Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The water felt great when we first got in and I swam to the front left of the start line. Thankfully I remembered reading several race reports that said only to start in that location if you planned on going out of the gate fast. Therefore, I dropped back to the middle of the pack which I felt comfortable with. The announcer gave the 10 second countdown warning and everyone in our wave (purple) starting screaming and yelling. That was an awesome moment!
The horn went off and the chaos started immediately. Not nearly as bad as I anticipated but there still wasn't any room to settle into a decent stroke for the first 100-200yds. I just focused on conserving my energy, staying calm, and trying not to get kicked in the face. I can see how you can get lost in the moment and either waste a ton of energy or freak out. Needless to say, it was pretty rough up until the first left turn when you start to head out of the harbor.
This is where some free space started to open up. I immediately began sighting and finding a spot where I could get into a groove for a sustained period of time. There were still people around me but I was able to settle into a good pace for what seemed like a 1/4 of a mile. The turnaround wan't bad at all although it got pretty physical...
On the way back after the turn, I focused on staying as far to the right as possible (thanks ChrisM!). This is where I covered a lot of ground as I had tons of open space and was able to cut some distance off the course. I continually sighted off the officials on the SUP boards and stayed directly in-line with them. Most the other competitors stayed on the buoy line which seemed like 15-20ft away. This was a huge advantage and would be my first recommendation to future IMCA competitors. I could see the harbor ramp when I was about 200yds out and really picked up the pace until I was home.


I beat my goal swim time by 6 minutes so not much to nitpick here. Was also my first OWS so I'm very happy with my time. Next time I will start in the first couple rows of swimmers to avoid the traffic jam which cost me at least a couple minutes.

Again, this was my first race so I did about as good as possible. I was trying to be quick but also not forget anything. Definitely need to practice my T1.

Just practice more. I didn't swim with my tri top on and that cost me about 45 seconds. I learned pretty quickly that it's not easy putting that sucker on when you're wet! Will have it on under my wetsuit next time.

All around excellent bike course. It begins and finishes with relatively easy segments but the mid-section is extremely tough. I have limited bike experience, having only logged about 400 miles before this race, so this was easily the most challenging part of the race.
I tried to take it easy the first 30 miles but got caught up in the race and went a bit too hard. I thought I was mentally prepared for the first BEAST of a hill but clearly wasn't. That thing was horrendous and I fully admit to wanting to hop off the bike multiple times while climbing. It took a lot out of me and I struggled through the hills that followed. Having studied the course a fair bit, I knew the hills were done around mile 42 so I tried my hardest to stay in aero at that point and get home to T2. This proved difficult with my back and shoulders yelling at me.

Really need to put more miles into the bike. I knew this would be my weakest link and it proved right. I only have about 400 miles total training on the bike so coming in at 3:06 was about the best I could do. Problem was I blew my wad for the run and knew it immediately. Not smart.

First T2 experience. Went okay - took my time and put a new pair of socks on. Wasted a bunch of time getting my gels and flask. Based on the status of my legs, I couldn't decide if I wanted to bring more gels or not. Probably could have saved 1.5 minutes on that. Also stopped to pee after leaving T2.

Have everything more organized and just change and go. No need to stand around and analyze everything.

Well, I screwed myself because of my bike effort and knew it a mile into the run. My legs actually felt good which I was surprised by but I couldn't keep my HR down. My first mile came in at 7:15 and my body felt like I could maintain that for awhile but I'm smart enough to know that I can't sustain 165+ BPM for 13.1 miles. It was tough but I backed off the pace hoping that my HR would come down if I slowed down. I really didn't want to be the guy walking the last 6 miles of the run.
I slowed down to 8:45/mi pace but my HR still wouldn't get much below 160. I knew then that I would just try and settle in at 160 BPM and slowly trudge along the course. It was a depressing feeling having people tearing past me, especially when my body's telling me to run faster but my HR is saying otherwise. I basically was in-between 8:45-9 minute/mile pace the entire way and had to start stopping at every aid station to dump water and ice all over me. It was the only way to keep myself cool which gave me a moral boost each time.
It was a depressing way to end the race but I pushed myself past my limits. I wanted to walk up several of those hills but I kept pushing it. This was a wakeup call that I although I have a running background, I need to put more miles into my training.

Don't skip running workouts simply because I have a running background. This, along with my limited bike experience, really hurt my performance. My fitness just wasn't where it needed to be and my HR on the run proved it. Was too bad because this half marathon run was almost 20 minutes slower than my HM PR.

Immediately went to the chow line and got some water, pizza, and chips. I felt awful as my stomach was full of Infinit, Water and Gu. That said, I forced myself to eat as I needed some solid food in my stomach.


My bike sucks and I really need to rack up the miles. Oceanside is a very difficult bike course and it definitely got the better of me. My effort on the bike also really hurt my run which I need to learn from.


Great race and an unreal experience! The volunteers were awesome, riding the base was unique, weather was perfect, and the run was right along the beach. Would recommend this race for those considering it.