i’m looking for them. first time for me. drove up and checked the course out today–the “anti-Eagleman” for sure. very pretty.
looked around at package p/u and narry a disc to be found…i’m here w/ tri-bike, disc and 42/23 on the bottom end—yikes!
Any advise about the course? How tough are the first and last 12 miles? How about the run course? does the swim tend to be slow or fast…
thanks!
rc
I don’t know about wisdom, but this will be my third Timberman and here are my impressions. I have no idea if the swim tends to be slow or fast. Last year it was choppy, but the RD says that it’s been calm for most other years. (The current weather forecast calls for some wind, but that may not apply early in the am.) The first few hills on the bike course are a bit tough, but only because they come early. Once you get past those, it’s a pretty flat bike course. The hills on the last 12 miles are also a bit tough - not because they are steep, but because they come late in the ride. Overall, however, the bike course is a good one. Plenty of hills, but none of them are killers. Like any HIM, spin up the early hills to get a sense of the course and try not to burn your legs. Overall, the run course is pretty easy. There are a few hills, but only one of them is steep, and it’s a short one.
Bottom line: it’s a good course - not too hard nor easy. Get ready for a well-run and fun race. I’ll be coming up tomorrow.
P.S. You’ll see plenty of discs show up tomorrow.
I’ve done Timberman twice. I’ll just comment on the bike as my swim is not good enough to judge slow or fast course. The bike, in my opinion is a fast course. The hills in the first 12 miles are not bad as long as you hold back and don’t burn out the legs. The middle 30 miles or so is fast and fairly flat, at least flat enough to just get in the aerobars and go, then the last 12 mile is nothing major as long as you save some energy. If paced well I think it is a fast course. The race overall is put on fantastic. Timberman and Mooseman have been my favorite races so far. And both courses are beautiful (although I think Mooseman is a bit more scenic of a course).
since i’m sitting at the Cond.Suites at Winnebegosaki at 4am, I figured i’d bump this up again.
I have yet to see the bike course but will probably drive it doday. Does anyone know if it’s possible to swim the course today? I like to do a hard 1.2m swim the day before, and I could give feedback of the swim course.
I’m also here alone, if anyone wants to be my friend…i’ll pay you ;^)
Hey Mike–I’m at the super 8 in tilton…planning on swimming around 2 or so today–you’ll definately be able to swim…we’re going to so a short s/b/r of about an hour in total–wimpy i know but coaches orders…I’m number 210…
rc
The thing that I’ve found most challenging about the bike course is the section from about mile 28 to 44 - the turnaround to the start of the real hills again. The first time through, the hills are not a problem, because you are fresh and feeling good. Immediately after, you get on 16 miles of “flat” which is actually false-flat, going down to the turnaround.
Pacing yourself between 28-44 can be very hard as you’ll feel like you’re working quite hard on the false-flat going up now. Add in potential wind as it’ll start warming up by this time of day, and you may find yourself going 16mph on the same flat sections that you just rocked at 24-25mph.
So you work too hard, and then you’re toast by the time the hills hit again.
Run course is manageable - one bigger hill but the rest is pretty flat and very scenic! Be sure to enjoy the lake views, entertaining aid-stations, and barbershop quartet at the turnaround. Keith puts on a great race every time.
Mike
PS - If you’re looking for folks to hang with post-race, swing by the Boston Tri Team tent. We’ll be set up right along the bike in-out, probably next to the Mavic neutral support crew.
2:00 down at the race site? Maybe that’s what i’ll do, hopefully KJ will have the course buoys out by then…
I just drove down and man is it windy! The swim conditions right now are worse than Coeur d’Alene which were awful. All white-caps.
as for you coach, never listen to Canadians!
I totally agree with the 28-44 mile thing. Except for me I think I put too much into mile 12-28 and didn’t save for the false flat uphill. I just took a look at my power file from last year and I averaged 210 for the whole ride. I was putting out about 200 watts going 30mph on many sections between 12 and 28. I had a note in my file that I should have saved energy on the false flat down (12-28) so I could have pushed harder on the false flat up (28-44). I think I just get caught up in going fast and end up pushing out more watts than I should on the false flat downhills.
Yep, it is definitely windy today for the Sprint. Must have been tough for any first-timers. For what it’s worth, the forecast is calling for less intense wind tomorrow.
See you there. (RC: I’m also at the Super 8. Look for a tall guy with short hair (way too much of it is gray) and a black Serotta with tri-spokes.
I’m just back from the Sprint…windy windy windy…the swim was delayed maybe 10 minutes, no explanation, but it looked like they were moving the buoys because of the strong winds. I was in wave 5…very tough wave women 35-39 and Athena. It was a large wave…I dolphin dove- the only way to really get through the swells, for the first 25 meters as did the other lead swimmers (then I got totally passed)…swells were major maybe 2-3 feet in the trough at times. Wind was tough on bike, I rode 606s and Spiuk helmet and don’t weigh much…got blown around alot!! My husband rides a disc and he said he wished he used his rear 808 today. Wind was such a factor…friend who was 2nd OV female was 1 full minute slower on the swim this year than last…
Hopefully it will die down tomorrow, but here on the coast of Maine its still blowing like crazy…looks like they shortened the Granite Man swim to 1/4 mile so the conditions must have been tough there too.