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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [2WHEELS of FURY] [ In reply to ]
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This was my first iron distance race and I thought the entire operation was fantastic. From registration till leaving town Sunday, I was impressed. I've done Steelhead, Florida 70.3, St. Anthonys and the Chicago Marathon to name some of the better run races in my opinion and don't think this race lacked anything those have. In many respects it was much better. Other than the water taxi issue I can't think of a single thing they could improve and that didn't affect the athletes(at least until after their race).

Funniest thing I saw all day was the wife taking pictures of her husband on the T1 changing tent. I warned my wife there might be naked pictures of me floating around the internet now. And anyone that sees them, just remember, the water was 65......it was shrinkage!!!!

------------------------------------------------
Fight............Finish
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [kkoole] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
How about a shout to ST'er Mike Coughlin (mcoughlin), second OA in a career best 9:21.

Let's see the RR Michael!


Hey, thanks for the props Kevin!

I am finally back at work after spending a good part of yesterday sitting in the Toronto airport while my hometown of Sudbury was fogged in. At least I didn't come home to a snowstorm.

I'm still on cloud nine after Saturday. You do these races a few times and begin to wonder if you will ever have that run you know you are capable of. I finally got mine.

And yes, I'll post a RR at some point. I think I'll call it "how to freeze to death and overheat in the same race". Crazy good fun.

MC

Are YOU in the Zone?
http://www.discomfortzone.com
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [psycholist] [ In reply to ]
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How about a shout to ST'er Mike Coughlin (mcoughlin), second OA in a career best 9:21.

I was standing there when he came over the line. He was so excited and he looked like he could go hop in the river and start another one. Stark contrast to the other finishers just before and after him who took one step across the finish line and dropped like a bag of sand. (Not that I blame them.)


Mike ... it just dawned on me ... that was you I was talking with just as the boat was docking, wasn't it? I'm sorry if I was distracted, but I had a commitment to be somewhere and I thought that was a 2 hour cruise, not three. So please forgive me if I seemed less-than-present in the conversation. A hearty congratulations to you. It was a real inspiration to watch the way you crossed that line. I hope we meet again when I'm not in a hurry.


Hi Bob!

Great to meet you at the banquet, and no worries about having to go. I was excited to see how you would do over the 112, and you didn't disappoint. Sounds like you rested up for your event more than usual - powerful, isn't it?

Yes, my finish line experience was pretty awesome - since I wasn't wearing a watch I only found out my time when the announcer said it in the chute - I think my resulting excitement might have scared a few people! It was really fun to have energy at the finish line for a change.

MC

Are YOU in the Zone?
http://www.discomfortzone.com
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [2WHEELS of FURY] [ In reply to ]
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I did the half and thought it was a great inaugural event. I froze for an hour and a half before starting the swim and I learned that a full wetsuit, fleece jacket and tennis shoes wasn't enough to keep me warm. I loved the first part of the swim but when we turned left, I had no idea where I was supposed to swim to. Did I miss a buoy? This is actually a serious question. I had no idea where I was supposed to go.

The wetsuit strippers were awesome and the ladies providing chicken broth and mylar blankets were so nice! I must have looked really cold because one of them said to me that she could offer me a hot shower just upstairs in her condo. Isn't that nice?

The bike course was great, other than the second bridge where I honestly thought I was going down. I told myself that if I had to cross another drawbridge, I'd unclip and walk over it. I sure didn't want to go down on a drawbridge! Thankfully that was the last drawbridge.

I liked the run course around the park. I got a little confused when we crossed under the bridge and I had a lot of runners coming toward me and started running the wrong way but a volunteer stopped me and told me to run upstream.

The volunteers and the aid stations were incredible. I would highly recommend this race and look forward to doing it again next year.
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [HeloPilot] [ In reply to ]
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I noticed that as well. I'm thinking... oh crap... is this course really going to be 6+ miles longer than 112!?!

Something else that caught me as being funny is the $5000 spent on aero bike, wheels, helmet and a big puffy jacket to keep warm in on the bike! Ha!

It really wasn't that bad. I had a sleeveless base layer, arm warmers and bib shorts. Took off the arm warmers by mile 40 or so and it was great out there!

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Breakfast is for Closers
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [140pt6] [ In reply to ]
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I was just relay, so I had to stand there in transition and shiver for two hours. At one point I was shivering so hard that my back went into spasms. I went into the changing tent to get out of the breeze and sat in a chair and tried to stretch out my back and get the shivers to stop. It was a miserable way to await the start of my first iron-distance bike race.

I took off on the bike wearing only a long-sleeve skinsuit and a very thin sleeveless base layer. No arm warmers or knee warmers. I had light knit gloves. Nothing over my ears. It was FREEEEEEEEZING! But I've learned it's better to be cold and not sweat than to dress warmly enough to start sweating in the cold. That's a recipe for disaster. And if I'd bundled up more, I'd have been roasting at the end. I'd have to say that I absolutely nailed the wardrobe selection.

The temperature range was one of the biggest challenges on the day. Did anyone else notice that, initially, it got colder as we got inland? As if it wasn't bad enough already. Thankfully, it warmed up somewhat quickly.
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [psycholist] [ In reply to ]
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I just put a cycling jersey on and arm warmers. I usually get cold pretty easy, but after getting out of the water and basically running with only tri shorts on for like 300 yds. freezing I felt fine once I got something on my top. Took arm warmers off at special needs at mile 60. Did get hot on the run since I had a black top on. Wore black thinking it would help warm me up without wearing anything else, but I ended up being hot on the run. Was cool running through the park. Still, it was better than the weather we've had the last couple days in NC. We had perfect timing for the weather, so I'm not gonna complain. BTW-great job on your bike, I was on the boat at the awards thing.
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [2WHEELS of FURY] [ In reply to ]
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LOVED IT! I don't really have anything to compare it to b/c it was my first full but I was 3rd in my AG (30-34) and 26th OA with a time of 10:37:26. I think it is probably a great way to get your feet wet with the distance. BTW - if you were an idiot and didn't swim in the center of the channel, you didn't get the tide as much as others (lesson learned).
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [2WHEELS of FURY] [ In reply to ]
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Hey - thanks for volunteering. You spent that much time out there? Wow. Even I didn't do that and I did the full course.

Yes, changing tents should be larger.
Yes, more water taxis.
Proper mile markers on the bike.

Otherwise, I found the race to be extremely well coordinated and well run. It was amazing to come through downtown and have everyone cheering as I went through.

Now, if they could have fixed my stomach issues on the run everything would have been awesome for my first iron distance.

_____________________________________
You're not stuck in traffic. You ARE traffic.
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [Fatmouse] [ In reply to ]
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This was my first iron distance as well and thought the organizers did a great job overall, and thanks for volunteering. This was a relatively complex course and the many volunteers were all very helpful and gracious. Amazing.

My only comments are more water taxis, and some better lighting on the road into the Battleship park. It was pretty much pitch dark out there and hard to see.

T
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [2WHEELS of FURY] [ In reply to ]
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Had two friends both PR in the swim by 20 minutes..hmmmm
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [Kaiser] [ In reply to ]
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Had two friends both PR in the swim by 20 minutes..hmmmm

There's no special secret or sinister recipe here. As the promoters have disclosed from the outset and as has been discussed here on this forum (and on many others) quite extensively, the tide was coming in and it created a strong and favorable current in the channel where the swim was held. In the pre-race meeting, the promotor said that if you get in trouble, you've got a wetsuit, salt water and a strong current. Just lay there and the current will carry you to the finish.
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [psycholist] [ In reply to ]
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I'm glad everyone had a good experience here in Wilmington. I did the full because I was born and live in Wilmington and wanted to try the distance. I had a blast and gained alot of experience in my first IM distance. The current is always an issue when swimming in the ICW here. But for this race it happened to start, 7:10ish, about 2.5 hours after the change in tide which is when it is moving the fastest. Setup has no control over the lunar tides so it was what it was. As most of you probably know, their is a slack time in the tides for about :45~1:00 before and after the tide change. For the sprint this year the first waves, I was in the second, went off during this slack tide, and the waves that went off up to an hour later had the full benefit of the tide. No one complained, again it is what it is. For reference, the tide chart for Nov 7 2009, shows that the race, if started at 7:00, would take off during the tail end of the slack period, so it should be a slightly slower swim. I randomly chose the 7th since the weekend before and after would be swimming on a falling tide (against the current), now that would be a true iron distance swim, 2.4 miles swimming against a 2~3+ knot current. You tread water to get your bearings, you go backwards.

Again, glad everyone had a good time!

Mark
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [2WHEELS of FURY] [ In reply to ]
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This was my first HIM and I loved the race. The volenteers were outstanding throughout the race course. The local and state police controlled all the traffic. I didn't talk to anyone who had to check up at an intersection. The bridge was iffy, but next year they can put down plywood instead of carpet and shouldn't have any problems. Two more water taxis would have gone a log way but hey taht was the least of my worries. Thanks to all the citizens of Wilmington. If your and athlete from there pass the word your city put on a great race.
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Re: Beach2Battleship: How was it? [Digger262] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
This was my first iron distance race and I thought the entire operation was fantastic. From registration till leaving town Sunday, I was impressed. I've done Steelhead, Florida 70.3, St. Anthonys and the Chicago Marathon to name some of the better run races in my opinion and don't think this race lacked anything those have. In many respects it was much better. Other than the water taxi issue I can't think of a single thing they could improve and that didn't affect the athletes(at least until after their race).

Funniest thing I saw all day was the wife taking pictures of her husband on the T1 changing tent. I warned my wife there might be naked pictures of me floating around the internet now. And anyone that sees them, just remember, the water was 65......it was shrinkage!!!!


Funniest line on tv:

"You mean that thing shrinks?...I dont know how you guys live with them!"

-Elaine

------------------
@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com
Last edited by: bad929: Feb 28, 09 23:41
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