Swim...felt like the return trip was swimming in place and really could not time any waves, seemed random.

Bike...headwinds on the long uphills and on the few flat sections. Gusting crosswinds going downhill did not help any. Dropped my chain once making a rookie mistake by not being in the right gear going uphill. 5 miles later I picked up someones helmet sticker on my front wheel...stopped after about three minutes to peal that off...so annoying.

Run...still was not fully recovered from a virus I picked up before Memorial Day so I was just sapped of energy after that swim and bike. Walked/ran the uphills, ran the downhills, and in general tried not to dig myself too deep a hole.

This was my 15th 70.3 including 2x at TTT and this was by far the most challenging day I have had. I've no way of estimating how much slower this course was versus "normal" years...but in general it just sucked.

Well organized venue and no delays getting in on race morning. Bike course was very scenic but that wind just killed everyone. I would suggest the organizers to have more portajohns available near the transition or even a couple between the parking lot and transition....its a long walk all the way down to the beach from the lot first thing in the morning.

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Fester from Detroit, Mi

This was definitely one of the most challenging 70.3's I've done. The swim was fine - good temp, although the wind really made the return trip very choppy and felt like swimming against a current.

The bike was tough not only because of the hills, but the headwind on the flats made for some "extra" elevation. Only complaint for the organizers was the intersection where Sweet Rd met route 91 - it was confusing, not only because the orange tape pointed LEFT, not STRAIGHT, but also because there was a police officer pointing the athletes to the left!! I followed another biker and another guy followed me, we had to turn around, and that probably cost us 2 minutes.

The run - was perhaps the most painful 1/2 I have ever done. I decreased my watts by about 6-7% on the bike to give myself some wiggle room on the run, but it wasn't enough. I started walking intermittently at mile 9. To give you some idea, I went 19 minutes slower on the run split than I did at Quassy 70.3 last year, which is about the same elevation gain (but was shaded and in the mid 70's). Ended up in the medical tent from minor heat exhaustion, and didn't pee until probably 6pm after drinking close to 200 ounces of water after the race.

Otherwise, a great race :)

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Strava

I got into town on Friday, packet pick up was quick, easy no lines.
This is the 3rd time I've done this race and it seems to get harder every time, even with the new run course.
Swim was harder then I thought it was going to be. the wind must have picked up when I went off (M30-34, 7:40 start) the way out felt fast, the way back felt slow and a lot of chop.
Bike was harder then it was 3 years ago, more hills at the end. I didnt really like the speed trap but went through it fine. The wind on the bike was rough, a lot of head wind and cross wind. The only time we had a tailwind was when you were climbing the first 12-14mi....Bike course got real hot, still such a beautiful and humbling ride.
Run, that was hard but not as bad as the old run course...glad we didnt have to go up that hill. I think there would have been more carnage out there given that hill.
The heat this time of year always amazes me. 10 days before the race Im wearing tights and long sleeves in 40 degree weather and race day its 90....
overall I will be back again, the course is great, i love CNY and if you want a good challenge you should race here. Hill, heat, humidity, wind....you name it itll be there.
race was organized very well as usual.
Back door brag, was finally able to break 5 on this course...

A few things that have surprised me post-race –

(1) I craved a Sprite immediately after I finished, which I drank. I usually drink about 3 sodas per year, so I was surprised how much I craved it. Kudos to my support crew for going to the vendors to get me one while I cooled off in the lake!

(2) I wasn’t hungry. I managed to eat one slice of pizza about 2 hours post-race, but it took a while to get it all down. Even yesterday (Monday) I knew I should eat, but I could only manage small bits at a time.

(3) I was 12 lbs lighter the day after the race than the Thursday prior. I’m sure it’s 90% water weight, but it surprised me that it could be so dramatic.

(4) I’m only a little sore on the outside of my hips. I was expecting my body to feel much worse.

(5) The roof of my mouth is sore when I eat or drink, still today – two days post race.

(6) I’m really sleepy.

Yeah, that was tough. The swim back to shore was like bouncing a boat against waves, but I got a tremendous kick in the mouth halfway through so I was sort of oblivious to everything else.

The ride was tough with that wind. There was this 3-minute stretch when I'd get hit with a hard gust and have to downshift, then the gust would instantly relent so I'd upshift again and the wind realized that so it hit me again and the cycle would repeat. I finally resorted to just yelling at the wind to cut it out.

The run was just hot. My footpod's temp reading ranged from 85 in the shade to 104 on the sunlit pavement. It put my friend into the hospital half an hour after the finish.

The worst takeaway was sunburn that went straight through to major organs.

Swim - As others said - felt great on the way out - the way back was not enjoyable - I was 15 sec/100 slower. I am not a great swimmer but that was no fun. Kudos to those in the wave behind me that flew past on the turn back to shore - after a winter of really trying to improve my swim I was hoping for a better result - guess that will have to wait.

Bike - I wanted to ride at .80-.85 IF and rode at .81 - NP Goal of 235. Rode a .81 at 228 NP. In training at that elevation gain I would ride 19.5-20 MPH - it was 17.8 mph - fighting wind the whole time - I looked down at one point I was at 280 on the power meter going 14.8 MPH - on the flat section - bike course may have been almost a mile long?? anybody else get that?? It was hot so I was sure to take in an extra bottle of endurance on the bike (4 total) 1 pack of shot blocks and 2 GU. my VI was way high with that wind - 1.19 - not good but hills and wind!!!

Run - Hot and no shade. given the conditions and that ride I drastically reduced my run goal from a sub 1:50 and managed to hang on to break a 2 hours. Hit 3 cups of Gatorade each stop & 2 Gu Packets with water every 3-4. a little dizzy at the finish - could have prob used a little salt - took about an hour until I could eat a slice of pizza and have a red bull - that helped.

This was a tough 70.3 without the conditions and those only made it more difficult - once I got over the frustration of the wind I just wanted to have a (decent) race and started looking forward to my 140.6 next month (Santa Rosa) -

I have races 2x here and both have been absurdly hot, humid and either wind or rain. I really want good conditions so I can see how I fare on a tough course like this - for me on a course like this a great race would be a sub 5:30 - went 6:00 on the day.

Ironman village was in a nice place.. really liked the setup compared to last year. Just stinks how far away you need to park!

Registration etc for me was smooth sailing.. in and out in 5 minutes. I was there around 12:30 on Saturday.. waited for the athlete brief at 1. Headed out to my hotel soon after. Didn't check out the vendors or anything.

Race morning was warm.. the entire transition area was filled with happy people. Lots of people sharing pumps and chatting. Seemed really really relaxed. I could tell the wind was going to be an issue early on.

Swim.. I went off at 7:12.. On the way out I flew at a 1:13 pace.. way back the wind picked up even more.. waves waves waves.. Impossible to time. The pontoon boat in the middle made it worse a few times. After the turn my pace dropped to closer to 1:30.. brutal coming back. Finished in 29.37 a full minute and change slower than last year and i swam harder. (4bpm harder) Wasn't fun..

Bike.. Windy but otherwise ok. Aid stations were great and had no issues.. didn't see any cheater drafting either.

Run.. Misery loves company. Hottest nastiest time of my life. Even though I hydrated properly on the bike I simply cooked. I started out feeling awesome with tons of energy but the wall of heat hit me after 1 mile and I never recovered. Couldn't keep my heart rate down.. once it finally settled I couldn't raise it back up. Ended up walking most of the second lap. Miserable 13.1 miles. I did like the changes to the course though.

I was 40 minutes slower than last year and I came in better prepared and I raced a similar efforts. Should have been faster or about the same but mother nature thought otherwise!

Generally speaking, I thought the race was really well organized. There was a lot to like about the level of organization. That said, it was a very, very tough day for me.

The swim is typically my strength - but wow was my time slow. I felt that I was being a little assisted/pushed by the wind on the way out, but man did I make up for that on the way back. My garmin registered well over what I was supposed to swim, which is odd because I did not think I was swimming so crooked, but I must have been. It was certainly tougher than one would expect for a lake swim. My time was oh so sad and the slowest swim I have had in an HIM.

The bike was so beautiful and so horrible. I had told myself to just chill out and climb for the first 12 miles and then the hard part would be over and I could start making up some ground. I could not have been more wrong. The smaller and lighter you are, the harder it is in wind. Maybe someone who knows more about aerodynamics can explain why this is - but it is kind of like a mosquito vs a blue jay flying into a fan. The mosquito is going to have a tougher day. I am the mosquito, and I got squashed. Did this course 2 years ago on a slightly easier course and I was 50 minutes slower yesterday. I thought it was a very solid decision to put a speed limit on that last drop. I'm sure it did not kill anyone's PR and maybe saved one or two people from spattering. Not to mention that if someone did splatter in that section, it would have likely caused an awful chain reaction. My garmin registered the course as slightly long (56.8) and when I got to 56- I was like. OK when the hell am I getting off this thing. Maybe someone deflated my tires.


The run was damn hot. I appreciated the very frequent aid stations, that's for sure. Water? Yes. Coke? I'll take two. Ice. Yup. And amen to the man with the hose. Thank you man with hose. By that point in the race I had pretty much given up and it was a slow and pathetic walk/jog home. I registered 13.5 on the run but I was probably delirious and swaying by that point. At several points people asked if I was OK - so I am guessing I did not look so OK. Sigh. Not a great race for me - that is for sure. In my AG I calculated something like an 18% DNF rate, which seems pretty high - so I suppose a lot of people had a tough day. And certainly, the race attracts pretty tough competition, since it is often used as a tune up for Lake Placid. [and if anyone has any other data or excuses I can use to explain how epically hard the course was and hence how slow my times were, I would gladly take them]

I saw an air ambulance there. I am not sure if this was just on hand as a precaution. Hope everyone was able to end their day safely.

The only feedback I would have on the logistics would be to a) have a longer trash drop area on the last aid station on the bike... it was right after the final bottle pick-up, and I needed a bit more room b) ice at the second aid station would have been really nice (all other aid stations had ice - so I know that is a bit of a diva complaint) c) The parking seemed forever away - not sure if there is a way to fix that.

On the logistical positives side -a) I really appreciated that even though I finished at the back of the pack this time, there was still plenty of food in the tent after. It always sucks to have a crappy race and to have all of the food gone to boot. b)even though it was a tough swim, the swim seemed pretty spread out...not sure if the waves are smaller than typical or maybe my position in the waves was more favorable- but there were certainly less people to have to navigate through. c) there were lots of ref's out on the course checking for drafting, and I thought they did a very good job of patrolling the course, and I must have seen the mechanic people a dozen times out there too.

My first Syracuse 70.3 (and post here) and certainly the most challenging 70.3 I've done.

Organization - As others have said I thought this was great. Registration was quick with no lines, waves were on time, aid stations were excellent and volunteers at them on both the bike and the run were wonderful (3 successful water bottle hand offs). Athlete food was good and the village had everything supporters needed. Awards were efficient and well run. Only suggestions for next year would be to make the trash stations on the bike a little longer and have ice at every aid station if its set to be hot.

Swim - I had a bit of a disaster, near personal worst swim in around 38 mins. The surprise choppiness got to me and I found myself doing a spot of breaststroke before pulling myself together. Out of the water the wet suit strippers made for a fast T1 and I did my best to put an average start to the day behind me.

Bike - I loved this. Challenging for sure. My longest time on the bike in a 70.3 ever despite posting the fastest female bike split. I rode 2h 48 mins on 190w average / 201 normalized (1.06 VI). I re-run best bike split on these numbers and I was pretty close (it estimated 2h 45 mins) which given the wind made sense I came in a bit slower despite riding in what I thought was a pretty decent poisiton for most of the time. The course really meant drafting wasn't possible (yay!) so made for an honest ride and while some of the uphills were tough and there were more turns than I would have chosen, those downhills were epic (oh hi 47 mph!). I was riding Knight 60s and was pleased I didn't have anything deeper with those gusts and my handling. Testament to the heat I got through 4 bottles of water using my Speedfill and two bottles of Scratch as well as 3 Cliff Espresso gels.

Run - Hot and hilly but given the horror stories I'd heard I thought it was "better than feared" I came in 1h 45 mins which given is only 4 mins off my best run in a 70.3 (Oceanside 2017) I was pretty happy. Loved the aid station on the longer out and back for the chance to ice twice - total savior before hitting the hills on the way in. The cross country bit was a bit of a surprise but made me refocus on the process of running so in a way it was quite mentally refreshing.

Overall managed to sneak 2nd in F25-29 and 7th O/A female in 5hr 16 mins. I think I'll be back as its nice to be able to drive up from NYC.

Awesome, congrats! Was a gueling day out there!

Running mom - It's actually the opposite with wind, the smaller you are the less your cross section and you should be faster than someone larger...however you do get blown around more especially with aero wheels


As others have said with the race, the wind was one of the biggest factors for the day from the swim to the bike and the heat of course on the run....where did that wind go then, was looking for it on the run. The bike course "takes" a lot and doesn't "give back" much. Still think even with the changed run course it's a tough course. My 2nd time at Syracuse.....not sure I'll be back for a 3rd next year.

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I'm not so sure. Granted- this is absolutely not at all my area of expertise- but I am thinking of your average 165lb triathlon guy riding at 3 watts/kilo vs. a lighter 110lb woman riding at 3watts/kilo into 15mph headwinds. Yes, the woman will have less aerodynamic drag due to size, but a huge percentage of her total power output is going to be sucked up by the headwinds, and I believe would have a larger impact on her riding speed. Certainly, I can imagine that if they were both sitting in their bikes not peddling at all the light woman would be pushed back father and faster than the man.

I could be completely wrong here- but I am feeling like the light rider is going to be more affected by the wind.

The larger body is going to catch more of the air.

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Big Sexy Racing 2018

I believe you are wrong. Wind resistance's main affects will be in relation to the riders CdA (aero-ness). All other things being equal (bike, position, helmet, etc) the larger person will have a larger CdA. The only counter force is the additional friction between the tire/road that a heavier person will put down -- but I am guessing this is marginal.

Think of it this way -- take your palm and push in through flowing water (like a stream) -- then take 2 fingers and do the same -- 2 fingers will have less mass but slices through the water much easier. The fact that it is lighter doesnt push it back more.

except the forces pushing the palm and two fingers through the water are different.

as someone who is a lighter person, i can attest that the lighter you are, the harder time you have in the wind (especially crosswind).

i ride with the same people almost all year long. at any given ride i'm one of the stronger riders of the group. when it's super windy, i immediately suffer way more than everyone else. i can't count how much energy i have to spend (core stabilizing) when there is any wind that is not head on. i can't ride anything over 35-40mm wheels when it's gusty.

(i'm 123lbs race day)