Mountaineer 6/25/06

[suziharman]

Who is going? I will be there for the Olympic.

[Brooks Modie]

Olympic for me

Brooks

[MarkD]

In - olympic.

If some of you Mountaineer vets are available, I'd like to bend your ear for about 20 minutes on Sat. night about the course - I plan on driving the bike course when I get into town, but, never having gone this distance, and reading the race reports from last year, I'm sure I'll have some q's on strategy going into the race... I'm staying at the host hotel (I think its the Radisson)...

Let me know if any of you can take the time. Thanks.
mad

[JenCollister]

Olympic for me too. Mark, maybe we could all hook up for dinner on Saturday night. Don't stress though. The bike course isn't that tough and you are in great shape!

[MattCollister]

Some thoughts

Eat a big Mexican dinner the night before.

Practice running on wood.

If a guy with no hand approaches you to shake your hand, just shake the stump like it's nothing strange to you.

Be punctual on race morning. RDs hate tardy people messing up their well-orchestrated race starts. And if there is one key to success, above all others, at the olympic distance, it's keeping the race director happy.

Remember that this is the water that Pittsburghers bathe in (when they bathe, annually). It's also the water used to brew Iron City beer. Act accordingly.

Watch out for high school football teams impeding your path.

If you're wondering whether you need to keep running uphill, you do.

If I remember correctly, someone was selling beer on the riverfront post race.

[MarkD]

Funny you should mention that... We hired a guy a couple of years ago who only has a thumb and index finger on his right hand - d**n is it weird shaking that thing. You should see the sudden pause folks make before shaking his hand for the first time - its even funnier when they don't notice the missing digits before he extends his hand. Luckily he has a good sense of humor about it and jokes openly about it.

On the flip side - the same dude invested his ENTIRE retirement in Enron and WorldCom and now plans to work til he's dead. No B.S. Sorry to digress, but you started it !!!

I'll be having an extra side of refried beans with that Mexican dinner on the 24th - don't run behind me...

[JenCollister]

You think he is kidding, but we did actually eat a big Mexican dinner the night before the race last year. The Italian places were too crowded!

Oh, and for the Olympic run course, ignore the running advice (except for the wood part). Our run path is virtually flat. The half-IM course goes straight uphill after we turn to go back.

[Brooks Modie]

Mexican food and racing....my two favorite hobbies ;D. This is going to be a great weekend!!

Brooks

[Eric]

I'm in for the Half Ironman.

[m gorris]

Mark,

Good luck at the Mountaineer, I really enjoyed the race last year. Unfortunaltely, I will not be doing the race this year.

Some thoughts on the course. BTW- I did the 1/2, but the Oly followed much of the same course

Swim - The river swim was unique. Matt's comments on the water, though funny, probably hold some truth. I do not swim in a wetsuit, although I am very familiar with them after years of water skiing, surfing and scuba diving. About half way through the swim I remember thinking to myself, " boy am I glad to be sans wetsuit"...it was HOT. Then again, I am a barge in the water so take it for what it is worth

T1- very steep hill coming out of the water, be cautious

Bike- Oly and 1/2 do basically the same course with 1/2 making a right on the road back to town and heading uphill for a few miles before turning back. 1/2 also do the bike 2x's. Coming out of town the course is very nice and flat to rolling along the river. Then a few miles in you hit the first climb....STEEP...but relatively short. The course has some long rollers and then if memory serves me, there is one more steep climb. The turn back to town is downhill, HOWEVER, it is bumpy. Not sure when the road is due for paving, suffice to say, it is long overdue.
Note of caution to 1/2 athletes - the turn around back at transition is a small loop near the parking garage. Use caution through this section as one of the aid stations is located there. Last year some poor soul lost it right in front of me in this section. Reason: he ran over a water bottle, as the volunteers were trying to hand off bottles to cyclists racing through this section. My personal advice is to do what I did: slow, stop, pull off, and replace your water bottles. You may lose a few seconds but you lessen the chance of hitting/dodging the pinballs!

Run: As mentioned, the oly course is flat and along the river on an asphalt trail. Very nice, relatively shaded. For the 1/2 it is a different story. About 3 miles in you turn toward WVU and head, literally, straight uphill!!! Last year it was sooooooo hot...heat indexes topping 100. I remember running up Jerry West Blvd, no relief from the sun, uphill, car exhaust....why do we do this crazy sport? At any rate, the turn around was near the football stadium, and yes, there were busloads of high school football teams one had to dodge. After the turnaround, you run the course in reverse so at least you have the downhill coming home.

All in all, I felt it to be a great race. My family and I arrived early and spent 3 days riding the rails to trails [very nice system right out the host hotel door]. There was a really nice community pool up the Decker trail about 1 mile with waterslides for the kids and the pool for Mom and Dad.
The host hotel was very nice and even has an indoor pool to practice your stroke. As far as the pre race meal, my family and I also ate Mexican the night before...too funny.

[Deleted]

mattcollister said:

Remember that this is the water that Pittsburghers bathe in (when they bathe, annually). It's also the water used to brew Iron City beer.

Technically, the water flows from Morgantown to Pittsburgh. But with the recent Super Bowl XL WIN and generally idiotic behavior of the youngest quarterback to ever win the aforementioned 5th Super Bowl title for the PITTSBURGH STEELERS, I can appreciate the dig.

Incidentally, Iron City is also brewed on the Allegheny River just northwest of downtown, so while I wouldn't recommend actually drinking the stuff (Penn Pilsner is a much better microbrew comparable to Great Lakes), you can swim in its runoff in Pittsburgh's Tri on August 6th (www.pittsburghtriathlon.com/). There's even an adventure race for the boaters out there.

[MarkD]

As a fellow Steeler fan with 1/2 my roots from the area, I can proudly say that I am partial to eastern PA brew - namely "Yungling" (sp?). Microbrew taste at a Busch Light price.

Race Question - is the swim with or without the river current ? I'm training in the Outerbanks (NC) this week and I'm amazed at the speed of the swim when moving with the currrent - about 40% faster - I'm sure the ocean salt water helps too.

Thanks for the thoughts on the bike course.

md

[matt c]

They close off the nearby dam, which ensures you wont accidentally float away to Pittsburgh (gasp), but there is still some current.

I don't think I was insinuating that I thought the water flows from Pitts to Morgantown. "Act accordingly" as if you know the water you're in right now will soon be consumed by the city of Pittsburgh.

With regards to Big Ben... with no teeth and a dislocated face, he'll fit right in in his new home town.

I can be so mean spirited.

[Eric]

Matt,

Are you racing while Jen does the Olympic?

[JenCollister]

Matt is doing the half-Ironman, while I do the Olympic. He's so fast (and I'm not so much) that I don't have to wait that long after I'm finished before he finishes. : )

[Eric]

This is to make sure everyone who will be at Mountaineer gets together for a picture before the race.

[Nathan]

Olympic for me.

Nathan

[scott]

I just did the course on Wednesday. Here's my intimate take on it:

Swim: nice and refreshing. They turn the river OFF at the lock. Exit and run/walk up the hill to the TA in the parking garage.

Bike:
Miles 0-7.2 FAST AND FLAT. Honest.
Mile 7.2-8.0 Ft. Martin kick you ass hill. I stayed in my saddle the whole time at 7mph.
Miles 8.0-14.2 up and down, but fast up and down.
Miles 14.2-15.4 some long slow climb that kicks my butt everytime. Down up shift to soon at the top. There is short NASTY little climb that rocks!
Miles 15.4-16.0 WATCH OUT for the dip in the road as you fly down this big hill.
Miles 16-20 fast and super fast going down rt 100. nice 's' turns
Miles 20-24.8 there was a small headwind, but stayed around 20mph.

Run (NEW COURSE FOR THIS YEAR)
2 lap course.
Miles 0-4 fast and flat on the paved bike path
Miles 4-6.35 are on/in campus. Make a right turn off the bike path around mile 5 and you are created with a short NASTY hill called Devil's Hill. We've got a surprise for ALL participants on the hill. :-) I felt the run thru campus was tough. Lots of ups and downs and turns, but it's pretty. Do this fun filled lap again and you're done!

See everyone in Morgantown!!!


Scott

[Jim]

I' in for the Oly. Where & when can we hook up for dinner?

[Nathan]

Much like Jim, I am just waiting for someone to take the lead as to where to meet up on Saturday and when. I lived in Morgantown for a couple of years and have one suggestion - the Boston Beanery Restaurant and Tavern in the center of downtown on High Street. They have something for just about everyone - soups, salads, sandwiches and pasta (chicken parmigiana and lasagna).

Just a suggestion.

Feel free to call me with any questions - [phone] - or to let me know what the plans are.

Nathan