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IM Boulder Feedback?
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Looking for feedback from the IM Boulder course. I did IM Florida in 2013 (finished in 12:15), signed up for IM Boulder 2014, but was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer March 2014 so I didn't do it...after 1.5 years of chemo, radiation and surgeries I feel ready to sign up for another race. If I have not been on a bike in almost 2 years, swam maybe 10 times in the last 3 months but can run 20-22 mile long runs, can I be ready for IM Boulder 2016? I live in CO Springs so altitude is not an issue. I have a running background, how is the bike course for a non-biker?
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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If you went 12:15 in Florida I'm guessing you can easily be ready in a year. Spend the rest of this year with a bike focus, go easy for Dec-Jan, then six months of overall endurance training starting in Feb and I'd think you will be fine.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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Bike course can be fast, but the last 30 miles (assuming same course) is TOUGH. Two pretty big hills out on the plains and the sun is usually blazing by that time. There are also a pretty large number of right angle turns, so you do need to stay alert. On the plus side, the roads are pretty great with minimal potholes or chipseal. Keep your pace steady (like any IM) and you'll be OK. Congrats on beating cancer!!

" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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Swim: Was non-wetsuit, so for me typically a 1:07-1:08 swim i was 1:16 Sunday. I thought the first 25min of swim was a pounding no different than a mass start one.
Bike: Near if not my fastest bike split (12 IM's), ~5:15ish, i thought it was very fast at times bike course, you were never to long in any climbing and wind was light. I was within a few minutes of my BestBikeSplit estimate.
Run: For me i have NEVER had calf cramps on a run before. All i can tell is 26.1 miles on concrete TORE ME UP. I was no fan of the run course, it did have some shade and weather cooperated on 2nd half, but calves cramped and seized up for last half of run, never ever had that happen. I was taking plenty of salt and hydrated so i can only say it was concrete course that was the difference.

2016:
IMFL #12
http://www.bestbikesplit.com
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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The course is great, and the run is tough. I think the biggest difference for me with this race vs. the other Ironmans I have done was the incredible support of the community and the other racers. Well before the race, the community on the facebook page gets really active, and it's easy to find support for any questions you have. The race director is very responsive and open. If you are a fast runner, be prepared to do a lot of weaving on the run course later in the day. It does get pretty congested. Best of luck, it's awesome that you are getting back into it!
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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First I have to say that the people of Boulder are very friendly. Many would say hello, who are you? In Houston you may get shot for talking to a stranger. The course was challenging, the hills and altitude. The run was congested with athletes and other users, that is the only criticism that I can think of. The bus shuttle race morning was smooth. There was a long walk/run at T2 from dismount to bike hand off at the field, I think that 1/2 kilometer should count towards the marathon distance.

This race may be on my do again list.


.

Once, I was fast. But I got over it.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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I think it is an outstanding race. I raced last year and spectated yesterday, so I feel like I have seen it from both sides. The new bike course is very fast. There was very little wind yesterday, which helped. I also think the no wetsuit thing was an anomaly this year. The run course is definitely more challenging than it seems on paper because it is 100% bike path and some parts are very exposed and hot. I am a runner too, and I think it's a deceptively hard run. The crowd support in town on the run is terrific and it is a very fun finish in the heart of Boulder. Bottom line: I would not hesitate at all to recommend this race to someone, particularly for someone who lives in Colorado.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [hblake] [ In reply to ]
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hblake wrote:


First I have to say that the people of Boulder are very friendly. Many would say hello, who are you? In Houston you may get shot for talking to a stranger. The course was challenging, the hills and altitude. The run was congested with athletes and other users, that is the only criticism that I can think of. The bus shuttle race morning was smooth. There was a long walk/run at T2 from dismount to bike hand off at the field, I think that 1/2 kilometer should count towards the marathon distance.

This race may be on my do again list.


Were the T2 bags directly on the track like last year?


.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [jenschaf] [ In reply to ]
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I agree. My run is my strength and I really struggled yesterday. I was expecting to crush this run and from the beginning knew my plans were out the window. I think people really hit the bike course hard and then struggle in the run. It was a total walkpocalypse/walkathon. I have never seen so many people walking.

I ran a 3:55 when I was expecting to run a 3:15 and I still managed to come in 30th in my age group!
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [tovi] [ In reply to ]
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Do you live in CO? I think the kind of heat we saw yesterday really takes its toll on people by the time the run rolls around. Very few people can run well in that kind of heat and the ones who can are the ones who do well at Boulder.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [jenschaf] [ In reply to ]
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Chicago. I didn't think it was that hot, but it might be because of how dry it is here. I'm used to hot/humid.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [jenschaf] [ In reply to ]
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How is dealing with the altitude for folks coming from sea level? Would love to do this one but worried about coming from TX to altitude and then racing.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [blueapplepaste] [ In reply to ]
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I would be curious to know the percentage of in-state participants at Boulder because I bet it is higher than other IMs, but there are definitely some out of staters and some that do quite well. I was at the finish from 10:20-10:40 and there were some out of state athletes that finished in that time. Not a ton, but a few.

I live here, so maybe it's best for someone from out of state to answer, but from what I've heard, people feel it the most on the swim. Also, people seem to deal with altitude better if they are going at an aerobic effort - like they are supposed to do in an IM - versus an anaerobic effort where you might feel it more.

Come out early and make it a vacation! Plenty of fun things to see and do within an hour of Denver/Boulder as you acclimate and get ready for the race.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [blueapplepaste] [ In reply to ]
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Do not let altitude prevent you from racing Boulder, this is a gem.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [jenschaf] [ In reply to ]
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jenschaf wrote:
Come out early and make it a vacation! Plenty of fun things to see and do within an hour of Denver/Boulder as you acclimate and get ready for the race.

This is exactly what my wife and I did. Booked a room at a lodge in 4 mile canyon and stayed for 12 days in the area. Biked the trail down to downtown almost every day, biked up and down the side roads until they turned into gravel and to Lyons with all the roadies and triathletes. Would've climbed to Estes Park or Ward if I weren't racing too.

Now my wife wants to move here! Loved Boulder. Jealous!
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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ChristinaA wrote:
Looking for feedback from the IM Boulder course. I did IM Florida in 2013 (finished in 12:15), signed up for IM Boulder 2014, but was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer March 2014 so I didn't do it...after 1.5 years of chemo, radiation and surgeries I feel ready to sign up for another race. If I have not been on a bike in almost 2 years, swam maybe 10 times in the last 3 months but can run 20-22 mile long runs, can I be ready for IM Boulder 2016? I live in CO Springs so altitude is not an issue. I have a running background, how is the bike course for a non-biker?

Nothing useful to add other than "welcome back to good health and racing". The rest is a bonus. Great that you are contemplating another IM.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [blueapplepaste] [ In reply to ]
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Traveled from Austin to Boulder to do this race. While I didn't have a great day (14:05), I can't say the altitude played a role at all. I never felt like I was unable to get in a deep breath or that I was struggling to oxygenate.

The course is fantastic. The rolling swim start was great (compared to the elbow/heel-to-the-face party I've experience at IMTX the last 2 years). The bike course has some super fast sections and gets really tough at the end. The run is also quite tough.

Great city, great people, and the race was very well organized.
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [JokerRN] [ In reply to ]
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Agree here, the bike was fair, the run was very difficult
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [blueapplepaste] [ In reply to ]
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This is my 2nd altitude race coming from Tx, Tahoe 13' and Boulder 15'. Both races i came the full weekend before the race. Both times i felt altitude wasn't much of a factor really. Just start swimming little slower and dont ever panic and your good.

Oh yeah, my BestBikeSplit estimate was only +1:32secs off actual bike split, it has nailed my bike split times for all three races this yr.

2016:
IMFL #12
http://www.bestbikesplit.com
Last edited by: DFWTri: Aug 4, 15 9:39
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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Overall as my 11th IM I just Boulder.
I think it was very well done.
Tons of volunteers.
Bike has 4 climbs but not bad.
I'm a flatlander and Im sure altitude affected me but not terribly noticable

Michael in Kansas
"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit"
"Its not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up" Lombardi
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [ChristinaA] [ In reply to ]
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I had a great time but i am a very slow swimmer and fast cyclist there are parts on the large highways i had to pass groups of people out in the road. My first triathlon and got 16th in my ag!! Not bad i'm very happy with that and loved the course otherwise, had a wonderful time. The two hills at the end of the bike were terrible but they had snowcones at the top!!!!
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [blueapplepaste] [ In reply to ]
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I came from ATX and only really would say the swim was affected by altitude for me. I race at altitude every year, and my swims always suck. On the bike, the altitude is traded off by the thinner air (bloody drag race of a bike course) so its a wash. On the run, I would say, my stomach was more noticeable, since it would not allow me to run anywhere near my comfortable pace without major cramping, vomiting and nausea.

Jack



"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [jenschaf] [ In reply to ]
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Coming from ATX, I barely ever broke a sweat, and thought the weather conditions were sublime. Much better than Whistler!!

Jack



"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [jenschaf] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, from ATX and my swim was horrendous, which was part due to the altitude (a usual thing) and the nonwetsuit/wetsuit melee.

Jack



"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack
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Re: IM Boulder Feedback? [Bryan0721] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, the T2 bags were on the track. This year there was carpeting the length of the track from the point where you walked onto the track to the point where you walked off. The bags themselves were on this carpeting as well. It was very well done.
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