Check in: congested and crowded, would guess this was because of the rain. They had given my friend the wrong bib number and when he went to change it she told him many other athletes had same issue, but was correct pretty easy.
Pre Race: never a big fan of 2 different transition, but parking was much easier then some other IM branded races, and the buses bringing you from t1 to t2 seemed to go pretty quick, still just don't like the double transition.
Transition: mud, mud and some more mud, not the race organizers fault but it sucked, i was lucky to have one of those nice AWA bib numbers (as far as i can tell this is about the only benefit) which put me running through less mud then others, thank god.
Waiting for start: i was stuck in very last wave: was a hr and 25 min wait, in some ways was nice gota to chat with some new friends and guys i had seen at other races, but man thats a long time to wait.
Swim: wow starting at the back pretty much has no advantages, having to swim through what felt like 1/4 of the field was not fun, never got kicked, arms locked, feet locked with arms, elbow to the nose as much in my life. Slowest wetsuit legal swim for me all yr.
Bike: oh the bike course, i had prev defended this bike course a little in some other threads here having biked it a few times in the last few months but today I totally hated it. IDK if it was the wind, the crappy roads, the people that would not move to the left when you yelled, the people that were biking in the middle of the road, the cars you would have to break for, the million turns, watching my power drop over the last 20 miles, or the potholes which threatened to not only pop a tube on impact but brake a zipp wheel in half, i pretty much hated this course today. I don't even want to go bike it again on a weekend training ride even again, there are so many other great roads in Austin.
Run: had not seemed bad when i had looked at it on prev trips to the course, but all those little ups and downs do get you at some point. The people cheering at the top of the hill were fantastic and the volunteers were great, plenty of places to pick up fluids. Back of the run loupes there some mud in spots and roads were not great but it was manageable. Was super congested but this was the product of a 3 loupe run course and starting in the last wave.
would i do this race again? no and i live in austin so its in my back yard. Having to start in the back, congestion, bad roads, double transition, possible bad weather in nov again this was a one and done race for me, possibly head down to Oilman 1/2 next yr after Kona, heard good things about it!
full disclose: i did this race 3 weeks post IM and had by far my worst race of the yr here so that might have little something to do with my distain for it but i talked with others that had the same feelings i did.
2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz
Pre Race: never a big fan of 2 different transition, but parking was much easier then some other IM branded races, and the buses bringing you from t1 to t2 seemed to go pretty quick, still just don't like the double transition.
Transition: mud, mud and some more mud, not the race organizers fault but it sucked, i was lucky to have one of those nice AWA bib numbers (as far as i can tell this is about the only benefit) which put me running through less mud then others, thank god.
Waiting for start: i was stuck in very last wave: was a hr and 25 min wait, in some ways was nice gota to chat with some new friends and guys i had seen at other races, but man thats a long time to wait.
Swim: wow starting at the back pretty much has no advantages, having to swim through what felt like 1/4 of the field was not fun, never got kicked, arms locked, feet locked with arms, elbow to the nose as much in my life. Slowest wetsuit legal swim for me all yr.
Bike: oh the bike course, i had prev defended this bike course a little in some other threads here having biked it a few times in the last few months but today I totally hated it. IDK if it was the wind, the crappy roads, the people that would not move to the left when you yelled, the people that were biking in the middle of the road, the cars you would have to break for, the million turns, watching my power drop over the last 20 miles, or the potholes which threatened to not only pop a tube on impact but brake a zipp wheel in half, i pretty much hated this course today. I don't even want to go bike it again on a weekend training ride even again, there are so many other great roads in Austin.
Run: had not seemed bad when i had looked at it on prev trips to the course, but all those little ups and downs do get you at some point. The people cheering at the top of the hill were fantastic and the volunteers were great, plenty of places to pick up fluids. Back of the run loupes there some mud in spots and roads were not great but it was manageable. Was super congested but this was the product of a 3 loupe run course and starting in the last wave.
would i do this race again? no and i live in austin so its in my back yard. Having to start in the back, congestion, bad roads, double transition, possible bad weather in nov again this was a one and done race for me, possibly head down to Oilman 1/2 next yr after Kona, heard good things about it!
full disclose: i did this race 3 weeks post IM and had by far my worst race of the yr here so that might have little something to do with my distain for it but i talked with others that had the same feelings i did.
2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz
