I know that more that just myself and Erin were there…how did everyone there do? I ended up 4:54…kinda mad as I took it really easy on the bike, wish I had gone a bit harder there. Got a bit lost on the swim (I swerve right) and had about an extra 300 yards I figure. All in all a really good race I think for every one there.
What was STUPID is the earlier you got there, the FURTHER away you had to park!!! WTF is that about? That is IGNORANT. I plan to send a nice letter to the RD about that as I guess it was her idea. Why would I get there early if I knew I had to walk 3/4 of a mile to the start, if I get there late…100 yards…makes NO sense at all.
Congrats on your race. Next time, stick all year gear in a backpack and ride your bike from your hotel to the race. If the hotel is too far, park 5 miles away and spin over so you have a nice easy warmup ride. No need to complain to the RD about such trivial things as parking. Being an RD is a thankless job. If the race was unsafe, complain, if the race was unfair complain. If there are areas of the competition that could be improved offer contstuctive input. Parking is highly trivial in the big picture of the race and life in general !
I agree that in the grand scheme of things parking is not a big issue, and you have made some great suggestions as how to beat the parking blues. As races become more competitive amongst themselves, it’s these little customer service issues that will come to the fore as differentiators in deciding where athletes will go: Race A - Awesome race in all respects, but you have to park 2 miles from transition. Race B - Awesome race in all respects, but they have ample parking right beside transition. What race would you do?
Question: What’s the deal with people arriving 2 hours before the start of races these days? Who primed folks for this? We arrived at the start for Muskoka on the weekend, 1:20 before race start and I felt like we were the last people there - but we did find parking right beside the transition area!
Great race by the way. That 35 - 39 age group does not seem to get any easier. Yikes! I guess it does not help with guys like James Pulfer coming out of retirement(nice to see him back).
Yeah, I would like to ask where was everyone? I got my hug from Record, and he’s a nice guy- ya’ll could have seen that as well!!! But seriously, I finished in 5:54- my far off goal for my first Tin Man was a 6 hour finish, and was real happy with how it went. The day started to get warm as the run went on, but otherwise it was a cool, not windy day- perfect for biking. The only problem that I ran into was losing my stopper for my aero bottle when I hit a bump and then getting splashed with gatorade at every single bump until I could suck enough of it down- I fixed that problem by putting a sock in the top. Now I’m wondering where should I get another yellow mesh thing- you know what I’m talking about. And the run, well the run was a run- I decided that I really like biking a lot more during the 2 hour run…
But all I could think afterwards was I wonder when the next one is and if I’d be ready to do it?
(And I was there early and I didn’t think that I had that far to walk- has anyone ever done Lake Mills? now THAT’S a walk to the start.)
Fleck, I do agree with you about the finer details, but I really think that as athletes we forget that these races are largely put on by volunteers and most (but not all) RD’s make very little money putting on ‘local races’. Don’t know about the status of Recordti’s race with resepect to overall magnitude. My main point is that we cannot expect Ironman North America like service from your local event. Then again, the local race should not be putting on Ironman NA like pricing on their label.
By the way, I arrive at transition no earlier than 60 min before my race starts. I do my warmup ride biking to the race and then I have nothing to do but rack my bike, set up my run gear after a quick 5 min warmup run and head to the swim start. If I arrive any earlier, I just get nervous watching all the studs and their gear. Even after 20 years in this sport, I get intimidated by all the guys that look fast !
As for the 35-39 age group in my race, I was chasing Mr. Pulfer all day. We are pretty balanced in all three, (usually I get blown away on the swim but make up time on the bike-run), but yesterday, I had a weak run and James was solid all day !
My one and only complaint is HOW they went about it. I had no issues as I was told to park where I parked. I did mention that the car I was in only has about 3.5" of ground clearance and declined to pull over some mud and put my car in a better place (WAY out of anyones way) this was better than getting bottomed out and stuck in mud blocking all the other cars. I was TOLD that all the other spaces were full…that is great, no big deal. So…as I (and others) walk all of our gear to the start we see that all the lots CLOSER to the transition are empty! As time went on they then let the cars closer to the start.
So, I know I am not special…but I dont like being LIED to about lots being full when they are not. The premise that there is a benifit to getting there late as you get better parking is stupid. Seems backwards. I, for one would have been much happier if I did not have to drive my car over gravel, grass and mud…if I arrived later I would not have, as there is a benifit to being late…better parking.
Also…one other odd thing…
They started the SLOWER people FIRST! 2 mintues apart of something like that, is this normal now? Women’s heats start prior to mens? Then they went from oldest to youngest. I thought it was kinda fun as I was able to pass people the entire time on the bike making me feel like a hell of a stud! But, boy if I was getting passed all day by people over and over again as a person in a earlier heat - that would get a bit old. There were some people thinking that there may be to much traffic in Trans. as the men would get there at about the same time as the women…and we did…but it was not that bad at all really. I had no issues on the roads with people other than 3 women blocking the entire road…drafting…and waving at the marshal on a motor cycle! I dont think they knew that drafting was not allowed as they were in a rotating pace line for about 5 mintues right next to the marshal with him looking shocked at them…taking note after note after note on his clipboard shaking his head.
Fair enough. You should not have to put your car in a bad situation like that. Anyway, next time, try parking some distance away from the race and ride in. I hate dealing with parking around 1000 other cars all arrving and leaving at similar times. Much easier and peaceful to ride and you get your bike all checked out and your warmup ride done all at the same time.
I was in the 35-39 age group. I thought the race was well organized and the parking situation wasn’t that bad. This was my first ever tri after being a competitive cyclist for many years. I got a little stressed in the swim with all the other swimmers and ended up swimming 50 yards or so away from everyone which I’m sure made my time much slower. Completed the whole thing in 5:53. Is that a decent time or not? All I know is I had a great time and definitely will be doing more Tri’s.
Well, it sounds like you’re in good shpare for Lake Placid next month, so that’s a good thing. And I can think of at least one person you’ll probably beat in the 35-39 AG.
Was the new run course accurate for distance? Last year it seemed to be missing about a mile, while the swim featured a few hundred bonus yards.
I thought the swim was definitely longer this year. My time was about 4 minutes more this year. I think last year’s swim was short.
I am not sure about the length of the run but I will take last year’s trail run any day over the pavement this year. The run was much easier on the legs last year.
I love that hill on the bike, kind of sneaks up on you! Makes for a challenging bike ride.
Really? You thought last year’s swim was short? Most of the folks I talked to went about 4-6 minutes slower than they expected, and thought it was 200-300 yards long. Maybe we’re all just lousy swimmers. In my case, I swam a 28:30 mile two weeks before, and at Tupper I swam 41:44, which was pretty disappointing.
They changed the course this year so it was a rectangle instead of a V, right?
Did they have the after race barbeque? They cancelled it last year, which was a bummer.
You’re right, though. A very nice race overall. I’d like to do it again. Hopefully it won’t sell out in the next few months.
Maybe that’s why I’m all confused! I thought they were talking about The Tupper Lake TinMan. I think I mantioned it up above somewhere, I guess no one corrected me. Sorry for the confusion. Yo soy muy stupido. Je suis tres bete. I am a dumbass.
Guys, the Tupper Lake Tin Man half Ironman in Upstate NY is on Sat Jun 26th. Record10ti is referring to another event.
For those who plan to be at Tupper Lake this Sat, see you there ! Fortunately, I’ll have my red Kestrel 200 SC back for the weekend and I won’t have to do the race on a borrowed bike like I had to at Muskoka !
In my case, I swam a 28:30 mile two weeks before, and at Tupper I swam 41:44, which was pretty disappointing.