Ford Ironman 70.3 California : Official Thread

I'm in! This will be my first HIM as well.  I look forward to going on this journey with you! 

Hey guys!  I'm in!  It'll be my second HIM.  First one was Boise in 2008.  Can't wait to do this one!  Cheers!

I did it this year, and I'm in again for 2010.

The swim is not really an open-ocean swim.  It's an out-and-back in the Oceanside Harbor and most of the swim is protected by the jetty.  The only real issues are the temps (58° this year) and the distance (for those not used to swimming more than a mile).  It's pretty easy to sight the buoys on the way out and you can use the jetty for reference on the way back.  When I was coming back, the sun was just rising above the horizon and visibility straight ahead was nonexistant.  I just had to trust the splashes in front of me and take a look at the jetty from time to time (it's on the right and I breath / sight to the left).  I was very nervous about the swim heading into the race and it was really not that bad.  It's a wave start and you swim out about 100 meters from the boat launch to get to the staging area, so it gives you a nice warm-up before the horn sounds.

The bike does have two pretty considerable hills, but other than that, it's pretty manageable.

The out-and-back (twice) run couldn't be flatter.  There is a section where you have to run across the sand and that can be annoying, but it's all just part of it.  There are two slight inclines on the run, but they're short (~1 block long).

I just got back from the HIM in Lake Stevens and that was a tough run course!  I don't want to say that the Oceanside run is easy 'cause I can definitely recall looking forward to the end (even on the first loop), but it's manageable.

Good luck to everyone!

(DSCN1639.JPG)

I just signed up last night. This will be my 2nd 70.3. I'm look forward to it as I've heard nothing but good things about this race!