TriBodyBoarder had a nice write-up on his race. I thought I’d follow suit and post a little something here on ST. First I must say that I was blown away at how stacked this race was this year. I did it last year and don’t remember it being so loaded with so many skilled and talented athletes.
Pre-Race: Quick shower to wake up, bagel with PB and some water. Couldn’t take a dump…that should give you a good idea of how things started for me. I’ve always been a regular guy but on Saturday morning it wasn’t moving. Felt a little wadded up inside as well and that didn’t help. Got to transition a little later than I would have liked but had enough time to get stuff done. Bugged a bit by the long lines for a floor pump - next time I’ll haul one of my own from Utah. 3/4 of a Spike Shooter and I was flying high. Bugged as well by the amount of loose rocks and chips on the asphalt walking to the swim start. Bring old socks next time.
Swim: Was in the Silver caps M35-39 @ 7:10. I was first guy down to the staging area at the water’s edge. Why the hell didn’t I swim fast out to the start line and get a good position? No idea, I just didn’t. As a result, I was about 3-4 guys deep and had to do some navigation to get through other swimmers and find some clear water. Whole time I felt like I was putting in a swim PR effort. The Out portion felt fast for me, the Back portion felt a bit slower (current?).
Swim Split: 31:52 - immediate disappointment - 52" slower than last year and I’m fitter than last year (I am).
T1: Was fine, nothing significant to report there. Completely forgot a towel but it didn’t matter. Wasn’t cold like I thought I would be.
Bike: Was pissed off from the less than expected swim time and immediately started putting some aggression into the first 10 miles. First time racing with my PowerTap (thanks Rich Sawaris from Wheelbuilder.com). Kept my watts in check and was within my average for the most part during the first 10-15 miles - although I had some surges to around 90-100% of FTP. There were a couple of d-bags out there on that bike course with questionable handling skills and no regard for safety but I’m not going to go there now. First steep climb - ouch - 11% or so? I realized halfway up when my cadence was reading 50-55 that I hadn’t done much hill work on the trainer in the winter. It showed later in my Run. Legs were pretty cooked after those climbs. Avg power tailed off about 5-10 watts in the last 10 miles as I was fighting the wind back to T2.
Bike Split: 2:41 - a 7 minute PR for me on that course. I was happy with that. The “Sweet Spot” work on the CompuTrainer had paid off.
T2: Had to pee real bad. Cost me 30-45 seconds. Otherwise, T2 was pretty good for me.
Run: Leaving T2 as Matt Reed is finishing. Amazed at how stacked this race was. That sand sucks and I really don’t understand why they did that other than it adds to the “ambiance” of the Oceanside race. Goal was to start around 8:00 min miles and then around Mile 4 ratchet it down progressively to 7:40’s and then try to progressively descend and negative split the last half. It didn’t happen. Legs weren’t there and the hurt from the bike was more obvious than what I remember from last year. Not a great run but I hung in there and resisted the urge to just lie down on the pavement and go to sleep.
Run Split: 1:45 - 2 mins slower than last year.
Total Time: 5:07:02 - missed 5:06 by three seconds. Oh well. Still a PR for the course and I was happy with my bike performance.
Had a good time but won’t be back next year because I’ll be peaking for Ironman St. George.
