RecPlex Triathlon Training Blog: August 2012

No earth-shattering new news, but there may be one or two new things to know.

Packet Pickup

THURSDAY August 23rd	Dick Pond Athletics 29 S Prospect Ave Park Ridge, IL 60068	4:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, August 25th	RecPlex 9900 Terwall Terrace Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158	10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, August 26th	RACE VENUE, RecPlex, Pleasant Prairie, WI	5:00 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.
Photo ID required at Pickup. All Relay team members must pick up packet together.
New for this year: You will get your t-shirt and goodie bag at the finish line after the race, not on Saturday.

Bike Racking

Either Saturday (10am-3pm) or Sunday (4:30am until 6:45am). You must have your race number on your bike to enter transition. Only athletes with race numbers are allowed in transition. This means (1) you have to pick up your packet first, and (2) if you bring your kids, you need to bring someone to watch them while you go into transition.

Transition Area

Will be at the south end of the RecPlex parking lot, close to the Baby U building (opposite side of the parking lot from the RecPlex itself).
Transition is open 10am – 3pm on Saturday.
Transition opens at 4:30am on Sunday, and closes at 6:45am. If you are in a team you will still have to exit transition at 6:45, and will be allowed back in once the race is underway.
Typically transition will re-open for you to remove your bike & gear when everyone is off the bike course.

Bike In/Out and Run In/Out

Will be from the south parking lot entrance – the one with the gates. You won’t be using the main entrance by the RecPlex.

Getting here (Sunday)

Hwy 165 will be closed on Sunday morning between 4:00-4:30am. Terwall Terrace will be blocked off at Hwy 165 Saturday night.
You will have to enter the park from the north, from Hwy H (88^th Ave.) or 95^th St.
If coming via I-94:

1. Exit Hwy C / Wilmot Rd.

2. Go east, then veer right on Bain Station Rd. (If you miss this turn, just continue and turn on Hwy H.)

3. Go down Bain Station Rd. to the stop sign, and turn right on Hwy H / 88^th Ave.

4. Proceed south to Terwall Terrace (95^th St.), and turn right into Prairie Springs Park.

Parking on Sunday

Parking on-site – South Ballfields, RecPlex Parking Lot, Ice Arena parking lot, 4:30am until full (or 6:15am, whichever comes first).
Parking attendants will direct you.
Enter from Hwy H / 88^th Ave. and 95^th St. as noted above.
Parking on-site will be closed at 6:15am sharp.

Offsite / Overflow Parking

At Premium Outlets, Hwy 165 and I-94.
Exit at Hwy 165, go east to the frontage road (120^th Ave.), and turn right by the BP Station – you’ll have to turn because you can’t go straight.
Follow the road past the hotel to the south end of the outlet stores, and park in the south lot.
Do not park in the north lot (where the Nike Store is) or in the east lot (where UnderArmour and Restoration Hardware are), or you may be ticketed.
Shuttle buses will take you to the RecPlex; shuttles will run 4:30am until Noon.
You cannot take your bike on the shuttle. If you are racking your bike on Sunday, ride it down Hwy 165 and into the park.
Athletes have priority on the shuttles. If you should arrive late, make sure to speak up and let the shuttle bus drivers know you’re racing.

Swim Course

UPDATE: Despite what we heard earlier, it is likely that you are going to enter the water on the north side of the marked swim course. This means that the buoys will always be on your left side.
Since the transition area is at the south end of the parking lot, you will likely exit on the south side of the beach – otherwise the people entering and exiting the water would have to cross somehow.
But, pay attention to where you line up Sunday morning, and listen to the announcer. This could change back.
There will be several large buoys initially going out from the beach, which will make it easier to sight when swimming back.
There also will be two large buoys near the beach marking the “edges” of the swim course – to get you going straight.
There will also be large buoys at the two turn points – the first is the SuperSprint turn, and the second (last buoy) is for the Sprint distance.
Water temperature was 74 degrees Tuesday night.

Race Start

SuperSprint athletes start first, at 7am.
Sprint athletes will follow, after all the SuperSprint athletes are out of the water and on the bike course.
This means that if you are doing the Sprint distance, you will have some waiting around to do before you can start. Remember, transition closes at 6:45am so you have to be out. Find a patch of grass and sit down and relax. But pay attention to the announcer, especially if you are in an early wave.

Bike Course

One lane of Hwy C / Wilmot road will be marked off for the race; my guess is that it will be the south most lane.
Pay attention to volunteers / police / bike marshals so you make the turns correctly.
Hwy 165 and both Frontage Roads will be closed to traffic, meaning that the vast majority of the bike course should have no cars.

Run Course

Remember that the finish line is now on the southwest side of the lake, near where the end of the beach and the playground are.
After leaving transition, you’ll run on the road around the lake, then be directed onto the running path to complete your run.
The bike and run will be sharing Terwall Terrace, so make sure you run on the right side of the road inside the cones. That’s the run course.
Don’t forget your t-shirt and goodie bag before you head back over to pick up your bike & gear!!

Additional Swims

Thursday, 8/23, 6pm. Out-and-back 1/4 and 1/2 mile loops, from the beach.

Saturday, 8/25, 7am. UPDATE: Out-and-back 1/4 and 1/2 mile loops, from the beach. Important note about parking:

The Pleasant Prairie Junior Triathlon is being held Saturday morning. The road from Terwall Terrace over to the beach will be closed to traffic.
If you want to park at the beach, enter Park Ave. (93^rd Pl) from Hwy H (88^th Ave), and park in the gravel area north of the beach pavilion.
However, ALL of Park Ave. will close at 8:15am sharp. If you park at the beach you will need to move your car by 8:15 or you will be stuck until the Junior Triathlon is completed!
It is highly recommended that you park in the south Ballfields parking lot, then walk over to the lake for the swim. Be sure to allow time for this; the swim will start as close to 7am as possible! We have to be out of the water by 8:00.

Saturday, 8/25, 11am. UPDATE: Out-and-back 1/4 and 1/2 mile loops, from the beach.

Good Luck to everyone!

Coach Ken

RecPlex Triathlon Training Blog

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Danskin Triathlon last minute details