Life of a Multisports Dad: Race Recap: Ironman 70.3 Oceanside

After Ironman Arizona last year, I told myself (and my family), that I wouldn't race or train for another Ironman distance race until 2014. So, this year I'm doing a few 70.3 races mixed in with some Xterra off-road triathlons.

I've been down to spectate "Oceanside", but never raced it, so I was really looking forward to this race. Truthfully, I had a hard time getting motivated to train again after IMAZ, but as it got closer, I was getting excited about racing again. In the lead up to Oceanside, I also signed up for Ironman 70.3 St. George, which is a tougher race, so I caught myself looking past Oceanside to St. George. Anyway, on to the race...

Pre-race:
I decided to get a hotel room in Oceanside to make it easier on me and the family. We had dinner the night before with some of my Wattie Ink Team family, and to pick up the sick new team kit for 2013. The hotel was within biking distance in the morning, so I rode to set up at T2 with Brian, who was staying at the same hotel. After setting up at T2, we biked to T1, and where the start line is.

Since I was starting in the last wave (23 of 23), I had plenty of time to get ready, and lots of time to just hang out. The pros went off at 6:40am, and my wave was scheduled for 7:48am. One bonus to this is that I was able to hang out in the transition area and watch the pros come in from the swim. One valuable lesson I learned: even Andy Potts can have trouble getting his wet-suit off. After the male pros rolled through, the women were next, and I was able to cheer on a couple of my favorites, Heather Jackson and Lesley Paterson (they ended up 1st and 3rd!).

Finally, time to get in the corral and head down to start the race. A valuable tip I got was to purchase a pair of throwaway sandles for walking around prior to getting in the water. The night before, my girls had fun decorating mine for me.

The Swim (1.2 miles/2,112 yards) Goal: sub-35 minutes, Actual: 32:32 @ 1:41/100m

AG rank out of the water: 132 of 393
My wave was probably 100-150 guys, and we had three minutes to get from the boat ramp to the start line, which was less than 100 yards away. This was just enough time to get in and start getting acclimated to the water temperature, which was announced at 62.8 degrees.

The horn sounds, and we're off. Honestly, not much to report here. It was a very uneventful swim, with very little contact. I've been spending more time swimming 'fast' during my swim workouts, and it looks like it may be paying off. I still think I get in a comfortable swim pace and should probably push it a little more.

Since I was having some issues with the buttons on my watch, I didn't know what my swim time was, but this ended being my best swim time at this distance. I think it's reasonable to think that I'll be able to push through the 30 minute mark in the not too distant future.

What would I do differently?: Push it a little more, work harder to find someone to draft, make sure the watch is set up correctly.

Gear: BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit, BlueSeventy Nero goggles

T1 (Goal: 4 minutes, Actual 4:43)

This is a long transition, and my bike was racked near the far end, next to the bike exit. Two important things going on here: 1. with every step, I could feel my calves wanted to cramp up and 2. the entire time I was running to my bike gear, I was messing with my watch to get it reset. As I was getting the wetsuit off my feet, boom, calf cramps. I had to stop for a moment and slow down to take the wetsuit off. It's happened to me before, so I didn't stress. Next, cram everything in the gear bag and head out with my bike.

What would I do differently?: I still need to practice getting the wetsuit off quicker. For some reason I had an extra beach towel in my transition area, and this made it tough to cram everything into the gear bag. Now that I have actual tri-cycling shoes, maybe it's time to work on the flying mount.

Bike (56 mi.: 2,300 feet of elevation gain) Goal: 2:40-2:45, Actual 2:47:44 @20.03mph

AG rank through the bike: 90 of 393
Having never ridden this course, my time goal was arbitrary, but based on a speed average, similar to what I did at SOMA. I knew going in that I'd be dealing with traffic the entire time, since I basically started dead last. Similar to IMAZ, the course was fairly crowded. I would attempt to stay right unless I was passing someone, but much of the time, that wasn't possible, because of the quantity and speeds of people on the course. Generally, slower riders stayed right, but a couple times I was forced to pass on the right.

The first "no pass zone" was a bit of a joke. It is a skinny walking trail with a slight incline. Again, because I was in such a late wave, the course was crowded, especially here. The pace was soooo slow here, it was a little frustrating. Overall, it's a good bike ride, with a couple challenging hills just past the halfway point. Then there's the second "no pass zone." I saw this one coming up, so I sprinted to get past a slower rider. This is a downhill section with a 25mph speed limit, which basically requires you to sit up and use your brakes to even keep it under 30mph.

The home stretch is about 15 miles of relatively flat roads with a bit of wind. At this point, I really had to pee bad. Usually, I can take care of this while riding, but it just wasn't happening for me today. I spent the last 10-15 miles riding uncomfortably and likely a bit slower than I should have.

The last "no pass zone" is heading into T2. This was a good time to peddle easy, stretch my calves and hip flexors and start thinking about my transition to running. For the first time in a race, I got out of my shoes before coming into T2 and carried my momentum through the bike dismount line, running to my transition location.

What would I do differently?: I could probably push it a little more on the bike. Also, I ended up with leftover fluids in my Speedfil Original, which means I didn't take in enough on the bike.

Bike Gear: Kestrel 4000, Rudy Wingspan, Speedfil A2 and Original, rented HED Jet 6/9 wheels

T2 (Goal: 2 minutes, Actual 1:20)

I don't know if I could have done this any better. I was on the furthest rack from the bike dismount line, so I had a long way to run with the bike. Anyway, I racked the back, changed my shoes, grabbed my bib and visor, and I was off. Bonus: my family was there cheering for me with signs just out of the run exit.

What would I do differently?: Nothing. Well, actually, I'd like to find disposable wipes that have suntan lotion on them, so I can apply more lotion while running.

Run (13.1 miles) Goal: 1:40 to 1:50, Actual 1:44 @7:56/mi

AG rank through the run: 58 of 393
Before the run, I told myself I wouldn't spend too much time looking at my Garmin to monitor my speed, and run based on feel and RPE. I tried to limit my speed checks to each mile split when my watch would vibrate and beep. Coming out of T2, I tend to run a little fast, and for this race I wasn't going to fight it, and just let my pace settle naturally, which it did.

Looking back at my splits, I was able to keep pretty close to my goal pace for the first 6 miles, except for the bathroom stop during mile 4. Wow, did I have to go, that mile was about 80 seconds longer than the mile before and after.

One of the great things about the multiple loop runs is that you get to see a lot of people, which gave me a chance to shout out to my Wattie Ink teammates and my fellow OC Tri Club members. On the run, I took water or Perform at nearly every station. A couple times, I slowed to a walk to make sure I got enough in. Somewhere around mile 11 or 12, I took in some cola to help boost me to the end.

Heading down the finisher's chute I was focused on the crowd, trying to spot my wife and kids, and they spotted me and were able to get my attention. That's always great motivation for finishing 'strong' over that last mile, seeing those smiling faces as you cross the finish line.

What would I do differently?: I think I still need to work on my run fitness. I'm not happy with how my pace declined, and I'd like to see more consistency. Some of that may just be pushing harder and not losing focus. Another cause could be nutrition.

Run Gear: K-Swiss Blade Light Runs

Finish Time: 5:10:19
AG rank: 58 out of 393 starters

This is my fastest time at this distance, and pretty close to my stretch goal of breaking 5 hours. I'm confident that will happen, with a few adjustments to my training, nutrition and pacing.

Here's a link to the Wattie Ink Elite Team recap
Go check out what some more pictures and highlights from the race.