First time going to Cozumel… for anything. Done several IMs including Ireland and MTB, so I’m not new on international travel in concert with an IM.
That said, if anyone has advice on IM Cozumel, it would be appreciated (eg there’s a reason WHY disc wheels are no allowed or “be wary of XYZ”).
Also, as this is a last-minute deferral from IM California (yup bummer, yup a very late decision, but prudent with the abominable weather), I had to scramble for flights and lodging.
That said, if anyone is interested in collaborating (IF you have a rental car and would be willing to help me with getting around or smash and grab at grocery, bike store to buy CO2 cartridges, etc.) prior to the race, I’m up for discussion.
No discs but both times I’ve done it. - 2016, 2019 -, disc would have been fine
Race morning - Tons of cabs, no need to take hotel shuttle, Either arrange the night before or just grab the eventual one that will drive by (done both)
Water -Don’t drink hotel water but all restaurants filter so safe there
Supplies- Mega is their walmart,or Chedraui. Both near race finish
Swim - good place to get wet is the area in front of Blue Angel hotel, leave your stuff on the dock. About a half mile north or south. Be wary of boat traffic but lots of folks swim here
-Current may be good or may not be,2016 was typical 1:00 for me, 2019 was :54
-Swim skin
Bike
-Get de soto cooling gear and wet your arms and head before going under cloud cover. brrrrr
-if windy, will likely start out fairly weak and increase by laps
-SN has no water so if you are picking up a dry bottle you’ll have to stop again
-Roads for the most part are very good. Just one section heading south near the cruise ship port, where you cross over from the south bound lanes to the north (I think)
Run
-I carry a handbottle and get ice at stations
-Also use a cooling towel
-If you can in the next three weeks get in some sauna time for acclimation.
Great race, but don’t miss the fantastic restaurants
-La Perlita
-El Moro
-K’ooben Laab
-Cerveceria PuntaSur
-Casa Denis
-Del Sur
-Le Chef
I’ve done the race twice and loved it. You are in for a treat for the swim (although there are currents!). The bike is flat and windy and aid stations do get depleted depending on how fast you are. The support on the run is FANtastic.
I found this thread pretty helpful although maybe (?) a bit old now:
water is perfectly clear so lots to look at and easy to draft or to avoid getting kicked
current can be a factor in your favor, as others have mentioned, and saved me about 8 minutes in 2018
there were some jellyfish along the way that can cause mild stings so consider skipping the practice swim (ours was cancelled anyway due to high winds) or taking an antihistamine in advance if you may react - stings are very mild but just don’t be surprised by the occasional sharp feeling
overall wonderful swim with the gorgeous water
Bike
3 loop course going down the west side of the island and up the east side
wind tends to pick up throughout the day and be a tailwind down (west side) and headwind back (east side) so you’ll ride a fast, false-flat downhill much of the way to the turnaround then a gentle uphill into the wind on each loop – not so bad on loop 1, but it can start to feel miserable by loop 3
aid stations were good, most of the crowds were right around the end of the loop back into town
Run
3 out-and-back course made it very easy to break down the run into 6 segments mentally
pretty flat and nice to be able to see the other runners
smooth course with good aid stations
Overall, this was one of my favorite swims with the water quality and abundance of things to look at along the way. The bike was nice until loop 3, when the winds made it feel like a bit of a slog on that final stretch uphill on the east side. The run was flat and fast (run PR for me by a ways, though I’d also been training it more). Enjoy!
If you fly into Cancun with a bike box you sometimes have taxi challenges. Also the ferry is concerning with bikes. Make sure you know your case as there were a ton of bike cases. Assemble you bike and do a test ride to make sure you did it right – I reversed my aeropads.
I didn’t see jellyfish, but I was prepare with a jellyfish repellent sunscreen. Consider that if you are concerned.
Windy on the bike. This has been mentioned, but the backside of the island is torture.
The year I did it the drink was base Gatorade not Endurance or whatever it is called now. Prepare for a sugar rush if so. Be prepared if you need electrolytes.
Coke was not very flat on the run. I use coke, water, and bananas as run nutrition so this was a shock.
Study the finish line well for a meeting place and ideally at night. I saw my wife while finishing, but the time I made it out of a post-race massage I couldn’t find her. I also didn’t remember the name of the restaurant much less which direction it was. I ended up biking 10km back to my hotel in the dark – very concerning due to no lights and traffic. My wife realized the situation and go to-go food and took a taxi back. After an IM I’m not the most coherent and I’m much more coherent than most.
Overall a great race that brings more families as it is a vacation destination unlike pretty much every other IM.
Iliad,
Thanks for the segment details… I had considered starting swim later so I’d get that “Psyche Up” passing others but have now will start with my expected swim time group.
Since IM Maryland 2018, when I got tagged in the face with jellyfish, I slather Body Glide on exposed skin (it also helps reduce neck chaffing with a wetsuit). Hopefully, since this is a no-wetsuit race, the volume of Body Glide will give me a buoyancy offset =)
I saw my wife while finishing, but the time I made it out of a post-race massage I couldn’t find her.
Off topic - do they provide a shower before post race massages? As a massage therapist myself, the thought of massaging people direct from an Ironman finish makes me slightly nauseous :-/
I saw my wife while finishing, but the time I made it out of a post-race massage I couldn’t find her.
Off topic - do they provide a shower before post race massages? As a massage therapist myself, the thought of massaging people direct from an Ironman finish makes me slightly nauseous :-/
No, and I’ve always felt bad but figure they (hopefully) know what they are getting into
I saw my wife while finishing, but the time I made it out of a post-race massage I couldn’t find her.
Off topic - do they provide a shower before post race massages? As a massage therapist myself, the thought of massaging people direct from an Ironman finish makes me slightly nauseous :-/
No, and I’ve always felt bad but figure they (hopefully) know what they are getting into
Having had a massage in normal situations I don’t think the customer is inherently cleaner or less smelly.
The massage is outdoors and the athlete is fairly “clean” as there is no dirt, perfume, etc. just dried sweat on exposed body parts.
These also are generally fit individuals that don’t have folds of fat that often is the most disgusting part of sponge baths from people who work at nursing homes.
I appreciate their volunteer activities just like I appreciate all the volunteers.