Oceanside, California United States Ironman North America 55F / 13C Sunny

Total Time = 6h 05m 52s Overall Rank = 1064/2032? Age Group = 40-44 Age Group Rank = 140/238

HERE'S MY ENTIRE RACE REPORT:
Got home about an hour ago (7pm) after a LONG day in Oceanside.
Got up at 4am after a restless night. Had some cereal and a bagel with PB and Banana, and loaded up the car and headed out. Actually could see the moon as I drove out at 4:30 and thought we'd get lucky! About ten minutes down the freeway, major rain squall! Oh no!
Got to O'side and fortunately it wasn't raining there, but I could see dark clouds obscuring the moon. Got a parking spot close to the harbor fortunately and headed to transition. Things were busy. Racks had stickers on them where we were meant to be, so none of that usual jockeying for position on the rack, which was nice.
I was one of the earlier arrivals at 5am, so I took my time taking everything out of my bag and strategically placing it in trash bags and ziplocs. i could see another squall coming.
Went over the got bodymarked and then back to transition as i debated on what I was going to wear on the bike. My drinks were frozen and weren't thawing out, so I was sucking Gatorade from a big ice block. Mental note...don't freeze my pre-race drink!
Hit the portapotty and soon after a heavy rain squall moved in and gusty wind with it. It nearly blew away a tent nearby. I had brought an umbrella fortunately. Within probably 10 minutes, the squall had edged by and the pros were getting ready to start, and they were calling for us to get to the staging area.
Mind you, I was in the second-to-last wave, and would be standing around in the cold for an hour, so i hung as long as I could in transition trying to go over my gear making sure I had it all mapped out in my head. Having everything in trash bags made planning my changes of clothes tough.
So, finally, time for the swim. I had my 5mm hood and people seemed jealous. Ha, ha. Got in the water and took an outside, front position and I was off with the horn. Maintained a comfortable, if not slightly fast pace for the first 500 meters, then backed it down as I felt I was going out a bit hard. "Maintainable and sustainable" is my mantra in long course races.
I managed to pass a few people in waves ahead of me, and finished the swim in just over 35 minutes. T1 took forever because everything was wet, and I had to dig through the bags, put on leg warmers, gloves, shirts, jacket, etc. over 10 minutes in T1...PATHETIC! Once on the bike, i felt great. It felt like a training ride for me since the northbound part of the ride is on a route that I do 1-2 days/week, so I knew what was coming, and how much effort to put out based on what was ahead. That was a big help.
Had to stop on the bike at San Onofre and hit one of the bathrooms and pee. Good sign i guess.
Saw one girl that must have gone down hard....she was sitting on the curb with blood streaming down her leg with some folks there helping her.
Then, we made the turn on Cristianitos in San Clemente, and I was in new territory. The Base is absolutely beautiful back in there. Oh, forgot to mention...we had some small sprinkles in the first 15 miles of the bike and a light west wind. By mile 20, the sun was out with blue skies and brisk NW wind. The ride along the east side of the base was both beautiful and painful. Three solid hills that had some folks walking their bikes! I was in my smallest gear (I have a triple!) and was standing up grunting "Suffer and like it" with every pedal stroke.
On the first hill...the Marines were cheering us on, so i yelled out "Thank you sir, may I have another", which they loved! My wish came true around mile 38 and again around mile 41 or so. Long, grinding hills in the small ring. After the third hill, I dropped my chain switching back to the middle ring on the front, but was able to hop off and get it back on in about 5 seconds. Plenty of nice downhil riding between about mile 44 and 48, and then a long 8-mile slog on a flat into the wind that had me dying to get off the bike. I would exchange leads with some other riders back and forth, and was a bit concerned with the marshalls (which I saw alot by the way) who were nearby during this cat-and-mouse game.
That last 8 miles seemed to take FOREVER, and finally I was back at T2 happy to dismount and ready for the run. I had eaten a Clif Bar and two gels on the bike, and downed plenty of Gatorade and water. Temps went up and down alot on the bike, so i'd be hot, cool, hot, cool.
Anyway, back in T2, I cut the transition time in half, but it was still slow by my normal standards. Started out on the run, and hit the "sand road" 300 yards into it. Not fun! Try running on the sand with people in front of you, next to you, behind you, when you're already tired. That stretch was about 200 yards long, and then back on the pavement. Took me about 2 miles to get my pacing. Never felt loose on the run at all. Maybe I had pushed a bit too hard on the bike. Anyway, I had a Fuel Belt, so i used aid stations to get sponges to dump on my head to cool off. It was actually pretty sunny and nice, but with plenty of wind from the NW by now.
Got to the turnaround knowing that I'd be back there in about 40 minutes as this was a two-loop course. Loop courses have a way of trying to break you mentally since you have to repeat the same course twice (or more in some races). I really tried to get my mind off of what i was doing so i wouldn't think about how much I wanted to stop moving. My legs and feet were screaming for me to stop, and I had to overcome that urge for another hour (I'm not very fast!). So, back to the beginning of the run course, around the turnaround, and back out again. I kept thinking how much I'd like to just go back and cross the finish, but kept telling myself that the pain was temporary, and pressed on. Had to stop at a portapotty here too!
So, on the return after my second lap, the crowds coming out were thinning, so I knew I was one of the last finishers. Once i saw mile 11, I knew I was on the home stretch. I increased my cadence, and in the last 1/2 mile, I pegged it up again and passed several people in the final stretch, coming across in just over 6:05. That was about my target time. My first HIM this past September was in perfect weather on a totally flat course, and I had 3 12 plus mile runs in before that race. This race was hilly on the bike, windy, with adverse conditions at the start, and I hadn't run a long run in a long time as I had a stress fracture in my foot for 7 weeks. From mid-January until 2 weeks ago I was aqua-running only.
So, all in all, a good race for me, but not great. I was pleased with my swim time.
BTW, saw IronCLM on the bike and the run and said "hi", but I'm guessing she had no clue who i was with helmet, glasses, etc. on. Looking good Cathy! Also saw Mohole15 and said "hi" and he looked like he didn't know who the hell I was either, but I did see him at the rolldown! Congrats on getting your Cour d' alene slot!
At the awards, it was humbling to hear the times of the top racers, especially in the older AG's. Guys in their 60's blowing me away. I just tell myself that they've been in the sport for years, or have backgrounds in cycling or running. Ha, ha. I'm a second-season triathlete with no experience in any of the three disciplines, so i have a long way to go!
Stayed for the rolldowns and took a slot for the 70.3 Championships AND for IM Florida. The events are a week apart in different cities in Florida. it was insane of me to think i could do both back-to-back, but I just figured I should take both so I can decide which to do later and apply for a limited refund. Sort of insurance for me so i don't have to make the decision RIGHT NOW. EXPENSIVE insurance!
Every single person who wanted a slot in the 70.3 Championships OR any INMA race got one, so that was cool!
Finally got out of there at 6pm and went to Pick Up Stix and grabbed some food, brought it home, chowed, then a hot bath, and now I'm ready for bed.
Great job to all those of you that finished today and congrats to Monty for his win! Mike Reilly had some funny comments about why Monty DNF'ed 11 times in Kona (I think I got that right). It's a great feeling to be a part of such a healthy and challenging sport and hope to meet more of you at the 70.3 Disney in May!