Ironman North American Championship Mont-Tremblant : Official Thread (Page 3)

one more thing about bags...

When I finished last year, it was after dark and the winds were kicking up a bit, so I was getting pretty cold. As I was sitting down and eating from the 'buffet' after finishing, one of the volunteers went to get my morning bag for me (it wasn't just for me, there were a bunch of volunteers getting morning clothes bags for the athletes....we were all sweating/some stage of still being wet with sweat and it was getting breezy and cold...not a good mix). I had a long sleeve shirt in my morning bag and I was SO happy to put that dry shirt on. I think I had a dry hat in my bag too. In any case, depending on your sweat rate, what time you plan to finish, etc...it might make sense to think of your morning clothes bag as a dry clothes finish line bag as well. There isn't a changing tent, but putting on a dry hat and long sleeve shirt made all the difference for me.

If you have any other questions, please let know.

Thank you both, this is super helpful. I didn't realize that even my helmet and cycling shoes would not be with my bike. Do we get to go to our bikes in the morning? I will want to pump my tires and maybe tape some gels to the frame. I assume that's fairly common. And do we fill the gear bags the day before? I can't imagine filling up 5 different bags the morning of the race, but I suppose it's doable.

Thanks again for the guidance here. I think my training will get me fit enough to take on the IM distance, so the last thing I want is to have a logistical snafu screw up my race. The thought of a flat tire or broken chain literally keeps me up at night.

You're allowed bike access to inflate tires, put on bike computer, nutrition & bottles, etc. As has been said, everything else (shoes, helmet, socks, etc) go in the T1 bag. It's probably a little quicker to run with your shoes rather than put them on, but that's a personal choice.

Less than 5 weeks now!

You get your bags when you check-in, so you have a couple of days to get things ready.

you drop off your bike - your swim to bike and bike to run bags on Saturday by 4pm.

Transition usually opens about 5am - you drop off your special needs bags at this time as well and get your bike ready with bottle, nutrition, etc....

After the swim do I put my wetsuit/goggles/cap in the green/morning bag? Also, do they have wetsuit strippers? That was one of my favorite parts of the Timberman race.

When you get to the swim start you will strap on your wetsuit and put the clothes you wore to the beach in your green morning clothes bag. There will be a clearly identified area to drop this bag with volunteers. This bag will be available to you at the finish so you have some dry clothes after finish.
Yes there are wetsuit strippers who will help you pull off the suit and hand it to you to carry to T1. When you get to T1, you will grab your blue (bike) bag, take your bike gear out of the blue bag and put it on. You will then collect your used swim gear and wetsuit off the ground (or if you are lucky a volunteer will help you gather your gear) and stuff it in the blue bag. Drop off the blue bag with the volunteers on the way out of the tent, and they will make sure it gets back where it needs to be so you can pick it up after you finish.
When you get to T2, you will grab your red (run) bag, take off your bike gear ( usually you can leave your shoes clipped in on the bike if you want), toss on any run togs you have including shoes, maybe socks, visor and so on, and you (and hopefully a volunteer) will stuff your bike gear back into the red bag. You will drop the bag off as you exit to the run start and it will be available after you finish.
Its a pretty simple system, just remember Blue Bike, Red Run when you are loading them up.
My wife thinks the funniest thing about IM races is watching me perseverate over the contents of the red and blue bags for the 48 hours before turning them in. Lots of folks have checklists they use to make sure they don't forget anything. The blue/red bags need to be taken to transition on Saturday when you check in the bike. You will have access to them and your bike in the AM race day when transition opens.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the input on the bags, I've got my list for each going. Just wondering if the run course is lit after dark or should I plan on a headlight in the run special needs bag in the case that I end up out there longer than planned?

Part of the run course is lit, but if you think you'll finish after dark, I would suggest that you pack a headlamp to be safe. I can't remember what time I finished the old rail track part on loop 2 last year, but it was getting dark pretty fast and there are some lights on that portion, but a headlamp would be a good idea.

Another question on the gear bag extravaganza. If I'm doing well on the bike course (and using the aid stations) I assume I don't have to stop at 56 miles and check my bike special needs bag, right? Can I just whiz through?

Absolutely. A lot of folks (including me) don't bother with bike SN bag. I've never found much use for it and when I used to pack one I rarely stopped for the bag. Others feel safer putting a spare tube or extra CO2 cartridge in the bag - even if they dont stop to pick it up they get the warm fuzzies knowing it's available if needed. Just remember, if you don't pick it up, it's gone. Chance of retrieving it is small unless you enjoy dumpster diving.

Just remember if you dont stop to pick it up or don't pack one, move to the left as you go through special needs stop to avoid getting tangled with those stopping to reload.

Hope that helps.

BTW, bib list is up!

Number 2019 here!

Bonne chance a tous!

Athlete guide is up:

http://cms.ironman.com/sitecore/shell/Controls/Rich%20Text%20Editor...

The one difference I noticed from last year is that they're providing Gatorade on the bike/run courses, not Perform.

Interesting its Gatorade and not Gatorade endurance. Plan your sodium intake accordingly!

Big discussion on that other site about this. All the Canada events are only using regular G. Could be a disaster for those not prepared!

Hey All,

Just jumping in here, haven't been on the site in a while. I'm racing and figured it would be nice to know as many people as possible. About 5/6 people I know are racing, so I figured i'd like to know as many people on the run and who to cheer on!

Let's hope we have cooler temps than LP on Sunday! 72 with no humidity and no wind would be just about right!

I had friends at LP - they said it was the HOTTEST weather they ever raced in. OMG Pray for cooler temps for us!

It got hot in the sun for a bit at LP, and was humid in the morning more than hot. As a spectator, it seemed to be great racing weather (to me) Until about 3PM when the sun came out way more. The long term forecast for IMMT is pretty good (you know, 2+ weeks out, so it's reliable)

Bib 303 for me! Hoping for a KQ - very detailed nutrition plan this time around - kind of winged it two years ago at IMMT and missed Kona by 7 seconds.

1214 Here, going for a PR, feeling strong, a few more big"ish" workouts but body is starting to feel good.. trying to eat better.

Getting close to race day everyone!! I wish you all luck and I wish I could be back there racing this year.

Last year we had very nice temps (68-73) with a water temp of 71. It did rain but it was a very soft rain and did not last too long. Hoping for cooler temps for everyone.

I'm #2282. Starting to get very nervous/excited for my first IM!

Goofy question -- it is OK to do a full clothing change in the changing tent, yeah? I'm going to be out there a while and would prefer comfier clothes than my tri suit. I was sure it was OK but there's nothing in the athlete guide that I could see.

Perfectly fine - many folks do this for comfort over speed. Do whatever is going to make you happy - it's a long day and comfort is definitely important.

totally recommend full change for bike and run. makes it way more comfortable with a few extra minutes lost in transition.

remember to generously pre-lube your bike shorts pad before putting it in the bag for drop-off. This way if you forget, it's already lubed.