Wow. What a week. I just woke up, dug myself out of 400+ emails, and got back to work.
So Racers-- what did you think of the race? Please leave comments so we can make adjustments for next year.
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Went for a Swim
Ran 6 miles, then donned the wetsuit in the afternoon for a swim. The water was nice, but it was a bit chilly when I got out of the water. It is only in the mid 60s today-- Saturday will be 70+ degrees, so we should be all good.
I also visited the transition area today-- it is beautiful! The sod has been down for a week and it feels great to run on.
Race day is near and we are looking great.
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I also visited the transition area today-- it is beautiful! The sod has been down for a week and it feels great to run on.
Race day is near and we are looking great.
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Monday, May 18, 2009
Wanna Race? Get your motor running...
See you at the starting line? I wouldn't mess with this runner, she looks fast and furious. Plus, she has two older sisters, so you know she is tough.
I was with the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol (SICBP) yesterday and set up the swim course. We went out on a jet ski, dropped the weights, then measured them with my GPS for accuracy. After moving them 2-3 times, we got them in place. On the way back to the Guard shack, I asked Lt. Chuck if I could swim back. I jumped in and swam about 150m to shore. The water was not bad at all. The readings were 61 degrees. Get your race caps on!
The transition area is BEAUTIFUL! The City recently cleaned the entire lot, dumped a ton of topsoil, and laid down sod. They really did a nice job. Racers should love it because running through this beautiful grass will knock a lot of sand off of those feet. The new set up does add some work for me because the City removed the wooden fence that surrounded the lot. For security purposes, I have to add a orange flex fence around the entire perimeter. That is OK-- we'll survive!
Saturday's weather is calling for a warm day, 74 degrees, with a passing shower. Bring plenty of water or Gatorade! It seems as if the "scattered" showers will come later in the day, so we should be OK. The race will be wrapped up by 11am (including awards) and we can head home for an afternoon nap at the shore-- I will need it!
Lastly, Mike's Seafood is helping us with a seafood pasta lunch after the race. Join all of your fellow competitors back at The VFW Post for a great meal (and a few cold ones!).
See you in Sea Isle...
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Saturday, May 16, 2009
Live report from Sea Isle
Iron Granny was swimming in the ocean today. She said the water temperature was over 60 degress. The locals reported a rapid warm up this week (fishermen know the water best). This is good news!
Heading to Sea Isle tomorrow and will do some swimming-- need to set the weights for the swim course with SIC Beach Patrol. I will have a wetsuit on and will post an update tomorrow night or Monday morning.
The weather on Saturday, May 23rd is coming into focus. It seems as if we will have a cloudy day with temperatures in the low 70s. One forecast (Accu-weather) is saying occassional showers. Keep those fingers crossed!
More information to follow after my day trip to Sea Isle.
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Heading to Sea Isle tomorrow and will do some swimming-- need to set the weights for the swim course with SIC Beach Patrol. I will have a wetsuit on and will post an update tomorrow night or Monday morning.
The weather on Saturday, May 23rd is coming into focus. It seems as if we will have a cloudy day with temperatures in the low 70s. One forecast (Accu-weather) is saying occassional showers. Keep those fingers crossed!
More information to follow after my day trip to Sea Isle.
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Reason to Race #212
An email from a racer last year:
It was an honor, in some small way, to support both the VFW and The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. As I was exiting the swim, I saw a guy really struggling as he crawled to the shoreline. I though, "Boy, this guy is in trouble". He was floundering toward what appeared to be his family and they had a great look of concern on their faces. Suddenly, a woman handed him his prosthetic leg and he snatched it and moved towards the transition area.
If I needed any additional motivation to get moving, that was certainly it-- what a champion that guy is!
Lord willing, I'll be back next year. If it requires competing in the pouring rain or swimming in 40 degree water, so be it. Any discomfort the icy Atlantic can dole out is a small price to pay when compared to the sacrifices of the men and women in our Armed Services"!
Well said. For the record-- we'll have a warm ocean in 2009! The temperature hit 56 degrees today and we have 10 days for it to jump into the 60s.
See you in Sea Isle City!
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It was an honor, in some small way, to support both the VFW and The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. As I was exiting the swim, I saw a guy really struggling as he crawled to the shoreline. I though, "Boy, this guy is in trouble". He was floundering toward what appeared to be his family and they had a great look of concern on their faces. Suddenly, a woman handed him his prosthetic leg and he snatched it and moved towards the transition area.
If I needed any additional motivation to get moving, that was certainly it-- what a champion that guy is!
Lord willing, I'll be back next year. If it requires competing in the pouring rain or swimming in 40 degree water, so be it. Any discomfort the icy Atlantic can dole out is a small price to pay when compared to the sacrifices of the men and women in our Armed Services"!
Well said. For the record-- we'll have a warm ocean in 2009! The temperature hit 56 degrees today and we have 10 days for it to jump into the 60s.
See you in Sea Isle City!
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Monday, May 11, 2009
Important Race News…12 days to go!
Sea Isle City is ready to host Tri for Our Veterans II. The weather forecast is promising and we expect another great race. We will have more than 500 racers competing on Saturday, May 23rd and look forward to sun, sand, and a sensational start to the summer.
A few items to mark down as you prepare for the race:
Packet pick up: You must bring a photo ID & your USAT ID card (if you are a member). Racers must pick up their packet and cannot have someone else pick it up for them (insurance purposes). Packet pick up on Friday, May 22nd is from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the VFW Post in Sea Isle (301 JFK BLVD). Packet pick up on Saturday (RACE DAY) is at the transition area, JFK and Pleasure Ave., 5:30 AM to 7:00 AM.
Race course videos: Click the following link to watch a series of videos. Each video gives a walking tour of the course. This should be very helpful to those wanting to get a preview of the course. https://cid-d0c8902976e7be97.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Triathlon%20Videos
Athletes' Guide: Please be sure to download/print the Athletes' Guide to the race. This gives you all of the information you need. http://www.piranha-sports.com/Media/Image/athlete%20guides/2009_TFV_%20Athlete_Guide.pdf
Ride the course on Friday: Take a one lap tour of the bike course with one of our Elite athletes. Meet at the transition area at 5:30 PM on Friday, May 22nd. The distance is only 4.1 miles and will last about 15-20 minutes. It is a light ride for informational purposes only.
Water Temperature and Wetsuits: Got your attention, right? The water temperature will be roughly 60-62 degrees. The average time in the water last year was 11 minutes. We have many Sea Isle City lifeguards in the water and around the swim course in boats. The USCG will also be on hand as back up. It is strongly suggested that you have a wetsuit. Don't have one? Our sponsor, Xterra Wetsuits, rents them and can ship it out to you via Fedex. Check it out at http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/shop-xterra/product_info.php?cPath=0&products_id=43
Have fun & thank our military! This triathlon is the USA's only race dedicated to our military personnel and veterans. More than 15% of the field is currently serving in uniform, have served in the armed forces, or have retired from the military. Please be sure to support them throughout the race—they will have the BLUE caps on for the swim. Our friends at Team Semper Fi get a thunderous "OORAH" from Sea Isle—check them out at http://www.semperfifund.org/team.html
See you soon in Sea Isle City!
Matt McCulley
Race Director
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Initial Weather Report
Accu-Weather has delivered the initial weather forecast for Tri for Our Veterans on May 23, 2009. Good news! The long term forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 80 degrees. Because we start the race at 730 AM, we will not hit those warm temperatures-- I would suspect we enjoy a cool 65 degree start.
As for the water temperature, it is hitting 55 degrees. With warm weather here to stay, it can jump a degree per day and I suspect we will have 60-63 degree water temperature.
Other race news:
*Transition Area: Racers will find a different transition area in Sea Isle this year-- The City has sodded the entire lot.
*USCG on hand: The Coast Guard will have a team in the race (Go Team Semper Paratus!) and have helped coordinate back up to our SIC Beach Patrol. The USCG will have a boat near the race course and a helicopter overhead.d
*Finish line experience: At the finish this year, we will have children handing out American flags right before the finish line to celebrate Memorial Day. If you would like your children to participate, have them report to the finish line area at the start of the race.
14 days to go!
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As for the water temperature, it is hitting 55 degrees. With warm weather here to stay, it can jump a degree per day and I suspect we will have 60-63 degree water temperature.
Other race news:
*Transition Area: Racers will find a different transition area in Sea Isle this year-- The City has sodded the entire lot.
*USCG on hand: The Coast Guard will have a team in the race (Go Team Semper Paratus!) and have helped coordinate back up to our SIC Beach Patrol. The USCG will have a boat near the race course and a helicopter overhead.d
*Finish line experience: At the finish this year, we will have children handing out American flags right before the finish line to celebrate Memorial Day. If you would like your children to participate, have them report to the finish line area at the start of the race.
14 days to go!
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Want to better understand the race course?
Don't forget, if you want to get a preview of the race course, we have a number of options for you to familiarize yourself to the course design.
1. Click HERE to view the videos of each and every segment of the race course. Get a bird's eye view of the transition area (entrances/exits), bike course, swim and run courses. All have audio commentary from me. (I'm no Larry Mendte!)
2. Download the Athletes' Guide by clicking HERE. The Guide has all the maps and instructions you need to compete.
3. First Timers Meeting: At 7pm on Friday, May 22, 2009, we will host a first timers' meeting at the VFW Post in Sea Isle. The meeting is in the same room as check-in. One of our elite competitors, Mark Brace, will lead the session and walk everyone through the course, transition area, and other related triathlon topics. Mark will also do his best to answer all of your questions in a Q&A session at the end of the meeting. Make time to get to this meeting!
The Tri for Our Veterans course is a very easy course to understand. The swim is a simple out/over/in design, the bike route is a 3 loop course of a rectangle, and the run is an out and back race on the beach.
Last year, our inaugural race, only one racer got lost out of 400 competitors! He was in the Air Force and the US Marines who competed said he did not have his RADAR tuned properly!
If this is your first triathlon-- have no fear, you will complete it and have a blast. If you are a racing veteran, then you should recognize the fact that this course is fast, flat, and fabulous.
See you in Sea Isle-- 18 days to go...
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1. Click HERE to view the videos of each and every segment of the race course. Get a bird's eye view of the transition area (entrances/exits), bike course, swim and run courses. All have audio commentary from me. (I'm no Larry Mendte!)
2. Download the Athletes' Guide by clicking HERE. The Guide has all the maps and instructions you need to compete.
3. First Timers Meeting: At 7pm on Friday, May 22, 2009, we will host a first timers' meeting at the VFW Post in Sea Isle. The meeting is in the same room as check-in. One of our elite competitors, Mark Brace, will lead the session and walk everyone through the course, transition area, and other related triathlon topics. Mark will also do his best to answer all of your questions in a Q&A session at the end of the meeting. Make time to get to this meeting!
The Tri for Our Veterans course is a very easy course to understand. The swim is a simple out/over/in design, the bike route is a 3 loop course of a rectangle, and the run is an out and back race on the beach.
Last year, our inaugural race, only one racer got lost out of 400 competitors! He was in the Air Force and the US Marines who competed said he did not have his RADAR tuned properly!
If this is your first triathlon-- have no fear, you will complete it and have a blast. If you are a racing veteran, then you should recognize the fact that this course is fast, flat, and fabulous.
See you in Sea Isle-- 18 days to go...
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Friday, May 1, 2009
Athletes' Guide is posted; other news
Hello Racers,
Tri for Our Veterans has posted the Athletes' Guide. Download the PDF document by clicking HERE. The Athletes' Guide details the entire race and includes race maps, schedule, packet pick up information, and other pertinent information for you.
My advice-- open, print it, and keep it handy as the race is quickly approaching.
Other news:
1. Go WAWA! Thank you so much to Team Wawa. Their South Jersey Team was so very helpful to our race efforts. Wawa has sponsored the Finish Line drinks-- there will be ice cold Wawa juices awaiting you at the end of the race. Thank you Wawa!~
2. Giveaways: Polar insulated water bottles and long sleeve t-shirts.
3. Prize Packages: Winners will receive prize packs, filled with Oakley Sunglasses, Xterra Wetsuits, Xterra Transition bags, Hammer Nutrition items, beach towels, and 2010 Tri for Our Veterans comp'ed registrations (prizes vary).
4. Need a place to stay for the race? Rent a house by contacting Kevin Gillespie. Check him out at www.shorehouses.com
5. We are SOLD OUT folks, no waiting lists, no possiblilty of openings.
See you soon in Sea Isle!
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Tri for Our Veterans has posted the Athletes' Guide. Download the PDF document by clicking HERE. The Athletes' Guide details the entire race and includes race maps, schedule, packet pick up information, and other pertinent information for you.
My advice-- open, print it, and keep it handy as the race is quickly approaching.
Other news:
1. Go WAWA! Thank you so much to Team Wawa. Their South Jersey Team was so very helpful to our race efforts. Wawa has sponsored the Finish Line drinks-- there will be ice cold Wawa juices awaiting you at the end of the race. Thank you Wawa!~
2. Giveaways: Polar insulated water bottles and long sleeve t-shirts.
3. Prize Packages: Winners will receive prize packs, filled with Oakley Sunglasses, Xterra Wetsuits, Xterra Transition bags, Hammer Nutrition items, beach towels, and 2010 Tri for Our Veterans comp'ed registrations (prizes vary).
4. Need a place to stay for the race? Rent a house by contacting Kevin Gillespie. Check him out at www.shorehouses.com
5. We are SOLD OUT folks, no waiting lists, no possiblilty of openings.
See you soon in Sea Isle!
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