Quote Originally Posted by GLC1968 View Post
Canby Gator Grinder - May

Pacific Crest OLY - end of June
These 2 are on my to-do list also. I did the Oly at Pac Crest last year and the half this year. They are both REALLY hard. Far be it for me to tell you how to plan your calendar, BUT you might want to consider making Blue Lake in early June your 1st Oly instead of Pac Crest. Blue Lake is a great 1st Oly. The lake is calm (and not freezing cold like Wickiup), the bike course is flat and smoooooooth, and the run is flat too. Having a relatively "easy" course as your first Oly would be a huge confidence booster.

Pac Crest is tough. Wickiup is cold and choppy. And very hard to sight the swim. And its at 4300 feet or so. The bike course is hilly, and of course, at altitude. And the run, while having no hills per se, is definitely not flat. And, its at 4000+ feet of elevation. Oh yeah, and it's usually 90+ degrees. I know how much you like the heat. I'm not suggesting you can't do it. I know you well enough to know that you can do whatever you set your mind to. I just think it's not the best course for a first time effort. In retrospect, I wish I'd chosen something closer to sea level for my first half-iron. Pac Crest took everything I had to complete it.

Susan