General Discussion Race Reports! » Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Oceanside, California
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
65F / 18C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 59m 43s
Overall Rank = 968/3490
Age Group = M55-59
Age Group Rank = 41/146
Pre-race routine:

Got up with my usual 4:45 alarm for masters. Had a PB and honey.

Drove to the usual parking structure. Walked to the harbor and set up. The timing was about right to get organized, suited up, and in line to stand around for the rolling start. Had a gel waiting in line.

I packed two gels and two baggies with sunscreen towels in my tri top.
Event warmup:

nada
Swim
  • 37m 58s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 48s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my first ever self-seeded rolling start, and didn't like it as well as wave starts. I usually have the luxury of swimming away from most of the AG, but with the rolling start, was in a crowd the whole swim, and the first 20 miles of the bike. Other guys in the AG have less contact with this, but not me - last year, I had zero contact from the gun. This time, I was slowly passing people the whole time. People seed themselves over-optimistically; I finished exactly when I'd predicted, never got passed, but continually slid past slower swimmers.

- two caps were just right

No cramp in the harbor this year, for the first time ever! The course was too crowed to do the fly at the end ;(

As usual, I was fast up and running out of the water, and let the vols know I'd do the upside down zipper on the DeSoto. The old trick to grab/hold the cap and goggles when I stripped the top worked, and I didn't drop anything like in La Quinta.

It was an easy swim, and I swam downhill from the hips the whole way.

This was my best split in the AG, so I don't have any complaints.
Transition 1
  • 04m 50s
Comments:

Speedy as usual. I was 11th in the AG, 5s back from 8th. The heels stuck and the body glide wasn't enough. Maybe I should shorten the legs on the T1 bibs.
Bike
  • 3h 11m 55s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.51 mile/hr
Comments:

This was surprisingly solid since I've only been on the bike about 60mpw.

Unlike last year, I didn't feel like I was constantly being passed by kids with discs. This time, with the rolling swim start, I passed about as many people as passed me, until we got past the hills, and my old self kicked in, and I had a solid ride into the breeze, passing people the whole way.

I was slow on the hills, and didn't push it. I hit the guard station at about mile 26 with a 19mph average and the bottom of the mile 28 hill at 18.4.

My fueling strategy worked again, with 8 fig bars, and two bottles of Gatorade. I had some of each left over.
What would you do differently?:

I can make 10-20 minutes on the bike if I train for it.
Transition 2
  • 04m 29s
Comments:

Speedy as normal despite losing about 30s hunting for my hat that was still in my bag.
What would you do differently?:

Next time, clip the hat to the shoes.
Run
  • 2h 00m 31s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 12s  min/mile
Comments:

Socks on in T2. Great decision.

It was an odd run. I effortlessly held my target marathon pace of about 8:15 for 5 or 6 miles, then the run got hard. It wasn't a slow run for me, but I walked most of the hills on the second half, and it may be in my head, but it seems like the whole field did a lot of walking on the second loop.

The best trick of the day was the sunscreen wipes. Since my hat was missing, the wipe was magic on the top of my head, and everywhere I used it. Despite sweating as much as ever, I wiped down a few times, and the sunscreen worked.

I was a little thirstier than normal, and with the second half being harder than normal, I stopped at the last few drink stations. I got a cup of ice about three miles out and put it down my tri top.
What would you do differently?:

I'm not quite in the run shape I'd like to be in, and I need to lose about 10 lbs to be fast.
Post race
Warm down:

At the finish, Andy Potts was there again this year semi-anonymously passing out medals, and as I slapped his shoulder, he said, "oh, you recognized me!" Great guy. I went back a few minutes later to shake his hand and tell him that people loved him being there - since I've vol'd at the finish, I know most people are too dazed say anything meaningful.

I stood in line for the finisher photo, chatting, and was too dizzy for comfort so knelt down in line. Got to chat with some great, friendly people.

I snagged enough to drink, skipped the food, and walked to transition.



What limited your ability to perform faster:

It was a solid, balanced race, but if I had the training volume from my better years, I'd gain at least 10 minutes each on the bike and run.

Event comments:

Here are the results.

The vols were especially great this year, and there were a lot of them. There were a ton of young Marines in vol shirts on the run, at sign-in and elsewhere, and it was flattering to keep getting called, Sir, by so many young superstars.




Last updated: 2017-04-02 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:37:58 | 2112 yards | 01m 48s / 100yards
Age Group: 38/146
Overall: 850/3490
Performance: Good
Suit: DeSoto T1
Course: The usual out and back in the harbor
Start type: Plus:
Water temp: 62F / 17C Current:
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 04:50
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
03:11:55 | 56 miles | 17.51 mile/hr
Age Group: 57/146
Overall: 1121/3490
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: The clockwise loop through Camp Pendleton
Road: Smooth  Cadence: 95
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:29
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:00:31 | 13.1 miles | 09m 12s  min/mile
Age Group: 41/146
Overall: 968/3490
Performance: Average
Course: The usual out and back along the ocean.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

{postbutton}
2017-04-02 11:39 AM

User image

Expert
703
500100100
Palm Springs, California
Subject: Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside


2017-04-02 6:09 PM
in reply to: #5217426

User image

Expert
1074
10002525
Tyrone, Georgia
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside
Nice solid performance and agree on the over zealous self seeding swimmers!
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside

Started by mike@TFW
Views: 833 Posts: 1

2016-08-08 7:18 PM mike@TFW

Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside

Started by ChrisM
Views: 1492 Posts: 3

2016-04-25 12:06 PM juniperjen

Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside

Started by Pacific John
Views: 1473 Posts: 2

2016-04-24 8:35 PM ChrisM

Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside

Started by jenth
Views: 1736 Posts: 7

2016-04-14 9:40 AM juniperjen

Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside

Started by kloofyroland
Views: 2085 Posts: 11

2016-04-14 10:54 AM kloofyroland