Need input on which tri to do-->

I am doing the trifreak one at the end of the July. My race next Saturday is actually the same course. I'd be more than happy to let you know how it went

I'm doing the TriFreak/Fed Escape one too!!!

Oooh!!! Good luck to you. I love the people at trifreak!

Still thinking....thanks for the comments so far, and yes ScotinSeattle, I'd love to hear how the course is. I don't need to decide for a few weeks. I have found a couple of discrepancies with the Sammamish tri--on their site they don't list the run distance, and have the swim as 800 yards.... while on a poster I saw for it, it says the swim is 1/4 mile and the run is 3.5 miles. I have emailed them for more info but haven't heard back yet. That's a big difference for me in the swim, as I haven't been in the water much yet this year. I do have plans to get into lake Sammamish three times this week, though!

In the meantime, I will still look forward to hearing any comments on either race or course. Also, if any of you have raced with a cross country run instead of on pavement, I'd like to hear about that, too! I want my first tri to be fun and well-organized.
Thanks!
Leslie

I did Federal Escape last year, and I've done the 5-Mile Lake (similar course, same location) tri a couple times, and I know the area pretty well. The swim is flat... ;^)

Okay, seriously. 5-Mile Lake LOOKS murky/brackish. But after talking with the Parks guy a couple weeks ago, my mind is at ease about it. He said it's actually one of the CLEANEST lakes in King County because there are almost no water fowl there. The water color is because of the peat (makes it reddish), but it's sping fed. Water temp can be cool, but the race I did there a couple weeks ago was fine. By the end of July, it might even be considered "warm". The bike leg rolls some, but Bo takes the top off the biggest hill on the course with a little detour through a local neighborhood. 4 laps (for Oly distance) on that course makes you keep your head together to count your laps. The run is NOT flat -- there are a couple significant rises there, and it's a two-lap course (for the Oly distance).

It's a "Grand Prix" event again this year, which means that qualifications for Nationals go a little deeper than most races (33% or top 5 of AG vs 10% or 1st).

The one at Lake Sammamish is virtually identical to the Issaquah triathlon I did at the beginning of this month, except the run comes before the bike (never done a tri like that, should be interesting). No real hills on the run, and it was almost all on grass/dirt trails (mostly grass). There's one hill on the bike, which is a little steeper on the way back than on the way out. For Issaquah they had some pretty narrow sections early on the bike course, with no passing allowed. Some of the "passing allowed" narrow sections were too narrow to pass without going into the other lane though. I'd rather have taken my chances on the open road at that point.

Edited by briderdt 2007-06-25 10:14 AM

I've done the Federal Escape Tri the last 2 years in a row and it is one of my favorite races. I haven't heard anything about the Me, Mom and Dad tri but it sounds interesting.

Have to agree with the Federal Way race. I did the 5 mile lake and the fed escape last year and really loved them. The description was dead on.

I really appreciate all the input....so far Federal Way is in the lead by far. I haven't even heard back from the other tri using their email contact info on their home page, which is a bit discouraging! My husband, of course, is voting for the more local one, but he told me that he really wants my first tri to be an excellent experience. I know from my past as a race director for tri's that if it is well-run, everyone will have a good time and if it's chaotic, it could be a disaster......so......still a few weeks to decide.

I am NOT doing the 5 mile lake triathlon this weekend. I got a registration transfer to the Lake Sammamish one on August 25th. Thanks to everyone who suggested this!

Soooo....I am going to do the Federal Escape tri on July 28 (with ScotinSeattle, yay).... the next question I have is what group to sign up with: do I do the first-timer's wave where it is non-competitive, and the last wave to start, or do I sign up for the regular sprint tri in order to have some more competition (I am competitive by nature). There's also the option as signing up as an Athena in the regular sprint wave. I am leaning towards that one, but would appreciate input! This will be my first tri, and I am pretty sure I can easily complete the distances--although I am not sure how to pace myself once I have someone in my sights and the part of me that has to pass them kicks in.
Input?? Thanks!!!

I did my fisrt tri as a Clydesdale, and the next will be age group before moving up to Oly distance in September. I will tell you that you can read about what to expect, what to bring to transition areas, and what gear to have - but the race is soooooooo much different than articles can express.

From someone that just did it I would recommend that you sign on as an athena for the first race and have fun!!! Remember that without race stats you just need a base time to beat for the next one. Trust me, adiction level action is coming your way. On the next race sign up in age group but just focus on beating your time. Does not even have to be race time, it could just be one of the events (mine was swim time and transition out of the wetsuit!!!)

Now if you or anyone else is going to the east side next spring for Walla Walla, EWU in Spokane, or Tri-cities races - drop me a line as I would love to join!

I did Issy/Sammamish tri's last year.. If memory serves... .25 mile swim... Run is about 3.5 (mostly trail-70%)?! It's a good race.