I am thinking about having Ironman 70.3 California be my first half but the bike course elevation profile makes the course look like a freaking TDF stage ( an overstatement but still ). Is it rally that hilly with a big climb?
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It’s all about perspective. If you ride flat 99% of the time, avoid both hills (short) and climbs (longer) then you will get to mile 30 and look at that a climb that and be scared. If you ride hills (short ones that moderate, short ones that are steep) and ride them often and you ride “climbs” long, sustained climbs of 20-50 minutes then you’ll get to that climb and think “oh, I need to pace myself for the 4+ minutes it’s gonna take to get up it”. And the other rollers in and around the course will just happen under your wheels.
The course there is not flat but it’s not brutal either. You should do it, you’ll have fun.
Ian
the course is challenging, but not overly so, IMHO.
Miles 0-28 are pretty easy. 28-42 is the meat of the course with three moderately tough climbs. The first is short, but steep. The other two are a bit longer but more gradual. The last 14 miles of the course are rolling and a long flat section. If the coastal wind is blowing, those last miles can be a bit tough.
Overall a very fair and fun course to ride.
I just did this race as my first half this year, and really enjoyed it.
While the climbs look intimidating on paper, they really aren’t all that bad. The worst part, IMO, were the false flats among the hills between miles 30-40. It looks like you’re on flat ground, but you are going nowhere near as fast as you think you should.
There was almost no wind when I did it, so I can’t comment on that aspect, but I thought the course was easier than I had expected, and a lot of fun.
Oceanside 70.3 was my first half earlier this year, and I thought the hills were do-able. I do a lot of riding on hills, though, so I’m semi used to it. Yes, they do slow you down. Also, there were a number of people walking their bikes up the first big hill, atmile 30ish. but honestly, if you do ride some hills in your training, you will be fine.
My race report for O’side is here: http://www.gofastbyanymeans.com/?p=197
Thanks for the help, it sounds like a challenging but fun course******** ( probably should not post after a 3 hour brick because apparently I cant spell ) I will do it!
The wind on the way back into town is way worse that any of the hills. The course is very fast going out, so just make sure to save a little for the middle and the final push to the end. I suck at hills and had no issues first time in a race on my tri bike with a non-compact double coming from a road bike with a triple. I probably still have the graph at home colored by % grade… it’s not bad at all. I’ll try and find it for you.
Great event, you should totally do it!
Coming from Boulder it isn’t that bad of a course for hills, but I won’t lie, it isn’t super flat either. Call it a rolling course with a big climb (bring a 23 minimum so you don’t grind up it too much). The wind is the tough part of this course. Did this as Ironman California back in 2000 & 2001, then as 70.3 in 2007…the run is the fun part. Along the beach & lots of “scenery”–very flat & very fast. Great cheering along the way & you can’t really beat the San Diego beach life. Just remember the wind is worse than the hills there on the flatter sections. Good luck!
I would not call it a hilly course, but a rolling one. In the graph it looks a lot tougher than it really is because of the values on the graph. Double up the climbing values, and you get a better picture of what it really is like. THe worst/longest climb is about 6 miles, and only goes up a little over 500 ft. The steepest climb is less than a mile, but has some 12% grade. But in the context of a 56 mile course not too bad. Now the wind can change everything, headwind on a hill = a lot tougher climb. The reason the times are relatively slow there is because the course is long. I got it a 57.5 miles by the time you ride the big loop in transition, so it you subtract out at least a mile of extra, it rides out like most rolling courses. I think Bjorn and one other guy went 2;11 last year, so if you subtract out a couple minutes, you get 2;09, which is about right for a rolling course with a couple sprinter climbs…
Just be ready to be aero and comfortable. If you can stay down the last 12 miles, you will put tons of time into most of the field…
I find the course to be challenging. I have done the 70.3 twice and both times the bike course kicked my butt. I have done a lot of races, but I think that for me part of it may be that the 70.3 race is very early in the year and I have yet to show up in shape, but ride it like I am. I just remember saying to my self that I could not imagine doing two loops of that course in a fill IM like they did in 200, 2001.
I seem to struggle for the entire backside through the base. It seemed that I was going so slow due to severe headwinds both times I rode it. (One time it was raining) The one hill seemed to be pretty steep (to me it seemed a lot stepper than any other Im/70.3 course, but not too bad). It just seemed to be a slow course and I was smoked at the end both times and had a crappy run.
Perhaps later in the season with a day without freezing rain and strong headwinds and proper pacing, I may think differently. I have a scrore to settle with that course.
It’s a lot easier than the two years ('00,'01) when it was a full IM and you did that bad boy twice.