Hey all, first post on ST and after months of taking information I figured I'd start trying to add some value.
I'm doing my first IM @ IMLT this fall and was able to get out and ride a course loop Saturday in fairly good weather (~65F). Map: http://www.ironman.com/...e.aspx#axzz3XzPoFvFV
A few key tactical observations on the course, which I'd break up into the following segments:
And some high level thoughts (For reference: I'm male, mid-20s, 2nd year triathlete, mid-pack+ biker):
Of course YMMV. Hopefully that's helpful for everyone that's signed up/thinking about it. Looking forward to a great race in 22 weeks!
I'm doing my first IM @ IMLT this fall and was able to get out and ride a course loop Saturday in fairly good weather (~65F). Map: http://www.ironman.com/...e.aspx#axzz3XzPoFvFV
A few key tactical observations on the course, which I'd break up into the following segments:
- Kings Beach to Tahoe city
- Fairly flat, fairly fast. Dollar hill is steepish but it's only ~5 mins
- My highest HR (almost to LT by mistake) was on the Grove st cutoff-- it's short but really steep at the end. Would be easy to burn a match here.
- WARNING: Very deep/sharp edge holes around the manhole covers on Fairway drive. Hopefully they'll mark this on race day. There are 3-5 that could wreck you and your wheel at any reasonable speed.
- Tahoe City to "end" of glenshire drive
- Woooooooooooooo! It's fast. Name of the game here will be figuring out how much pedaling is even needed with all that air resistance. This also really wrecked my mental ability to gauge effort on later parts of the course. Anything below 20mph feels achingly slow after 20+ miles @ 30mph
- Truckee Legacy bike path to base of Brockway grade (Martis meadow)
- This is the newest segment and the pavement is mint condition! However it's pretty narrow and...
- WARNING: The two switchbacks at ~0.5 miles in will definitely claim some victims. Narrow path, tons of little rocks, and very high speeds. I had aluminum rims/strong brakes on the bike and it was still a close call
- The bike path is very rolly terrain and if you're a fly fisherman it's pretty hard to keep your eyes on the road
- Martis meadow to Brockway summit (and back to King's Beach)
- This is a long slog but it wasn't as horrible as I anticipated. Honestly, just sit up and put it in your lowest gear (see gearing notes below)
And some high level thoughts (For reference: I'm male, mid-20s, 2nd year triathlete, mid-pack+ biker):
- It's fast
- I train in SF area, so I'm used to hills. My medium distance route at sea level (~46 mi, almost exact same as this loop, less elevation gain) was actually slightly slower than the Tahoe loop. Without a power meter this isn't apples to apples, but Tahoe certainly isn't worse. That thin air lets you rip
- Other than 2 very short segments pavement is in great condition. It's a good course
- Gearing
- I'm rolling a 52/36 and 11-28... I was able to do Brockway ~ 10 bpm below my LT. I'm definitely going to go compact though... even though it's not a massive gearing distance, getting a little more spin or a straighter chainline on the looooong climb is worth it in my book. Weak/BOP racers might consider a 32 rear, but it's not mandatory for others like I'd heard from earlier course reports.
- Bike choice
- No way a road bike is faster here (was wondering that initially). Well over 2/3 of the time is high speed wind-resistance cruising.
- Hydration
- Using a before/after digital scale I found that I actually used.... LESS water per hour than at sea level? Very odd. I thought for sure I'd need more water. Anyone else noticed this?
- ~24 oz/hour in Tahoe vs ~27 oz/hour @ sea level, same distance/HR, roughly same temp. (No, do not start the total replacement debate, these numbers are just benchmarks)
- Sad times
- The truckee river along the run route is already completely dry (no water releases out of tahoe). It's a tough year in the area.
Of course YMMV. Hopefully that's helpful for everyone that's signed up/thinking about it. Looking forward to a great race in 22 weeks!