April 2, 2016
This race was my fifth
half-Ironman and first at Oceanside. I
had heard from so many friends that Oceanside is a gorgeous course and fun race
to do. I also had the impression that it
was on the easier side compared to St George.
It was earlier in the season so harder to prepare for coming out of
winter, but we live in AZ so not impossible.
Well most of that was true. However, it was a harder course than I
anticipated from reports. There is not as
much climbing on the bike as St. George, but there are several climbs and some
are very steep (up to 14%!), so it is a good challenge. The run is mostly flat, but there are several
steep ramps to climb that are very disruptive to pacing and effort level.
Back to pre-race. My training for this race was strong on the
run, medium on the bike, and weak on the swim.
I had run Phoenix marathon five weeks back and kept running through
March, so I felt confident on the run. I
did not have as much time on my bike as I would have liked because of the
marathon training and also due to travel for work (easy to pack sneakers, but
not a bike!). I only managed to get out
to swim once in Rockypoint with my friend GP, so at least I had some open water
swimming in the Ocean.
My goal heading into the race was
to beat my best previous time which was 5:30 at St. George last year. I want to get to sub-5 hours at this distance,
but I did not believe I had the training build up to hit it at this race. I studied out the pacing I would need to hit
5:00 and 5:15 and 5:30 so that I would know where to aim given conditions.
KL and I drove out Friday morning
and after a stop at the rental home, we headed to race check-in. Two different volunteers describing the
course both commented about the difficulty of the 2nd half of the
course, and they said it would be advisable to not go too hard during the flat
first half. Well, I decided I better
follow that advice. I had heard about
the steep hill half way through that forces some to walk and many to zig zag. Yikes.
The forecast for the morning was
cool and most of my racing friends were planning to wear sleeves on the bike,
so I prepared to do the same. I forgot
my aero bar bottle at home so I only had the two water bottle holders on my
bike. I decided to put Replenish in my
bottle and then use the other holder to swap water bottles from the aid
stations. I planned to use wax for my
ears as in previous races and everything else was the same as before. After some browsing around the expo and a
visit to the beach we headed back to the house and then I went to go rack my
bike at Transition. My number was 2769
and since it was close to the end of the check in time, there were not very many
slots open. I found mine and noticed a
bike with similar colors just a few slots down.
Back to the house for dinner and sleep.
We were staying with three other
couples and TW and a total of five of us were racing. We shared our goals and plans and started our
pre-race preparations. I didn’t have any
problem sleeping. I woke up an hour
early and thought for a minute that I would have a hard time getting back to
sleep, but I dozed off and woke to my alarm.
Glad for that extra hour! Three
of the guys were starting in the first wave and then TW and I were near the end,
so they left a bit earlier. The ladies
were planning to get up and see us at the start.
The sun was rising as we set up in
transition. I love the energy of having
a couple thousand athletes getting ready for GO time. There is nervous anticipation, some panic,
lots of bike preparation, and of course squeezing into wetsuits. I walked down the aisle to 2769 and to my
shock, that slot was empty! What? Where is my bike? I have an older road bike with aero
bars. It has been a great bike for me,
but it is far from the most desirable on the racks, so I did not think for a
minute that it was stolen, but where could it be? Would I be able to race? Yikes!
I started walking to a race volunteer, but as I was walking I remembered
the bike that was similar colors and I had not noticed it this morning. So I headed back down the aisle and past my
spot. A little way down I spotted my
bike. Turns out I racked it on
2669! What a bozo. There was not an extra bike there, so apparently
that competitor did not show. What are
the chances of both those slots being open?
After that mild panic I moved my
bike and started getting my transition gear sorted out. Air in tires felt good, spread out my gear, put
nutrition on the bike, and started to put on wetsuit. I thought briefly about visiting the toilet,
but the line was too long. I did see RB
and RB and wished them well and then got the rest of my wetsuit on. I found Kandyce for a picture and a smooch for speed, then I met
back up with RB because he was in my age group.
Our wave was in the chute waiting
to move ahead when the race volunteers had us all move to one side. The pros were nearly finished and would be
passing by. First the men, then a few
minutes later, the women, all came by us.
It was very cool to see them all in race mode. After some time, we finally moved forward and
came near the ramp. The sun was just
above the horizon and it was starting to feel quite pleasant out. I handed my clothes bag to a volunteer and
took a few steps but then realized I forgot to take off my Oofos (awesome
sandals for post-race recovery)! I did
not want to donate them to charity so I turned around and started looking for
my bag. I told the volunteer and she
took them and asked for my number and told me she would make sure they got in
the bag. Thank-you!
Soon we were entering the
water. I got my Garmin ready and almost
forgot to put it in multisport mode.
Then I put my goggles on and the strap came loose. What the heck?!? Fortunately, the clip that broke was not the
one on the goggles themselves, so I was able to thread the strap through and
just tie it off. No more adjustments
though! What else could go wrong?
The water was not cold. I swam to the start and bobbed in the water
waiting for the gun. The swim went
smooth for me. At the far buoy I looked
at my watch and saw 0.6 miles and 17:30 minutes. That was a great pace for me, especially with
the limited training! I took heart and
kept at it. On the far stretch I started
to feel the sensation of swells and sure enough when I sighted for the buoy I
was sometimes at the top of a large swell coming in from the opening through
the breakwater. It did not feel like I
was fighting current, but it was hard to judge since the water was dark and the
shore was far away. After the next big
turn we were heading back to the start.
There were swim caps of all colors around me as some from later waves
passed me and I passed some from earlier waves.
I managed to keep a steady stroke and I did not have any problem with
the salt water. On the last stretch
before the end of the swim, my left calf seized up. I had experienced this before, so instead of
stopping, I kept my arms and right leg going while I let my left leg go limp
and try and wait out the cramp. It
gradually loosened up and I was able to start using it again, but it hurt. I thought and hoped it was behind me.
No issues in transition except
that it is a long run and I there were no wetsuit strippers to help out. I miss that luxury. I got my sleeves out, but it was feeling
pretty warm so I just stuffed in my pocket and sprayed on sunscreen. I headed towards the bike out.
The bike was pleasant at
first. I was pushing steady, but not max
effort. I was trying to be conservative
to have some left for the climbs. Once on
Camp Pendleton, I loved seeing TANK XING written across the road and some
HUMVEES with .50 cal guns on the roof. In
the distance I could hear some ordinance going off. Soldiers lined the route and were manning the
aid stations on base. It was
awesome. Soon enough THE climb
appeared. It was ominous as I could see
the cyclists barely moving up the incline.
I took a drink, got my mind set, and got to work. I started out with a steady cadence, then as
the incline steepened, I geared up and stood out of my saddle. I started passing many riders. I kept attacking the hill and watched as many
got off their bikes to walk. I
alternated in and out of the saddle and started to feel strangely good. I think it is the passing that fuels my
fire. I glanced at my watch and saw the
grade was 13.6% at that point. I pressed
on and could see the crest of the hill ahead.
Nobody passed me on the climb. I
have no idea how many I passed, but it was a lot and I felt strong. I have SP to thank for our SOMO power lunch
climbs in March!
Up and over the top my speed
picked up and I took on some nutrition.
The rolling hills in this part of the course were scenic and challenging,
but the hardest climb was behind me.
There is a section that is a no passing zone with a speed limit of
25mph. I planned to eat during this
section while descending. It was a short
section and only lasted a minute or so.
I got back to work as the course started to turn west and head back to
the shore. I wanted to pee, but the
course was pretty crowded. I found a gap
and as I rolled up to a rider in front of me, I got out of my saddle and let it
go. I started pedaling again and
prepared to overtake the rider in front of me.
I looked to the left and noticed a motorcycle with a couple on it and I
recognized that they were race officials.
The woman on the rear had a notepad and seemed to look at me, then her
notepad, and then write something down. I realized that for those few moments, it must
have looked as though I was drafting the rider in front of me! I wasn’t trying
to, I just wanted to avoid giving him a shower!
For the next 20 minutes I fretted about getting a penalty. At transition I was expecting to be pulled
over for a 4-minute visit to the sin bin, but I passed on through. CC told me after that they flag you when you
get a penalty so that you know it right then.
Phew! No issues on the rest of
the ride. Nutrition consumed, hydration
good, no flats, and I thought through my next transition steps. I pushed the pace into the wind on the final
stretch and managed to get my overall average above 20 mph, for a bike PR.
It turned out that I did not miss
having my top bottle on the bike. I was
able to keep water in the front cage and the full bottle of Replenish lasted
the whole ride. I liked not having it
there because it does tend to rattle and be annoying. I would still need it for a full Ironman
though.
Racked the bike, changed shoes (5s
to get them on with Slick Laces) and hats (Cadence of course), and off I
went. My calf bothered me somewhat
during the ride and I did not know what to expect on the run. I got moving and trying to stretch it out a
bit while running. The day was not hot
yet, but it was heading there. I did not
have any uncomfortable spots other than my calf, so overall I was feeling
pretty good. At this point, I thought I
was in good position for a race PR, but I knew it would take a great run. I tried to settle in to sub-8 minute pace and
then hold it.
The course goes across the harbor
bridge and then out to the strand along the beachfront. This is where I first saw Kandyce on course
and she was with KB. They yelled like
crazy and that was a real boost. I tried
to look fresh and fastJ Shortly after that the course goes up the
ramp and onto the board walk. That ramp
is steep! It got harder and harder to
hang on to the 8 min pace. I sipped some
water at every aid station, then took some Amped Fuel at mile 4. The cheering was fantastic. Along the run I kept looking for other
friends on course going the other way. I
saw several, but some I never noticed.
After the halfway point I knew I
was going to have a hard time getting to PR.
I kept pressing and refused to walk.
Even up the ramps I kept my knees moving and even thought I might have
been able to walk faster, I kept the running cadence. It was hottest in the middle part of the loop
where the run goes down a street lined with houses on both sides towards the
turn around. After the 2nd
turn around with about 2 miles to go, I tried my best to speed up, but I could
not sustain it. I tried to match pace
with some of the runners passing, but I faded each time. I knew it would be close, the time was
ticking by. There were two times that I
almost stopped running, but I willed myself on despite the screaming from my
legs. The upward slope was daunting, but
I kept thinking that it would soon be over and I would be mad if I walked and
missed my PR!
I crossed the finish, raised an
arm and started looking for a place to sit!
I wasn’t sure of my official time, but my Garmin said 5:31, which was
one minute behind my PR from St. George last year. I found Kandyce and gave her a big sweaty
hug. I collected my medal and hat and
headed off towards the food!
Gear: Swim: Zoot 5.0
wetsuit, OYL Racing tri top and shorts, 2 swim caps, ear wax, TYR goggles;
Bike: Trek Madone 5.2 with aero bars (but no top bottle), gloves, Oakley
sunglasses, Specialized Prevail helmet, Wrightsocks; Run: Newton Distance shoes
with Slick Laces, race belt with bib and pouch for gels, Cadence hat.
Nutrition: Pre-race: IsaLeanPro shake, banana, peanut butter
mini bagel; Pre-swim: Amped Power, E-shot; Bike: Replenish, Amped Fuel gels,
IsaLean Lemon Bar, 2 salt tabs, peanut butter mini bagel; Run: E-shot, Amped
Fuel gels, orange slices.
- Swim: 42:17
- T1: 6:24
- Bike: 2:46:48 (1 min PR)
- T2: 4:10
- Run: 1:52:06 (6 min PR)
- Total: 5:31:45
The swim ended up longer than I
expected. I think there was current
after the far turn that was slowing us down.
Also the cramp hindered me.
However, I was still comfortable coming out of the water. On the bike I was thrilled about my climb and
pleased I improved my PR. The run was
hard, but for the second time I was able to avoid walking, and I improved my
time. I was surprised to see how much
slower transition was; I was over 4 minutes slower than St. George for T1 and
T2 combined. I think it helped last year
to have a mini tri before to get the rust off of the transitions. Part of it was due to the long narrow
transition area that takes time to cross, but I still need to approach them
with more urgency.
Although I was disappointed at just
missing a PR time, I was thrilled with the strong results and I take away some
important lessons:
- Avoid pointing toes constantly in the swim to reduce chance of calf strain.
- Hustle more in transition and practice beforehand if possible.
- Careful not to draft in any situation!
- I can afford to be more aggressive on the bike as I did not fall apart on the run.
- I love the Oceanside race!
Next up: Las Palomas Olympic in Rockypoint. Vamanos!
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