They will have a professional bike transporter transferring the bikes from the reservoir to the high school while you run.


Yes, pretty sure the water temperature will not change much in the next two weeks.


Expect sunny with high of 85 or so. First part of run is exposed, but shaded path for the majority.


Bike course is fast with a couple short and climbs, the run leaving the reservoir will be uphill.

They will have a professional bike transporter transferring the bikes from the reservoir to the high school while you run.

Is this serious or joke ?
Sound great....but 2000 bike, is quit a big logistic for the organization, no ?!

Just looked at the run course and I'm surprised they didn't utilize the new connector over to the Lobo trail from the res.

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Yeah, we'll see how it goes. This podcast has a lot of good info.

https://soundcloud.com/...s-on-im-boulder-2018

The res is pretty cold, it'll definitely be a wetsuit swim

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Team Zoot 2023

I thought the same thing and posted the same question in the other Boulder thread, but didn't get a response. This will be very interesting.

I heard today that water temp is 66*, it will be wetsuit legal but not cold.

Bike and run courses both new for this year, bike course seems fast from what I've seen plus less air resistance at altitude helps (my 70.3 bike split PR is still Boulder, from 3 yrs ago and I've improved a lot since then). Having raced in Boulder in June before, the heat and sun are instense at altitude. The person who said start of run will be tough is right, exposed rollers out of reservoir.

Should be interesting day...

I heard today that the water temperature is 65.5 after a lot of rain over the last couple of weeks. It seems the locals expect the water temperature will rise in the next two weeks but not to the point of there being a chance of it getting above 76.1

Wouldn't coming to Boulder from sea level (and thus not being acclimated to the elevation) negate any potential air-density benefits?

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

Two things:
1. Not on the bike; while I’ll acknowledge it’s individual, I’ve never known anyone to have altitude issues on the bike at normal ranges (ie, 5-7k feet) though I’ve experienced a bit of strain at 9k ft and above
2. Again, everyone is different, but 5k ft isn’t super-significant. The biggest impact is at the high end of performance so should be less of an issue at Iron distance efforts. You’ll see the most altitude impact on the run. Swim is typically negligible and bike tends to be faster.

One more note on acclimation: have read from multiple outlets that arriving ~48 hrs pre-race is optimal, before your body starts to acclimate. Arriving 5-7 days before race and yes you could feel too terrible to reap benefits. Have raced at altitude (Boulder and Tahoe) a number of times, coming from sea level, and 48 hr rule has always worked well for me.

I agree with your #2 point. I used to do TahoeRelays and a 1 hour max run at that altitude was awful and the altitude always killed me. 4hr MTB race at 5k not so much. 3.5hr up Haleakala not so much until over 8 or 9k. I find the lower the effort the less altitude matters. I hope this extrapolates to IM since I'm signed up for Boulder. I'll find out either way soon enough.

Where in Tahoe? I know the Truckee/Northstar/Squaw area is definitely higher than Boulder.

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Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do.

Relay is around the lake so in the 6000s. The MTB race I was referencing is 5-7000ft. Both are a little higher than I thought and I'm glad Boulder is a tad lower :p

I agree biking and running at IM pace are not a strain in Boulder altitudes ( I lived there for 10 years ) but your Z2 / Z3 paces will be slower on the run... somewhere in the 15-30 sec per mile. If you have trained at sea level at say, 8 min/mile, expect to run at 8:15-8:30 at mile high. Insisting on running your sea level pace at altitude will catch up to you just like overcooking your pace.

I do think you feel it on the swim however. If you're like me and tend to go out too hard on the swim trying to beat the crowd to the first turn...there is just not as much O2 coming in when you take a breath. I would advise anybody coming from sea level to go out steady on the swim. Thin air combined with the constriction from a wetsuit will feel very different than laps in your pool.

A rule of thumb on the bike - The terrain can be a little hard to read there with lots of rolling hills. If you're heading West ( with the mountains in front of you) you are most likely trending uphill, if you're heading East with the mountains behind you, that will be the downhill stretches and a chance to make some time. ( The section on Niwot / Nebo road is infamously known for it's afternoon headwinds as you climb West) The Eastbound sections of Nelson and 66 are gloriously fast and smooth, and the southbound leg on 75th is also a very fast smooth section.

Enjoy!

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" 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

^^ this is excellent re: orientation to mtns and wind patterns, exactly what I've been mulling re: bike course having raced there before and recalling it feeling slightly deceptive. So obvi bike really fast to avoid afternoon headwinds, right :) ??

Good advice on run pace, too, for differential w IM effort.

Cheers.

Great take.

Definitely going to take that advice on the swim. I've spent a decent amount of time (never raced though) in elevation, and have never had problems. Including up to 14K feet. That being said, I have never swam at elevation, I've heard breathing is like sucking through a straw. Going to pace it easily so i don't get too burned out later in the swim.

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Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do.

I know this is an old question, but I still have a few hours to decide.

I just tuned up the bike for a disc (with a minor adjustment: the wideness of the rims), so current configuration would be
Front: Enve 7.0 clincher 25mm
Rear: Disc tubular 24mm
Now I'm a bit concern about the wind called for race day.
Should I go back to the original 7.8 wheelset?

Wind is only forecast at 9 mph right now. That should have zero impact on your handling as that is not much wind at all.

thanks!

You are going to need that breeze. Forecast is 90+. Going to be hot. FB post says they are bringing in extra ice, cups and giving tube socks with ice in them on the run.

Unfortunately it is going to feel like a sauna. Good news is it is a dry heat right? (pink somewhere in there)