The way I see it.......

It looks like an awesome race, in a spectacular setting.
It presents a unique opportunity to challenge oneself.

Cold water, variable weather and high elevation. All part of the challenge. All things that make the race unique.

I wish the organizers success.

X2

Let's turn this to something positive and talk about how people are planning on dealing with the potential conditions. I'm interested to hear from anyone racing or not. I rode yesterday and i think it was in the 50s with no sun at all and some very light rain. Gave me an idea of what I'll need to stay warm.

What I know I'm doing/bringing (dependent on weather):
- bought some toe warmers for the bike
- thinking I'll wear my compression socks rather than sleeves to have my foot covered and a little more warmth on the legs
- will have arm warmers, warm headband, and full gloves ready if needed
- will have my cycling vest available

What more can I do?:
- have a few towels in T1 and spend time really drying off
- should I not wear my tri suit under the wetsuit so it's dry? Would it be worse to wear just compression shorts under the wetsuit?
- are neoprene booties, hat too much?
- .....all tips welcome

I did IM Lake Tahoe 2013, the year of the snow. I wore a neoprene cap but didn't have booties so I wore socks. They had heated changing tents and most people stripped out of their wet bathing suits in T1 (bring towels to dry off). I brought a travel mug full of hot tea which helped warm my core in T1. Many people were woefully prepared for the cold on the bike. Riding dry in 40s-50s is different than riding wet or with wet hair after a cold swim! I have long hair which doesn't dry easily so I wore a wool beanie. I wore many layers on the bike which I never took off. I had hand and toe warmers but they didn't work; I think I should have activated them prior to the swim so that they could be exposed to oxygen to heat up. The good thing about this bike course is it is generally uphill out of T1.

Thanks Tristen. This has been a fun conversation and it is certainly all context, as you mention.

We just hosted a 20 mile 'hiking' event last weekend in Colorado that started at 10,000' and went up to 12,500'. That's a normal weekend hike for most, but for those coming from sea level, it almost crushed people. I bought a mountain bike the same week I finished the Leadville 100, and though I only got a couple hours of any bike riding in that year, I knew I could finish it because it's not that hard. Some people would argue that it is hard. The 106 West course will be insanely gnarly for some and just a beautiful tri for others. We have had the tag line that "It won't be pretty but it will be beautiful" because the expectation is that this course will be really challenging, but if you take your time and enjoy it, the experience will be beautiful.

It looks like a high pressure system is on it's way to the high country, and we will have a sunny/moderately warm day. If you're from Florida, you'll be freezing no matter what. If you live in Evergreen, you'll be happy. If you're Ziebart and live in both locations, you'll just be confused.

We took 'official' water temps again today and the lake will be 62*F on race morning.

Jeff

Hey Jeff - did the run course ever change? I swore I remembered it going same direction as the bike course, towards keystone but realized last week it's going along the dam. Am I crazy?

I emailed the race about the possibility of switching from the half to the quarter distance. They said that could be done at packet pickup. I wouldn't be excited about doing that as I need a half on my schedule around this time, but cutting the swim in half is tempting.

The race support people also said that the water temps are expected to be at 60 degrees. That is a huge difference. 60 is no problem.50's are cold but doable. 44 is hypothermic and just plain painful. I don't see how the temps can rise that much in a week but I guess I will find out. I am not excited about driving all the way to Colorado from Kansas City just to DNS, so I hope it at least gets into the 50's.

MiddlePocket, The water temps are above 60*F right now. That was a bad rumor about the water being in the 40's.

Jeff - Wish I could be there in Dillon for the first 106 West Tri! I ride your bike course almost everyday when I'm at my condo during the summer. Love the bike path around Lake Dillon and the ride up past Keystone will be epic! Good luck with the race and if you move it away from the IM Wisconsin date in 2017, I will be there to participate! Z

Hey Tom, I spend time in the area every year but have never ridden up toward Keystone or Montezuma road. Is this going to be like climbing Swan road or climbing up Vail Pass or is this more like ride between Frisco and Copper Mountain on the Bike path? Just trying to decide between the road bike or the TT bike.

Thanks, Jeff

It is a bit steeper then the bike path from Frisco to Cooper, but not much. The road is a bit rougher than the bike path, but going up it's not a problem. Coming down, you will need hang on and watch for the cracks in the road! Have fun! Z

Has anybody received the athlete guide promised to us by August 22??

Any idea if there will be changing tents in T1?

Haven't received anything and really wondering why. Want to know what sort of parking and road closures we're dealing with and where exactly transition will be set up.

@jeffsuffolk - any idea when that's coming out?

In this interview with Laura Bennett ( https://soundcloud.com/...n-with-laura-bennett ) she talks about changing out of wet clothes, so I am hoping that means there will be change tents.

I'd like to know how the nuun will be delivered on the bike course: will it be in bottles already or will we have to stop to fill up our own using paper cups?

I'd also like to know if we can drop clothes after the first loop on the bike for the 70.3.

The current weather forecast Friday night is 39 degrees with a high on Saturday of 61. Keep in mind that high temps are typically reached around 3PM and that Montezuma will be colder. If that forecast holds, the air temp will probably be around 45 at race start.

Welp, there's your athlete guide

I predict several athletes in the last swim wave who are very capable of completing the bike course in the allotted time of 5:30 (which has apparently been reduced to 5:20) will not make the first bike cutoff at 28 miles due to the highly skewed average speed required to meet it (putting myself in that category).

how does it normally work? this is my first HIM. think i need to write some of these times on my hand!

.

Nix that. The race director informed me there are errors in the athlete guide. The 28-mile cutoff is not 12:34 p.m., rather 1:35 p.m. That I can do. He added that the second bike cut at 39 miles should read 2:36 p.m, not 1:35 p.m.

The family and I were on a boat on Dillon this weekend. I brought a thermometer and I got 60-62 surface temp in a couple spots.

I'll be up there next weekend, camping up on Swan Mtn Rd. I'll try and check on water temps.

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Formerly DrD

So just want to clarify this timeline- times seems to be a little off. I am coming from Denver, and with work- I wont be able to get up there today.

Race Morning Pick Up: 5:00-6:00 AM
Bike must be in transition by: 6:15 AM
Transition doesn't open until: 7:00 AM
Race Starts: 9:29 AM

So I drop my bike off at 6:00 AM and wait until 7:00 AM to actually set everything up?

thats the way i understand it. im just glad im going up today, it sounds confusing otherwise. hope you don't have any issues!


good luck to everyone racing!

Looks like you all had perfect weather today! Nice that they had the road blocked off for you.

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Formerly DrD

A little windy on the second loop but overall you couldn't ask for much better weather given the variability of the mountains. Swim was cold at first but not too bad in my opinion.

Overall I thought the race was very well done, though there were some pretty big gaps in the aid stations which they can hopefully tighten up next year.

The half distance definitely kicked my ass, given my lack of commitment to actual tri training anymore I think I'd do the quarter next time but I'd definitely recommend the race.

I agree the weather was about as good as we could have hoped for.

I think the athlete guide and at the safety meeting they said aid stations on the bike at 10, 20, 30 and 40 miles. There were only 2 aid stations I don't remember the distances. I drank my 2 bottles on the first lap and didnt grab anything from the aid stations and had a pretty big gap to ride until I got to the first one on the second lap. An extra aid station near turn around point would have been great for those doing the half.

On the run we had a head wind going out and a tailwind coming back in. Again I would have liked to see another aid station near the turn around between the first and second laps for the half. They said aid stations every 1.5 miles which wasn't true for the half. They had 3 aid stations on course around 1.5, 3, and 4.5 miles. That meant for the half runners you had around a 3 mile stretch with no aid stations. I did bring a gel flask with me so I had some nutrition with me, but some water or nuun to wash it down would have been fantastic.

Overall I enjoyed the race. The half definitely was challenging. It was cool seeing Dave Scott spectating and cheering us on during the run. I hope they can keep this event going. It was worth the trip out from California. I'd love to do it again when I am in better running shape.