And so I'm in..

The day prior to the race I hung out at Rivet Cyclesport, Matt (MLSimpson) put my bike together for me and helped me with a wheel change. I had been having IT band problems and my coach had instructed me to DNF when it started to hurt on the run.. so what better time to try tubulars and a disk for the first time? The Timex guys gave me the wheels and Matt showed me how they worked. Registered, hung out at the expo, tried to talk Timex management into letting me wear splish, then rode 20 min and ran 10.

Race morning - it was too cold. There was a boy on my rack, which was a little odd, but I pointed out the strangeness of the situation and we laughed about it. He won our AG by 20+ min :) I got set up and put on my wetsuit way too early to keep warm. I put a new tight desoto jersey out to wear on the bike so I wouldn't freeze. That cost me two minutes in T2, and apparently I threw it so far when I gave up that I couldn't find it after the race.

Swim - I was in the last wave of women. I got in and panicked because that is too cold for a human to swim in. I couldn't put my face in. When I finally did, I hyperventilated, stopped to tell the lifeguard to watch me, I might die, hung out a while, then tried again. On my second attempt I got moving, found some feet and let her lead me through 2000 bodies already out there. I was so happy to get out, that swim was horrid.. luckily that friend dragged me to 31 min and change which is what I do every half anyway. I cut my foot badly in T1, but didn't feel it until later, just saw a lot of blood. I was too numb from that water to feel it.

T1 was the longest transition of my life - 3+ minutes wasted with the shirt I never got on. Oh well.

Bike - Wow, what a beautiful course. I was given a HR goal by my coach and it was the first time I've ever had a guideline during a race. It kept me in line, and a few times I found myself looking for CA poppies and reading signs and dropping too low and had to yell at myself to pick it up. When I saw the first hill I tried to tell myself we were going right, and those specks on it weren't bikes. But they were. I wound up climbing with a guy from Hawaii and we chatted as we rolled (barely) on up. There were some walkers. I drank two bottles of infinit and had a gatorade. And I had that new bike glee - I felt like I could go forever.. or just hop off and the new orange SSL would go without me. I also kept thinking a fast person was about to pass me - and then remembering that disk noise was me! I met some nice people on the course, and loved the scenery. I picked it up a little for the last 10 miles and finished in 2:43.

On to the run - it had been a month since i could run without stopping from the pain at the IT band insertion, so I didn't expect to get far. I had never quit a race, but my coach wanted the swim/bike feedback, so I swore I would walk off as soon as the pain started. I found my HR goal right off the bat, felt comfortable and realized it didn't hurt. So I just started smiling. I forgot to look for splits. I cheered on friends and kept thinking that every step was a blessing, and that I was lucky to be there, and that the run could be over at any moment so just enjoy the experience. Spectators kept yelling that I looked way too happy. I saw a couple of girls up in my AG, and cheered on my friend Katherine who won 40-44 and got the slot she needed for Kona so I have my training buddy! And I just kept it at the planned HR, rolling along, loving my leg for not hurting.. As I made the final turns I realized I was looking at a run PR for a half IM - 1:31 and change. Total time was 4:51, 20th woman, 4th in my AG.

I didn't take the Clearwater spot, because I wanted to go check in at the next hotel and get a burrito and a shower more than I wanted to race Clearwater ever again. Or any half, really. I'm not sure why I always finish feeling unsuccessful at that distance, but I do. I was lucky to finish, I am grateful, and that was that. It was what it was :) But I'm willing to bet that 13.1 into AZ next weekend I'll be wishing it was a half..

Thanks for reading.

                You did pretty damn good for someone who seemed too have all kinds of stuff to deal with on the day.I hate half IM's as well,they hurt too much.Well done and good luck in AZ.

Larry called me and said he'd met you and The Sergio. I'm bummed we didn't meet! In October for sure.

Congratulations on your race. That's a tough course, especially that cold swim. I know exactly how you felt when you hit that water.

My spectating report:

Race day I got to the harbor just when the pros started going out on the bikes. Starbucks in hand, I was walking to the TA and ran into the Nunn and Blue Seventy guys, so I hung out with Tim and Deano just before the cyclists rode up the hill out of the harbor area. Later we walked over to the TA and I ran into KevinP and Paulo, so the three of us went for more coffee and some food and then watched everyone go out on the bike.

Couple of funny things we saw--one person who was already munching on a sandwich of some sort within a quarter mile of leaving T1. Another gal had pulled off to the side and someone (coach?) had the handlebars of her bike and was talking and talking and talking to her (like for a good 10 minutes). We all commented that it would be interesting to know what the conversation was about. Eventually the gal turned her bike around and took off down the road.

Once the first bunch of pros came in, Paulo and I walked down to about mile 1 on the run and hung out there for most of the rest of the race, until his guy Andrew went by to the finish. Then we went to the finish. Then I went back and forth from there and the stretch along the torn up road and cheered people on until my friend Betty finished. We then met up with another friend and went for beers and tacos.

Pretty fun day and a good time for six days in San Diego. I stuck around and worked down there M-W and got a couple hours in on the bike on Sunday. Plus, I got to see KestrelKerri!

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

You still had a grea race, despite the icy water. Your report reminded me not to get talked into signing up for next years race. I must have blocked how cold Oceanside's water was the two times i did the race. I think Hawaiian waters are cold this time of the year, so I don't need to think about Cali again.

How's the ITB? Mine started acting up on my last tempo/threshold run. Went for Physical Therapy, massage and ART and didn't realize how tight it was. Now I'm having a torturous relationship with a foam roller and a bag of ice at least 2x a day.

shoot. Sorry you have to deal with it now - don't forget the advil, and maybe even the ice bath. i did one the day before (and for 31+ minutes on race morning while flailing in the marina) and it seemed to help.

Mine was fine until I ran today. And now it's ugly again. I won't run until the race.. hope you recover, add extra rest to that taper if needed, it won't hurt you now!

R

Great race! I hate cold water too. Recover well. Good luck in AZ.

Very impressive race, and ten bonus points for your race report for not including what you had for breakfast before the race. ;-)

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Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)

I think I'm going to do it like you next year - watching the pros go by with a cup of coffee in hand :)

October for sure. i did see that SAC guy on the run course, we said hello, were you with him?

R

That's because it's top secret info. It's brown, has zero cals, and I prefer it come in a cup with a mermaid on it..

Nice report, and nice job.

What have you been doing to keep the run fitness with your IT troubles? Water running at all or just cycling and ignorning any form of running completely? curious.

tc

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Great job at the race. It's great that the run ended up going so well despite your IT band problems leading up to the race. Good luck at IM AZ.

>>i did see that SAC guy on the run course, we said hello, were you with him? <<

That was me!

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

It was nice to meet you! And it's nice how the ITB stuff turned out.

Oh, and good luck in Arizona. Turns out I will be there cheering as well :)

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Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV

I posted my RR under someone else's cuz it wasn't all the impressive or interesting :-)
Here's the short version:

Hotel: stayed at the host hotel Marina Suites... gorgeous view of the harbor... kept looking at the water thinking it looked cold!

Swim: watched in amazement as the swim volunteers helped a CAF athlete out of the water... and then almost put him in the wrong wheelchair
swim was slow, choppy, and cold. I'm glad I had my neoprene cap on

T1: Thank God that swim was over!

Bike: what a gorgeous course... first 20 miles I was cookin... then the hills came and I slowed, but still had a great ride... mantra: "Don't leave it all on the bike course"

T2: I feel great!

Run: Loved the Love Station... great music and cheering... first loop didn't want to go out too fast. Mad that now I can't tell if the AGers in front of me are on the same loop or the second loop... oh well, who cares, I'm gonna finish this thing!! Waited until mile 10 to turn up the heat and felt great for the rest of the race. What a beautiful course....

Finish: heard my name and the announcer say "She must be very happy!" As I was, finishing my first HIM and thinking "Can I really do a full IM???" Scarfed down some pizza and hobbled back to the hotel with my mom and brother, then back to her house in SD to relax.

Overall, aside from the swim what a wonderful race!!

Congrats on finishing your first half! Sounds like you did it very well, and had a smart race.

The Love Station was indeed awesome. And you summed it up - great race, except for that swim.

Congrats to all of you racers!! You are a hearty bunch indeed - especially those of you who went into the race knowing how cold that water would be. I've done a race here in early June and the water is frigid. Never again! Mine was only a sprint (750 meter swim). Can't imagine doing a 1/2 in cold water.

Congrats again and good luck at AZ!

What a great race you had! I was so happy to hear that I'm not the only one who looks around on the bike course (I really wanted to see a bald eagle at Eagleman.) and cheers on fellow triathletes---and you can do it while throwing down some impressive splits. Congratulations!