I had to dodge that Torpedo as well.. and I saw it and thought how the hell do you eject that thing during a ride?

---

______________________________________________
Team Zoot

This was my first ironman 70.3 event! What an amazing day. I was amazed at how well organized the event was from beginning to end. I'm not gonna lie, I was terrified of the open water start going through the surf but it only took about 10 minutes of awkward swimming before I forgot about my fears and just started swimming. I spent a horrific amount of time in transitions but wanted to ensure I was ready for the next leg. The bike leg was beautiful on the backside. I had been riding the front side for a few months now and was not expecting the hills we saw back there. The crowds on the run were enough for me to forget any pain by that point and was able to finish strong (for me). I'm 46, just started swimming and biking 7 months ago and finished with a 5:35. Stoked with the result. I know what I need to work on to bring that down closer to 5 hours. That's my goal. I'm not too old/ new at this, right?

Another year, another top athlete I kmow DQed innthe speed limit section during the "bike touring" portion

That really is the dumbest penalty to get because it's the easiest one to avoid.

I know three folks that got DQ'd.

I did Oceanside the first two years, 00, 01 (when it was a Full), then in 02 through 05 and 07, so this year was my first time back 12 years.

The one thing that stuck out was the huge numbers of clueless people who don't understand the idea of blocking. So many people riding on the left, making it difficult to legally pass. I didn't see a lot of drafting on the bike (other than a couple in a 2-person paceline through the campground), but blocking was rampant. the only marshals I saw were on the out and back.

The last time I did the race, the finish was at the Harbor. I liked the fact that at the north turnaround of the newer run course, you're well past the halfway point, and I liked the finish at the pier.

I didn't have the race I hoped for (due to showing up overweight and undertrained), but I'm looking forward to going back next year.

Well done! That's a really good time for someone that just started swimming and biking.

I've lost a whole cage on a course before; but it was my fault for not tightening the screws in 10+ months. That said, there did seem to be a LOT of debris on the road. And most of it came in places that weren't all that bumpy.

I saw more than one Torpedo.... weird. I also saw three mechanicals -- all on Time Machines... super weird.
First time on course, so can't comment on normal wind, but a couple of repeat friends described it as 'weird'. I did not think the headwindy section at the end was very headwindy….
I enjoyed the bike course a lot -- plenty of variety and very scenic. Got stuck behind slow people in no passing zones a couple of times, but no issues other than the section of rough road/bike path.

The entire mount with the clamps and such? I have no idea how that could have happened...yikers!

---

Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Were they for sure XLAB ones? Have not heard of those launching...the only negative comment I have heard was person had a hard time pulling it out, so I told them to keep the bottle in the cage which will help stretch the carbon fiber.

---

Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Yep.. the one I saw was a black xlab bottle (I race with the same one) and I thought to myself "how the heck did someone launch that thing?" There is no way mine could eject during a ride/race (short of a major crash.. but even in that case I am pretty sure it would likely say put.)

---

______________________________________________
Team Zoot

Oh wow - maybe they stored the bottle in the cage for just a tad too long.

We should distribute some helpful tips as a reminder so people don't lose them bottles ;)

---

Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

ha.. well I am going to guess that if someone had theirs set up in a way that it could come out then your helpful tips and all the reminders you could give them won't help :-/

---

______________________________________________
Team Zoot

On the topic of bike splits, I've done the race several times (being fairly local). I was 2 min slower this year vs 2017 on the bike but 11w higher avg power and on a faster setup. I would say the wind was definitely the reason for the slower bike times this year. Also there was the *slight* detour approaching the Cristianitos gate but I think we had to do that in 2017 as well, so for me an apples-to-apples comparison I think. I didn't look closely enough at the Strava segment but it should not include the tour through T2 at the end which took probably a minute.

I did 2017 but was in worse shape so was 11 minutes slower. 2019 was :02 off a bike PR for me in 7 tries. I think it really depended when you were on course, as I never noticed any wind. A little bit on the Vandegrift wind tunnel section but certainly a light year compared to the other years I've done

Looked at strava, the timed course does include the shitty narrow part at the end. Sort miss the old days when they built the little bridges.