SURFINGSD, if you have a good day with the time you expect, you may qualify, in that AG last year the roll down went to 5:10, good luck!!
Oceanside is a great race and I’ll definately be back after Physical Therapy School, but being the first major race of the year makes it a tough qualifier. No one has a slot yet. Last year I hammered the bike at 285w and rolled a ~2:25 (5min slower, and ~10w higher than I planned) and followed it with a solid 1:30 run and still didn’t qualify, 11/234, and nothing rolled down. My race was only lacking a solid swim, if I could just stay on course… I swam 35min. I know that I’m capable of a 30min.
Equipment: There were some big winds that day. I ran a disc and a Rolf tdf38 on course and felt really solid all day. Many were running the deeper rims, but were having handling problems. Unless you are riding at 25+ mph I think a shallower 404, H3, or Stinger6 would be the best choice for the front but definately run a disc. Check out Hed’s Yaw calculator. Im 175lbs, and 6’2" and I ran 56/39 and 11-25. I needed every bit of that 25 on the major climb. I saw a lot of people going backwards there.
Nutrition: I usually have a lot of trouble with solid foods so I tested going into it with nothing but gels and gatorade. Worked great. I think the gels are just easier to digest when pushing hard and the gatorade has all the salts that I needed. I ran with gatorade and gel as well. In hind sight I should have taken fluids at the 1st aide station along with the gels that I took. I think that would have helped me on the last 5k of the run where I lost about 10sec/mile compaired to the rest of the run.
Seth
I’m surprised you had such a high power output without a faster split (not that it was slow)…you may want to tweek your riding position to take advantage of your power with less effort. I don’t have a power meter but I know on the computrainer I don’t average that high (285) and I split Stealhead in 2:11 and clearwater in 2:15. Ultimately its about how fast you can go using as little energy as possible.
I would love to get some feedback on my position. All input helps and is much appreciated. I just have never wanted to bother with a thread. On flat roads with little wind and no race gear I can roll 24mph with about 225w, so I don’t really think it is my position, although I would value your input. I think that I could still pull up some Photos.
Both of the races that you described are realatively flat and oceanside is relatively hilly. Keep in mind that Steve Larson only rolled a 2:16 that day for the fastest bike spit. I had the third fastest bike split in my AG and 29th OA. I even out spit a few pro men like Andrew Hodges, and Alex Mcdonald (i just cant run like them). The two guys who out split me in the AG; one was Sami Inkinen, the other was Karl Bordine (very strong cat1 roady). Both are known to be some of the best bikers in the AG. Karl was also able to start right after the pros because of the charity that he was racing for so he may not have had as much wind. (he had almost 1.5hr headstart) I was in the very last wave.
Also I thought that it was weird that, while I waited at the awards for a roll down and none made it, when I pulled it up yesterday it showed many rolling past me. That was a little frustrating. Anyone else observed this?
Thanks
Seth
Here is a link to some Photos, but I get some more ASAP
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=31250&BIB=2380&LNSEARCH=1
thanks
Seth
.
I wouldnt read too much into your bike split at oceanside last year- there were huge headwinds. Most people were 10-15 mins slower in 2008 than they had been in past years on the bike.
Oceanside is both hilly and windy- so comparing it to dreaftwater times isnt very useful.
Check this thread and Jim Vance’s Post #10(excellent advice from a coach who knows the course) http://coachvance.blogspot.com/2008/03/oceanside-703-race-preview.html
I think this is right…comparing splits from one race to the other doesn’t make sense.
Toe warmers but no sleeves?
Sleeves are on the basebar (just in case). Toe warmers were already on the shoes.
Seth
Thanks for pointing that out, I don’t know what I was thinking that they didn’t roll down that far… Now I just need to decide if I want a 70.3 if I get the chance!
Just wanted to give you an update. I went 4:47 and took the 3rd of 4 roll-down spots to Clearwater!
*What I do, and I got this idea from the Crucible Fitness folks (now Endurance Nation), is 2 weeks before the HIM, do a full 56 mile TT at my projected race pace, with the equipment and nutriton I plan to use in the race, followed by a quick T2 and a 6 mile run at race pace. It is a pretty good reality check of where you stand. *
I’d recommend something along these lines but add a swim first! Why some people disregard the effects of the swim (especially for a poor swimmer) is beyond me…
Uh, because then, you would be pretty much doing almost ALL of a HIM then? And the point is, to get in a good race-specific workout, as well as to get a decent feel about what kind of bike pacing and run pacing will work in the upcoming race.
Ditto kdw’s advice, which I also got from the same source.
(I’ll do that workout the weekend prior to a B-race, and 2 weeks out before an A-race)
Another good one (this one from Gordo) is to do a R/B/R workout. He suggests 45 mins/2:30/45 mins, I prefer 30/2:00/30.
Goal is to run steady, ride at HIM race pace, and then run steady again, see how much higher the RPE, HR, etc is for the 2nd run. This can help you guage if you rode too hard, just right, or not hard enuff.
I think both of the above are excellent workouts, in and of themselves. The race-pacing data you can glean is just the gravy on the icing. 
I really like the Gordo workout and people can really learn a lot about themselves by doing it.
jaretj
Uh, because then, you would be pretty much doing almost ALL of a HIM then? And the point is, to get in a good race-specific workout, as well as to get a decent feel about what kind of bike pacing and run pacing will work in the upcoming race.
Uh, no you wouldn’t…not if it’s a quick 1km splash.
A fresh bike TT tells you nothing about HIM bike pacing.
But hey, if you want to continue disregarding the importance of a good swim, be my guest.
I will second that there is value in getting experience with an HIM swim before your bike riding.
The shoulder area can feel very different after a swim and you may find that either your swim or bike position needs work to be able to stay aero like you do fresh.
Uh, because then, you would be pretty much doing almost ALL of a HIM then? And the point is, to get in a good race-specific workout, as well as to get a decent feel about what kind of bike pacing and run pacing will work in the upcoming race.
Uh, no you wouldn’t…not if it’s a quick 1km splash.
A fresh bike TT tells you nothing about HIM bike pacing.
But hey, if you want to continue disregarding the importance of a good swim, be my guest.
I’ll partly take back what I said…it doesn’t tell you “nothing”, but it does give you an incomplete picture.
Hey,
People like Murphy’s Law and myself…we don’t put aside swim workouts lightly…we throw them with great force.
Hey,
People like Murphy’s Law and myself…we don’t put aside swim workouts lightly…we throw them with great force.
Damn straight. I should market my Total Aversion (Tm - kdw '08) swim training program, I could make a mint!!!
Honestly, the last thing in the world I’d want to do prior to going for a nice ride, is swim. A dozen times a year or so when I pay good $ is one thing, but to choose to do that on my own time?
F’ that noise.
Based on your results, unless you are moving up into the 70-74 AG Kona is many, many years away for you sir…
Anyone can get a Clearwater spot, they can’t give those away at some races
So I’ll see you in Clearwater?