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Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Oceanside, California
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
23C / 73F
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 19m 29s
Overall Rank = 1394/
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 34/
Pre-race routine:

I had been chilling out in Oceanside for the week before the race. Checked out the expo on Thursday and bought a bunch of Ironstuff. Checked my run bag in on Fri afternoon in T2 and had some chicken alfredo for dinner.

Woke up about 445 on race morning. Had 2 english muffins, banana and gatorade. Took a gu and half a waterbottle of gatorade for the road. Packed up my swim and bike gear and hit the road!!

Its kind of funny to ride on a dark road with 100's of other people heading to the swim start. Everyone had their gear strapped to their backs. Road to the transition and went to set up my bike. Fairly congested. I saw Andy Potts (who is a very good looking man...FYI) setting up his transition which was super cool. Kind of neat they have to suffer the same conditions the rest of us do. Haha. I haven't done an Ironman event that had morning gear check. The other two that I had had pre-race gear check for both bike and run. I think I would have preferred to have checked my gear on Fri. We have to be at the race site anyways....takes a little bit of stress out of race morning for such a large event...I think around 2200 ppl ended up starting the race?

Once I had set up my bike I went to the medical tent. I signed up to participate in a body temp study. The docs that were running it were looking to see how wetsuits affected body temp in a cold water swim. I guess there isn't a whole lot of literature available. I had to swallow a small capsule and come back 15min later to get my baseline body temperature taken. My baseline was 98.7.

Once baseline had been measured I went back to the swim corral and hung out with my florescent orange caps!
Event warmup:

I guess the bike over to the race site...not really an opportunity to do much more...my runners were already at T2. I did a bunch of walking around and arm swings. We had to swim out to the swim buoys but that was only prob 50m.
Swim
  • 31m 49s
  • 1931 meters
  • 01m 39s / 100 meters
Comments:

So I got my wetsuit on and realized that there was a hole in the seam just below the zipper. I wore it 2 days before and didn't notice it then....so ya. I didn't want to play around with it too much more and rip a bigger hole, so I didn't get the suit optimally fitted around my shoulders. Not too bad, but not the best. And then as soon as I got the ripped wetsuit on I had to pee soooooooo bad!!!

Waited in the swim corral with the orange caps until it was our turn to swim out to the start. Water was a bit nippy but nothing too bad. Peed in my wetsuit...NBD. lol. Gun went off! Swam through the my wave. I ended up getting caught behind a few orange caps at first and had to divert myself around them. And then came the pink caps...and green caps and a few blue caps...I'm not sure I really like the wave start when starting so far back...at least with a mass start you end up in the crazy mosh pit for 200-300m and then its over...I didn't really feel that it ever ended.

Shoulders were a bit tight in the suit as well. I will chalk that up to less than optimal fitting around my shoulders.

Also the "keeping the buoys" on the left is a bit different as well. I found it a bit tough to spot because I tend to breath to the right during OWS. I guess something to work on is bilateral breathing in OWS. I do it in the pool...but for whatever reason I find it makes me a bit dizzy to switch in open water?

Got out of the water up the ramp and got grabbed by one of the medical officials. Measured my body temp. The doc made a comment that I looked warm and my temp ended up being just over 101 after the swim!!

Overall, not my best swim, but not terrible.
What would you do differently?:

Bilateral breathing, fit the wetsuit better around my shoulders. Definitely need to spend more time in the water in the upcoming months. Glad I have Hawaii coming up in May! Luckily both Honu 70.3 and IM France won't need wetsuits!
Transition 1
  • 05m 21s
Comments:

Fairly long run out of the water to transition. Found my bike and got all my gear on.
Bike
  • 3h 25m 28s
  • 90.12 kms
  • 26.32 km/hr
Comments:

Ya...lol. Beautiful course and beautiful men lined the course....oh hot marines!! They were patrolling all the main intersections as we made our way through all the marine "towns". Pace booty!! Haha. The first 25 miles were going pretty well. My quads were burning quite a bit for the first 30-45min and then that settled down. First half of the course is fairly flat with a few rollers but nothing too extreme.

The second half...different story. I knew that between miles 30-35 that there would be climbing but in my head it was longer steadier grades...not death hills. The first one hits pretty hard on Basilone road. Its likely a 1km long total (I might be overestimating but it feels that long) at near 8-9%? I had a flash back to that stage race a few weeks ago where the riders were getting off their bikes and walking up the hills because people were dismounting and walking up. I kept thinking to myself "don't you think to get off this bike...don't you do it"...finally made it to the top and had a glorious fast descent...I love descending....oh and then another death hill came....and another and another...then the wind and blah blah blah. Let's just say the back half was completely different for me than the front half. Really tough course. Probably the toughest I've ever done...definitely tougher than Calgary 70.3....
What would you do differently?:

Definitely need more time in aero. My neck and traps were killing me by the end of the ride. Killinggggg...

More hills...more riding...hopefully the snow is melting back home so I can get a few weekends out in the mountains...IM France is going to be hilllly....

And apparently I need to come up with some sort of plan for sunscreen. I had sunscreen on and I still developed the usual "iron burn"...

Oh and one of my screws came out of my left cleat when I dismounted...apparently this is the race that I get to experience the equipment malfunctions--things to remember for Honu 70.3 and IM France.....
Transition 2
  • 03m 49s
Comments:

The usual kind of wobbly dismount on tired legs. Found that my legs didn't actually feel too bad to run on. The volunteers (who were equally as awesome as the hot marines on the bike) directed me to my rack. So as mentioned above, the day before I had checked my run gear in. I tied it to the place of my number and when I came to rack my bike a bunch of people had racked there bikes over my number...not a big deal so I found a place to rack my bike and got my shoes on. I had originally decided to wear my pink compression socks but then I looked down and decided that would just be too difficult to do at that moment in time and put on my regular running socks. Haha. If I sat down to put those socks on I wouldn't have gotten back up!!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really.
Run
  • 2h 13m 2s
  • 21.08 kms
  • 06m 19s  min/km
Comments:

Ok...so as a disclaimer...I'm Canadian and in Edmonton...and when I left Edmonton we had a foot of snow and it was -10-15...brrrr. And I had a bathroom break on the run cause I had to pee real bad!

Hot hot hot hot hot. I decided early on that I would walk up the hills to prevent from over exerting myself too early. I think it was a good decision. The grades are like trail run steep and I didn't want to bonk. Took the run pretty steady otherwise and felt like I was actually moving up through the field (which in reality overall I was compared to the bike). On the first lap during the long stretch along Pacific St I really started to feel the heat and at one point needed to walk a bit because I was feeling nauseous. I decided to try out a strategy of taking the ice cubes and carrying them in my hands to let them melt...it actually did help out quite a bit. So at the aid stations I would douse myself in water and then take a cup of ice and grab 2 handfuls.

I noted at one point that my heel was bugging me and stopped to look on the second lap to see that my sock had rolled under and opened up a blister...so I was bleeding all over the back of my shoe. Fixed my sock and it helped. Also was having some sort of cramping going on in my left forefoot which I've never had before...kind of annoying during the run. Wonder if I didn't have enough salt on board?

The spectators along the course were AWESOME. This one group was having a party along Pacific St. Played some of my fav inspiring IM songs...some of the good old EYe of the Tiger, The FInal Countdown, We will rock you...So that was super cool. I definitely picked my pace up whenever I passed them.

Saw ChrisM on the run and yelled "BT Chris" at him. He was motoring along quite well! Nice work Chris! Also saw someone else who name I can't remember but I know is a BTer!
What would you do differently?:

Need to work on my heat tolerance. Thought I did a good job with drinking and my calories, but could probably use more salt for races like this where I experience such a large change in temp. Again...thank god for Hawaii pre- IM France.

Just more miles on the legs is needed too. Should get easier now that I don't have to work all the time. Just studying and will work around my schedule to get the miles in!
Post race
Warm down:

Made it through the volunteer line and got my finisher's medal and hat. Grabbed a space blanket to shield my iron burn from further burnage and grabbed a few pieces of Iron pop and Iron pizza. Walked around a bit and gathered all my gear and biked the 1km back to my condo. Had a lie down! Whew!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training overall hasn't been optimal compared to what it could have been, but that is okay. I think I did well overall with my training and am actually quite surprised how relatively consistent my splits were with my HRs. I'm writing this the morning after the race and other than my sun burn I don't feel too bad...I can walk...get up from seated...haha. The important things.

Event comments:

Good race. Will definitely be back to Oceanside for round two with this killer course. As usual Ironman runs a ship shape race. On time and well organized.




Last updated: 2012-07-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:31:49 | 1931 meters | 01m 39s / 100meters
Age Group: 10/
Overall: 561/
Performance: Average
Suit: Xterra Vortex 3
Course: Rectangularish course in the Oceanside Harbour. Keeping buoys on the left swimming in a counter clockwise direction.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 05:21
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:25:28 | 90.12 kms | 26.32 km/hr
Age Group: 33/
Overall: 1498/
Performance: Average
5k laps: 10:16 HR 150 10:46 HR 148 10:12 HR 145 10:31 HR 145 11:15 HR 145 10:15 HR 131 9:40 HR 136 11:32 HR 145 14:03 HR 151 (Death hill # 1-- HR peaked at 181) 11:43 HR 145 14:57 HR 151 13:20 HR 144 14:51 HR 149 7:51 HR 127 10:45 HR 139 10:24 HR 141 11:58 HR 146 9:28 HR 145
Wind: Headwind
Course: Rolling course with a few steep grades. Majority of the course is on Camp Pendleton. MARINES!!!
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:49
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:13:02 | 21.08 kms | 06m 19s  min/km
Age Group: 34/
Overall: 1394/
Performance: Average
1km laps 5:37 HR 158 6:26 HR 160 5:54 HR 161 6:05 HR 166 6:12 HR 164 6:21 HR 162 6:14 HR 166 5:52 HR 167 6:40 HR 162 6:03 HR 166 6:17 HR 166 6:13 HR 167 6:40 HR 168 6:52 HR 164 6:46 HR 164 6:23 HR 163 6:38 HR 164 6:22 HR 165 6:33 HR 168 6:02 HR 170 5:36 HR 176
Course: Along the Oceanside coast on the pier. A few pretty short, steep grades.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2013-03-31 12:12 PM

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Champion
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Subject: Ironman 70.3 California


2013-03-31 12:43 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Elite
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PEI, Canada
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great race report and great result Melissa, congratulations!
2013-03-31 1:44 PM
in reply to: #4680820

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Regular
71
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San Juan Capistrano
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Nice report and congrats.  Enjoyed your comments leading up to the race
2013-03-31 2:02 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Royal(PITA)
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West Chester, Ohio
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great job!  Hope this race had all the mechanicals for the season and the remainder of your races are even better!
2013-03-31 2:32 PM
in reply to: #4680873

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Regular
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California

Melissa thx for narrative. can you help me understand the stats in the "run" section. U ran 20k....thats all i get....

 

Its very humid here ...I skipped riding today. did lot of track work yesterday. Got up four times last night to get a drink of water. I cannot imagine how u came from up north and did this race without a chance to ...amazing woman! 

2013-03-31 2:36 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Master
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Central Kansas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Wonderful job. Thank you for confirming my opinion of Andy Potts. And marines. :-) You raced well. If you can sit down and get back up today, you are in great shape!


2013-03-31 3:18 PM
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Champion
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Bronze member
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California

Great race! You learned a lot and what to practice on AND you had great looking Marines and ANDY . Of course your albino, Canadian self is going to burn in Coastal California. Wait till you see how you burn in Hawaii. You are going to need sunscreen that adheres like glue, lasts like asphalt and has an SPF of 1000+

Good job Dr Melindy.

2013-03-31 4:49 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great report Mindy. Way to go!
2013-03-31 5:14 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Pro
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NJ
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Melissa, great race and race report. Congrats on a stellar celebration for finishing Med School!!!!!
2013-03-31 6:15 PM
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Master
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Goodyear, AZ
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Awesome! Well done!
2013-03-31 6:52 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Veteran
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Houston, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great race and report!  Looking forward to hearing about Honu and IM France in the near future


2013-03-31 7:00 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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MotoQueen
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great report, Great race!  Way to go Iron Doc!  
2013-03-31 7:47 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Awesome year so far with this race and med school etc!!! Sorry I missed meeting you other than the fleeting introduction! You fooled me without the socks. . Wel done on the race!
2013-03-31 8:49 PM
in reply to: #4681148

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Master
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Overland Park, KS
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great race, Great Race Report Melissa.  Looks like you had lots of fun.  I might have to do that race some day.  It's got lots of Pro's (Potts, Carfrae etc.).  I"m sure the marines we're admiring you and much a you were admiring them
2013-03-31 9:09 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Regular
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Costa Mesa
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
YES, hill of death!  Garmin says it's 10-14% grade on that death hill.  People at my pace were pushing their bikes up.  I really should have done the same, but I did not know how to dismount while on such a steep course, so I just went up at 3-4 mph, not much faster then the pushers but did pass a couple of them.  The three other hills after that were tough, but really nothing compared to the length and steepness of the first death hill. Good thing that hill came first!
2013-03-31 10:00 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Expert
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Palm Springs, California
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Loved the race report. Great job!


2013-04-01 6:58 AM
in reply to: #4680794

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Master
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Englewood, Florida
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Great job, both on the race and the report. Keep up the good work.
2013-04-01 9:32 AM
in reply to: #4680794

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Veteran
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Queen Creek, AZ
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California

"Death hills"  that made me laugh.  True though, over the top of every one I mumbled, "that sucked " to myself.

Then I think I shouted "that sucked " when running up those short little steep hills in the run.

Well done!  Awesome report!!

2013-04-01 11:45 AM
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Master
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Northern IL
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Nice job Melissa!
2013-04-01 5:25 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Master
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Los Angeles, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Really nice race and race report!  Come ride hills with me up to the Griffith Park Observatory and those hills will no longer be DEATH HILLS!  =D

Edited by kloofyroland 2013-04-01 5:26 PM
2013-04-02 4:29 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Master
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ann arbor, michigan
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Nice race and race report.

I got burned pretty bad in my first IM. Second one I used Planet Sun stuff and you could hardly tell I had been outside after at day in the AZ sun. I highly recommend it.


2013-04-02 10:11 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Member
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Los Angeles
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Congrats on your finish!!!   good job
2013-04-03 5:39 PM
in reply to: #4680794

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Extreme Veteran
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Scottsdale
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California

Well done, and great job handling some of the adversity.

Hey - were you staying at No Coast Village with your husband and family?  If so, I think I might have met your husband at the BBQ grill earlier in the week.

Congrats!

2013-04-03 11:15 PM
in reply to: #4685782

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
101abp40 - 2013-04-03 4:39 PM

Well done, and great job handling some of the adversity.

Hey - were you staying at No Coast Village with your husband and family?  If so, I think I might have met your husband at the BBQ grill earlier in the week.

Congrats!

Nope. I was at North Coast Village though! But I was there alone!

2013-04-09 11:30 AM
in reply to: #4680794

Master
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Northern IL
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California
Nice job Melissa!
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