Ford Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Oceanside, California
United States
Ironman North America
Total Time = 5h 52m 3s
Overall Rank = 990/2113
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 170/313
Pre-race routine:

7 AM Wave. Woke to use the bathroom about 1 AM and had 1 can Ensure. Woke up at 3:30 (normal weekday alarm) and had 2 more cans Ensure and a PBnJ. Thinking I will switch to oatmeal instead of PBnJ going forward. Rode about 8 miles to race start and was feeling a little warmed up. Hanging out in transition for 1.5 hours turned that little warmth into a little cold but it was an enjoyable ride in.
Event warmup:

Just walked the transition and looked at the buoys.
Swim
  • 39m 11s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Was seeded way too far back. I was blocked in the whole way out and it seemed like everyone was being very aggressive. Nobody was working together and everyone wanted to hold their ground.
Transition 1
  • 03m 37s
Comments:

Long run from swim to bike and then bike to mount line. Nothing major to correct.
Bike
  • 2h 57m 2s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.98 mile/hr
Comments:

This was my first race racing with a Powermeter and I was a little hesitant to race at such a low effort but I was going to do my best to stick to the plan; ride 82% of FTP and get off the bike ready to run. As soon as I got on the bike I was taking it real easy, about 78-79%, and saw everyone going out hard and just hoped they were being foolish and they would come back to me eventually. First couple of small hills everyone mashed up the hill and I went backwards but I was riding my watts so I was still sticking to the plan. It was really hard to get out of the packs when you are trying to ride consistently, especially at an easy effort.

Just after the first aid station we were riding along a bike path and at one of the bigger turns I nailed a pothole dead on. My chin almost bounced off my stem, my front tire flatted and the plastic cup that holds the aerobar pad on my left arm snapped off. I took my bike off to the side and looked at the piece of plastic that was sharred off at the bracket and realized I was going to have to rest my arm on that for 35 or so miles if I was going to finish. I got down to fixing my flat trying to contain my inner Stadler and not throw my bike. The difference of my bike computer to split time is 4 minutes 50 seconds so I guess that is how long it took to fix my flat. My mental state took a lot longer to correct (during post race cocktails perhaps?). I definitely wanted to just say screw it and get a ride back to transition but didn't want to DNF. It was painful riding on the bracket and I could not get any leverage plus I had to hold my body up using my core muscles (I have none) since I couldn't just put my weight on my arms. The last 10 miles or so I rode sitting up, resting on the bracket, and tried just resting my arm on the base bar. Everything was starting to hurt.

In a couple fits of rage I tried hammering to get back to my age group and wound up coming in at an IF of 87% so I went way harder than planned. 218 TSS instead of my planned 176.
What would you do differently?:

No matter what happens stick to the plan. This was my first mechanical problem and I am glad I can learn from it at a race that isn't that important to me.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Again, a long run from one end of transition to the other. Stopped to use the port-a-potty as I could tell it was empty as I went by. Glad I did.
Run
  • 2h 09m 9s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

I was fairly nervous about the run as my training plan (IM) is just now starting to ramp up past 1:30 and I didn't do too many of those. Plus I'm just not a good runner. I felt ok for most of the run. I hated the sand but it was much better than in years past as we were able to run across dry (loose) sand to the water line run a bit down the beach and then across loose sand back to the strand. In the past it was all loose sand. Every time I looked at my watch it said 9:14 - 9:30/mile so I though I was doing ok. I couldn't really push as my time goals were already shot so I didn't have any motivation to draw from. I did walk about 50 yards up the last bit of loose sand but I don't know why my tiem wasn't closer to 2:03 - 2:05. I really wanted to break 2 hours on this run.
Post race
Warm down:

Between getting my stuff, trying to meet the family, entertaining the kids, and getting back to the hotel I didn't eat for way too long afterwards. My legs feel like I got worked over by baseballl bats and I think the lack of food my have worsened that. Need to make sure to eat sooner.

Event comments:

I love this race. It is fairly close to home but far enough to seem like a long weekend vacation. I was able to remain relatively stress free and enjoy the whole weekend. The weather was basically as good as you can ask for. It is an early season race so it is hard to peak for but it is a great way to start the season off.




Last updated: 2009-01-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:11 | 2112 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 204/313
Overall: 1257/2113
Performance: Below average
Suit: Orca Predator Full
Course: Protected in the harbor
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 59F / 15C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 03:37
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:57:02 | 56 miles | 18.98 mile/hr
Age Group: 138/313
Overall: 813/2113
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course:
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:09:09 | 13.1 miles | 09m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 186/313
Overall: 235/2113
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]