My first tri was an oly in Edmonton when they were getting ready to host the worlds. Swim was in a duck pond, 5 or 6 feet deep, add about 4 inches once you sunk into the mud, and came out with weeds stuck to my watch, wet suit strap and swimmers itch everywhere the wetsuit wasnt. I dont think Tempe would bother me!

I meant...70deg and clear....:]

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"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

It's just the nature of things. You can't please all the people all the time. Don't even try. As it stands not every race is the right race for every triathlete and that is okay. One person's love is anothers nightmare. We can't change that. Fortunately, triathlon offers a variety of racing distances, sizes, and lcoations... Something for everyone.

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Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

What's not to love? Tempe Town Lake provides you with free snacks:



And beverage:



Seriously, I thought it was a fun course. That is, aside from the 5 minutes I was floating on my back during the swim in a full-on body cramp...remember to kick more in cold water!

San Diego Int'l and Mission Bay tri's pretty much have the most disgusting water ever, but I like to think it builds character.

I just thought it was funny as a city hosting a world class event to have the fencing for the swim chute wired to the sign post that reads "no swimming". I have a pic of that somewhere.

Uh, you haven't swam in the Ohio River.....

You are likely to find a syringe or a cow carcass. So for real adventure, come to Louisville for the Tri-america series race on July 23rd! (I'll be in LP though).

Awesome. IMFL will be my first IM. Guess I should train on a trainer in front of a brick wall to simulate the monotony! Ha, ha.

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

EXACTLY!! I think you will be well prepared with that training!! :)

IM AZ is a great race to spectate. I had a lot of fun last year there. No way would I want to do it though. Too many people for me and that lake. Ick. That was dirt when I lived there.

clm, M.S. in Ex. Phys., ASU

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I did Florida last year. I didn't find the ride monotonous at all. You get to climb over a bridge that is shockingly steeper/bigger than you expect - not a problem just unexpected. And then you get it again on the return trip. This time, it is a little tough - 90+ miles, headwind, hot. There's a section with an actual windy (as in curvy) road. It's also pretty entertaining when packs of 50 to 100 pass you up. You get to suck along until they spit you out the back, but at least you get a few minutes to get out of the aerobars. You'll have fun.

I'm doing AZ and shooting for a Kona spot. To have a chance, I'll need to drop a half-hour off my IMFL time. I think I can, I think I can!

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

Good for you Steve. Good luck for the Kona spot. I'm one of those guys that will only get to Kona if I get a lottery spot, or perhaps WIN the lottery so I have enough money not to have to work so I can train all the time! Ha, ha.

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

[reply]San Diego Int'l and Mission Bay tri's pretty much have the most disgusting water ever, but I like to think it builds character.[/reply]

Then I've been building a lot of character.

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Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear.

I had a great time in Arizona. My wife and kids where there also. It was a great spectator course with multiple passes on the bike and run. My wife's favorate picture is from the swim start as the sun was coming up.

I didnt find the swim course, bike course, or run course congested at all. And, I thought IMNA did a great job supporting the race.

Also, Scottsdale has lots of great places to stay, especially if you are bring a family.

The bike training hours where hard, but I did catch up on lots of movies I missed in the theatre. (Early AM garage time) And, as somone who has a busy family and work life, I enjoyed the alone time. It also gives you chance to work on lots of swimming. Which, regardless of what you may here on ST, is still one of the 3 sports in a triathlon.

GO ARIZONA!

If the worse thing about the race was that the water was a little icky, well maybe Bridge or shuffleboard are more your speed. ;)

see what I mean, people who lived there no what's up!

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"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

I see you've been taking spelling lessons from the IMNA lady :)

I'm from Phoenix and it's not that bad. Fish do die of natural causes, so I've heard.

I live in Tucson now and I'm signed up. People complaining about how early in the year it is forget that a lot of us live in states where the best training is in the winter months, and training through the summer for a race like IMF is torture.

I did Florida last year. I didn't find the ride monotonous at all

Ditto that sentiment here....I was not ever thinking "man, this is one boring ride"...

...of course, part of that is due to so many other freakin' folks riding with you the entire way. But I digress-----it's not a boring ride by any stretch, and it's not pancake flat either. Don't get me wrong, no one will ever confuse this with going up Ebbett's Pass or anything like that, but there are some slight rollers on the backside of the course, and there is that bridge which can feel like Ebbett's on the return depending how you're feeling at that moment...and I felt like s**t when I hit it coming back into town.

Just be careful of the one road that's pretty rough and serves as a wonderful bottle launching and front-drink sponge-loser stretch of pavement....can't remember the name of it, but it surprised me as I looked back and saw my little yellow friend bouncing along behind me!

I thought about doing an edit, but figured I would get caught. I just off the CT so cut me some slack.

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"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

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but, despite the claims to the contrary, i thought the bike course was downright dangerous a fair amount of the time. 2000 people on a 3 loop course. top riders are lapping people nonstop for 74 miles on roads that are fairly narrow in many sections. you have a rider going 25 mph past someone going 15 mph who often is completely oblivious and maybe drifts or swerves as they reach for a bottle or some food or whatever. it only gets worse at the aid stations.

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Your argument doesn't make any sense. I wonder how many competitors you thought (pros included) that actually averaged 25mph? In fact, there were exactly zero that averaged 25mph or greater. Only 11 averaged over 24. So the number of racers that passed people going 25 ain't that large.

Since Ironman AZ is mostly flat, it is exactly a technical challenge to pass people.

how do i not make sense? i never said anybody averaged 25 mph, however there were certainly extended stretches of time when many pro men were going that speed or considerably faster. between the wind and the gradual hill on the bee line that's how it works. did you do the race? do you know the course and conditions?

i think the fact that so many people claim it wasn't an issue just demonstrates my point that they were oblivious to what was going on. i certainly had more than a few close calls. now, percentage wise, it is a huge number that are lapping other competitors like that? probably not. but it is most of the pro men's field.

being flat has nothing to do with passing people. narrow roads with slower riders who may or may not stay left and may or may not hold a line makes it a little tougher.

i'm telling you how the race was from my perspective. the head start, 3 loop bike course, and huge number of lapped riders made it very different from any other ironman that i've never done.

Truthfully I never look at the scenery when riding, mostly concentrating on the poor pavement or the cars trying to run me off the road. In a tri I should not need to do the second, but then I am monitoring my speed and heart rate, unlike training rides.

As for running I am in my own little world and like to let my mind wander.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

I don't trust packs(99% solo rider) and I will not intentionally draft.

At GCT as a late wave I was passing a number of people and other than a few goobers in packs it spread out nicely after 40 miles.

With a mass start I should be out of the crowds within 30-40 miles given my predicted slow 1:20-ish swim assuming the bike speed is similar to GCT.

I waver between wanting IMFL to be "not exciting" given that it is my first to the other extreme where I barely finish because I tested my limts.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.