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Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside
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Saw this on their website:

Swim

We are putting the “ocean” back into Oceanside! You get to experience the ocean and the harbor as we will be having a beach start and finish at the boat ramp inside Oceanside Harbor. You’ll get a chance to have a practice swim and then your friends and family will be able to “Hang Ten” with you til your time corral starts.

The flow of the swim starts with a beach start navigating oneself thru the surf, then heading north towards the mouth of the harbor. This is approximately 4/10ths of a mile. Once thru the entrance, you’ll head along the north jetty towards the fishing dock enjoying the swells that will lift you in a forward motion. As you round the north jetty’s corner, you’ll be heading due east so keep in mind that the sun is coming up and it will be bright. The boat ramp will be coming up on your right as you past the last red buoy.. The course is one loop and transition is located in the parking lot that starts at the boat ramp and goes north towards the Harbor Pelican where your family and friends can get a coffee/coffee drinks and breakfast.




Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/...e.aspx#ixzz53ziZ9s75
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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This is going to be my first 70.3, and I guess it will be my first beach start, ocean swim. Don't know what to think of this. All I know is now I'm a bit nervous.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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TulkasTri wrote:
This is going to be my first 70.3, and I guess it will be my first beach start, ocean swim. Don't know what to think of this. All I know is now I'm a bit nervous.

humans have been navigating ocean waves for thousands of years.... you will be fine. It will be a blast!

Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [ericMPro] [ In reply to ]
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ericMPro wrote:
TulkasTri wrote:
This is going to be my first 70.3, and I guess it will be my first beach start, ocean swim. Don't know what to think of this. All I know is now I'm a bit nervous.


humans have been navigating ocean waves for thousands of years.... you will be fine. It will be a blast!


Thanks. I'll just have to make sure I practice some beach starts. Only concerning part is I've never swam against the surf, I'll talk to some local fishes and ask them for some tips. I'm in San Diego, so there is no lack of beaches to practice.
Last edited by: TulkasTri: Jan 12, 18 10:16
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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TulkasTri wrote:
I'm in San Diego, so there is no lack of beaches to practice.

that's the spirit

Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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Might end up looking something like this.






Speaking of which, I think it would be awesome to have a Tri start at the Wedge. It would level the playing field for the strong swimmers/weak runners.

Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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Pick a day and drive up to Oceanside and take a look at the entry point.

Surf entry can be very different depending on the beach and weather.

Nice to have a picture in your mind to calm the fears.

You will be fine: Even if it’s a bit rough, there will be breaks that allow you to swim through.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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SO that is the same swim as the short Tiki swim, thats great. Of course it would be best to have to come back in through the surf, but one way is better than no way. And surf could be 1 ft or 8 ft that time of year. There have been two triathlons over the ages that had some pretty big surf. In the 80's there was the Triterium where the waves were breaking over the end of the oceanside pier. It was a pro/elite race only and still a lot of people did not finish the two lap swim.

And I think one year when Dan brought back the old USTS series they had a swim on the outside and it was pretty big too. Of course don't worry folks, if it even got 1/3 of those old swims it would be cancelled, so good chance it will be a duathlon now. At least in the harbor there was always a guaranteed swim. Guessing they want a one way swim to reduce the bottleneck at that tiny boat ramp. Makes sense to do this one way for sure...
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
... so good chance it will be a duathlon now. At least in the harbor there was always a guaranteed swim.

The old swim course could certainly be their contingency plan.

The harbor start was tough. Cold water and no warm-up area available meant just jump in and go.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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I remember IM Cal in 2001, that was when we swam 2.4 from the Marine base harbor through the channel with zig zags. Dark, cold, spooky. The first year (2000), they mis measured the course long by about a 1/2 mile. Lots of hypothermia that day. Erraaah! as the Marines say.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [pdxjohn] [ In reply to ]
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The first year (2000), they mis measured the course long by about a 1/2 mile. //

Ha I was the lead kayaker that year!! Ya something about them using Nautical miles instead of land ones, I think that was the excuse. As I recall I was paddling around Chris Leigh I think it was and the lead swimmers were around an hour or so, so definitely off by quite a bit.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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This definitely will help separate strong and weaker swimmers by a bit more. Also benefit those who know how to get out through waves.

All in all a positive change imo

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
The first year (2000), they mis measured the course long by about a 1/2 mile. //

Ha I was the lead kayaker that year!! Ya something about them using Nautical miles instead of land ones, I think that was the excuse. As I recall I was paddling around Chris Leigh I think it was and the lead swimmers were around an hour or so, so definitely off by quite a bit.

I remember running up the swim exit, looking at my watch and being concerned. Volunteers were telling us 'everyone was slow, don't worry.' Returned in 2001 and had quite the improved swim time :)

Also recall that USTS Oceanside race you mentioned. Big waves indeed, but swimmable if you didn't panic. Those swells made for a fun roller coaster out past the break. I recall the biggest issue not being the waves but the strong current running north from the pier on swim entry. Watched all the earlier waves drift way off course.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
SO that is the same swim as the short Tiki swim, thats great. Of course it would be best to have to come back in through the surf, but one way is better than no way. And surf could be 1 ft or 8 ft that time of year. There have been two triathlons over the ages that had some pretty big surf. In the 80's there was the Triterium where the waves were breaking over the end of the oceanside pier. It was a pro/elite race only and still a lot of people did not finish the two lap swim.

And I think one year when Dan brought back the old USTS series they had a swim on the outside and it was pretty big too. Of course don't worry folks, if it even got 1/3 of those old swims it would be cancelled, so good chance it will be a duathlon now. At least in the harbor there was always a guaranteed swim. Guessing they want a one way swim to reduce the bottleneck at that tiny boat ramp. Makes sense to do this one way for sure...

I love ocean swimming and do it 9 months out of the year (i'm not crazy). But this is why I don't like it. March surf could be big as noted, this raises the possibility of a cancellation from 0 (save that super duper cold winter, I think they made it optional, or shortened it?) to, what, 50%?

Done it 5x and even though the boat ramp isn't ideal, at least it's a swim
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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desert dude wrote:
This definitely will help separate strong and weaker swimmers by a bit more. Also benefit those who know how to get out through waves.

All in all a positive change imo

I'm in the losing end of that equation. :P

My goal was to swim around 33:00-33:30, I don't know how the surf will affect my time.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [monty] [ In reply to ]
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And I think one year when Dan brought back the old USTS series they had a swim on the outside and it was pretty big too
=================================================================
glory, that was a day! the women went last, and my lasting memories are:

1. unending female screeches

2. trying to swim, seeing that the waves were timed such that a normal swim-dive-under series wasn't working, and going to doing a couple of breaststrokes between each dive-under. i told myself that sometime, ever hopeful it'd be within the same calendar day, i'd get behind the last wave and get to swim.

needless to mention, i was very, very nervous and conservative coming back in. it was something else.
peggy
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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Sweet!!!!! I was so disappointed last year when finding out that we didn't get to swim in the Ocean. This will make it way more fun!
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [monty] [ In reply to ]
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I raced the Oceanside Spring Classic swim in May 2016 as part of the Trident swim series (along with the Labor Day Pier swim and Tiki). The draw of the race was the blow-up ducks as the course markers, all of which blew away in the crazy wind and surf. And the ducks as the AG prizes. They delayed and then almost cancelled, and more than 15% of the people who actually checked in chose to DNS. RD said if we could get to the turnaround (at the pier), we should "get back any way you can, including swim to shore and run back." Took almost 10 minutes for me to get through the (double) break, and I saw a lot of people turn around and quit. I am seriously proud of that duck. And sorry I am not registered for Oside, except that I am the absolute worst at sighting properly into the harbor.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [Thom] [ In reply to ]
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There was a warm up area, but hard to get to with all the timed groups lined up.

I think the bottleneck to get to swim start, coupled with the previous timed waves coming in made them switch to this format. I personally love it as I’m in the ocean all year in SoCal. It will be tough getting out and the first turn, but ease up once inside the harbor. Looking forward to it!


Thom wrote:
monty wrote:
... so good chance it will be a duathlon now. At least in the harbor there was always a guaranteed swim.

The old swim course could certainly be their contingency plan.

The harbor start was tough. Cold water and no warm-up area available meant just jump in and go.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [SLOgoing] [ In reply to ]
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I follow wedgemel on instagram he posts lots of crazy wedge photos and vid clips
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [Gonefishin5555] [ In reply to ]
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If you picked a random day the surf will be a total non factor 80-90+% of the time. And by non factor I mean 1-3ft or less. Definitely no southern swell this time of year. Possible northern storm but it's a little late for a winter storm but if they had one I think the jetty and harbor entrance would block it some and worst case they could move the start closer to the jetty where the surf would be smaller.
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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Really??? Winter training is hard enough...hope it's flat that day
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [Jhamlet] [ In reply to ]
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 Waves north of the pier are more tame. I did the 1.2 mi tiki swim, and because they dredged the rocks there recently, had to swim extra long distance making it 1.4mi swim
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
SO that is the same swim as the short Tiki swim, thats great. Of course it would be best to have to come back in through the surf, but one way is better than no way. And surf could be 1 ft or 8 ft that time of year. There have been two triathlons over the ages that had some pretty big surf. In the 80's there was the Triterium where the waves were breaking over the end of the oceanside pier. It was a pro/elite race only and still a lot of people did not finish the two lap swim.

And I think one year when Dan brought back the old USTS series they had a swim on the outside and it was pretty big too. Of course don't worry folks, if it even got 1/3 of those old swims it would be cancelled, so good chance it will be a duathlon now. At least in the harbor there was always a guaranteed swim. Guessing they want a one way swim to reduce the bottleneck at that tiny boat ramp. Makes sense to do this one way for sure...

That USTS Oceanside race with the big surf was probably the most fun I have ever had on a tri swim. I remember my wave going off right as a set was starting to come in. It was hilarious. After the first 6 footer rolled over my wave, I remember popping out the back, looking left, not seening a single person, looking right, and seeing two other guys, and the entire rest of our wave had gotten washed back about 50 yards.

I was a ocean lifeguard at the time, turned out so were the other two guys that made it through the back of that set.

It was 1990 something, right?
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Re: Ironman changes swim course for IM 70.3 Oceanside [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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TulkasTri wrote:
This is going to be my first 70.3, and I guess it will be my first beach start, ocean swim. Don't know what to think of this. All I know is now I'm a bit nervous.

If you, or anybody else wants to practice surf entry, I live just down the street from the course. Always happy to add in a little bit of Open Water practice.

One warning to everybody doing this race, there have been a ton of stingrays in that area, so be careful
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