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Branson
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So, did anyone actually have a good race at Branson? That bike course and the heat on the run totally kicked my ass. I feel like I got hit by a truck.


Steve

"If you ain't first, you're last." Reese Bobby Talladega Nights
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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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7 years and over 30 triathlons, today was my first DNF...That was less than fun.
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Re: Branson [on your left] [ In reply to ]
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Great screen name! Bummer to hear it was such a tough one out there...
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Re: Branson [on your left] [ In reply to ]
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A lot of suffering going on out there today.

What was your issue? I was cramping and couldn't keep my HR down in the heat. The "run" (and I use that term very loosely) was not pretty (at all). But, at least it's over.


Steve

"If you ain't first, you're last." Reese Bobby Talladega Nights
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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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Brutal is the only word. I biked 19.4 and that was a top 100 bike time, really? I have always been a strong runner but today i had to walk/jog for 7 miles (i was 3rd (20-24) in age group at mile 4 and closing in on second, then feel all the way to 17 due to severe cramps). I actualy went up a few hills that same speed a one or two pro men..you know the hills are bad when the pro's are going 9mph up a hill. At least the swim went well, but the waves were so close that i had to swim over a tons of people.

my heart rate started to climb towards the end and my stomach was shutting down, everything i drank made me sick, even water. I have always done well in the heat but the hills combined with the heat were a tough combo.
Last edited by: -Mike-: Sep 19, 10 17:43
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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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A mix of stupidity and cramps that just wouldn't work themselves out, 1 loop of the run and that was it. I just didn't have the right gearing on the bike and I saw a lot of 5mph. Hardest race I have ever done, harder than an ironman for me. My hat's off to all who finished. You all are awesome!
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Re: Branson [on your left] [ In reply to ]
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I saw more people walking in this race than i have ever seen before. Also a lot of people dropped out after the first lap, and several people were taken away in ambulances.
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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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Man, am I glad you posted this. I was beating myself up over my run split. I actually tried to take it easy on the bike knowing the hills were going to be painful.... I'd be interested to know how people did compared to Kansas. I was expecting to beat my Kansas time by 7 minutes and came in worse by 18........ oops.....

The swim was awesome. I also thought the bike course was the best I've ever been on.....it was just difficult. It was an absolute blast to hit almost 50mph on a closed four lane highway!
Last edited by: Weaver: Sep 19, 10 18:31
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Re: Branson [Weaver] [ In reply to ]
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I biked 20.5 in kansas (average weekly volume on bike-120mi), branson did 19.4 with an average weekly volume of 180.
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Re: Branson [-Mike-] [ In reply to ]
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What about total finish time variance? Mine was 18 minutes.....WORSE! I'm 5 pounds lighter and felt damn good going in!
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Re: Branson [Weaver] [ In reply to ]
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kansas 23.5 mph, branson 19.7 mph. No comparison....those weren't rolling hills, they were small mountains. Next to the Ultramax iron distance in 2002 it was the hardest bike portion of a race that I've ever done. Thef finisher's medal actually means something at this race.
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Re: Branson [rockchalk] [ In reply to ]
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32 minutes slower. Really cramped on the bike. Actually had to dismount on the last hill on 465.
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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
So, did anyone actually have a good race at Branson? That bike course and the heat on the run totally kicked my ass. I feel like I got hit by a truck.

I loved every bit of it. Had a race of my life. Run was not great by any means, more of a controlled slow down, but ran entire time. I observed "bike course crushers" and had my day on the run. No cramps, no discomfort nothing but plain old tough in hills and heat. I was soaking the whole journey and the breath taking views. That got me a 4th AG, 39 OA. I will take it and be back next year again to enjoy this beautiful place.
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Re: Branson [Weaver] [ In reply to ]
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My time difference from kansas to branson was 45min. And i trained much more for branson than kansas.
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Re: Branson [-Mike-] [ In reply to ]
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I think I was told that this course was supposed to be fast for strong cyclist. What happened there?
I was not climbing with the pros but did ok.
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Re: Branson [-Mike-] [ In reply to ]
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Hell of a race today. I did not race, but made the trip down from KC to watch.

Thoughts:

-Ryan (sherpa)and Tom Z do a great job in putting on races...very well run from what I saw.

-They are also not afraid to put together a tough course. That bike route was for real. A friends computer (not sure what type) registered 4500 ft of climbing...double that of KS 70.3

-I thought the run was in a great location for both athletes and spectators. With the wave starts it is tough to know who is where, but great to be able to see friends multiple times.

-ATasic was a beast out there today...he kept tn in check during the bike and let it fly on the run. Impressive.

-I had never heard of Tom Lowe before today, but anyone who can ride that course at a avg mph of 25.4 is a bad ass. Tom, if you post here, please chime in with your thoughts on that course.

-2 of the 3 members of Ironband (http://ironbandmusic.com/index.cfm) were on the course today...shockingly, very few people have heard of Ironband. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

Tim

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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
So, did anyone actually have a good race at Branson? That bike course and the heat on the run totally kicked my ass. I feel like I got hit by a truck.

If you got hit by a truck, I got hit by a train ;) Glad to hear other people had it tough out there; misery loves company. If it would have been 10-20 degrees cooler I think we all would have had a great day. I for one had been doing 0 (zero) heat acclimatization these past weeks. I melted like a stick of butter and now I feel like a piece of burnt toast!
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Re: Branson [atasic] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
In Reply To:
So, did anyone actually have a good race at Branson? That bike course and the heat on the run totally kicked my ass. I feel like I got hit by a truck.


I loved every bit of it. Had a race of my life. Run was not great by any means, more of a controlled slow down, but ran entire time. I observed "bike course crushers" and had my day on the run. No cramps, no discomfort nothing but plain old tough in hills and heat. I was soaking the whole journey and the breath taking views. That got me a 4th AG, 39 OA. I will take it and be back next year again to enjoy this beautiful place.


Tasic- I thought you went to Branson a few weeks ago for a training weekend and then recommended everyone do Redman instead. What a difference a few weeks makes, great race today.
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Re: Branson [RockChalk1406] [ In reply to ]
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I would like to add a few things to what my friend RockChalk1406 posted about the race.
This is the best put together event I attended. I raced this RD's races in Kansas City area. This one was no exception to the others he does but much more difficult to execute well. And they did deliver.
Branson venue is absolutely stunning. The lake, the bike course, the run, the hospitality of Branson people and volunteers that worked the race. I will not brake it down, too late and too tired today, but what an experience. I can't say enough. Temp and heat index made it very challenging, no doubt.
I will single out the bike course as the most stunning experience today. That is not to take away from the lake or the run course.
There are few areas that can see an improvement, but I will let others chime in.
I will be back next year to challenge myself again.
RockChock1406, thanks for the tremendous support today on the course. It meant a world.
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Re: Branson [jmyers] [ In reply to ]
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I think Atasic was basically warning folks of a very tough bike course when he posted. If you were looking for a PR, go to Redman. If you were wanted to do a IM 70.3 on a hard course do Branson. I'm more of a Redman (actually Skoal) kind of guy...

I was watching the splits that came in today and was most interested in the bike splits. Based on what I heard from recon reports of the bike course, I expected to see some folks pop either on the bike course or immediately on the run. And boy did that happen in droves. I can honestly say I'm glad I wasn't racing today. I like swims that are down current, bike course that are downhill and runs that are downwind. That course would have killed me today even if I obeyed my powermeter. Speaking of which, this course is a perfect example of why a powermeter is so crucial. The folks that obeyed the golden rules of power application probably looked silly on the first couple hills, but they were able to finish strong on the bike and likely had decent legs for the sweltering run. There were some names I recognized that were serious athletes who obviously attacked the hills and paid dearly for it on the run.

I have no idea how Lowe pulled off that bike split, he must have seriously killed himself on the bike, but he did back it up with a great run. Hoffman is having a serious breakout season and could really be a contender in major events going forward. I hope some folks like Lieto, Yoder, Graves or Potts hit this one next year. Love to see what they can do. It's a little too close to Hawaii for some of them though.


ADW


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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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It was a hard, hot day at the office -- no doubt.

Swim was great, laid out well and flowed well. Bike course felt like I was either doing 8 MPH in my granny gear, or in a tuck at 44 MPH. Turned quads into hamburger. I need to look at my season, but I have been getting weaker on the bike each week since late June, and today was tough. I was faster than the guy ahead of me in a race just a month ago, and he slaughtered me on the bike today(yes, I train on hills, and do interval work that I THOUGHT would prepare me for today)

Run course would have been easy if not for the fact that the bike course was a bear, and the heat and humidity were brutal. The run looked like a death march if you scanned the racers.

After the race (I hope you jumped in the fountain and hung out for a while - - it was about 55 degrees), I licked my wounds, and headed over to T1 to pick up my gear, and called my wife. She looked me up, and tells me I took second in my AG. It was at that moment that I realized, that I was not the only one who had a "bad" day. My speeds and times were horrible given what I have done in other races, and the fact that I was in better shape this year.

Volunteers were amazing. The fact that they never ran short of ice, or water, and that the folks handing things out were great. I loved the two homeowners who took it upon themselves to hose us off as we ran by. Beautiful course - - well organized and the volunteers were top notch.
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Re: Branson [tmiles] [ In reply to ]
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I agree with everyone's comments on here.

Holy hell it was a tough course. The bike course was the single toughest bike ride I have ever done. Then, couple that with the 90 degree heat on the run, it was just pure suffering.

When I looked around and saw VERY fit athletes, walking, sitting down stretching during the run and quitting... I knew it was tough, and I wasnt the only one who thought so.

I was happy to finish, even if it wasnt as fast as I would have liked.
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Re: Branson [The_Mickstar] [ In reply to ]
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Lately it seems I keep finding races that I say have to be the hardest I’ve ever done, but I think I can safely say that one takes the cake by a long shot. I was in pain for the ENTIRE almost 3 hours of the bike, and by about halfway through I was just hoping I could finish the bike course! And somehow after getting off I managed to still have running legs (really happy with my fitness right now)! But they went after about mile 5, when the heat and effort level finally caught up with me (never been so hot on the bike, even). So the last 8 were the normal struggle just to make it to the next water stop so I could walk for just a brief second. So yeah, I don’t think I’ll be going back until I learn how to fly up those hills like a couple of those pros were doing…

About the race though, it had great organization throughout. No line at check-in, no wait for a shuttle from the finish to the start on race morning, not even a wait to get into the parking lot to get to the shuttle, easy to follow swim course, bike course and run course, great roads with no worries about traffic. The only problem was when they changed the rules at the last second to say you couldn’t leave your shoes on the bike! Turns out, it wasn’t that big of a deal since I got really lucky with my transition area spots, but since I’d never ran in my bike shoes or done things that way in a race before, I was quite worried pre-race.

Also, running through the shopping center was really cool, my first two laps were packed with people cheering and little kids to give high fives to.

Lastly, was that run course long or was I really just that SLOW?

-Bryan Journey
Travel Blog | Training Blog | Facebook Page
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Re: Branson [jmyers] [ In reply to ]
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jmyers,

Thanks. Onetimepad summed it in response and I don't want to drag the thread into it further. I did not respond well to some statements and assumptions made here that the bike course was fast/faster than Kansas and such. That leaves false impression.
Having said what I said, I will also say this that I have never biked on a nicer, more beautiful and closed to traffic bike course as it is in Branson. It is also the most challenging one for me as well.
Having trained there and recording 4700ft of climbing, I knew what that meant.
I apologize if I have been abrasive.
Finishing it yesterday under those conditions is very respectable, even for athletes that were walking majority of it. It became hard just moving in that heat and humidity. I think everyone that participated should be proud of the accomplishment. Times here don't matter and can't compare to most if not all 70.3 courses.
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Re: Branson [atasic] [ In reply to ]
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I agree, the bike course was very scenic and big and nice! It was also very hard but I had a lot of fun on it. I ended up AVG 20.5... which is slow for me but like the OP said times dont matter on this course. The climbs were long and tough and I found myself grinding at 70 cadence and in my easiest gear... then pedaling out around 40-41 mph downhill and descending to 47mph. It was definitely a hard course and the run was HOT. I finished 1st in my AG but it was weird because my splits were not that great. My swim was slow because 18-24 started second to last so I was running into big packs of people in the other waves... not cool.

Overall I would not change anything about this course. I love challenging courses and hats off to anyone who finished the bike... and the top pros who averaged 23+ on the bike.. that is just insane!

O and yes... my body is sore everywhere today
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