I have done the Chula Vista Challenge twice. Last year they introduced the South Bay
Sprint, and the option of doing the double.
A sprint on Saturday and an Olympic on Sunday. However, I was training for IMAZ, and it did
not work with my training plan.
However, the double intrigued me, and I signed up for it
this year. While I consider myself a
long course guy, 70.3/140.6; I was curious as to how the body would react to
racing two days in a row. So, here we
go.
Saturday, day one of the “double.” 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile
run. Well, that was the plan. We get there, and a San Diego rarity: A thunderstorm. Lightning over the bay. If you are not
familiar with Southern California weather,
this is about as rare as it gets. Real
lightning, splitting the early dawn sky as if Nikola Tesla was conducting an
experiment. For safety reasons, the swim
was cancelled, meaning it became a duathlon.
A one mile run now in place of the 500 meter swim.
We migrate toward the start, they play the National Anthem,
and then the first group, elites and over 55 will go off in two minutes. I wish my friend Andrea luck, and get ready
as men 50-54 are next. Holy cow, this is 50-54? All these guys look like they are 35, and really, every one looks FIT. Did I accidentely get into a championship wave? As a note, sprint races usually bring out beginners, and some, um, pudgier dudes. Not here. Despite being a now five year veteran, I was the pudgy dude.
If you have read my blogs in the past you know running is
the weakest of the three sports for me.
And now, I get to run more.
They
send us away, and I am immediately at the back.
I mean the back of the pack. We
turn around and I realize there is only one person behind me, and I am gaining
on one other. I catch and pass him, and
see nobody else. I get into transition,
pretty sure I was 14/16 on the run.
(Confirmed by race results that was right).
Sprint course, on the bike. Must go FASTER
On to the bike. Flat terrain, let’s GO! Flat, but a bit technical with a few turns,
one bridge to go over four times, and a bit of rough road. Two laps, and I was passing people, but not a
lot in my AG. The bike was pretty
uneventful, but felt like I could have been faster. Got off in just over 31 minutes. Meh.
Would have liked 28. But okay, it
was 6/16 in my AG. Then run number
two. I deploy a Galloway
run method of run/walk and prorate the amount of run vs walk on distance and
desired effort. For the one mile, I just
ran it, and ran an 8:50 mile, which is strong for me, despite being at the back
of the pack. I wanted to see if I could
sustain that for the 5K. However, after
about ¾ of a mile I realized no, and went to a 90-30 run-walk. The humidity was taking its toll. Florida
like humidity where the air felt thick, like taking a gulp of whole mile when
you are used to skim. I finished the
run in just under 30 minutes, not bad for me, but 13/16 in AG, for an overall
of 13/16 in my AG. Man I need to get
better at running.
Nice post race spread courtesy of the Chula Vista Firefighters! And a chat with Andrea; who had a good
race. Then the thunder started back up, and it was
time to depart. The afternoon was bizarre. A light show and bowling tournament courtesy
of Mother Nature.
Day two. Chula Vista
Challenge. 1500 meter swim. 40 Kilometer bike. 10 Kilometer run. Point to point bike. So logistics, we park near the finish, and
get a shuttle to the start, where we left our bikes the day before.
We had a big storm Saturday afternoon, about 1.5 inches of
rain. In San Diego that means bad water quality in the
bays and oceans. That means no
swim. For an Olympic, that swim is now a
5K run! Uh oh.
My plan for the day is this: 90-30 run-walk on the 5K. Ride a bit conservatively because we have a
hilly, hot, and humid 10K to finish, which I will go 30-30.
Remember yesterday’s Florida
like humidity? It was more intense
today.
I execute the run plan, and again am at the back of the
pack, but felt pretty good. Just under
30 minutes, and on the bike. Wow, not even
8:00 AM and scorching hot and humid. The
first 10 miles are pretty flat, then we get about 1200 feet of gain in the last
14 miles. Kept it steady, with minimal
tension on the legs to try and keep them fresh for the run. Despite
this, the sweat poured off my body as if I was a faucet. At least I did my part to help the
draught. The bike took 1:27, and I felt
okay. Go through the “Ironman style” T2,
where a volunteer takes your bike, they bring you your gear bag and you sit on
a real chair to change your shoes. After
the shoe change, I am off. 30-30
run-walk. Jeez it is hot. I’ve done this before, I know its hilly, but
was it this hilly? Mile one done, mile
two. This is getting hard. Hard to keep 30-30. Mile two done, maybe I’ll make it more
25-35. Yeah, that seems to help. Mile three done. Maybe I’ll just go to 30-60. Okay, much better. I got this.
Slower than I’d like, but doable.
Mile four done. Me, run interval,
go. My legs. No. We
are done. Me, it is just 30 seconds, we
can do anything for 30 seconds. My legs. Usually yes.
You realize it’s 93 and Florida
like humidity, right? Me yes, but just
two miles and we are done! My legs, and
it will be a slow two miles. Me, okay,
I’ll walk for a bit. The last two miles
were tougher than any point I had during two Ironmans. Tougher than just about any run. I have done, but I was done! The weather, and the course teamed up to
crack me like a weak egg, then fry me up.
1:28 to run a 10K. Ouch. I track PR’s, not PWs, but that has to be my
10K PW. I was not last in my AG, I saw
an incredible number of people who looked a lot fitter than me walking and
struggling on that run. That is a tough
run course without a bike in front, on a 55 degree day. Put a triathlon the day before, a 5K and a
bike right in front, and add in the weather, and it seriously was as tough if
not tougher than the marathon in an Ironman.
Somehow managed to "run" across the finish.
is that both feet off the ground?
is that both feet off the ground?
Big thanks to Mike Drury of HT Bikes and Pulse Endurance
Sports and his team for putting on this race.
They are always good to the participants. It is a smaller race, and many people seem to
avoid it due to its often hot and always hilly run. But folks, it’s called the Chula Vista
CHALLENGE. And didn’t we get into
triathlon to take on a challenge? So
sign up, it is a good race, nice course, and a challenge.
Gear
Swim: None used
Bike: Specialized
Transition Comp, 50-34 chain rings, 11-28 cassette,
Williams 58-85 wheels, Xlab hydration
Run: Saucony
Kinvara 5 shoes.
