California 70.3 Race Report
This year marks the 4th year in a row that I have started my season in Oceanside, CA, at the Ironman California 70.3. Being one of the first major US races of the season there is always a large amount of very talented athletes who show up and this year was no different. Because I have done this race so many times, it has become a bit of a barometer for me. To some extent I can subjectively compare year to year as well as get the first race of the year under my belt and see where I can improve and focus my training. However, this year not only did it serve the usual purpose, it also was my first race since my stress fracture last spring. I had not raced for 10 months so, yes there are certainly things I need to work on, manly my running, however, given the circumstances I am pretty pleased with my race and the results. I finished 20th in a very strong male pro field, however, and most importantly I ran without any pain in my hip at the site of my (former) stress fracture! J
I arrived in sunny SoCal a few days early, and stayed with my friend Leslie in Solana Beach, THANKS LESLIE! Oh, and by the way, it is official, I love San Diego! On Race morning I woke up for my usually pre-race 3am breakfast of 24oz of Ultragen, a banana and apple sauce ( I was trying something different and skipped the tomato soup…sorry L). I got to the race site around 5am with plenty of time until my 6:40 swim start. I prepped my transition area, said hello to several friends and competitors and went for a short warm up jog with fellow Timex Team Member Tim Hola. Had half a PowerBar, 20oz of First Endruance Pre-Race/EFS and before I knew it I was in the 59 degree water and ready to go!
Swim 26:40
A little slow, but I have been working very hard on my swim with Dave Williams of Triangle Multisport and fellow pro triathletes of the triangle and it is certainly paying off. I had taken care putting on my Aquasphere wetsuit to make sure that it was well positioned on my body and it felt pretty good and certainly kept me warm in the chilly water. A few sighting and tactical errors caused me to loose my group for the last quarter of the swim, but I felt strong and smooth throughout the whole swim, certainly an improvement! J
Bike 2:24
I had only ridden my new Orbea Ordu a few times, however, it felt great out on the course today, very stiff and very smooth. Also I should note this was the first time I had raced in the new Rudy Project Wingspam helmet, it was fantastic! The first hour of the bike, as we cruised up the coast, I really pushed the pace and was very aggressive with my pacing. I was taking in as much of my First Endurance EFS/Liquid Shot mixture as I could, however, it was tough while riding at this pace and I was getting very bloated. I backed off on the caloreis and began to feel better. My PowerTap was showing me numbers well above 300w for most of this portion. I was really suffering for certain periods of this hour, however, I knew I needed to be aggressive to get into a strong, non-drafting, group of riders to help push each other. At the 1hr mark I found myself with 4-5 other riders and as we turned away from the coast and begin to climb the hills of Camp Pendleton, I settled into my goal half-Ironman pace/power and rhythm and began to take in more nutrition. The hills on the backside of Camp Pendleton were tough as always, however, the wind was stronger than in years past and made it tough at times. I made a few surges though out this section to make sure I maintained contact with the group and it may have taken a little more out of me that I would have liked, but hey…it’s march. At mile 45 one of the rides in our group took off ahead and I decided to go with him, however, by mile 50 I was riding harder than I wanted to at that portion of the race, so I eased off and cruised into T2 at a slightly more relaxed pace.
Run 1:25
Yeah, this was the one point of the race that I certainly need to improve on, however, again, given my injury last year, simply completing the run without hip pain is a big improvement. As my wife said to me before the race, “anytime you feel horrible and want to stop, just think, last year you couldn’t even have tried to race, so be grateful and don’t give up!” I found myself thinking of these words a several times on the course, but particularly the run. The first half of the run my low back was very tight, which I have learned, from my Physical Therapist, is an indication that my running form is poor and I am placing undue stress on my hip, which often begins to hurt shortly after my lower back begins to tighten. I thought I was going to have to go into “survival mode” as they call it. I slowed my pace a little and focused on my form. My lower back slowly loosened and my stride became more fluid and efficient, I found some energy and I actually got to take advantage of the quick toe off of my Brooks Ravenna running shoes. The second half of the run felt much better, I was running pretty well and came pretty close to negative split on the run. I continued to sip nutrition from my FuelBelt and I caught up to and passed a few guys. In the last mile there were 3 of us who were all within 20-30 seconds of each other, they surged ahead and I had nothing left in the legs, I was moments away from running out of fuel as I crossed the line. In retrospect I forgot to take my gel at the end of the bike heading into T2, not sure why I forgot…I guess I am just of out practice. I think this, along with my concern about my hip, may have been my mistake, lesson learned.
All in all, not a bad day in Oceanside. I celebrated my return to racing with a fish taco and a carne asada burrito and washed it all down with an extra large portion of Ultragen, it was delicious!! J There were some highpoints and there were some low, but more importantly I am back to racing and on track to have a great season. As always a huge thank you to Timex, my coach Kurt Perham, my teammates/training partners and all my sponsors and partners who help and support me along the way. However, most importantly a huge thank you to my wife, Ashley, for being so understanding and patient with me through the last painful (physically and emotionally) 10 months.
