Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside - Triathlon


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Oceanside, California
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
62F / 17C
Sunny
Total Time = 8h 35m 58s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Woke up and made a toastie to eat while mixing Gatorade for the race. Tried to poop but couldn't go. Ate apple sauce and banana but still couldn't go. Packed and drove to transition area. Good thing left a bit earlier because Cannondale pro camper was having a hard time exiting due to some asshole person parked their fatass longass van in a compact car spot. GRR!
Event warmup:

Set up transition and felt the urge to poop and successfully did that. Returned to transition and put on wetsuit then remembered I still needed to be body marked. Did that and returned to transition area. By now the waves were heading out. We were urged to move to swim start area about 30 minutes before our wave start. Did dynamic movements and swim stroke reps to warmup.
Swim
  • 46m 57s
  • 2112 yards
  • 02m 13s / 100 yards
Comments:

I had very minimal training for the swim (1 OWS practice last weekend) before the race due to injuring my right foot so I was not expecting much. Aimed to stay BOP and away from other swimmers to avoid getting my foot hit because it wasn't completely healed yet. I finished in my predicted time and felt super wobbly getting out of the water. Volunteers helped me up and one of them followed me to transition. I musta looked really bad, hehehe!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Transition 1
  • 21m 11s
Comments:

The tape on my foot got worn out so I had to retape it. It was difficult to do because I was really wet so it took me some time to get it dry enough to tape. Also getting out of the wetsuit proved difficult since I did not want to fall and hurt myself. The volunteer stayed with me and helped keep me steady while I was unsuiting. :) Thanks man!

It was a long walk from the swim exit to transition so that also added quite a bit of time. Yuck, super slow but what can I say. I wanted to make sure I had my mind refocused and ready to bike after virtually not training for this bike course so I knew I was gonna be in the hurt locker in the later miles of the upcoming bike ride.
What would you do differently?:

Skip taping? Nah!
Bike
  • 4h 04m 4s
  • 56 miles
  • 13.77 mile/hr
Comments:

Kept my effort as easy as possible to maintain a pace that I can finish the bike split in. I started switching to take out some of the first long steep hill since the field was thinned out at that time. A couple other bikers were doing the same. Many walkers. The rollers were fine and stayed in aero for most of them. I pounded the downhills but made sure I followed the 25mph speed limit zone so I wouldn't get DQ'd. My legs were feeling weak at mile 40 before the last long hill. More walkers there and I switched again about halfway up. As I looked back, no one was using this strategy but grinding their way up. That or they got off their bikes.

After the last aid station (I pee'd at the last one and this one) I was happy I made it this far with the minimal training I had. My butt was hurting bad. My left leg was also experiencing some ITBS pain. Quads almost seized up as well. Also right foot was hurting the last 10 miles. Ugh.....
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I'm happy I made it through the bike segment. :)
Transition 2
  • 16m 30s
Comments:

Tape was frayed and coming off so I took some time to replace that. Foot was hurting bad and had to take a few moments to refocus my mind and make that pain go away so I can run. Forgot NewSkin for my known chafe areas but thought ahh well, I'm gonna pace the half marathon at 0:30/0:30 run/walk pace to help ensure I finish it without too much blister pain.
What would you do differently?:

Not much, doing this faster?
Run
  • 3h 07m 16s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 14m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

I tested a 0:60/0:30 run/walk ratio pace but that didn't go so well so I changed to 0:30/0:30 and held that for most of the race. I aimed to make the 3:00pm turnaround cutoff and successfully made that. Encouraged alot of the walkers to try my pace to make the cutoff as well.

I saw Bernard, Darlene, and Parker as I got close to the turn around and I made it by 2-3 minutes! Yay! After that I felt I can make it. On the way back past the bridge Darlene gave me a cold Coke can and I guzzled that down, hehehe! I shared some of it with another runner nearby. :) I maintained my 0:30/0:30 pace the rest of the way as often as possible. Chafing issues in my left foot starting bubbling up but fought through it. The run/walk ratio helped alot. Thanks for distracting me a bit on the run course Elisa. :)

It's too bad the aid stations ran out of cola. :( I ate some pretzels, Clif bars, bananas, and oranges where I felt the need to. Gel'd and Salt Sticked where needed as well. After the turnaround, my legs were toast but I wanted to make it. I didn't know there was a timing chip cutoff as well (8:30 after last wave start) and it looks like I missed it by almost 6 minutes and received DNF result. But.... SO WHAT! I made it and got my medal!!! YEAH!!!
What would you do differently?:

Read the athlete's guide thoroughly. =P
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around and ordered food from fish taco joint nearby. There was no more post race food. :(

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Severely injured foot 6 weeks before the race.

Event comments:

Maybe I should sign up again and kill it next year!




Last updated: 2016-02-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:46:57 | 2112 yards | 02m 13s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Suit: Roka Maveric Pro
Course: Rectangular with buoys on left shoulder.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 62F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Average
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 21:11
Performance:
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
04:04:04 | 56 miles | 13.77 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Kept pace in Z2 and power at 0.75IF.
Wind: Some
Course: Mostly flat with some rollers the first 25 or so miles then the climbing starts with some rollers then some flats then more climbing then some flats and headwind.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 16:30
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
03:07:16 | 13.1 miles | 14m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
2 loops
Course: Mostly flat course with some gradual hills and 2 short steep ones.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]