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Camp Pendleton International Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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Oceanside, California
United States
MCCS Activites
Total Time = 3h 38m 3s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 44/44
Pre-race routine:

Drove down and stayed in Carlsbad the night before. Wound up with a comically large room at the Courtyard--it had a sitting room area that was bigger than my living room, and a bathroom vanity that was about 8 feet long. I think it was a meeting room that they converted into a guest room.

I did find that the drive from my house to Camp Pendleton was only about an hour, another time I'd consider driving down the morning of the race rather than staying over.

Got to bed early, and got up about 5:20. Banana, Clif bar, Gatorade and a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Drove back up to Camp Pendleton, parked in the dirt lot & walked over to the race site. Picked up chip, cap, t-shirt, got into to the transition area and got set up.

Weather nearly perfect, neither warm nor cold, and cloudy.
Event warmup:

Did a quick walk/jog from the transition area to the swim start & back, which is quite a distance at this race. Went back & got my swim stuff, got into my wetsuit and went back down to the start area for the pre-race brief & start. The start area is fairly narrow, so didn't really get a chance to do a warmup swim, just waded in to test the temp and rinse my goggles. At about 10 min before the start I put on my cap, put on the top part of my wetsuit and managed to poke myself in the eye trying to pull up the right sleeve (twice, in the space of about 30 seconds, with exactly the same move--brilliant). Then waded out for our wave start.
Swim
  • 31m 33s
  • 1640 yards
  • 01m 55s / 100 yards
Comments:

I was kind of worried about the swim after my last race--it was my first in a wetsuit and really sucked. I've done a couple more long OWS sessions since that weren't nearly so bad, but was still a bit concerned about racing.

Actual swim was not bad at all. Kind of a narrow rectangle in the Del Mar boat basin. I relaxed and got into a good rhythm, and once I got going didn't have much trouble. I was keeping up with the pack enough to do a little bit of drafting.

Almost wound up cutting the course a bit short. Most of the turn buoys were on the left shoulder. I wasn't sure if the final turn buoy, a right turn back to the beach, was left shoulder or not, and I could have sworn I saw the people ahead of me taking it to the left. Turns out not, one of the paddlers yelled to me and I took the last buoy on the right shoulder. But I don't think I'm the only one who almost cut the corner.

Took my own split when I came out of the water and my swimming pace was about 1:55/100yd (official split includes about a 1/4 mile haul from the beach to the transition area, which was not very much fun).
Transition 1
  • 08m 28s
Comments:

Not bad, no particular problems. Time includes the run from the beach, time in T1 was 3:08.

Last couple of races my feet have been cold/numb, so I was considering putting socks on in T1 rather than T2 as I normally do, but no cold feet today so I skipped them.
Bike
  • 1h 33m 29s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 15.95 mile/hr
Comments:

Fairly good but slow bike leg, I got passed a lot and didn't pass many people. Probably need more long + intense training rides, most of my training has been one or the other but not both. Had a little bit of calf cramping (typical for me at some point in every race, seems like), but I was able to knead it a bit and ride through it. Neck muscles were tired, made it hard to keep my head up in aero so wound up riding on the tops quite a bit.

Ate a Shot Blox about every 15 min, washed down with water or half-strength Gatorade (full strength doesn't sit well on my stomach when I'm racing), seemed to work pretty well.

I did stop on the way back briefly to lend a CO2 to a guy who'd flatted and his pump wasn't working. Probably cost me a little bit of time (maybe a minute), but I figure it was well worth the extra tri-karma.
Transition 2
  • 02m 49s
Comments:

Pretty standard, nothing special
Run
  • 1h 21m 43s
  • 6.21 miles
  • 13m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

Was not feeling very good on the run. My hips were really tight getting off the bike, and I really didn't feel strong on most of the run.

I've started taking my Gatorade bottle off the bike and carrying it on the run, I feel like this helps me keep hydrated better. Replenished it with either water or Gatorade at the fluid stations to keep about the right concentration, so I think I stayed hydrated pretty well and took in pleny of calories, I think I just don't have the legs for this distance yet.

And I have to say, I'm not a big fan of two-loop courses. Sucks to get back almost to the finish, and then have to head out and do it all again. Much prefer a single out-&-back.
What would you do differently?:

More run training, especially longer-distance tempo runs & rides.
Post race
Warm down:

Hung around the finish area for a bit, got some banana and more Gatorade. Legs still very tight, so I stretched out a bit. Then packed up my stuff and a short ride back to the car & drive back to LA & a Double Double post-race lunch.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training, especially bike & run for longer distances.

Event comments:

Olympic Distance PR! (first Oly, so that was predictable, but still ya gotta brag when you can).

As others have commented, very organized and well-run race, the Navy & Marine volunteers were great. A little odd being called "sir" at all the fluid stations, I don't know if it's because I look like an officer (I am, retired Navy) or if they just called everybody that just to be safe. Good course.

One observation (not a critique, just an observation), this race doesn't have very many sponsors, there's no expo, and it's relatively schwag-free. There wasn't much at all in the finish area other than a massage tent. Only food offered was oranges, bananas & Gatorade, and a paid snack bar. If you're a schwag-hound this may not be for you, but particularly considering the low entry fee (and free parking), I'm happy to buy my own sports drinks & mini Clif bars.




Last updated: 2008-07-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:33 | 1640 yards | 01m 55s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 08:28
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
01:33:29 | 24.85 miles | 15.95 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Wind:
Course: Out & back through Camp Pendleton. Rolling hills, particlurly early and close to the turnaround, fairly but not completely flat in the middle parts. Emphasis on "rolling." Nothing that could really be called steep, sections which are steeper are very short and longer hills are not steep at all. About 90% big-ring, as long as you don't mind spending a little bit of time cross-chained. Course is not closed, so there was vehicle traffic during the race but not very much and very well managed by the volunteers.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 02:49
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
01:21:43 | 06.21 miles | 13m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course: Two loops around Del Mar boat basin, kind of a T-shaped course. Mostly flat, but with a bit of a hill around the crossbar of the T.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2008-07-21 11:57 PM

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Master
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Cypress, CA
Subject: Camp Pendleton International Triathlon


2008-07-22 2:52 AM
in reply to: #1547832

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Veteran
184
100252525
San Diego, CA
Subject: RE: Camp Pendleton International Triathlon

Congratulations on your first Olympic distance. Great going out there!

Cheers

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