Any ST people doing this race? Any thoughts comments concerns about the course? Just throwing it out there. Sounds like it should be a fun race.
5 from the Morehead City, NC area
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After a 6.5 hour drive to VA beach last weekend for the 1/2 marathon, I am doing Diamondman instead…
Bob
I’ll be there!
I’ve ridden the course several times. Big picture items:
When you get on 60, stay about 2-3 feet to the left of the white line. There are tons of potholes near the white line. Also, when you get to Carwash hill (about 2 miles after the resevoir) stay near the middle to middle left of the road. It’s a huge downhill and you don’t want to come up on the “potholes” in the middle of that section going 35+ mph. It’s really the only climb/hill on the course. Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of rollers, but this is the only one that you’ll have to get out of the saddle (potentially) for.
For the folks that did this race, how did it go? I assume it was hot as hell, right? What was the water temp? Race worth doing again?
Good race. The swim could of been a little better marked. The turn to return to the beach swimming into the sun was tough and there were racers swimming in all kinds of directions. I think I swam an extra 100-200m or so.
The transition area was about a 1/4-1/2mile from the beach. The bike was good. Light traffic, rolling hills to flat. A little long by my gps and computer. The run was flat and hot. Little shade. The aid stations were well stocked. All the turns on the bike and run were well marked and manned.
Overall I think it was a good race. Will do it again next year if not deployed.
Again Greg Hawkins and Set-Up inc did a great job - including the race sponsors!
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Swim was fun, should have been non-wetsuit legal, but was o.k. with sleeveless suit. First 50-75 meters were done dolphin-diving, got to first turn bouy pretty quickly, then had some current going with us on the long section of the swim, then a right turn into the current (cross current that is). The buoys were LARGE, but still hard to see in the sun, but this is something that can’t be changed (they were LARGE bouys). Water not clear, but it wasn’t bad to swim in at all.
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Transition to bike was long - for me about a 3:00 run to bike. Again, couldn’t be helped. They could have had some more carpeting to go over some of the road/rock sections, but I came out of it o.k. (no one else I know had any issues other than having to slow down at those points).
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The bike - first 10-15 miles were really nice roads and could get into a rhythm. But then a section of road was really bumpy, and you spent time trying to miss those spots (I had gear threatening to come off by bike here). But overall it wasn’t a hard course, my brain just didn’t connect and I had a not-so-great ride for me. And yes it was two miles too long.
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Run transition short - in other words much better
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Run - First 6 miles were in full sun. Aid stations were well run, great volunteers (I don’t think kids realized how quick we would be asking for stuff in the beginning, but when we came around the second time around they were a bit more prepared). One section of run from mile 6 to 8.5 was in shaded road (a total relief) which helped to make you feel better for awhile. Then it was back in the sun.
Oh yeah - avoid wearing thin soled racing flats on this course as the Colonial Parkway is not an easy surface to run on for miles. It is essentially a layer of gravel (the rounded kind basically) with concrete as the base. But the advantages to it was that it was not black…if it had been on a normal black-topped road it would have been totally brutal.
- Post race food - WAS THE BOMB!!! Best post race buffet I’ve ever had (for me). Most of these races think that we all want bagels, banannas, or some other sweet stuff (not to mention pasta). Here is what they had to offer: Barbecue, Macaroni & Cheese, Coleslaw, Hush Puppies, Chex Mix, Ike/Mike candies, Watermelon, Banannas, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Then there is the good selection of drinks (coke products, gatorade, water, even mountain dew) that was still in abundance for the people out on the course longer.
It is not a fast course though. As usual I had a ton of guys pass me on the bike, only to get passed by me on the run. They must have thought it was going to be a fast bike course only to get their butts kicked from going out too fast. Saw one guy wearing a ‘SlowTwitch’ jersey (I did say Hi).
This was my first half ironman distance event, so I was psyched. Unfortunately it turned out to be a not so good day for me.
-I did OK on the swim, minus being pulled by the current and not being able to see the shore or buoys on the way in. I know this sounds really stupid but it felt a lot longer than I had expected (duh, it’s 1.2 miles), but I’m comfortable with swimming 1500 meters, and 1.2 miles is just around 2000 meters, but I really felt like I was never going to get out of the water. Fortuneatly my swim time wasn’t too bad. It was only a minute or so longer than I had expected.
-T1… He wasn’t lying when he said it was about a half a mile run. haha
-The bike was fun. Although I do agree that some of the rough sections really screwed up my rhythm. The water on the course was really nice. I really don’t think I got enough fluids in general but it was nice getting those three extra bottles of water (I’m guessing this is normal for long distance races, but it’s nice coming from only Olympic and Sprint races).
-I was doing great up until this point. I had done well enough on the swim and bike that I was 10 minutes ahead of my rival at this point even though I didn’t know I was that far ahead, and I had stuck with my nutrition schedule on the bike. So you would think all I had to do was put out a decent run. Unfortuneatly this is where my day fell apart. The heat really got to me and I needed something other than gels to keep me going. I just couldn’t imagine being able to keep down anything as sweet as a gel or cytomax. I was tempted to try one of the Enduralytes they had at the aid stations, but since I hadn’t used them in training I figured I’d rather finish in pain than have to stop because I got sick.
-By the time I got to mile 10 I was feeling really crappy. Not just because of the heat but also because I’m used to doing fairly well in races (top 10% or top 3 age group) and today was obviously not one of those races. I was still truckin but I felt terrible, and I even remember saying to myself that it would be a long time before I did another long distance event. The best feeling was coming up on the finish and seeing my girlfriend there with a big sign and smiling. She didn’t care that I had a terrible race, she was just excited to see me finish.
-As soon as I finished I thought to myself, well, maybe I could do one of those again. At least now I know what I’m in for.
Anyone else have the same issue with gels or sweet sport drinks? When it’s hot out I just can’t do it. Nothing tastes better than water but it doesn’t do much for putting calories or electrolytes back in your system. Maybe I’ll try enduralytes.
Last but certainly not least… The volunteers were amazing. I have never seen so many young people out helping at the aid stations and in such a cheerful mood!
Oh yeah, I saw the Slow Twitch guy too, and I cheered for him. 
What was the water temp? Did the RD get an excemption to allow suits when they should not have been allowed?
In any event thanks to Debi and Strukljv for posting about the race.
Strukljv concerning your question on downing calories in the heat, like other things practice in training. Experiment with different gels or possibly sports drinks and be prepared to carry it on the run. ALternatively find out what the racing is serving at aid stations and see if you can “learn” to take it in or carry your own.
Peace,
RF** **
They had the “official” water temp at 76 that morning.
It was a well run race and I think the only thing that they could have really done better was to have sponges on the run course. And I felt every step on the colonial parkway through my T4’s. But that was my fault, not theirs.
Thanks, I am guessing that the consensus is that the water temp was really warmer then 76?
In any event, I hope they use the same thermometer at the duke 1/2 this week-end 
Peace,
GS
Congrats on your race! Your description was spot on… I would only add that for the next time they should try to have more ice and cold drinks out on the run course. The aid station on mile 3.5 (that we hit several times only had hot water when I got there the second time around)… that was painful especially after that open section on Treasure Island… btw they could add another aid station there. All in all a very good race/venue.
I did the VA Beach Rock and Roll also, great race. Now I hav ethe Duke Live Half on the 16th.
Great race out there Debi. I was one of the guys that passed you on the bike and then you passed me on the run at about mile 12 as I was getting my butt kicked by the run, which is typically my strength of the 3 (I was wearing a Richmond Tri Club uniform and black visor). I pre-rode that bike course twice and still didn’t get it right on race day. I found the last section of the course to be deceivingly more difficult than the first 40 miles (the section from Diascund Rd. to the end), esp. miles 57 & 58 I really suffered in the sun and heat on the run. I was walking pretty much every aid station after mile 6 (which I’m almost embarassed to admit for a Half)
Adding injury to my insult of a poorly executed race, my bike slipped out of my hand running from dismount to transition area during T2, and I tripped over it and banged my ankle on the bottom of it. I didn’t think much of it at the time, and finished the race only to remove my shoe at the end and find a chain ring shaped gash in my right ankle. For those who have friends and family who think triahtletes are crazy, try walking into an emergency clinic right after a race with a dirty gaping wound and tell them you just ran 13 miles on that injury… Anyway, 12 stitches, a tetanus shot, and a bunch of antibiotics later, hopefully I’m on the mend and will be out at another race before the season is over.
I agree with all your comments about the production of the race - the good parts and the parts that could be improved. Greg and Setup did a great job for a first time event. Would love to see this race a couple of weeks later next year to reduce the chances of a hot humid day like we had Saturday!
- Mike
Yep…I remember you! But I don’t remember seeing the gash on your leg…OUCH!
Nothing like a forced recovery after a hard effort like that!
I agree that moving it towards the end of the month would be better…except for possible fog conditions along the river at that time of year (colder mornings, warm water, etc).
Yeah, I didn’t see the gash in my ankle either, or I definitely would not have tried to finish the race. It was below my sockline on the outside of my right ankle. Funny thing is I just started doing the mount and dismount with shoes left on pedals to save transition time this year - in this case it screwed me because my bike shoe would have protected the part of my ankle that was sliced open by my chain ring had I still been wearing them - but hey, I saved a coupled of seconds in each transition - geez…
Agree with you on the fog being a factor when the weather gets cooler in the fall. Couple of years ago (‘04 I think) we did not start the September Lake Anna Half until 9:30 a.m. (scheduled start was 7:00) because of the fog on the lake. I bet you were probably there for that race. It got freakin’ hot that afternoon, too, because we weren’t getting out onto the run course until after 1pm. Oh well - I guess I just need to learn how to stay hydrated and not meltdown in the heat…