Ironman Arizona

Thursday November 13, 2014.  Three days until Ironman Arizona.  Today’s schedule is a 45 minute bike, easy, make sure the bike is good, and just shake out the legs a bit.  With this accomplished, I focused on quality food, and a slight uptick in hydration to compensate for the desert dryness.  Also increased carbs, but not to a stupid amount, and no over-eating.  Thursday was  a glorious day in greater Tempe.  A high of about 80, light winds.  It would be a great day to have an Ironman.   Nice of my hotel to welcome us too!

Friday November 14, 2014.  Two days until Ironman Arizona.  Another glorious day.  I do not workout two days prior, I find this is a good off day for me.  I did go to packet pick up and take care of making sure I got my packet, instructions, and all was ready to go.  Continue to get proper food and drink in me.  And relax.  Try and relax.  Stay off the feet.

Saturday November 15, 2014.  Ironman eve.  Yet again, a terrific day.  Another 40-45 minute bike ride.  This time I headed out from the bike start for 21 minutes, then turned around.  Went through a warm up, hit all the gears, and a couple of short bursts.  Felt strong and good.  Wiped the bike down, put the numbers on the bike, and racked it.  Also dropped off my bike and run bags.  Nothing to do now but eat, sleep, and wait.

Sunday November 16, 2014.  Ironman Arizona.  Greeted with a nice, cool morning.  The buzz is electric in the Ironman Village.  Nervous, chatty athletes.  Nervous quiet athletes.  Even some that looked calm, cool, and collected.  For some reason I was nervous.  More nervous than I remember being for IMCdA.  Then it was bothering me that I felt nervous.  I couldn’t seem to calm down.  I was wondering if I should have brought a second bike helmet.  The second for, well, you know, barf.

What calmed me down?  Putting on my wetsuit.  Once the wetsuit was on, it was like, oh, okay, we’ll migrate down to the lake, get in, and swim.  I’ve done this a time or two.  In we go, down some steps into Tempe Town Lake.  About 300-400 yards from the start.  Had to get in at the exit point due to low water levels.

Used the 300-400 yards as a warm up.  It seemed like an eternity, but finally BOOM!  The cannon went off.  Swim start?  More like mortal combat.  2,700 people starting to swim at the same time in no semblance of order.  Push, smash, crash.  Repeat.  Trying to find some swimming room.  Had to go Tarzan style for 400-500 yards just to not crush someone.  The visibility in the water was less than zero.  The lake water was very silty.  I found some swimming room, and got into a bit of a groove.  Now that I was swimming, I would come up on groups of other swimmers.  Getting around them was like trying to make progress in a traffic jam.  Roughly three-quarters of the way through and suddenly the water has a chop to it.  Great, it wasn’t challenging enough with 2,700 people and no visibility.  Now I’m fighting the water.  A few minutes later it hit me.  Or was that another swimmer hitting me (again)?  The chop means WIND.  Expletive, expletive, expletive.

Finally the end of the swim.  Getting out on the steps was a challenge with the low water level, and my sea legs.

Up and out, about five minutes slower than CdA, and ten minutes off my goal, but with the conditions, acceptable.  Off to transition.  Hearing lots of Go Tri Club!!!  TCSD and TCSD rooters were out in force.

Walking/trotting to the transition area, I locate my bike bag, and head toward the changing tent.  Since I am not changing my bottoms, I don’t go inside, but find a tree to lean on and get out of my wetsuit, change my top, and get my helmet, sunglasses, and cycling shoes on.  I skip the wetsuit strippers.  I found it took longer at CdA and I had to carry a heavy wetsuit to transition.  I’d prefer to have my hands free until I was ready to change.

Now that I was ready to ride, I went over to the bike racks, and headed out.  It was a short distance to the mount line and I was riding.  Once onto the road my fears were confirmed.  It was WINDY.  My least favorite element to ride in.  Wind never stops.  It is noisy, and relentless.  Okay, get your mind right.  You cannot control this.  You’ve ridden in it.  You did the 2011 Eastern Sierra DoubleCentury.  You can do this.  Positive thoughts.  The return will be a tailwind.  The course, was a three loop out and back.  Most of the way would be right into the wind and most of the way back with it.

The first out went pretty good.  Slower than I planned, but that was all wind.  My effort was right, and I felt good.  About that wind.  You really feel it, as if with every pedal stroke you take, someone is pushing you right back.  And when it gusted, wow!  Sustained winds of 20 MPH with gusts over 30.  The bike was being pushed all over.  I FLEW back into town.  My first loop was just three minutes slower than my stretch goal despite the wind.  Turn around and do it again!  Through town and out to the Beeline Highway.  The Beeline was just shy of 11 miles.  Going out right into the wind, and a bit uphill.  Just a quarter of a mile on the Beeline I shifted and my chain dropped.  Expletive.  Okay, two minute fix, right?  Not even, usually.  Get the chain on but the crank will not turn.  Flip the bike to get a good look at it.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!  My chain is bent.  I mean bent, like will not roll over the chain rings bent.  Is my day over?  All I can do now is wait for Bike Tech and see what, if anything can be done.

And wait.  And wait.  Finally a vehicle stops, I tell him, and he radios one of the motorcycle techs.  He shows up a couple of minutes later.  Now I realize my day might not be done, as he has chain links.  He goes to work on my bike.  It did take a few minutes, but I was back in the game!!!  I cannot thank him enough, back on the bike, and continue my second loop.

By the way what is that smell?  Ugh that is awful.  Okay its gone.  Hit the turnaround and come flying back down.  There is that smell again.  Wretched sewage, or something?  Oh, there is the sign.  Landfill turn right.

Back into town, and one more time, turn around and back out.  Here is where the mechanical hurt more than the 45-50 minutes I was idle.  I never got the same groove on the bike after the delay.  I think I stiffened up some.  And it screwed with me mentally.  I kept wondering where I would be if it hadn’t happened.  Trying to get those thoughts out of my head, and into being thankful I was still out there.

At what seemed like an eternity, I hit the far turn-around one last time, and zipped back into town with the tailwind.

Off the bike and into transition.  Now I am calculating times.  See, the run is always my weakest sport.  And I have had injury issues all year.  I broke my foot in March.  And after I started running again, I have had knee issues.  So I did not get the run build I wanted.  I went into this with a very conservative run strategy.  Walk the first four minutes.  Then run 30 seconds, and walk 1:30, repeat.  I did this the last two months of training, and it was working, and I figured a 6:00 to 6:30 marathon based on this.  No world record, but better than my CdA marathon with a strong run build.  My concern was would the knee hold up?  I’m starting the run over an hour later than I anticipated.  If this becomes a walk, I’ll be struggling to make the 17 hour time cut.

Think positive.  Start your 30-130 and FOLLOW THE PLAN.  You put this plan together, your body responded well the last two months.  The knee has been doing great the last month.  Your actual running has improved.

First run segment,  Ouch!  No, not the knee, my left hamstring.  What???  This has not been an issue at all.  Okay, diagnose.  Is it a cramp or a pull?  For the second time I was wondering if my day was over.  Feels like a cramp, which is weird.  When I cramp it is usually my quads, occasionally my calves.  And more often, after my day is over.  However, I did have pickle juice with me.  The worlds greatest cure for cramping.  I took some and about 30 seconds later I was good.  I was off, and on to my run-walk.  And I was run-walking STRONG.  My splits were great, as I was tracking a 3:00 half marathon.  The sun was going down, it was chilly, which is good for me.  Heat and running do not mix for me.  The conditions for running were ideal!  They flat out sucked for cycling with that wind, but for running, fantastic.

The run course is two loops.  The cruelest thing on earth is hitting the end of loop one.  You see the split for finish or continue.  You see faster athletes finishing.  You hear them finishing.  You’ve still got 13.1 to go.  Here it is for me.  Can I get in around six hours?  Heck, can I break six hours?  The half was 3:00:29.  I need an oh-so slight negative split.  And I feel good enough now to do it.  Will it hold?  Miles 13-18 no problem.  Then I noticed I was creeping into 14 minute miles.  The difference wasn’t the run segments, I was walking slower.  So starting with mile 20 I started running more.  I went from 30-130 to 40-120 then 45-115.

Not a single niggle from the knee all day!  No more hamstring issues, and just a bit from the calves, another gulp of pickle juice fixed that. 

Getting close to the finish, I hit a walk segment,  Walked maybe 30 seconds and I reached the barriers marking the finish chute.  No way I was walking any of this.  Too much crowd support.  I started running, and the folks watching started cheering.  They love to see folks run it in.  Around a slight bend and there it is.  The finish line.  The big timer.  Mike Reily’s voice booming, telling the person in front of me they are an IRONMAN.  I migrate to the right side, and high five a bunch of spectators, then make sure my bib is centered, I hit the final few meters, and I hear Mike bring me in.  God, I LOVE that!  Me, I am an IRONMAN!!!! (For the second time).  It is very emotional.  And then, it is over.  Just like that.  Done.  The volunteer takes you back, makes sure you don’t need medical, and gets you to the photo area.  They take a few shots, and get you to athlete food.  And you are done.  Euphoria, emotion, and hey, its over?  I want more!  Well, maybe another time.  Right now I think I want off my feet.

Oh and the run time?  My Garmin showed just over 6 hours.  Darn, missed the sub six.  Except the official time has me at 5:59:48.  Very, very happy!

So a strange Ironman for me.  The event I expected to be the best, the bike, was the poorest event of the day especially with the mechanical.  Even without it, it was about 6:45 of ride time, which is disappointing for the course.  I really expected to have a bike time faster than my run time here. 

I would be remiss not to thank all the volunteers, and especially the bike tech that saved my day.  Thank you all for your support.  And thank you to Ironman for putting on a great event.

Gear:

Swim

Blue Seventy wetsuit

Tyr Rx googles

Bike

Specialized Transition Comp

Williams 58-85 wheels (LOVE THESE)

50-34 compact crank set

11-28 cassette

X-Lab cages

Run

Saucony Kinvara 5 shoes

Fuel Belt

Total time 15:15 – Was shooting to go sub 14, but the mechanical and wind put the kibosh on that. 

On course photos courtesy of Tri Club San Diego

pre-race photos by me.

 What is next?  Well I am signed up for IM California-Oceanside 70.3 in March.  If my knee continues to behave, my plan for next year is one or two 70.3s and several shorter tris.  I also want to focus on my weight and conditioning.  For a former obese ~400 pounder I have done well.  But by triathlete standards I am heavy.  It shows in the pictures this year, I really need to get the weight down some more.  This will help with speed, but more importantly it will save the joints and muscles stress, allowing me to keep doing this stuff.

No 140.6's next year, unless, of course the Kona Lottery comes up for me!  :-)  I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to race at Kona.

Tiki Swim 2014

Tiki Swim is the first stand-alone swim event I have ever done.  The last two years I did Superfrog the day of Tiki.  So many people said they loved it last year; and since I am doing IMAZ, Superfrog did not fit on the schedule this year. 

My friends were right, it is a fun event.  Starting south of the pier in Oceanside, swimming well past the pier before turning south and heading toward the harbor.

Arriving early on a pleasant Sunday morning, 64 degrees outside with just a hint of a nip to the air, some clouds, with enough clear to see some stars as the promise of daybreak looms to the east.  The water looked pretty calm.  Two, maybe three footers without much power.  Should be pretty easy to get out, and then swim. 

Chatting with Sugarmagnolia, Leo, and Leah before the swim we suddenly noticed the surf had picked up and had some bite.  It was about 15 minutes before go time, daylight was upon us and it seems it woke the ocean up.  Crash.  The two to three footers were now three to five, and with punch.

We got in to get wet and a feel for the water.  I went out just past the first set, and rode a fast, fun wave back in. Like sitting on water with jet propulsion.  Then the short march south to the start.

A few announcements, Blah, blah, blah. (Imagine the Peanuts parents) and then the siren.  GO TIME!

Into the water, no need to run in, I get to where it is time to swim, and a strong wave is coming.  I duck, a bit late and smash, the water crashes into me.  I ducked just enough to not go backwards, but I popped up with my goggles around my neck.  Luckily my eyes were still where they belonged.  I fixed the goggles and started swimming.  A few more to duck, but forward progress was being made.  I was looking forward to getting past the swells so I could get into a swim grove.

And past the swells I got.  But I was getting rocked like a 12 foot aluminum boat in stormy seas.  The chop was well past the swell line.  I’d be in this chop for the duration.  All one could do was swim and make forward progress.

The number of swimmers was good, there were others out there, but it never felt too crowded.  I caught a few, but had no problem passing, usually plenty of room.  Maybe I had that room since I was constantly way wide of the buoy line.  I knew I was adding distance to this one.  Isn’t 2.4 miles far enough?  Everytime I made my way back to the buoy line, I was back wide again.  The chop was pushing me.  At one point I wondered if I could just drift to Catalina Island. 

Did I mention it was choppy?  I could not figure out what was wrong with me, when suddenly I realized I was nauseated.  I have never had that swimming before.  I figured it out, it was the tumultuous waters.  I found myself wishing I had some ginger or Bonine.

There was a triangle buoy out where the 1.2 mile swimmers would merge onto the 2.4 mile course.  I wanted to hug that buoy.  I snuck a look at my watch and was right at 50 minutes here.  This is over half way, but I wasn’t sure how much over, trying to do math while swimming in a washing machine is a challenge.  I figured I was about 30 minutes out, which would put me at 1:20.  That was my time at IMCdA in a choppy but much calmer lake.  This felt harder; maybe I have more than that to go?

Is that a yellow buoy?  The yellow buoys signal the harbor, but I am still getting chopped.  The mouth of the harbor was still rolling, but calmer waters were ahead.  Must keep swimming.  One-two-three BREATH.  One-two-three BREATH/SIGHT.  Repeat.

Hmm.  That feels easier.  Now I am in the harbor.  Not only is there no more chop, but I felt like the current was with me.  Like turning a corner on your bike, and out of a head/cross wind into a tail wind.  Ahhhh.  Except now my arms were tired.  I was ready to be done.

Now I am in a swimming groove.  The arms are tired, but I am swimming!  CRASH.  Right into a guy.  Who decided to stop.  Right in the middle of the water.  Hope I didn't hurt him, as I hammered the poor guy with my right hand.  I assume he was a newer swimmer, but cap color he was doing the shorter course.

To my left is another swimmer.  We are matching stroke for stroke.  Everytime I breathed to my left, we were exactly the same.  This seemed to go on for several minutes.  It was probably 8-10 cycles.  Then he went about ¾ of a length ahead of me, and started to come in front of me.  Okay, I’ll trade with you.  I was thinking, yeah, see, now I’m back ahead.  Hey, where is he going?  Oh, that is the turn into the boat ramp.  Steve, wake up, you are there!

Yes, and like that, my arms dragged the cement, letting me know it was time to stand up.  Well that and the volunteer telling me get up, you are there!

Up the ramp, across the timing mat.  Stop the Garmin.

Go get my timing chip off, my medal and hat, and look for my friends.

The swag:

A couple of minutes later, Leo popped out of the water.  Then I saw Leah.  After getting out of my wetsuit, and feeling more comfortable, I went to the finish line just in time to see Sugarmagnolia come out. 

It's all over:

Photo courtesy of Sugarmagnolia

Everyone was talking about how tough it was.  The chop was relentless.  Which only means we were all even more proud of getting through the day.  A 2.4 mile swim.  Hey!  Where is my bike, it is now time to ride, right?  Oh wait, I just swam, and don’t have to bike now?   That feels weird.  Seven weeks from today, I’ll get to do that in Tempe, AZ.

Garmin time 1:23:04

Blue Seventy Wetsuit

Tyr Rx goggles

Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon, 2014

I haven’t done a sprint triathlon since 2011.  After missing Oceanside with a broken foot, I was itching to race.  Solana holds a special place to me.  I did the duathlon back in 2009; it was my first multi-sport event.  I did the triathlon in 2011, it was my second triathlon. 

Since coming back from the broken foot, my swimming has been pretty good.  The bike, not where I want it, but training is back in full force.  Running is behind.  And since running is by far my weakest of the three, the running is not good right now.

This race isn’t about crushing it, or a PR.  I was itching to put a bib on, and use it as a test.  Test one, was an epic failure.  And I wasn’t even at transition yet.

I arrived and was in the parking area at the Solana transit station.  I saw my friend Andrea, said hi, parked, and opened the van.  When I opened the back gate, I looked at a big empty spot where my bike should be.  My mouth agape, heart in throat.  Yes, I left the house without my bike.  Really?  Are you kidding me?  The bike is my favorite part of the day.  How the heck did I forget my bike?  Luckily at o-dark thirty; traffic is light and I was home in less than 15 minutes.  Got the bike, back to Solana.  The only issue was I lost my good parking place, and was on the street in a residential area, a good deal further away.  Perhaps the next zip code.

Still got to transition with plenty of time.  Set up, got body marked, used the bathroom.  The first triathlon of the day, if you will.

The 40-49 year old men were the second to last wave of the day.  An 8:20 start.  Many would be done by the time we started.  As locals know, our water temperature is very warm for us.  70-72 degrees.  I’ve been ocean swimming without a wetsuit for the last month.  I decided for a 400 meter swim, to forgo the wetsuit here too.  One of the nice things about this race is a wide open area for swim warm up.  And something to do watching wave after wave go off. 

Finally it is time.  This race exposes my biggest swim weakness.  Not the swimming, but the entry from the beach.  It feels like my feet sink deep into the sand, and pulling them back up with 20 pound weights on them, then enter the shallow water, splash, stumble, splash, shin deep, swim time?  Forearms drag the sandy bottom, back up, three or four more strides, dive, now I can swim.  Most of the wave is ahead of me.  This means I’m catching them throughout the swim and in more traffic than I need to be.  “On your left!”  doesn’t work in the water.   I really prefer water starts.  This swim is short, and out of the water, back onto the sand for the slog to the ramp.  Up the ramp, over the hill and through the woods to T1.  Well, that is what it seems like.  T1 is a long way from the ocean.  In fact, I bet the run from the beach to T1 is longer than the swim itself.  After that marathon run, okay, a wee bit of an exaggeration, my bike.  Shoes on.  Helmet on.  Sunglasses on.  Here we go!

Treating this as a bike test.  In other words, GO!  Breathing was high, heart rate up.  Tried to get that to settle a bit, then aero, and hit it.  I love the hum of the 85 mm deep section rim as I get into a rhythm tucked into the aero position.  There were sections where I felt strong, but for the most part I felt so-so, and not as fast as I think I should be.  The result confirmed this.  Bike time was 27:00.  A 20 MPH average.  I’ve held that at Superfrog for the entire 56 miles; twice.  Well, my fitness isn’t where I want it, and my bike fit feels off.  This is why we test, now to take action.

Run time.  I had no expectations here.  Just getting my runs back up, and was hoping to run three 10:00 miles, without feeling like I killed it.  At about ¾ of a mile, I was right on with pacing, and felt good.  Then, ouch.  The back of my knee hurt.  I took a few walk steps.  Honestly the walk was worse than running, so run I did.  It was painful at times, and at times I felt okay.  But it slowed me down.  I didn’t care, I was just concerned with the level of the injury.  After all, my goal is IMAZ, not this race.

Should I pull up and DNF?  I’d probably have to walk back, so might as well finish.  And running feels better than walking, so, keep going.  The last ½ mile I actually felt much better and finished strong.  It was pretty cool as I entered the finish area a big rolling thunder hit.  Yes, I came “thundering” down the finish.  My friend Andrea was there, I did a running high five,   I crossed the line, gave up the timing chip and got my medal.  Then, I could hardly walk.  Reality time.  What is wrong?  I stopped at “medical” and got an ice bag.  Limped to the food area, and ate.  Ducked under the tent at Operation Greyhound as it started to pour, and, hey greyhounds are really cool.  Met Jake and Carter the two greyhounds they had there.  And watched an actual thunderstorm.  At the beach, in San Diego, in the summer.  A first for me in the 17 years I’ve lived here.

Overall, not a great performance by me, but accomplished a big effort training day.  Went to the orthopedic doctor on Monday.  No tears!  I have patellar arthritis, and my patella does not track properly.  Already cleared to swim, bike, and elliptical.  Just need some rest for running, and before I resume, will have my foot/gait analyzed and make any changes I need to with orthotic/shoes.

Had a bike fit on Tuesday with Nestor at Studeo DNA.  The bike feels good in the trainer.  We'll give it a good road test on Saturday and Sunday.  

Credit to the volunteers, good enthusiasm from them, and my friends Ted and SugarMagnolia who were swim buddies for those that needed them.  Andrea had a PR, so very good race for her!

Equipment:

Swim:

 race issued swim cap

 TYR Rx goggles.

Bike:

Specialized Transition

Williams 58/85 wheels

Giro Aero helmet

Mid-compact crank set 52-36 with 11-28 cassette

Run:

Nike Voomero 8 shoes

Attire:

DeSoto 400 mile bib shorts

TCSD tri top

San Diego Century, 2014

Three weeks before the Oceanside 70.3 I broke my foot.  Six weeks later the doctor cleared me for activities, but I had to ease into running. 

Okay, but I was cleared to bike, so resume I did!

That takes us to the San Diego Century.  105 miles and 6100 feet of climbing, so says the event information page.

My friend, Sugarmagnolia, was doing it.  It was her first century.  Her previous longest bike ride?  80 miles three weeks ago as part of her preparation.

When I met her, she biked only because she wanted to do triathlons, and biking was part of it.  She hated hills like nobody ever hated hills before.  I suggested repeats once.  I can’t print the response I got, but the PG version is why would anyone do that?

But I think the bike has grown on her.  Not unlike running has grown on me.  So, she signed up for the century.  And as it worked out, I agreed to ride with her and encourage her along the route for the day.

At the start I also met her friends D&G.  It was their first century too. 

The early morning was promising with cool temperatures, and cloud cover.  Even a hint of fog as we rolled out of Encinitas and into the rolling hills toward inland Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido.  I was happy to see the mile 18 aid station.  I guess I pre-hydrated properly!  Sugar was doing great, and in good spirits.  You can see her ride report here.

< Churning up Paseo Delicious near El Montvideo>

Cruising along we flew down Del Dios Highway and hit the mile 30 aid station.  Topped off the bottles.  We were still under overcast skies and delightful temperatures.  The bikes were mechanically sound, and we all felt good, as we exited the aid station and headed up the “Three Witches”  I took Sugar on this climb as part of a route about a year and a half ago.  We stopped at every one of the mini-peaks and she yelled at me.  How much has she improved?  We hit Camino Del Sur, and she is laughing at the once vaunted and scary witches.  The witch is dead, long live the witch.

Camino Del Sur meanders into Camino Del Norte and its endless rollers.  Up, down, up, down.  So nice of the route to soften up the legs before the climb up Scripps Poway Parkway (SPP).

Cruising down Pomerado we hit the mile 43 aid station.  This would be Sugar’s favorite of the day as her family met her there.  After that, it was up SPP.  Fine time for the skies to clear, the sun to come out in full force, so bright you had to squint with sun glasses.  Fine time for the temperature to go up 20 degrees.  Yes, fine indeed, as we began the ~2 mile ascent.  Sweat dripping off me and pelting the top tube of my blue Roubaix as if a rain shower had begun.  Carnage all over the hill as I lost count of the number of people walking up.  It was well over a dozen.  I looked over my shoulder and could see the once flatlander, chugging up the hill with a determined look.  She reached the summit not long after I did, with just one question.  Why did it have to get so BLEEPING hot?  I had no answer, but Hwy 67 beckoned our attention, so off to Ramona we go. 

67 is mostly uphill to Mt Woodson.  Sugar, are we at the top yet?  Me, no.  Sugar, why not?  How much longer?  How soon to the lunch stop?  Me- about 9 miles.  Sugar: BLEEP!  Sugar: Will they have soda.  A soda sounds good.  Me: I don’t remember, but a lot of rides do at the lunch stop.

Finally Mt. Woodson, and the descent into the Ramona valley.  Sugar made the observation that if we descended into Ramona we would be climbing back out of it.  I confirmed she was right.  BLEEP!!

We get to the aid station at mile 63.  Mediocre (at best) sandwiches.  No soda. (BLEEP) and….they were out of sports drink. That is inexcusable!  The poor volunteers looked dumbfounded as to why they were not supplied with enough sports drink.  How does an event in its EIGHTH YEAR not have the planning to have enough sports drink at its furthest point from the start, and the point where virtually all the 105 mile riders would need and want refills?  I wonder if these people ever participated in an event?  How does that happen?  Oh, and by the way, since we are paying to ride, break down and get bottled water.  San Diego tap water tastes like crap.   In short, a big thank you to the volunteers, they were great.  And a grade of D to the ride organizers for under-supplied, poor aid stations.

Out of the aid station I told Sugar I knew there was a little grocery store on 67 about 5-6 miles away, so we stopped there, got some proper food,  sports drink, and a soda.  Ahhhh. 

Fueled up for the climb out of the Ramona valley.  Then the fun descent down 67.  Just before SPP I had a first for me.  While in my seven plus years as a cyclist I have had the occasional driver yell at me, I never had one yell F**K YOU out of a truck window, going the opposite way on a highway.  Stay classy lady. 

Down SPP: WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.  9% grade downhill!!  (I did control the downhill speed, my max was just 42 MPH)

We hit the mile 83 stop, picked Sugar’s friend D back up (my friend too, now) and the three of us headed for the finish.  Of course, five miles later I had the obligatory puncture.  I told them to go, I would catch up, but they didn’t leave until I was putting the wheel back on.  They took a breather!  There were some struggles, especially on the uphills, but as the finish got closer and closer spirits were picking up.  Soon enough I pointed to the college and the Finish banner.  Hugs and tears, and celebration.  My friend is now a century rider.  Through the good, bad, and ugly of the day, props to her for adhering to rule #5 when needed.  And kudos, not finding a flat boring course, but tackling the purple monster and well over 6,100 feet of gain.  My Garmin showed 6,188.  Hers showed over 8,000!  Either way, it is a hilly and challenging route.

Bike:

Specialized Roubaix Expert

50/34 crankset

11-28 cassette

Continental 4000S tires

Williams SX30 wheels

Nutrition:

Sun Rype fruit bars

PB&Js

Water

Sports drink

Coke Zero

Peanut M&Ms 

My (non) IM 70.3 California Oceanside Race Report

I would love to start this blog by telling you how I got to transition in the morning; set up, and headed out for a swim. 

I would love to write about a chilly but strong swim, and exiting with or near a PR swim, cruising through transition and onto the bike. 

I would love to write about a better bike than last year, which was pretty good by my standards, another cruise through transition and onto the run course 

And I would love to be gleeful as to a new PR run, showing all the extra emphasis I had put into my running was paying off. 

But, none of this happened.  In fact, I didn’t even start the race.  You see three weeks ago, as I headed out for my peak 12 mile run I had some bad luck. 

Just 500 yards or so in, my left foot landed on a rock and rolled.  I stumbled but maintained my balance.   After a couple of minutes I tried to run.  I went between ¼ and 1/3 of a mile.  Just when I thought I got lucky, a sharp shooting pain in my foot.  Of course I tried again and got about 6 strides before it happened again. 

By the time I got home, I had what looked like half a tennis ball on the top of my left foot. 

After a trip to the orthopedist, I was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the cuboid bone.  You can see the x-rays here. 

So it’s an air-cast, and crutches.  The doctor cleared me to swim with a pull buoy and no walls, but that is about it. 

However, I still came out to the race.  You see I had more invested in this race than just myself. 

My friend Sugarmagnolia asked me to help her with her training.  So I became “coach.”  Now she has done several triathlons, and one 70.3 (Superfrog), but never with a defined training plan. 

So I created the skeleton of her plan, and sent her each week’s workouts one to two weeks out, so I could adjust the workouts based on progress, results, and her life needs.  She has a really busy life, see her blog. 

I also had another friend racing, Andrea, doing her first 70.3.  She prepared herself for the race, but I did give her an outline of a training plan.  And I met with her almost every Sunday morning for open water swims, or on rare occasion when we had rain, we swam at the pool. 

I can’t begin to tell you how much I wanted these two to have a great day, how much I wanted them to succeed.  How hard I was rooting for them. 

I met up with Sugar’s family, we saw her come in off the bike.  We applauded, yelled, and cheered.  Of course, I went into coach mode.  Make it a FAST transition.  Don’t get a manicure, GO!  (She did good, and before I knew it we saw her coming back out on the run) 

We saw her again around the half way mark of the run.  She said she didn’t want to do another loop.  I can’t print what I yelled out this time.; but most of you have heard the expression HTFU.  Magnify that!  Then, we saw her again.  Finishing.  Smiling.  Success! 

All the while I was using athlete tracker.  Andrea had gone through mile 26.4 on the bike strong.  But I was concerned as I didn’t see her come off the bike, and tracker didn’t show her in indicating I missed her.  And how does one miss a hot pink helmet? 

Right around the time Sugar was half way through the run, I got a text from Andrea that she pulled out at mile 45 of the bike with issues including dizziness that would have made riding 11 miles a risk.  She was in good spirits and came down and rooted for Sugar with us. 

Overall, I am very proud of both of them.  Knowing not just the training and effort that went into this, but all that was going on in their lives during the training and all the life challenges, they did great.  Their names are linked to their blogs.  Both will do race recaps as well, and they are good writers, so check them out!  I have a new respect for those that coach many athletes.  You really become invested in your athletes.  You feel their pain, anguish, and rejoice in their success.  It is harder than racing, because you have ZERO control on race day. 

Thank you Sugar, and Andrea for allowing me to assist you in this journey.  You guys are awesome. 

As for me, cheering is stressful and hard.  I really would rather be racing.  Hopeful that the foot gets better and I am on the start line at IMAZ in November.  With maybe a short one or two locally in the summer so I can toe the line and get the race juices flowing.