Luxembourg 1/2 Ironman

Well, my bike is finally ready to go. The weather has been awesome; and I have no reason to keep procrastinating. So I registered for the 70.3 in Luxembourg on 8 Sept. Registration is still open for those who may still be on the fence...it's apparently a first time venue. Swimming in the Mosel should be interesting...maybe some wine will be leaching out of the soil! First race this length since Clearwater in 2006!! This is gonna hurt, I mean, be awesome. Dozer

Well we appear to have lost most if not all guys from the club who also like to do Triathlons, but I'm definitely all in after this one. Luxembourg is close, and was an awesome venue. Next year the event is moved to June, and registration is already open. Gotta love it when T1/T2 are in the same place which seems to be getting more and more rare; and the whole venue was nicely coralled right in downtown Remich right on the Mosel. Swimming in the Mosel was way better than I had imagined. I only saw 2 syringes (1 was still unused), 3 old tires and 12 diapers. Kidding, the water was surprising clean...better vis than the Gelterswoog or any other lake I've seen around here. The bike was flat for the first 20 miles, then rolling hills for 25, then flat for the last 10. The run was 4 flat laps all up and down the Mosel. Tons of people out and lots of opportunities to get cheered on by friends and family. Of course, the standard Ironman drawback of $$expense$$ is mitigated somewhat by their outstanding organization, totally closed bike course, and overall atmosphere. Came in just under 5 hours which was good enough for top 3rd, but next year when I'm in the older agegroup, that same time would've bumped me into top 25 (@ top 20%). Very happy w/ the result based on limited training w/ the new bike and essentially "cramming" for the event in 2 weeks w/ a 1 week taper.
Dozer

Awesome job Dozer on the sub 5. I might have to put that one on my calendar next year. Always love when T1 and 2 are together!
Justin

Right on Justin! I'm taking a look at the calendar right now and trying to decide if I want to throw down for Nice...that's a huge commitment and I'm not sure I can thread the needle with some family that should be coming in next summer. May just stick w/ the 1/2s.
Dozer

I have been slacking on my tri training since I move here but would be interested in doing Luxembourg next year. Let me know where do you guys normally do your swim training?

DuviVr6 wrote:I have been slacking on my tri training since I move here but would be interested in doing Luxembourg next year. Let me know where do you guys normally do your swim training?

My office is a short walk to the Ramstein aquatic center which makes it nice. Gelterswoog is a decent open water swimming hole that charges a euro or so. That is also where the K-town 70.3 is held.

Justin

Cool have not gone to the RAB pool yet, do you have to pay to lap swim?

Affirm. It's either a couple bucks/visit or a pretty cheap annual membership that will pay for itself in a month.

Well, I'm in for Luxembourg 2014. Unfortunatley, I had to transfer my registration from the IM Mallorca in Sept. I just found out I'm PCSing this summer, and it's just way too expensive to get back to Mallorca from the states. IM also doesn't allow a transfer from European venue to North American venue... So at least i get about 1/2 of my entry fee back and applied to the entry fee for Lux.

For any who may still be on the fence, Lux is a great venue. It's only a little over an hour away, and it has single transition area right in an awesome downtown area on the river. It's a wine festival masquerading as a triatlon!! Great family viewing esp during the 4-lap flat run that's right on the Mosel. The course is very forgiving with just over 2000' of total climbing on the bike and dead flat on the run. Come on!