Ironman 70.3 California - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Oceanside, California
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
63F / 17C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 55m 25s
Overall Rank = 1066/2242
Age Group = M50-54
Age Group Rank = 56/134
Pre-race routine:

Getting ready was a lot less confusing than my first 70.3 last year. It was easy to sort all the junk to set up the transitions. I slept great, the first time I can remember before a race, at least 7 hours. I was up at 4:00, and early to park, to T2 and T1. I got to chat with friends.
Event warmup:

nada
Swim
  • 36m 6s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 43s / 100 yards
Comments:

I'd swum at Avila Beach three times this month (50-52F!) so the temperature and conditions were extra good for me. The common opinion was that the harbor was smooth and fast compared to last year, so conditions helped my improved 6 1/2 minutes, and I'm stoked. My time in the pool and at Avila Beach helped a lot.

The swim just had moderate contact. I made a point of starting at the back of the wave and weaving through slower guys for a couple of hundred yards. This worked fine. I never found another blue cap worth drafting, but once later waves started mixing with us, I caught some drafts on the way back off a couple of women in green caps.

I wanted to chip 15 minutes off my come-back race last time year, and this was good for at least 5 of that.
What would you do differently?:

Not too much. I normally sight well, but I wasn't as straight as normal. The buoys were a little confusing, and some of the people ahead of me went left to orange buoys, some went right, around the first big red buoy. It looked like the people who evidently cut the corner knew what they were doing, but there were too many people for me to do anything but round the red one, which was probably correct.
Transition 1
  • 05m 57s
Comments:

This was slow and for me. I ran a few racks past my bike, and just wasn't as efficient as usual. Shrug.
Bike
  • 3h 07m 1s
  • 56 miles
  • 17.97 mile/hr
Comments:

I wasn't as fast as I'd expected. I pushed hard the first half, but dialed back my effort so I'd be okay on the run. I felt even slower than I was, since there were 6 waves of younger guys behind me, and a lot of fast younger women. It felt like there was an endless stream of guys on P4's with disks blowing by.

I should be a lot faster, and the only way I hung in the middle of the field was because I've been a cyclist forever.

Based on what I learned last year, I came up with a new plan to take in fuel. I went with fig bars and Gatorade. Two 24oz Gatorades are just right for 50 or 60 miles if it's not hot. I didn't use the aid stations. I ate a fig bar every five miles, about the same calories as a Gu every 15 minutes. My hope was that I'd be fueled up for the run instead of sort of hitting the wall like last year, and it worked just right. Last year, I was out of energy the last three miles, and "ran" the whole way really slowly.


What would you do differently?:

Train more than once a week? ;)
Transition 2
  • 01m 43s
Comments:

T2 has been fairly efficient for me at Oceanside. I tend to be fresh off the bike, and this one was fine.
Run
  • 2h 04m 38s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

After last year, my major emphasis was to run a steady 9:30 pace, and that's what I did! My new Garmin FR10 watch helped with pacing a lot. It was really nice to see that I was on target 3 and 6 miles out. It was also pretty essential since WTC didn't put out distance signs this year.

The run was fairly warm, and this was the first race I needed to pour cold water on myself. It worked! I just needed a little hydration on this run, and was glad about all the aid stations.

ALSO, as if by magic, my overall finish in the AG was the same as my AG place in the run. What's up with that? ;)
What would you do differently?:

I'll train more when work doesn't get in the way.
Post race
Warm down:

Pizza, a cookie and Coke. I also stopped for a Costco hotdog on the way home, which is getting to be a tradition. Like last year, I was in pretty good shape at the finish, and felt even a little better this time.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Just training. I executed my strategy as well as I could have.

Event comments:

It was total fun and very satisfying to make progress over last year. I moved up in the field by 10% from about 54% down to 42%. I can't wait to do it again next year!

My goal was to take 15 minutes off last year's 6:14, and I beat my goal by 5 minutes! Watching my Garmin, the run got easier and easier the last 10k.

Results: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/ironman-70.3/california/res...




Last updated: 2012-05-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:36:06 | 2112 yards | 01m 43s / 100yards
Age Group: 68/134
Overall: 1198/2242
Performance: Good
Suit: 19
Course: Out and back in Oceanside Harbor.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 60F / 16C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 05:57
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:07:01 | 56 miles | 17.97 mile/hr
Age Group: 65/134
Overall: 1152/2242
Performance: Below average
Wind: Some
Course: The CW loop through Camp Pendleton.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 95
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 01:43
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:04:38 | 13.1 miles | 09m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 56/134
Overall: 1066/2242
Performance: Good
Course: Two loops up and down the streets on the ocean.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
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] 5