California Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

While we lined up waitng for our waves it was raining fairly hard and it was COLD. I definitely wondered what I got myself into and why.

You are only allowed in the water 3 minutes before yor wave which is about enough time to swim to the start line and warm up your suit. There was no practice swim.

When the horn sounded I felt like I forgot how to swim. My stroke was short and choppy, not long and smooth. I guess it had to do with the cold water. I keept taking my face out of the water when breathing which is a no no. At some portions on the backside I got a little rhythm but then I had some mild cramps from the cold.

Relax and swimlike you can.

Now I had to get all my stuff out of the garbage bags I packed them in! Arghh! Also, I usually put on only my shoes and helmet and go, today I put on socks, a jacket, shoved gloves in my pocket, put shoes and booties on... I felt like I was taking residence at T1. I really could have used the extra time for the run. Oh well.

I also bled some air from my wheels as the roads were wet.

Race in warm weather

I was very relaxed during the majority of the bike ride. I felt no pressure for the first time doing a half. From the time I signed up for this race I thought of it as just a step towards IM CDA this June. I just "was out for a ride." My pace was decent and my effort was actually pretty low (HR 153). I was able to sit going up all the big climbs. With about 16 miles left we turned into the headwinds that were with us for the rest of the bike. this was the portion of the course I was told you can "let the dogs run all the way to T2." It was a little demoralizing to feel my exertion level climb as my avg pace plummetted. I had a few hard patches in here.

Drank 2 * 20 0z bottles of 1.5 scoops cytomax and 1.5 scoops carbo pro for 267 cals each, plus 3 Gu's and 2.5 bottles of water. 834 cals for 3 hours. This is a probably a touch low.

I have been training in the mountains almost exclusively. I need some work on the flats so I can put some time in the aerobars. My back was talking to me at the end.

Those damn garbage bags again! But I was sure glad my shoes were dry. I added 5 minutes more than usual to my race due to the weather precautions in the transition area. That is really hard to make up.

Ugh. More bricks. I'm not a fast runner ever but I'm not this slow! I didn't blow myself up on the bike at all so I figured I would be close to my stand alone 1/2 mary times. If so I would be very happy. It was not to be.

I kept looking at my watch to see if I could break 6 hours and just kept watching the opportunity slip. There was a 300 meter section of beach (sand) running you did 4 times. I knew I had to cross that section to get back to the finish line and I knew I couldn't run it. For whatever reason my legs aren't strong enough to run in the soft sand. Some serious lack of coordination. That psyched me out from just putting my head down and trying to run it home.

I could tell the first two miles my exertion level was too high but I couldn't slow myself down. I think the bricks will help me get used to the difference in momentum your body feels from bike speed to run speed.

I unfortunately had many walk breaks. I had no problems with cramping but I couldn't tell if I needed to eat or not eat. I might need to rethink my nutrition strategy. During training I can eat bars on the bike but have not tried that in a race before.

Walked about 2 miles to the car with my 3 year old boy on my shoulders - ouch!!! One of us was happy.


Got sick two days before and was hacking up a storm during the bike and run. Didn't train for this race, it was just the mid point of my Ironman training. I wanted to do well and tried as much as I could given the point in the training program.



The marines were very helpful and some were fun. "Come on maggot this is what you trained for!" "1088 - you get yourself up this hill!!" It was the first time I rode through street with "Tank Crossing" written in the road.

Unfortunately I let myself get psyched out about the weather conditions beforehand. It wasn't as bad as I imagined.

I know what I need to work on during the next 97 days leading up to Ironman. So the race served its purpose. I trained for 3 months compared to 6 months prior to this half and I did about 7 minutes faster so I'm going in the right direction.

The good thing about the race is I am very psyched about triathlons again and will go back to training with a renewed vigor.

Will I do this race again?????????????