly course but it really does not appear to be that way...

Baby shampoo is a fantastic anti-fog, and is tear free, which is important for goggles. The only thing I have used that is better is Cat Crap, but I found Johnson's Baby Shampoo to be easier to deal with.

Sharpie is great for many things, including body marking. Don't forget a roll of electrical tape. Some other things that are going to get added to my list are:

1) Extra Goggle Straps
2) Wetsuit
3) Wetsuit Repair Glue
4) Body Glide
5) PAM (cooking spray)
6) Bike Tools
7) Tubular repair CO2

Don't forget to pack food for your family and toys for the kids. A car DVD player is always helpful as well for the kiddies.

If I missed anything else that should be on the list, please let me know. The list is meant to be printed landscape.

Edited by tjtryon 2009-07-30 10:48 PM

Oh, another very important one (at least to me) is a pace bracelet for the run (you can also print one for the bike I guess). Pace bracelets can be printed here:

http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/PaceBandCreator.cfm

I print mine, cut it out, and put it in between a layer of clear packing tape. Laminated that way, it will survive a swim, or tape it to the handle bars of your bike, so you can put it on before the run.





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paceband example.jpg (8KB - 25 downloads)

Awesome awesome job to everyone!!!  That was one hell of a race.  The swim was a piece of cake and I did my best time ever of 40 minutes - which I know isn't blazing but for me its definitely good.  I thought I was going to die on the bike fighting those hellacious headwinds.  I did fine with them until I hit the southbound 18+ mile leg of Blue Star Hwy.  At one point I looked at my Garmin and saw I was doing about 12 mph and the thought that went through my head  "I don't f'ing care"  my legs were on fire and all I wanted was for it to be over.  I actually finished the bike in better shape than I thought considering that I had a flat at around the 15 mile mark.  Good thing that I practiced changing tubes before I came.

T2 was probably the worst change I've ever had - and again, I didn't really care at that point.  I just took my time, hit the porta-potty, stretched a bit, downed a GU and walked to the run start grabbed a water and then started running.  Legs actually felt pretty good (they were sooooo glad to be off the bike!!!) until I hit the first hill.  Me and everyone else around me walked up the thing.  After that it went pretty well - my breathing was fine the entire time, it was just my legs at the end that were like lead.  As soon as I hit mile 12 though I vowed not to stop and I picked up the pace as fast as I could and sprinted across the finish line.  Man did that feel good.

So anyway, I definitately have a new-found appreciation for anyone who does this.  I'm not sure at this point if I'll try the full IM.  Sue told me I should give it a while before making that decision - right now,  I can't see myself doing that, but in a month, maybe I'll feel differently.

Cheryl and Eric, I was glad to see you both at the swim start - was nice to see some friendly faces.
Brad was good to run into you downtown and at the expo.
Nickster - good to meet you too.
Trixie...I looked for you but didn't see you anywhere - missed you girl!!!

Wish I could have met the rest of you - maybe we need to organize another non-tri or just skip that and have a party!!

Hey!

I'm sorry I didn't catch up with most of you!  I saw McFuzz and Bambam (fortunately NOT in the penalty tent!) and ran into FreshJive a couple times ...

I had a good day! The swim was awesome!  I had a great time out in the water!  The bike was good (windy on the way in) and well ... the run was tough.  My guts weren't happy for the first 1/2 and then my hamstrings conveniently cramped for the second half.  I finished strong though - which was the important part! 

It was a good day, long, but good.  I don't know about another one ... I'll have think about it for a bit...

I know one thing on this list that would have been just as important as goggles... That would have been a flashlight this morning. Dang it was dark, and never even thought twice about it. Chalk that one up to experience.

Andy is cool. I have a man crush on him. Man crushes are OK. I have been saying for weeks that he would win.

Edited by tjtryon 2009-08-02 9:16 AM

Hope everyone hated every minute of had as much fun as I did! It was great meeting up with a few of you. Hopefully next time we can spend some time getting to know everyone more.

I really had a blast the last 18 miles on the bike! Looking down at the Garmin and reading 7 mph is a real kick in the teeth.

Trixie - I used the slingshot technique you told me about. I love it. Works great!

Looking forward to reading everyones race reports!

I resemble that remark.

My swim was great at 33 minutes, 2 minutes ahead of my plan.  The bike i was shooting for 3 hours, and was around 43 second over.  So far so good.  The run was a nightmare.  Both my knees were killing me the whole way and I was getting some cramps towards the end.  As I approached the finishing shoot, a younger woman passed me which didn't bother me at all, except for some woman in the crowd saying to me in a snide voice "you're going to let a GIRL beat you?"  I muttered under my breath "you can kiss my A$$" and the woman that passed me overheard.  She gave me permission to punch the woman that made the comment but I didn't take her up on it.

Walking my bike back to the car, a couple of athlete were in front of me and one dropped a water bottle.  She looked at it for a few moments as if deciding if it was worth bending over to pick it up.  We all laughed and then the guy also dropped a water bottle and it rolled and landed at MY feet.   We all looked at the bottle and I managed to pick it up, although it made me feel about 90 years old.

That is exactly how I'd sum up yesterdays race... Need to put together a different training plan for next years triathlon season..

Agreed. I was originally going to do IMLou next year, but I think I'm going to sign up for about 4 HIMs.

i haven't decided if i'm going to do another HIM next year.  That will take some careful thought.

The first one is the hardest. Now you know where you are at for training, where your strengths and weakness are, and what you need to do to get where you want to go.

Go for it!

After last year I said I would never do Steelhead again. I had a blast this year. However, I still have some issues with the course and the race logistics. I don't know if I will do it again but I know I want to keep that option open. I hope everyone had a great race and had fun.

I don't know about doing it again.  I loved the swim and the bike course was challenging.  I'm glad the run course was fairly flat because I didn't have as much left as I thought I would. 

What I found (and I've only ever done small town races) is that most of the athletes were WAY hard-core and there wasn't the "friendliness" that I've come to expect from the triathlon community.  I go and have fun and enjoy myself - it's an experience and I love being out there and experiencing it all.  Maybe I'm just not competitive enough....

So I'm thinking maybe next year I'll do the Ottawa 113 instead.  But we'll see.  Benton Harbor is GORGEOUS and the KOA was a really nice campground.

I have to say, in my experience this weekend, that I disagree. I met some really friendly people throughout the weekend, from sharing a table at the Expo, to helping me get all my stuff packed up and back to the car. Some of the conversations I had on the run course were great, too. There is something that 18 miles on the Blue Star, in those strong headwinds does to bring together the tired, sore, empty souls of everyone afterwards.

Great group of people. And I got to meet some nice BTers as well, including Kevin Stanley and Bam Bam.

My thoughts exactly. Everyone I talked to, on the course and off were great. Whether it was running with people, words of encouragment as I got passed on the bike, or several hands reaching out to help me up the step of the pavilion after the race. Everyone seemed great to me. Sorry you had a different experience.

Hey, it was nice chatting with you this weekend, sorry we never got a chance to meet up.

Are official results up online yet?

This user's post has been ignored.

Yep, these were up last night:

http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=11537

You can not get to them from the Event's website, but you can get them from the timing company's website.

So, last night, I put on my compression tights before bed, and have been wearing them all day today as well, and I really have to admit, they do make recovery MUCH quicker. I got them after a surgery last year from the hospital - they are the white, very thick, very tight, pantyhose or tights looking socks that you can get from a medical supply for about $40. Mine go from my toes to my, um, well they go all the way up.

If you have never used compression socks or compression tights, they are the bomb. I highly recommend them to anyone. As I said, mine are geared towards medical use, but they are fantastic.

Anyone else wearing compression tights right now?

Those, and my CryoCuff for my knee, are KEY tools for me for recovery from any race.

Edited by tjtryon 2009-08-02 6:41 PM