Alex McDonald Pro Triathlete

I have kicked off the last 2 season in Oceanside and 2009 was no different. The Timex Multisport Team holds it’s annual training camp in Carlsbad following the race and aside from getting some California sun, going to team camp, and having some fun racing, it is a great chance to test my early season fitness against some of the best athletes in the world. This year was no different, only instead of just 1 or 2, there were several world champions and Olympians racing.I arrived in Oceanside Tuesday night and was hosted by a great family, along with 7 other athletes racing! It was a fun environment to be in prior to the race and we were very well fed. A huge thank you to Felicia! ☺My race week was unremarkable and I was excited to race and see the results of my training the last 4 months. A visit to the expo, a few short loosen up workouts and lots of lying/sitting around. It was especially fun to see some great friends who were also racing/spectating whom I had not seen in a long time.
I arrived at the race site at about 5am, plenty of time park, get settled and do a short mental prep. It was about 45 with a pretty stiff wind and I was freezing and not at all looking forward to getting into the 59 degree water.

However, before I knew it I was in my wetsuit and standing on the boat ramp. I felt pretty good in the brisk water, I lined up right on the front and off we went. I found a pretty good group and cruised along expecting about a 27 minute swim, however, I was VERY pleasantly surprised to read the clock at 25min as I exited the water. Over the last 4 months I have been working very hard on my swim with the help of the NCAC masters group at UNC as well as on my Vasa Ergometer.
Cali 70.3 has a great bike course and I felt phenomenal during the first 45min or so as we flew up the coast with a slight tail wind. This winter cycling has been a key piece of my training, however, I was not expecting anything amazing. I pushed pretty hard these first 45min and then I settled down a little and still felt great. The back side of the course is rolling and has a few climbs, but some newly paved roads made for a very enjoyable ride. The last 15min or so of the bike I again let my power fall a little to make sure that I had something left in the tank for the run. In many of my races recently I have pushed pretty hard on the bike and I think that my run has suffered a little. As a result, I decided to give up a few minutes on the bike in order to run well.

I was into T2 and onto the run course before I knew it. My T2 was a little slower than I would have liked, but it was primarily a result of taking a few extra seconds to put on my CEP compression socks, which certainly allowed me to more than make that time up on the run.

I knew the run was going to be fast, especially give all the ITU athletes that were racing, so I dug in and kept my cadence up. There was section of beach that we had to run on (4 times) and it was miserable, but aside from that I was pretty satisfied with my run, not quite where I wanted it to be, but I was pretty satisfied.I finished in 4:13 which was about 10minutes faster than last year and was good enough for 21st place overall. Given the fact that it is only April I am happy with my results and it is a sign of very good things to come this season.

Making this race even more special is that my wife and dog were able to watch me race! My dog was also very thirsty after so much excitement so she helped herself to some water from my Fuel Belt.

I arrived in San Diego last night after a rough 5hr flight. The flight was pretty bumpy and I didn’t actually get sick but my stomach and head certainly ached pretty much the whole flight. San Diego airport is pretty easy to navigate and I was in my rental car cruising up to Carlsbad where my home stay hosts were more than generous to wait up for me. Now I am in So Cal, where it is not so sunny this morning but I am getting pumped to race on Saturday.

As for the “it” that made it as well, I am referring to my race bracelet from Ironman Arizona this past November. As many of you know at races they give every athlete a bracelet with the name of the race and your bib number on it to keep track of everyone and allow athletes access to certain areas. I normally take this bracelet off right after the race, however, after IMAZ and the less than ideal results I let it on as a reminder of why I get up everyday and why I push myself to the breaking point at times and struggle to be the best athlete I can be. After a few days I just left it on and it eventually began a little game of how long with it last without breaking. Well, it has made it 4 months! That’s 294,000 yards of swimming, 2600 miles of biking, 665 miles of runner, 3 holidays, my birthday and who knows what else. It is hardly even recognizable any longer, the silver backing has long since wore away along with the writing and the several layers of plastic are breaking apart and disintegrating…but it is still around my writs. It has served as a reminded of why I am working so hard and pushing myself. Now that the 2009 season is virtually here I will take it off and see what the results are from leaving this bracelet on thru 4 months of steady, consistent and at times hard training.