Ford Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was my first race of the year, first time in open water for the year and first ever ocean swim. I was happy just to survive it. I found sighting extremely difficult - it was the combination of the waves, sun and my goggles - I definitely want to get new ones before my next race. Several times I found myself on the wrong side of the buoys and had to swim 90 degrees to get back on track. Such a waste of time and energy!

I had difficulty getting into my stroke. I found the wetsuit to be extremely restrictive so that was frustrating. I also forgot to apply body glide, and by halfway through, the back of my neck was on fire.

BODY GLIDE! Have different goggles. Kick more - several times in the swim, I would realize that my legs weren't moving at all. I'm sure that didn't help my time at all.

Transition went relatively smoothly. I felt a little wobbly - probably due to equalibrium issues. For the first swim to bike transition of the year, I'm pretty happy.

Have water at my station so that I can take a drink before heading out.

I was very pleased with my ride. This was my first time riding outside this year, and I was happy with how I handled the course - I rode the hills strong and recovered well. I definitely found the wind difficult - it came at the point in the course when you'd already been beaten up by the hills. Very challenging.

I caught up to Brian with about 8k to go, and we rode the rest of the way in together. That was the highlight of the race for me.

Drink more - my water bottle was difficult to get into the cage and I think that dissuaded me from drinking.
Carry a bento box - it would make food more accessible as well as give me a place to store my garbage!

Transition 2 was uneventful. I forgot to take off my vest and had to run back to do that. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it, considering we hadn't really had the opportunity to practice transitions yet this year.

Brian and I ran out of transition together, so that was kind of fun - a first for both of us.

Ensure I have everything on/off before heading out of my area.

My run started out not so great. My legs showed signs of cramping in the first mile and I was worried that I would get stopped in my tracks. I ran easy to the first aid station, where I drank everything I could - water - coke - water, just to try and get fuel to my muscles and hopefully dissuade the cramping.

By mile 2, I was back on track and feeling strong. Every now and then, my quad would twinge a bit, but I managed to keep it under control, fueling myself well at each aid station. I am a runner, and I know that I muddle through the swim and the bike just to get to this point, so I would have been extremely disappointed if I could not pull it together. I ran focused and smart, picking off people one by one.

Ensure I am properly fueled on the bike so that I can start my run strong.
Take 1 or 2 more salt pills.

Apply SUNSCREEN!

I signed Brian and myself up for massages and then went back to the finish to wait for Brian to come in. The bottoms of my feet were a little tender - I had run in my brand new Newtons (which I love!), and the build up under the ball of your foot tends to give you a blister sensation. Thankfully, I avoided all blisters.
I stretched while I waited and tried to keep warm. I failed to bring cool down gear with me - something I need to add to my race checklist.


This is the 1st of 16 half-ironmans for us this year. We held ourselves back on purpose to ensure we could recover quickly and that our training for the next one would not get interrupted too much.
I was not properly fueled - something I definitely have to work on.


This was a fantastic race. The course is beautiful and definitely scenic with it's ocean views and Cali hill climbs. There were a lot of army volunteers, which added a little something extra to the race.

Hazards were well marked, and aid stations were plentiful. This race seems to draw a high calibre of athletes, so the competition is tough which is actually a bonus for me. It makes me work that much harder, and ensures I perform to the best of my ability on race day.

I would definitely recommend this race.