Ironman 70.3 California - Oceanside

April 2, 2016.  Ironman 70.3 California – Oceanside.  My third trip around this course.  My sixth 70.3.

Last year was probably my least productive since getting into cycling, then triathlon.  After a mechanical cost me an hour and twenty minutes at this race, I did the Chula Vista Challenge, when weather made both days duathlons.  That was all I raced, all year.  The late summer, fall, and early winter were challenging.  Very busy at work, and my dad’s dementia requiring a lot of my time.  I continued to train, but the volume was way done, and the quality was way down.  I also put on some weight.

Around mid-November I had my dad in assisted living, and I started to get ready.  First up was the Carlsbad marathon in January.  No way I would be ready for that, so I dropped to the half marathon.  I completed that, in a not so great 2:45.  But, a fairly hilly course, and 2:45 should equal a half marathon of right around 3:00 for a 70.3. 

my bike was slower than it had been, but I was starting to see some breakout workouts.  My FTP went up seven watts on my last test.  And I had a couple of rides were the intervals were strong.  What I could see was the endurance was lacking.  I would be strong for 30-40-50 miles, but then crack and really slow down.

I set what I thought were realistic expectations of about a seven hour 70.3. 

I arrived in Oceanside about 4:45.  Pulled into the parking lot and watching a freight train pass.  It was chilly out, so I put on a sweatshirt and a windbreaker, gathered my gear and headed to transition.  I saw my friend Andrea who was volunteering at the start of the bike handing out water, and SugarMagnolia who was volunteering at swim exit.

Photo courtesy of Sugarmagnolia

Set up transition, chatted with a few folks, and soon it was time to put on the wetsuit.  The announcer said the water temperature was 62.2 degrees.  Not bad, that temp usually means it feels cold to me at first, then I’m okay.  Time seemed to fly by and soon we were on the boat ramp, next to go in.  As we were waiting the pro men were exiting the swim.  Impressive a line up of nine all about 22-23 minutes for a 1.2 mile swim.  Damn.

Next we entered the water a short swim to the actual start which was now three minutes away.  That water does not feel like 62, or 62.2, it feels like 66-67.  Very pleasant. 

And the horn sounds, we are off.  A bit crowded, more than I remember for this race.  And choppy.  This is in a harbor, that by my experience is usually nice and calm.  I got into a pretty good groove, and just kept swimming.  The hard part was the sun was coming up, and sighting was a bear at times.  Out of the water, my friend shouted out to me, and I was wobbly!  I kicked the last 100 like I should to get some circulation into the legs but wow.  After a couple of minutes I was able to start trotting in transition.  The transition here is long, and on hard concrete/asphalt.  With my tender feet, I never run well on it, and wind up walking most of the way around. 

At my spot in transition, the wetsuit comes off, bike jersey on, helmet on, cycling shoes on.  Grab the bike, and go.  Ahhhh bike time.  Nothing like bike time.

Out of transition and we roll around the harbor then head onto Camp Pendleton.  To get to Camp Pendleton is a short steep hill.  Up and over, and on base.  I use this area to get my breathing regulated, get comfortable, then go aero and get to race effort.

About three miles in, I felt like my power was very low.  My legs were like jelly.  Usually at this point in a race with the adrenaline, I have to hold myself back some.  I was really concerned at this point.

At times it was better, but I definitely did not have my A game.  I think my nutrition was good.  My Friday food was normal, soup and salad for lunch, pasta for dinner, didn’t overdue it.  Bagel and hard boiled egg for breakfast.  On the bike, I used Spiz which I’ve been working with for about six weeks now and it has done well.  I felt like I was well fueled, just no power.  It really showed on the hills.  While I would never be confused with a skinny guy in polka-dots, I was really struggling on the hills today.  But where I could really see it was the flats.  I can normally put out a good pace on the flats, and I was a good 1.5-2 MPH slower than I should be. 

Finally done with the bike, 30 minutes slower than three years ago, while it felt harder.  I didn’t have a power meter then, but the feel was definitely easier three years ago while being faster.

Back in transition, bike racked, shoes changed, helmet off, hat on, and away we go.  My strategy was a 30-45 run-walk ratio.  I had trained to this the last few weeks and it was working well on tired legs.  It didn’t take long though and I didn’t think I would be able to maintain this.  At this point I really didn’t feel very good.  Mile one felt like mile 10-11 usually feels.  This run is going to be a slog!  And it was.  Mile two through six were just a death march.  As I hit the aid stations, I didn’t feel like I needed much,  so I just tried a little of this, or a little of that to see if something would get me feeling better.  I realized I felt really tired, so I grabbed some Red Bull.  I started to feel a little better.  Not great, but a little.  I was able to go to a 30-90 run-walk, which beat the almost all walk I was doing.  I saw my friends, they hung out just after mile 6, and again about mile 8.  It was nice, and a bit of a boost.  Then the hardest part, going away from the finish until the turnaround at mile 10.5.  Here I was back to feeling pretty cruddy.  I final boost with the last turn around knowing now every step was toward the finish line.  I tried real hard to run for at least 30 seconds every two minutes.  Knowing at this point it would be my worst time in a 70.3, and my worst half marathon ever, I just decided to enjoy the beautiful day, the ocean, and the atmosphere.  Soon I was in the finishing chute and 70.3 number six was in the books.

Disappointed in the overall time, the bike time, and the half marathon time.  But as my friend Leo, who is on deployment in Afghanistan recently said, perspective.  I get to do this, it beats the couch, and lots of people cannot or will not do it.  

Nice of my friend Andrea to hang out.  I’m not much to talk to after a race, and this was worse than normal.  I was fried.  She asked if I needed to go to medical, so whatever happened, something was off, she could see it.  But, I still finished, and will get back on the horse and start getting ready for IMAZ in November.

Analyzing the data today, my Normalized Power on the bike was 77% of FTP, I was shooting for 80-85% so that should not have killed my run, but it felt like I was on the rivet the whole day.  I took in enough calories.  Just one of those days.

Gear

Swim: X-terra Forza wetsuit, Tyr Rx goggles, Tyr lycra swim cap under race issued cap

Bike: Specialized Transition Comp/Williams 58-85 wheels/50-34 crankset/11-28 cassette/X-Lab hydration set up/Adamo saddle.

Run: Hoka One One Bondi 4 shoes

Nutrition: Spiz, 900 calorie bottle on the bike, water.  Spiz 250 calorie bottle on the run/shot blocks/water/Red Bull.

For endurance events, I do recommend giving Spiz a try.  It's not available everywhere, but if your in San Diego, you can get it a Rev Endurance.

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.

 

 

 

Superfrog 70.3, 2013

My final race of the year, Superfrog 70.3.  The original half-iron distance race, in its 35^th year.   See the fabulous history of this race here.

 

The race is about 30 minutes from my house at 5:00 AM traffic, so no overnight travel needed.  I pull into the parking lot at 5:30, and relax in the van for a bit.  It will not take long to set up transition, and my wave starts at 7:25.  I figured better to stay off my feet for a few minutes. 

Getting restless, I head over to transition.  I start unpacking my tri-bag.  $*&^t!  That gets a look from a lady setting up her transition.  I realized I left my bottles in the fridge at home.  Which included my 700 calorie bottle of Carbo Pro.  Okay, they do hand-ups on the bike so I can get water and electrolytes.  Checking my bag I see I have two Honey Stinger Waffles, and two packets of Salty Caramel Gu.  Almost enough calories.  I should be okay.  Still annoyed with myself, and I give myself the dumb-ass of the day award. 

The lady that heard me came over and gave me an extra gel too, that got my calories even closer to what I needed.  They would just come in a different form. Thank you, that gel came in handy.

Transition is set up, take care of business, and wait.  About 6:30 I put my wetsuit on.  I wander down to the ocean and look at the waves.  So much better than last year.  We had regular sets of six footers last year.  And while the forecast said one to two, they were about two to four.  I go in to get wet and warm up a bit.  The water feels warm, has to be over 65, which is good for this time of year.   

As I get out the elites/pros/and relays start.  25 minutes to go.  15 minutes to go.  5 minutes to go.  The sun is up, and it is already clear and bright.  The inbound portion of the swim could be tough to site.  I have smoke goggles, but it is bright! 

30 seconds.  GO!  I trot into the water.  When it gets to my shins I start to swim.  Had a few swells to duck, but no issues, and I am past the break.  Now I start catching other swimmers.  Most folks run in faster than me, but I typically swim a bit above the top half of my age group.  Felt like I got to the turn buoy pretty quick.  The first loop was uneventful, I hit the shore; but wait there’s more.  This is a two lap swim.  A 200 yard run down the beach and back in again.  This time the waves seemed a bit bigger.  Got through, but the last one stopped my progress for a second.  Again the swim was pretty tame by triathlon standards, a couple of spots of crowding, a couple of bumps, but for the first time in a while I didn’t get mauled at some point.    It was bright, and sighting was a challenge coming in, but not awful. 

Out of the water, and up the beach in the soft, deep sand, slightly uphill.  Across the timing mat; hit the lap timer on the Garmin.  39:38. Into transition. 

Wetsuit off, cycling shoes on, helmet on, get bike and go.  Out of transition in 2:37. 

The bike course is flat.  If you know San Diego and you want a flat ride, you go to Coronado.  It is the only place to ride with virtually no climbing.  Per Garmin 269 feet of gain over 56 miles.  It doesn’t get any flatter. 

It was breezy, the flags were flapping.  Going north you could feel the resistance.  Going south you could feel some help.  Each of the four laps this feeling increased.  Still without any real climbs speed was pretty consistent.  I tried to control the effort to keeping the lactic acid clear, if I started to feel it, I went one gear easier and upped the cadence.  The crowds along the bike course were about half of what they were last year.  A certain Texan with a few (now expunged) cycling titles raced last year. 

I played tag with a few out there.  I was trying hard to sustain a steady effort, but with the winds, if you got behind a group you would start to go faster as you were protected.  Even tri-legal drafting, staying four bike lengths behind, you get the benefit especially into the wind.  This is a good way to save a bit of energy. 

Final lap ends, into transition and off the bike (2:48:12).  Bike racked, shoes off, helmet off, socks on, running shoes on, hat on, and out of transition. (3:16).   

The run.  Oh the run.  5.5 miles is on the beach.  Roughly 3 out and 2.5 back.  The middle 7.6 is on groomed trail and pavement.  The good news is the tide was out, this meant we could run on the firmer section of the beach; and only had soft sand to and from the water’s edge, and the far turn-around where the force us onto the soft sand for a bit. 

This was a strange run.  I felt pretty good going out.  I was planning on pushing a bit when I got to the pavement section.  The weird part is I feel like I hit a wall about mile 5.  I really struggled especially miles 7-9.  8-9 was my slowest of the day.  When I got back to the beach, I was running better.  As it typical I was getting passed left and right.  When you swim and bike mid-pack and run back of the pack, you get passed.  A lot.  I actually did pass a few on the final stretch coming in.  One last trudge up the soft sand to the road, and about a 300 yard dash to the finish line.  The announcer welcomes me back in.  Not quite, okay, not nearly as cool as having Mike Riley tell me I am an IRONMAN three months ago, but always nice to hear your name blasted out.  Just like that, it was over. (2:40:02 on the run).  Total time 6:13:55.  This was my fourth 70.3  I have improved in time with each one.  6:52 in Austin, 2011.  6:39 last year at Superfrog.  6:25 at Oceanside earlier this year.  Next year at Oceanside the goal is sub-six.  I have the plan.  Let’s see if we can get it done! 

A really cool medal this year, a bit of ice cream, a cookie, a freshly grilled hot dog and a Dr. Pepper.  Feeling better after that, off to transition to pack-up. 

 

 

As I was getting my stuff together I heard the announcer welcome Irina in.  We just met a few weeks ago on a swim, it was her first 70.3 so I went over to say congratulations, met her husband, and went back to pack up.  I needed to get to my phone! 

What is so important about my phone?  We have a small group that does swims on Sunday morning.  Most of us were racing today in different events.   

I see some results from others, and am pleased that Sugarmagnolia did Tiki Swim, her first 2.4 mile open water.  Others had not checked in yet, but everyone did finish their events.  Speedy Ted did Tiki as well, and Andrea did the Tahoe Trifecta (3 days, 3 half marathons)!  My legs ache just thinking about that. 

Overall it was a good way to finish the 2013 race season.  I am happy with my results, and proud of my friends for conquering their events. 

Next on the schedule: California 70.3 Oceanside., well next is a trip to Arizona to volunteer for IMAZ.  And we all know what that means! 

Gear Used: 

Swim:  Blue Seventy Fusion Wetsuit, Tyr Rx smoke goggles, race issued swim cap 

Bike: Specialized Transition Comp, 52-36 mid-compact crankset, 11-28 cassette, Williams 58-85 carbon clinchers. 

Run: Hoka One One Bondi B 

Nutrition: Honey Stinger waffles, Gu (not the planned nutrition, see above) 

You can follow me on Twitter @stevecycles200