Setting up the season
 

Well, the new year has arrived. Due to the limited # of spaces and the popularity of most of the races here in NC, all of us here have to enter when the races open on New Year's Day. Has anyone else set their schedule? How are you guys looking? My season looks like this: 9 total races, 2 half IM, 3 International distance, 4 sprints. First race is a sprint on 3/05, last is an international on 10/01. How does this compare to what you all are doing?

My whole year is built around IMLP. I'm trying to backfill my B races from there. Marathon in March and probably a 1/2 IM in may, oly in June. Have to check out the '05 lists.

Being 16 in the bay area, I'm limited to tri california events.

Like last season I'll focus on Escape from Alcatraz, but I'm also doing international distances of Wildflower, Treasure Island, Scott Tinley's.

First one is Wildflower, I should be in solid shape for that. I'll be really good for Alcatraz, and I'll probably end up winging Treasure Island/Tinley's (school year limits training).

Maybe I should do some sprint tri's, I've only done one before. I remember I came like 2nd out of the water (I was 14 at this time), was 340020th off the bike, and barely finished the run, and man 3.1 miles seemed like an eternity.

I go the other way. I'm usually last out of the water, so I get to pass people as I am going about 15 mph faster than them. I really am trying to learn to swim this year.

Hey Kristofferson, try the San Jose Int. race if you can. That'd be a good confidence booster for you because the bike and run and flat and fast. Great course and fun race. Race is June 12th.

i am doing pinehurst and maybe the duke half. Last year latta was my first tri and i loved it. We are lucky to live in nc with all the great races.

How do you guys sign up for these (in NC????). I'm afraid I've missed it, and I really wanted to get started in tris this year.

I also have the Duke half and Pinehurst on my list. Machiavelli, you don't need to worry about missing anything. The only ones that are sold out are the ones that are super-competitive and are probably not the best ones for beginners, anyway. The Endurance Series races might be perfect for you. Go to http://www.set-upinc.com and they will have races open within an hour of you (if you are in NC) for sure. Probably closer. Where are you located?

I live in Morrisville. Got my bike at the end of July, and put a lil over 600 miles on it. I just graduated from state, so I need something to fill those missing IM sport hours. =) I'd found information on the NC triathlon circuit, but didn't know that some of the races filled up this fast. Where are you guys located?

Nice. I live in Raleigh and work by the airport. Also a huge Wolfpack guy, by the way. You have the Triangle Triathlon in Lake Crabtree right in your backyard. But the H2o is muddy as hell (as you well know) and the field is 1000 deep. Yes, 1000 deep. A few years ago before I did my first tri, I went there and watched to try and get a feel for how these things went. You also have the Riverwood tri in Clayton which is a good first tri due to the pool swim and the short distance. It is also early in the year. What are your goals for this year? Are you training in a group or alone?

Nice. Our apartment is basically at the corner of aviation and 54. My roommate started riding with me, but he's since lost a bit of interest in it - although he says he wants to run a tri. My goal is to jump in head first. I've found some freeby training programs online, and was going to go by one of those. I need to find a pool, though. I've basically been training by myself, but this usually consists of 25-30 mi. bike rides which get longer on the weekends. I plan to start running asap. At the end of the year, I'd like to have run in 5 or 6 races. I have my eye on Kure beach, that one sounds great.

BTW, I'm also a big Pack fan. I have lifetime rights for football, and have only missed two basketball games this season. I'm not sure what happened last week with the team. I think our bus mistakenly picked up a troupe of girl scouts or something.

The City of Raleigh has indoor pools where you can swim for a small fee ($3 I think or you can buy a month pass for $20 or something). I am a member of the YMCA because I found it to be the best value for me. I don't know how old you are but I am 25 and they have discounted rates for those under 28 (young adult membership). If I were you, I would make it a point to go and watch a tri somewhere in the area before my first one. My personal opinion is that you may want to pick another tri other than Kure for your first one. The ocean swim is tough, and I don't like the swim-run-bike-run-swim format. I'm not a great swimmer and I think I may drown if I got back into the ocean after all that effort. Check out the Mission Man Tri (Endurance Series) in Burlington in July. Easy and close to home.
Also- My seats for BB are in section 320, and I think I may have been the only NCSU fan in that section Sunday. All those "ACC" chants at the end were originating from behind me. That game made me want to puke.

I'm 23. Sorry, I wanted to run a Sprint prior to that one, but I thought it looked interesting. How much is your membership at the Y? Morisville has an aquatic center for $80 per year...but there's only two lap lanes. Wasn't too sure about that one.

At the YMCA I pay $38 per mo but I have the option to go to any of the ones in the Triangle. I think it is $10 less per month if you only go to one facility. How about the Riverwood sprint tri in Clayton on 4/16/05? Also an Endurance Series race.

That would be a great intro.

I am going to to do Riverwood also because it is so close. I plan on riding that bike corse on a few weekends to familierize myself with it. Drop me a line if you feel like checking it out.

i am in charlotte the univeristy area. I like to swim at mac in charlotte you can get a 10 punch card for 50 bucks, when it gets warm i swim at lake norman i have a nice place with no boats.

my dad did that race last year, that course looks really fast, especially the bike part, but its always 1 week after Alcatraz. I'll be sore, tired, and cranky as hell but I'd love to do that race at least once.