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Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Are you or someone you know participating in the 4th annual Ironman 70.3 Augusta?

If so, you have come to the right place for information!

Augusta is known as being one of the best half ironman races for first time 70.3 athletes out there or a great course for setting a new 70.3 PR for the veterans. With the downstream wetsuit legal swim, beautiful rolling bike course, and one of the most spectator friendly run courses on the circuit - you have chosen wisely.

What to expect from the course:


1.2 Mile Swim

The 1.2 mile swim is fast!!! I remember attending the pre-race meeting the inaugural year in 2009 and hearing the announcer say, "if you don't make the swim cut off, you are pointing in the wrong direction". Each wave is corralled before the start, so if you are in wave 3-6, you better be ready to get in the corral early. They stack them up and they move fast. This is an in water swim start, depending on how fast the current, strong of a swimmer you are or how much contact you are looking for at the start will dictate where you should line up. Faster swimmers will most likely tread water at the buoy line and wait for the gun to go off, while slower or new athletes will hang on to the dock while they wait.

If you are a spectator - a great place to watch the swim is from on top of the Gordon Hwy bridge, just downstream from the start. Here is a video from that bridge last year:


56 Mile Bike

The 56 mile bike course at Augusta is one of my favorite routes I have done. It has a little bit of everything: flat and fast sections, challenging climbs, beautiful farm land, and GREAT volunteers. You don't have to worry about getting lost or approaching a dangerous intersection at this race. The local ROTC and Reserves are out in full force providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all 3500 athletes!

For those who live in Tallahassee - I hope you road some hills. I recommended to my athletes to hit CR12 or Havana. Here are two elevation profiles, one for Augusta and one for Thomasville Rd/CR12.



Hard to see but - if you have been doing CR12, you have nothing to worry about. This route has almost double the elevation gain of Augusta.



13.1 Mile Run

This run can be a very fast course - almost too fast. The crowd support makes it easy to leave transition in a flash. Be sure you are watching your pace or HR closely. The run course loops the streets of Downtown Augusta making it really easy for the family, friends, fans and Sherpas to see their athletes multiple times. Best place to see a lot of action is near the finish line. 

This course has seen every race day condition you can think of: pleasant in 2009, rainy in 2010, and rainy and humid with sun in 2011. Sunday forecast for Augusta calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Models are showing that a cold front will be pushing through the region over the weekend. Ahead of the cold front will be warmer temperatures and a more humid air mass. The front is forecast to past sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. With this passing front, a chance of rain is present. So expect any kind of condition as this cold front could stall and it could be warm and humid, or it could be passing through during the race (rainy and windy), or we could get lucky and it pushes through Saturday and we have pleasant low humidity condition on Sunday. Plan for it all!

Post-race Party!! (The reason a lot of us do these things)

If you didn't plan on Staying in town on Sunday night - consider changing your plans. Augusta has a fantastic post race party!! Bring your recovery socks, favorite camping chair, and have a beer or two while you watch your fellow athletes finish.



I hope you were able to get some useful information from this!!! Please email me sandy@triattic.com if you have any further questions!


Triattic is bringing a LARGE group to August, GA this year. We have 6 first timers and 5 other athletes representing most age groups out there that day; from female 25-29 to male 50-54 we got you covered.

Darren Allen (M40-44) - race # 724 - 1st time 70.3!
Brian Bazinet (M35-39) - race # 1721 - 1st time 70.3!
Al Curry (M50-54) - race # 270 - 1st time 70.3!
Jo Curry (F45-49) - race # 1341 - 2nd 70.3! - rematch at Augusta!
Michael Holt (M35-39) - race # 1855 - 8th 70.3! - 3rd time in Augusta!
Sandy Holt (F25-29) - race # 3110 - 9th 70.3! - 3rd time in Augusta!
Charlie Johnson (M30-34) - race # 2252 - 5th 70.3! - 3rd time in Augusta!
Keith Rowe (M50-54) - race # 375 - 1st time 70.3!
Wayne Thumm (M40-44) - race # 1158 - 2nd 70.3! - going for the sub-6!
Melissa Thompson (F25-29) - race # 3150 - 1st 70.3!
Lori Westphal (F40-44) - race # 1691 - 1st 70.3!

Live race day coverage can be found at www.ironman.com. Athletes can be tracked by name, age group, and number.

BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE COMPETING AT AUGUSTA!


Looking for Sponsors

Do you have a business that is looking to gain exposure in the endurance world?

Triattic, LLC is looking for 2013 Sponsors.

Triattic helps endurance athletes connect and live the endurance-multisport lifestyle by providing personalized coaching services, group training sessions, clinics, and access to world class products. Our mission is to provide clients the knowledge, skill sets, training, and confidence required to achieve their personal goals.

We will be offering different sponsorship packages based on level of exposure your business is looking for. We have options for logo placement on team uniforms, shirts, direct link on website, and we can also highlight products on blog posts, etc......

If you are interested in sponsoring Triattic for 2013, let us know. Send an email to info@triattic.com or call 1-800-483-6303.

For information on our current athletes and race schedule see our team page: http://www.triattic.com/team/



Ironman Wisconsin Post Race Report

I decided to race Ironman Wisconsin two weeks before the race. Having finished four Ironman races before and knowing that I am currently training for Ironman Florida in November, finishing the race was not a concern. I was going to use this race as a test to see where I am in my goal of breaking 11 hours at FL.

The reason I signed up for this race last minute is because of a journey, quest, goal, dream (you can call it what you like) I have to do all the US Ironman races in one year and try and qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 2013.

Their are seven Kona qualifiers in the US for 2013 and Ironman Wisconsin was the first on the list. I couldn't start this quest if I missed the first race, could I?

Race schedule: Ironman Wisconsin 9/8/12, Ironman Florida 11/3/12, Arizona 11/18/12 (FULL!! - still need to find a way in), Ironman Texas 5/18/13, Ironman Couer d'Alene 6/23/13, Ironman Lake Placid 7/28/13 and Ironman Kentucky 8/28/13. One down, six to go.

With that being said; I had two weeks to book a flight, hotel, and figure out how to get my bike up to Wisconsin.  This would be the first Ironman race I would attend by myself. Knowing how much goes into pre-race, race, and post-race, I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to handle everything that was at task.

With three days to spare I had booked my flight, found a hotel, and made a bike box. I booked my flight out of Tampa, FL to save on rates. I stayed at a Super 8 that was within (what I thought) 1.5 miles of site, and I got a bike box and reinforced it and disguised it in hopes of dodging the bike fee with Delta. That didn't work, darn. Was stuck paying $150 bucks to get my bike to Wisconsin. Needless to say it didn't come back with me on the flight. I decided to ship it FedEx to save some money.

Onto my trip:

I arrived in Madison on Thursday around 12:30 central time. My bike made it (minus the straps), I got a cab right away and was at my hotel by 2:00 pm. Unpacking and reassembling my bike was a lot easier than I thought. I hoped on my bike headed down to the Monona Terrace (race location) to get checked in.


While checking in I received my race bag, bib number, swim cap, and went through medical check where I was weighed and signed away my life. This was my first race without my name being printed on my race bib number, I borrowed a permanent marker and wrote it in.

I hung around downtown Madison for a while that day and checked out the area. State Street is located from Capital Square all the way to the University. This road is closed to public traffic and can only be used by pedestrians and city buses and cabs. This strip was the highlight of the run course during the race. State Street is lined with hundreds of restaurants, bars, and shops - a great place to hangout.

Friday night was the athlete dinner at the Monona Terrace. Attending these never gets old to me. It is so much fun to watch the welcome video, hear the inspirational stories, and get some stats from Mike Riley about the participants. There was a guy there who was competing in his 90th Ironman! WOW!

Race Day:

Wake up call: 3:30 am! Sleeping the night before an Ironman is over rated, lol. By 4:00 am I had gotten calls from my boyfriend and Mom wishing me luck and letting me know they would be watching me on the internet. Knowing this and also knowing all my friends would also be online, helped that feeling of being alone.

I had my normal breakfast an english muffin with nutella, greek yogurt with fruit and two cups of coffee. I had a cab pick me up at 4:45 am. I was at race site by 4:55 am and was one of the first to get marked and in transition. 

I prepped my bike by putting on my computer, filled up my water bottles and packed my bento box with enough food for 7 hours on the bike (you never know what can happen). I had to drop off my Garmin in my run gear bag and I added a long sleeve shirt into my bike gear bag. After that I got to sit down in the Monona Terrace for about 30-min before I headed down to the swim start, this was my time to mentally prepare for the race. Not having anyone there made it really easy to get into the zone. All I had to do was worry about myself and get ready for the day to come. The transition is very unique in Madison, it is located on the top of the parking deck for the Monona Terrace. You enter and exit transition on a helix.

Swim: 2.4 miles in 1:09:47, 1:48/100m.


Ironman Wisconsin is an in water start. The water temp was 72 degrees so that meant wetsuit legal, yeah for my Cat5! I got in the water at 7:38 am, I had about 22 minutes before the cannon went off. I got in a short warm up and got into position for the start. I took to my normal spot, right on the inside buoy line at the front. This wasn't my fastest 2.4 mile swim but I felt the best I have ever felt during and exiting the water. I didn't have any issues with sighting, going off course or contact. This was actually one of the more uneventful 2.4 mile swims I have done.

T1: 8:03

The run up the helix was AMAZING, hundreds of screaming fans lined the inside of the helix as you ran up it. The screams were so loud it was hard to even think about what you were doing. I made it into T1, found my bag and was in the changing tent without any problems. There has to be a better way to put on arm warmers after a swim, it took me probably close to 2 minutes to get them on. After leaving the change room I stopped in a port-o-let and went on to find my bike. It was waiting for me at the end of the bike isle and I grabbed it and went. I was about to hop on and head down the helix and noticed my chain had been knocked off. Jumped off my bike, fixed my chain, then was off for the 112 mile bike.

Bike: 112 miles in 6:26:03, 17.4 mph.


What I failed to mention earlier, when I was walking down to swim start I remembered that I had forgotten to put on my HR strap before I left the hotel in the morning. Oh boy..........since all I new about the bike course was that it was HARD, I got a quick rush of, oh shit! Then I had to remind myself that I know my body better than I ever have. So I road the course by feel. It is a lollipop bike course, you  head out from transition on a 14 mile stretch before you do two 40 mile loops. My plan was to take the first loop easy and see what it was like and decide to pick it up from there if I wanted. Well, first loop done and knew I couldn't push much harder if I wanted to have a good run. The bike course is everything they said it would be. Turns, uphills, and decents then entire time. It sure did keep you busy, not like sitting on IM Florida course in aero without moving for 2+ hours. If I remember right, I doubt I was in aero for more than 10 minutes at a time. My favorite part of the bike course was climbing the big hills into Cross Plains, WI. The town had came out in full force to line the road like the Tour de France. I saw banana costumes, guys in speedos, girls dressed in hula outfits, body painting - this was my favorite part of the bike course, even though it was the hardest. I felt good the entire time, never had any saddle issues, never got uncomfortable, I road a very smart controlled 100 miles then the unwanted happened. I broke a rear spoke. Oh no............what to do??? I knew bike tech was on the course (somewhere) but I didn't want to stop and wait. So I did what I had to, stopped to do a patch job fix so I wasn't clanging my broken spoke on my frame then I continued on crossing my fingers, riding very easy, hoping to make it back to transition or have bike tech pass with a new tire. Well I never got a new tire but I made it back to transition. (I still need to get it fixed).

T2: 4:30

This time the helix wasn't so much fun, I had a broken spoke and had enough of small chain ring and 25 gear. But I got back, un-clipped, took off my bike shoes and hobbled into the change tent after I found my bag. Took off arm warmers as it had warmed up nicely to the low 70's, stopped in the port-o-let again then was off to a new Ironman Marathon PR!

Run: 26.2 mile run in 4:15:08, 9:44/mile. 
I was really looking forward to the run. I have put in so much run training over the past year and I was hoping it would pay off. I came off the bike and hit mile one in 8:18, oops. It never seizes to amaze me how deceiving pace and effort feels after getting off the bike for 6+ hours. By mile 2 I had found my pace and held steady till mile 11 then the cramps came. I fought with them for about 6 miles, never giving up and taking in what I could at aid stations. By mile 17 they were gone and I held in till the finish. The crowd support on the run course is by far the best support I have ever had in an Ironman. During the run you travel through downtown Madison, State Street, Badger Stadium, the University, oh and the Observatory (the only big hills on the run), and also got off road for a bit on a crushed stone path. Coming into the last few miles I had so much energy and felt the best I had all race. It was at this point that I realized I could have run faster but had backed off from fear.



Ironman is a challenge I enjoy more and more every time. I learn each time that my body is more capable than I want to believe. My quest to try to qualify for Kona will be a true battle of my mental strength. I have to take the chance to over do it. I have yet to have a bad Ironman race, I finish each one filled with energy and wanting more. If I want to get to Kona, I have to fight for it and I have to lay everything on the line. My training has set me up to do that, I just have to make it happen on race day.

Racing Madison I knew I didn't have a shot at qualifying, I used this race as a test. Now I know exactly what it takes and what I am capable of. Ironman Florida girls, watch out!


Where to stay, eat, and what to see while at Ironman Wisconsin


Madison is the capital of Wisconsin. It population is just over 230,000 people and is the second largest city in Wisconsin. If you are flying in from out of town Madison has a region airport (http://www.msnairport.com/) located about 5 miles out from downtown.


Transportation:
I used Green Cab (http://www.greencabofmadison.com/) and public transportation (http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/) for my transportation needs while visiting for the race.

Hotel Recommendations:
If you plan to race Wisconsin in 2013 and staying in a hotel I recommend booking a hotel in downtown Madison. There are couple hotels within a 10-min walk to Ironman Village and race site.

1. Hilton Madison Monona Terrace is @ race location.
2. Best Western Plus Inn On The Park is only 3 blocks from race location and is located directly on capital square.

Other hotels that are located close to race:
3. Hyatt Place Madison/Downtown
4. DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Madison

Ironman has hotel accommodation services for athletes and family: http://ironmanwisconsin.com/athletes/accommodations/

If you are staying at one of the downtown hotels the need for a rental car is not necessary. I participated in Wisconsin Ironman this year and booked a hotel last minute about 2.5 miles away and was able to get around without a rental by the use of public transportation and cabs.

Restaurant Recommendations:

1. Italian: Francesca's Al Lago
Located on MLK in between the Capital building and Ironman village. Price: $$$

2. Great post race meal: Brocach Irish Pub
Located on Main St. on capital square. Price $$
Well known for there Bangers & Mash





3. Local/Organic French/American cuisine: Harvest
Located on Pinckney Street on capital square. Price $$$$

What you don't want to miss while visiting:
 
Madison Farmer's Market: http://madisonfarmersmarket.com/
This is a great place to buy cheese, get local produce, crafts, deserts, and experience local culture.

Check out this short video of a man playing multiple instruments during the Farmer's Market:



State St. will be a deafening experience on race day. It is a highlight of the run course. State Street is lined with a plethora restaurants, bars, and shops.

Madison, Wisconsin did a great job supporting and making the entire Ironman experience unforgettable. It not only takes a great team of race directors and volunteers to make a race like Ironman successful it take the support from the community. Madison goes above and beyond to make sure all the athletes are safe on the race course and provide a great town to visit.

Check back soon for my post race report of Ironman Wisconsin 2012.

NEARING THE END OF TRIATHLON SEASON


Well, hello everyone!  The meat of the triathlon season has now passed us, and most people are seeing their race schedule winding down.  The weather will soon start to cool off and football season will be in full throttle.  However, there are many who still have their “A” race looming in the near future.  It is a very exciting time for many of the TriAttic family.
Seventeen TriAttics will be participating in this weekend’s Beach Blast Triathlon.  Some will be competing in the Sprint while others will take on the intermediate (similar to Olympic) distance.  This race series is always popular with triathletes in the Big Bend region.  It is within a 2.5 hour drive of Tallahassee, located at beautiful Mexico Beach and offers both sprint and intermediate distance races for both duathlon and triathlon.  The swim is in the Gulf of Mexico and the run just off of the beach.  The awards and party after the race are always a good time, too.
Many of the TriAttics are in final preparations for the fourth edition of Ironman Augusta 70.3.  For some of them, it will be their first race of this distance.  Augusta is the perfect race to be a triathlete’s first 70.3 distance.  The swim is lightning fast pretty much guaranteeing a personal record swim time for everyone.  Supposedly, the flow of the Savannah River is fast enough that a floating log would make the swim time cutoff.  Additionally, it is rumored that the nuclear power plant upstream can provide extra powers through the water (kidding).  The bike crosses two states and passes through beautiful farm pastures while providing some challenging hills similar to parts of Leon and Jefferson County.  And the run winds through historical downtown Augusta with legions of fan support.  It is pretty cool when you can say that your race finished at a statue of James Brown (aka The Godfather of Soul, aka The Hardest Working Man in Show Business).  And the town goes all out for this race, even dying the fountains purple to match the race theme colors.
Then there are a few who will be taking on the full Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach on November 3rd.  This is always such a well organized race.  Tallahassee is well represented at this race and the always-large support crew creates a party atmosphere at the Sunset Inn located on the run course.  It is a fast race and a great experience for racers and supporters alike.
            Lastly, there is Coach Sandy Holt.  She will be competing in the Ironman Augusta 70.3 and Ironman Florida, but has one “little” race prior to those.  That “little” race is Ironman Wisconsin this weekend on Sunday.  It will be the first of seven full Ironman Triathlons within the United States in which she plans to compete over the next year.  The race is in Madison, Wisconsin, the state’s capitol.  Sandy has taken on this feat to show that many things are physically and mentally possible.  Through this process, she will be spreading the word of living a healthy lifestyle among other things.  To track her race, on Sunday, you can go to www.ironman.com and get updates as she moves through the course.
            So to go with the great race venues will be great race efforts put forth.  All of the training everyone has dedicated themselves to is now going to start paying off.  All the early mornings and late evenings of hitting the pool, biking on roads and trainers, and running the tracks/trails/roads will show up in the form of great results.  As has been said many times, “…it isn’t the destination, it is the journey…”  That is so true for the sport of triathlon.  We all have days where we might rather be doing something else than putting in the training hours.  But when you look back on what you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve come, it makes it all worthwhile.  Everyone have great races, and most of all, HAVE FUN!  Good luck!