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Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done?
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| General Discussion | Triathlon Talk » Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? | Rss Feed  |
 2014-06-30 8:27 PM |
Member 1487    Scottsdale, AZ |  Subject: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done?Starting the planning for an IM in my future...and looking at all options! The easy choice would be doing IMAZ. I live 20 minutes away from Tempe and am more than familiar with the race course. That being said, I think racing in Tempe is getting a bit boring. Every Tri I've done in the last 5 years has been in Tempe, and in Tempe Town Lake (yuck). There are other tri options in Arizona. Flagstaff has Half, OLY and sprint options, along with Show Low as well. But, the only IM is in Tempe and that is my big goal. The process of traveling to an IM seems a bit daunting (and expensive) so I'd love to hear experiences, stories, tips, things to do, things to avoid, and any helpful advice you have or wish you knew. Also, I'd also love to hear approx travel costs - I know it will vary GREATLY with location, where you stay, how long you were there, but just trying to get an estimate/idea. Thanks so much! |
| 2014-06-30 10:26 PM in reply to: runspingirl |
643 | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? My only suggestion would be to mark the hell out of your bike and take a lot of pictures on how it was before hand. When you put it back together make sure you get in a good 5-10 min ride to make sure things are where they should be. I did a 30 sec round around the parking lot and thought things were good. During the race, I could tell my aero bars were not where they should be and I instantly had back issues. Didn't affect my race too much though. |
| 2014-06-30 11:02 PM in reply to: 0 |
Veteran 2297 Great White North | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? |
| 2014-07-01 6:12 AM in reply to: runspingirl |
| 1159 | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? Originally posted by runspingirl Starting the planning for an IM in my future...and looking at all options! The easy choice would be doing IMAZ. I live 20 minutes away from Tempe and am more than familiar with the race course. That being said, I think racing in Tempe is getting a bit boring. Every Tri I've done in the last 5 years has been in Tempe, and in Tempe Town Lake (yuck). There are other tri options in Arizona. Flagstaff has Half, OLY and sprint options, along with Show Low as well. But, the only IM is in Tempe and that is my big goal. The process of traveling to an IM seems a bit daunting (and expensive) so I'd love to hear experiences, stories, tips, things to do, things to avoid, and any helpful advice you have or wish you knew. Also, I'd also love to hear approx travel costs - I know it will vary GREATLY with location, where you stay, how long you were there, but just trying to get an estimate/idea. Thanks so much! I'm doing my first IM in chattanooga this year and somethign to consider, if you are willing to stay a bit further away from the race start you can probably get cheaper accomodations - but its all dependant - a bunch of us are renting a cabin just over the border in GA at the campground that has a kitchen - and it was about 50% what a hotel would have cost during the race - sure, we have to go a bit further to get to the race (but its still only like 8 miles) are you going to drive or fly? possibly the sooner you look at booking the better - I also set up travel alerts on thigns like orbitz, so I get heads up if there are cheap fares (flew to Hawaii for a wedding a few years back, my trip was $400 round trip from Washington DC) |
| 2014-07-01 11:09 AM in reply to: 0 |
Extreme Veteran 1986 Cypress, TX | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? I actually do more travel races than local races. My races since 2012 (local races bolded): Texas 70.3 Syracuse 70.3 IMAZ Texas 70.3 Local Sprint IMC IMFL IMC in 3+ weeks IMMT in 6+ weeks My tips:
Edited by GMAN 19030 2014-07-01 11:10 AM |
| 2014-07-01 11:31 AM in reply to: runspingirl |
Veteran 421 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? I've traveled for a few races. I flew with my bike to Austin. I had a local bike shop put it together for me and was able to do a test ride the day before the race. That being said, I prefer not to have to take my bike apart if possible and it's obviously more expensive to pay for assembly and baggage fees, so since then, I've either done local races or ones that are drivable. I drove 11 hrs to OH for Cedar Point and recently 7 hrs to MD for Eagleman. Not super fun being stuck in the car for that long, but it made packing a lot easier! One piece of advice is to find out whether the host hotel is worth it or not. Thus far, in my experience, it's not. At Cedar Point, I stayed at the Breakers as it was the host hotel and close to the start. What I didn't realize was that I still had to drive back and forth to transition (I was under the impression it was going to be walkable) and my room was a dump, but they charged a lot for it. For Eagleman, I refused to pay the almost $400/night for the host hotel there and stayed at a Best Western that was 30 minutes away for only around $150/night and it worked out great. Also, on the subject of hotels, wherever you plan to stay, book early! Things tend to fill up fast when there's a big race. |
| 2014-07-01 11:50 AM in reply to: 0 |
Pro 6520 Bellingham, WA | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? When looking for new tri's to do I first look within a one day drive radius. It is a lot easier and cheaper if you can drive. I would think you are within a day's drive of quite a few races. One of the most important things I've learned with combining travel to a race and a little bit of vacation is to schedule the race in the first part of the stay. You will drive your family crazy if you don't because you will spend all your time fretting about the race. Best to get there a day or two before, take care of business, and then relax.
Edited by popsracer 2014-07-01 11:50 AM |
| 2014-07-01 1:48 PM in reply to: runspingirl |
Master 2855 Kailua, Hawaii | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? to me, it's super fun and exciting to travel to a race, although it is expensive. for an IM, I like to get there early enough to 'acclimatize" to the local scene...and try out portions of the swim, bike, and run courses where necessary. so that means like tuesday arrival, and stay about a week. I find that at least 2 days is needed to recuperate after the race before heading home. Cutting cost is not easy, but taking time to research the area and find the best possible deal on airfare, accommodation, and rental car. If you can find someone that is racing, to share the accommodation & possibly rental car, would be a great way to save money. Sometimes a deal pkg works, from expedia or orbitz for example. VRBO or similar for accommodations. Check Yelp and TripAdvisor for comments. Getting a place with a kitchen is key, you can potentially save money eating in, but more important, you can eat when & what you want, and avoid getting sick eating at restaurants. NOT staying at the host hotel, or a short drive away can save a bundle. Building those airline miles for a free or reduced fare ticket can be a good savings too. as for bike fees, that can be expensive, especially if you have multiple flights. For example I paid about $600 in bike fees going to Australia. |
| 2014-07-01 3:19 PM in reply to: metafizx |
Veteran 930 Morgan Hill, California | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? I second the option of Tri Bike Transport. I just did CdA and used TBT. That made things a lot easier logistically. When looking at costs of taking your bike with you, you have to factor in both the cost of putting your bike on the plane, plus the cost of getting your bike and box/bag from the airport to the hotel. When I did Arizona, that was easy, as the hotel I stayed at had a free shuttle big enough to take my box. At CdA, I rented a car, and bringing my bike would have meant renting a much more expensive minivan. Using TBT made that so much easier, and all told, was cheaper. |
| 2014-07-01 5:50 PM in reply to: kmac1346 |
| Master 5557 , California | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? One thing I do now that's helpful: tape a note card into my bike box, with my bike's torque specs written on it. |
| 2014-07-02 12:18 PM in reply to: spudone |
Member 388 Miami | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? It will be about $1,000 more expensive than a local race. a. Flight tickets b. Hotel: As some said in previous posts, you can save some money by not staying a little bit further way from the venue. In IMTX my hotel was 4 miles away from the Ironman Village and I didn’t experience any inconvenience. c. Bike Transport: I am also a big fan of TriBike Transport. I am doing IM Barcelona in October and TriBike transport does not go there, so I have to fly with my bike and I am terrified with disassembling, assembling, will the bike make it in one piece?, etc. d. Rent a car e. Other: Food, items you need last minute that you may have forgotten at home, etc. I did my first IM away from home and I had no regrets. It fit better with my schedule and it was great to race in a different place. |
| 2014-07-02 3:04 PM in reply to: runspingirl |
| 81 Red Deer, Alberta | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? Everyone's experience is different. I'm honestly terrified of taking my baby (bike) apart, and living where I live in Canada Tri Bike Transport is not an option (the closest drop point is 8 hours away in Minneapolis). So last year my husband & I road tripped to Mont Tremblant. It was a 3 day (each way) drive - yes, that means two weeks vacation, fortunately we both had enough. We chose to camp - we enjoy it, and it's less expensive; total cost of the travel portion itself was way less than two plane tickets. Plus we got to explore several cool places in Canada we'd never seen before - we live in a huge country with some awesome history! Mont Tremblant itself was quite expensive, but we loved our hotel/condo, and being right in the pedestrian village was cool. Having our own vehicle was great for checking out the bike course, buying groceries, etc. We had so much fun we're doing it all over again this year - including the road trip.  |
| 2014-07-02 3:30 PM in reply to: lepfan72 |
Alpharetta, Georgia Bronze member | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? Lots of great tips here! As for costs, here are my experiences. I've driven to 2 Ironmans (12 hours each way for both) and flown to 1. Miles on your own car = no cost upfront but depends on how you feel about that I kind of prefer driving to flying, but if Tri Bike Transport were in my area I might have a different opinion. It was a hassle for me flying alone to haul a bike box plus my luggage in and out of airports.
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| 2014-07-02 8:08 PM in reply to: lisac957 |
| Member 1487 Scottsdale, AZ | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? wow, such great information here and so helpful! So I'm not opposed to driving quite a long way and making an adventure of it. We do road trips with the kids all the time so they are used to it! Plus we have a minivan so can haul a LOT of stuff :-)! Side question to all those that road tripped...did you find that sitting for so long in the car hindered your training or race in any way. I guess if you get there early enough you have time to be up and about, but that is a LONG time to be sitting for multiple days. I know you can get out frequently and stretch. Did you work in some training on the way there? Just curious, thanks! |
| 2014-07-03 7:08 AM in reply to: runspingirl |
Extreme Veteran 1986 Cypress, TX | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? I drove to IMFL the first time I did it in 2010. It was about an 11 hour drive. The drive there was fine. The drive back two days after the race was just pure torture. I flew there last year. |
| 2014-07-03 9:47 AM in reply to: runspingirl |
| Alpharetta, Georgia Bronze member | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? Ideally you'll be tapering when you drive to the race, so no worries about needing to get in any training. If anything, you could do a "shake it out" jog at a rest stop or hotel if you're doing a multi-day road trip. On the way there, we've just plowed through the 12 hours of driving with a planned longer stop for lunch about halfway through. I didn't notice any effect from sitting in the car that long - we had a blast! |
| 2014-07-03 10:49 AM in reply to: runspingirl |
Veteran 421 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? I'll also add to the people who have mentioned that driving down wasn't a big deal. I went to my IM alone, so I had to drive myself back as well. I stayed at the site that night, then planned a stop in Niagara Falls on the way back since that helped break up the drive into more manageable sections. I was lucky enough to have my BF go to Eagelman with me last month, so he drove me back from that. You'll still be a bit sore, but it's definitely nicer to have a chauffeur! |
| 2014-07-03 11:17 AM in reply to: runspingirl |
| 81 Red Deer, Alberta | Subject: RE: Traveling to an IM, what you did, wish you knew before, wish you would have done? For our multi-day road trip, I was able to run or swim a little depending on where we stopped. We got to the race 4 days early so I was able to bike a little once we were there. For the trip home, we stopped every few hours to stretch our legs, but we also didn't leave until the Tuesday after the race. This year will be the same, although our trip home this year will have to be a little faster (family wedding on the Saturday after the race!) |
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