This is a first for me,the good folks at Challenge Wanaka folks have sent an email suggesting that it might be a good idea for people to get themselves a neoprene hat,booties and gloves for the race next week…Apparently the water is around 16C(60F) with rain and cold weather in the forecast…Right now on the Gold Coast it is hot as shit and the ocean is 26C (79F)…Looks like I’ll be taking an assortment of long and sleeveless wetsuit tops FOR THE BIKE!!!
I already packed my Wellies and velcro gloves in case I meet a couple of nice local females…
Good luck! Would love to hear a race report…we were in Wanaka during their spring. Coldish, but stunning views. We stayed at a wonderful B&B called Websters on Wanaka - if you get a chance a wonderful place; awesome breakfasts!
I am sure you have an itinerary, but one of our favorite little owner/operator wineries was Swallow’s Crossing. The owner/farmer Dan is a wonderfully knowledgable farmer and a great winemaker! If you go tell him Dana and Reid from the US say hi!
I can’t wait to get down there and wish I could stay longer.That said as I have declared this a fun training holiday there is no pressure for race day so I will be visiting some of the local wineries and getting involved in the pre race Bavarian Beer Fest with the Challenge folks…I am most concerned about surviving Bryan Rhodes 40th birthday party the day after the race.
I’ll be posting a race week thread with day to day news and pics of all things Challenge Wanaka…
I already packed my Wellies and velcro gloves in case I meet a couple of nice local females…
LOL.
I jumped in the lake last week; it’s seasonably cool and refreshing.** Suppose it depends on what the weather does**.
…and where you are from.
I rememberd doing Ironman New Zealand in '95 when I was based in Cairns.To go from the tropics in summer to Auckland during a cold storm was “interesting” and I think I was the only guy wearing long sleeves, tights and gloves on the bike.I remember on the run hiding in a porta-loo to get out of the cold wind.The locals though it was great.
Enjoy your time in Wanaka, it is one of my favorite places on earth. The drive over the mountains from Queenstown is outstanding - and his comes from someone who lives in the Rocky Mountains and has driven through the Alps. There are some great finds in town there - coffee, etc. And if you have a chance, the Botswana Butchery in Q’town is great…
Fair question. Lived in NZ a few years ago. So standard deal: if the sun’s out, it’ll be scorching, if a southerly blows in, it’ll piss rain, if it’s cloudy, it’ll be frigid, or any combination thereof.
Ah, now I see that rain is forecast for most of the next week. Bundle up, buttercup!
I can’t wait to get down there and wish I could stay longer.That said as I have declared this a fun training holiday there is no pressure for race day so I will be visiting some of the local wineries and getting involved in the pre race Bavarian Beer Fest with the Challenge folks…I am most concerned about surviving Bryan Rhodes 40th birthday party the day after the race.
I’ll be posting a race week thread with day to day news and pics of all things Challenge Wanaka…
Nick, have a great race week and associated obligatory partying. Please post pictures of all the festivities!
I can’t wait to get down there and wish I could stay longer.That said as I have declared this a fun training holiday there is no pressure for race day so I will be visiting some of the local wineries and getting involved in the pre race Bavarian Beer Fest with the Challenge folks…I am most concerned about surviving Bryan Rhodes 40th birthday party the day after the race.
I’ll be posting a race week thread with day to day news and pics of all things Challenge Wanaka…
Nick, have a great race week and associated obligatory partying. Please post pictures of all the festivities!
Macca and Rhodesy might lap me on the run but they are going down at the after party!!!
What if they start the after party after run loop 1 and have a beer every mile for the next 13…they might beat you to the after party. Do you know if Challenge has a ruling on “no Chucky V approved beverages” on the run course?
This is a first for me,the good folks at Challenge Wanaka folks have sent an email suggesting that it might be a good idea for people to get themselves a neoprene hat,booties and gloves for the race next week…Apparently the water is around 16C(60F) with rain and cold weather in the forecast…Right now on the Gold Coast it is hot as shit and the ocean is 26C (79F)…Looks like I’ll be taking an assortment of long and sleeveless wetsuit tops FOR THE BIKE!!!
Clue me in if you know of booties and gloves that don’t fill with water and turn into anchors.
I already packed my Wellies and velcro gloves in case I meet a couple of nice local females…
This is a first for me,the good folks at Challenge Wanaka folks have sent an email suggesting that it might be a good idea for people to get themselves a neoprene hat,booties and gloves for the race next week…Apparently the water is around 16C(60F) with rain and cold weather in the forecast…Right now on the Gold Coast it is hot as shit and the ocean is 26C (79F)…Looks like I’ll be taking an assortment of long and sleeveless wetsuit tops FOR THE BIKE!!!
Clue me in if you know of booties and gloves that don’t fill with water and turn into anchors.
I already packed my Wellies and velcro gloves in case I meet a couple of nice local females…
I’ve never actually worn and booties in the swim and won’t be next week but the BlueSeventy booties used to sell quite well in my mates store in Penticton and they apparently worked quite well.Maybe someone else has some experience with them.
Next week I will just be coating my feet in vaseline…
60 degree water is cold? Damn, for Boise 70.3, we were lucky if it was 50 degrees and the air temp was in the low 40’s when we got in the water. I was close to hypothermic when I started the swim. Worst swim of my life!
60 degree water is cold? Damn, for Boise 70.3, we were lucky if it was 50 degrees and the air temp was in the low 40’s when we got in the water. I was close to hypothermic when I started the swim. Worst swim of my life!
As I said earlier,it all depends where you are coming from…Today on the Gold Coast the water temp in the ocean was 79F with an air temp at 7am of 75F…A twenty degree drop in water temp is a lot but I’m sure I will survive.
In Coeur d’Alene in '05 I flew in from tropical Cairns four days before the race and was so cold coming out of the water that my legs just didn’t work properly for the first couple of hours on the bike…Just turned that one into a long training day.
I’ve never actually worn and booties in the swim and won’t be next week but the BlueSeventy booties used to sell quite well in my mates store in Penticton and they apparently worked quite well.Maybe someone else has some experience with them.
Next week I will just be coating my feet in vaseline…
I wore neoprene booties for an Alcatraz swim that was ~60 degrees. I also wore a neoprene cap. If I did the swim again, I wouldn’t use the booties, but I would use the cap. I thought that the booties certainly helped and were worth it, but they did fill with quite a bit of water. I think that I would have been better without them and I don’t think that my feet would have suffered much.
