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Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Oceanside, California
United States
Ironman North America
60F / 16C
Total Time = 5h 34m 46s
Overall Rank = 729/2129
Age Group = M45-49
Age Group Rank = 69/219
Pre-race routine:

Nice overnight escape (sans kids) with my wonderful wife to Carlsbad. Getting to the restaurant early was good, and at TGIFs we enjoyed some decent happy hour specials (margaritas and nachos) before our entrees. I had the cajun pasta with shrimp and chicken, which really hit the spot. Afterwards we split the Brownie Obsession dessert to finish my pre-race carb load (ha ha, like I really needed it). Got to bed reasonably early, and planned to get up at 4:30, though wake up call came early at 4:15 :(.
Event warmup:

The usual routine: park in the lot off Mission, ride down to transition, set up, and then get in the bathroom line. The rack I was on had plenty of room, and was not crowded at all. A later wave start for my new age group gave me plenty of time to prep and made for a relaxing start to the race.
Swim
  • 31m 56s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 31s / 100 yards
Comments:

Not my fastest swim, as I swam this course a couple minutes faster on my previous attempt 2 years ago. The course was very crowded and I had to pick my way through a lot of traffic jams this time. Probably my biggest limiter was that I made the decision to trade swim training for run training and figured I'd give up a minute or two on the swim as a consequence -- I only swam 7 hours in the three months leading up to the race.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really.
Transition 1
  • 05m 11s
Comments:

Had trouble getting out of my wetsuit. Apparently I was just plain slow through T1. Oh well.
Bike
  • 2h 45m 33s
  • 56 miles
  • 20.30 mile/hr
Comments:

Bike was the highlight of my race. I've never broken 20 mph until today, and I pushed to finish at 20.3 mph average. Starting in a late wave, the course was crowded, and I passed a ton of other riders from the waves ahead of me. I was passed a handful of times out there by some of the uber-fast men in the handful of waves behind me.
What would you do differently?:

Nutrition sank me on this race. I had a hard time holding anything down on the bike, which really caught up with me on the run. I did manage to get down whatever was in my aero bottle (half water, half gatorade), and one bottle of accelerade. Couldn't eat anything solid, and didn't try a gel. I was probably 20 miles into the ride before I could swallow liquids without having them come back up. Maybe I swallowed some air or salt water during the swim which tripped up my stomach. I'm not really sure what happened. The exciting moment came when I arrived to rack my bike and had only two other bikes there already at my rack. I've never seen a sight like that before!
Transition 2
  • 02m 7s
Comments:

Best transition I've ever had. Planned to make a bathroom stop, but there was a line. So I left the bathroom stop for the first porta potties on the run course.
Run
  • 2h 09m 59s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

Totally missed my run goal, which was to break the 2 hour mark. Things really fell apart over the second lap. My stomach felt unhappy for nearly the whole run. The positive takeaway is that I ran the entire course without walking except for the final aid station at mile 12. The only bad moment came at that last aid station, as I walked in a straight line with two other people walking directly in front of me, some total jerko approached from behind, yelled "MOVE" and proceeded to shove me in the back along with someone else that was passing (but not fast enough) on my right. This clown was in my age group and was over an hour out of Kona contention. Geez, whatever. I've never encountered somebody doing anything like that on a course before. He could have easily crossed to the other side of the cones since the course was really thinning by this point. The other guy who he shoved looked at me and we were both saying "WTF?" Whatever, there were tons of nice people running and great volunteers and spectators to provide copious amounts of encouragement.
What would you do differently?:

I guess I just need to run train more. Running will always be my weak point. I had the best run training yet, but it's apparently going to take a lot more for me to see the payoff on race day. Probably could train the bike more, too, so that a 20 mph effort doesn't take so much out of me. I didn't do any bricks as part of training, so there's another consideration. And switching entirely to liquid nutrition might be the ticket for me on longer courses.
Post race
Warm down:

Hands down the worst I've felt after a race. I sat for 15 minutes and nearly checked myself into medical. But eventually the queasy feeling started to abate, and I got some cola and pizza. The cola especially helped me feel better.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think my blood sugar was just very, very low given my inability to take in much of anything on the bike and run.

Event comments:

Not sure when, if ever, I will try this course again. I've done it three times now, and I'm due for a change of venue if I consider another longer tri at some future point.




Last updated: 2011-02-09 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:56 | 2112 yards | 01m 31s / 100yards
Age Group: 23/219
Overall: 302/2129
Performance: Average
Suit: full wetsuit
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 59F / 15C Current: Low
200M Perf. Remainder:
Breathing: Drafting:
Waves: Navigation:
Rounding:
T1
Time: 05:11
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Bad Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:45:33 | 56 miles | 20.30 mile/hr
Age Group: 41/219
Overall: 360/2129
Performance: Good
Wind: Some
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 02:07
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:09:59 | 13.1 miles | 09m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/219
Overall: 1356/2129
Performance: Below average
Course:
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2011-04-03 6:08 PM

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Master
3127
2000100010025
Sunny Southern Cal
Subject: Ironman 70.3 California


2011-04-03 7:36 PM
in reply to: #3427774

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California

Damn, I wish I could swim a 31 on 28 hours a year in the pool.  Sounds like the run training paid off, and that is a solid bike with those winds.  Did you get your PR?

Maybe someday we'll actually meet    

2011-04-03 8:30 PM
in reply to: #3427917

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Master
3127
2000100010025
Sunny Southern Cal
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Yeah, good point, I got a PR!  Shaved about 7 minutes from my previous time.

I looked over at some of the other racks for you or your bike, but didn't see you.  We'll have to plan a ride coming up -- maybe I could drive out for a loop around PV or something.
2011-04-04 9:09 AM
in reply to: #3428008

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Master
2356
20001001001002525
Westlake Village , Ca.
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Congrats on the PR!
2011-04-04 9:19 AM
in reply to: #3427774

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Veteran
259
1001002525
SoCal
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
awesome job on the pr and fantastic swim man.
2011-04-04 10:47 AM
in reply to: #3427774

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Expert
819
500100100100
Phoenix, AZ
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
All and all a great race for you! It sounds like you would have met your run goal for sure if you hadn't had to deal with the stomach issues. Your bike split was amazing and your swim too, especially considering you hadn't been in the water much. Congrats!


2011-04-04 2:34 PM
in reply to: #3427774

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Regular
105
100
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California

I thought the dolphine picture on your profile was your avatar, but based on your amazing swim, I see now that you are actually a real dolphin that has figured out how to ride a bike and run 13.1 miles. Smile

Congrats on your PR!

2011-04-04 10:45 PM
in reply to: #3427774

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Master
1332
100010010010025
Vista, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great RR. Sounds like tummy issues is the price you pay for 20 mph on the bike, which is fantastic! This is a tough field with all these peeps trying to Kona Qualify or get into the 70.3 championships. You did very well in a competitive race in a very competitive age bracket. congrats! Glad you and your wife enjoyed our fair city.
2011-04-04 11:49 PM
in reply to: #3427774

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Elite
2998
2000500100100100100252525
Fishers, Indiana
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
I was going to say something similar to Jon--you swim like your avatar for sure! Wow! Way to push through though and great RR!
2011-04-05 11:11 PM
in reply to: #3427774

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Elite
4583
20002000500252525
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Congrats! Great race!
2011-04-06 1:08 AM
in reply to: #3427774

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Extreme Veteran
557
5002525
Woodland Hills, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great effort to hold 20+ over that bike course! Killer job. And of course I'm jealous of your swim.


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