2010 ca 70.3

March 28, 2010 &bull ironman

Heidi and I raced the California 70.3 (aka Oceanside half Ironman) yesterday. Our original plan was to race the Carlsbad half marathon in January, the CA 70.3 in March, and then the Coeur d’Alene Ironman in June. We both decided to skip out on the half marathon due to injuries, which left the two triathlons. Really, the half wasn’t supposed to be all that meaningful — just something to keep us focused for the big full in June. But as the race got closer I found myself getting more and more excited for it. (Almost to where I was looking forward to it more than the full.) I did the same race last year and felt like I could have done a lot better than I did. So I was really excited to compare my times between the two years.

Yesterday was both a wake up call and a confidence booster. To be as frank as possible, I’m kind of shitting bricks over how hard the full is going to be. Granted, there’s no way I’m going to go out as hard as I did yesterday, but man, the thought of doing double that distance is completely daunting. On the other hand, I feel like my training paid off. I never thought I’d be able to break 5:30 so I was really happy with that doing that.

We got to the start early and got our stuff staged in the transition area. Last year I was so nervous for the swim, but wasn’t so much this year. All those Masters sessions and time spent in the pool at work has made me a lot more comfortable in the water. I moved up an age group this year so my start time was a lot earlier. Before I knew it I was in the water swimming to the starting line.

The swim went well. It was a bit cold at first, but once you get going you don’t really notice it. I think I had a pretty solid/consistent swim for the first 3/4. I started getting tired and sloppy the last 1/4, though, and was anxious to get out of the water and on the bike. The first few steps out of the water are surreal. I always have a hard time getting my bearings so T1 is always a bit longer than T2. I was happy with the transition, though, and it felt good to be on my bike.

The first 29 miles of the bike route are pretty flat and fast. Once you hit mile 30, however, the climbing starts. And this year the wind started. The hills didn’t seem as tough as last year, but there was a strong cross-wind that turned into a headwind for a few miles. That took a bit out of me, but I tried to grind it out and be as patient as possible. There was a super-nice tailwind the last five or so miles so I was feeling good heading into T2.

This was only my third triathlon, but in all three the run has always been the hardest. It’s my weakest leg (I’m no speed demon in the water so this isn’t really saying a lot) and since it comes at the end, all of the fatigue and nutrition issues are piled on. To make matters a little worse, my right quad started cramping only a couple hundred yards into the run. I thought, “Wow, this is going to be a fun 2 hours.” But, I kind of lucked out because it never really got so bad where I had to walk or even stop. I just kept my head down and tried my best to keep my pace at 8:30 or less.

My folks and our friends Cathy and Katherine came to the race to cheer us on, which was really nice. I got to see them when I was in the “chute” waiting to get into the water and heard them cheering when I was done with the swim. The nice thing about a two loop run is that you can see your support crew four times, which is so nice. My coach, Susanne, also showed up for the run. I can’t emphasize enough how much having that support on the run helps. For me, every step on the run is tough. Having people there to cheer you on makes your heart swell and helps keep your mind off of how bad you’re hurting.

I don’t want to bore you with every little thought and detail of the day so I’ll leave it at that. I feel like I raced strong and was consistent and in control throughout the entire day. I’m hoping I can carry some momentum into the next three months when we really hunker-down and prepare for Ironman CDA. But, maybe after a couple days off (I’m so sore right now).

I think Heidi is going to write up her own recap so I won’t say a lot about her race. But, I will say I’m totally proud of her. She had an awesome swim and bike and really pushed through some pain/misery on the run and finished strong. It’s the best feeling in the world to be able to train and race with your wife and know she’s out on the same course as you, totally rocking it.

Last year’s results (2009)
Swim: 39:51
Bike: 3:02:38
Run: 2:05:07
Total: 05:57:41

This year’s results (2010)
Swim: 35:52
Bike: 2:43:06
Run: 1:54:26
Total: 05:21:48

PS My parents took some pictures during the race; I’ll get those on Flickr and will post a link in a day or so.

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