San Diego Omegawave ITU Triathlon Race Report

The San Diego Omegawave ITU was the final race of my spring season and concludes a block of challenging races during the past month.  One week after my XTERRA race in Las Vegas and three weeks after the Oceanside 70.3, I was trying to stay motivated and hoped to have residual fitness from weeks of excellent training during April.  The week leading up to the San Diego ITU included some light training and a 40mi ride on my tri bike, which hadn’t been ridden since the Oceanside race in late March.

 

Oceanside 70.3 in Kinetik Tri Suit

The weather during the morning of the race was perfect—no wind, nice rising sun, and clear.  I’m glad I had my 90mm front wheel on my bike, as the wind wouldn’t be a factor.  I got my transition area set up quickly, since our bikes were racked the day before in assigned number spaces, then went on an easy two mile jog around the venue.  I came back to my bike after the warm up to find someone moved all of my gear to the opposite side of my bike and slid my bike down the rack a few feet.  So I had to rearrange my transition area a bit and made final preparations before heading to the start.

 

I was in the 7^th wave, so I was able to get a good warm up in the 60 degree water before lining up for a beach start.  There was little drama during the swim, with the exception of another swimmer in my wave who was swimming aside me at the exact pace and cadence.  At some points, our stroke rate was exactly the same while we were inches from each other so it felt like a three armed swim.  I exited the water at 24:35, which is one of my best 1500m times.  But I didn’t feel like I had a good swim and knew that I lost a lot of time mismanaging swimmer traffic.

 

The transition went smoothly and I was on the road fairly quickly.  I passed a friend just out of transition area who I knew could beat me on the run.  I tried for the duration of the ride to get some distance between us.  I saw the aftermath of two bike accidents along the course, perhaps a result of a crowded course with a lot of turns.  The bike course included eleven 180deg turns, several 90deg turns, and four “No Passing” zones which totaled about a mile of no passing.  The start of the zones was clearly marked, but there was no end of the zone marked; I assumed they ended at one of the 180deg turns.   I didn’t expect these no passing zones, although I expected the stop & go of the turns.  There was a lot of slow traffic in the no passing zones, as some slower riders couldn’t be passed.  I didn’t want to pass because of the possibility of a penalty.  So the bike course was very “choppy” and it was difficult to get into a rhythm for a long time.  Despite the stop & go, I managed a 23.9mph pace and felt okay on the bike, although I had building concern about a tightening hip flexor. 

 

Off the bike, I got through transition smoothly and tried to get a good rhythm started on the run.  At the first mile water station (which was on the right), I was lining up to get a quick gulp of water.  A woman who was running a lot slower ahead of me on my left, moved in front of me to get a drink so I instinctively put my hand up to prevent us from tangling our feet as I ran into her.  My pace was close to 6:00 and hers was probably 10:00, so there was some fair closing speed—I’m certain she didn’t see me since I was approaching her from her back right side.  She got her water and splashed it on me, saying “don’t push me @#$%”!  So I missed that water station, but was cooled by a splash of water on the back nonetheless.  I turned and said “sorry”.  I’m pretty sure she didn’t realize what happened so I unsuccessfully tried to find her after the race to explain.  I completed the two lap run relatively smoothly and noticed my friend approaching at mile 5.  He was running real well and passed me with about a half mile to the finish.  My pace on the run was 6:04, which was about what I expected and much better than my run on the same course last year.

 

There were some FAST athletes in that race—my age group in particular.  There were some incredible times from the 40-44 men.  I placed 29/667 for all men, but 7^th in my age group.  Compared to last year at the same race, I placed 49^th overall and 5^th in my age group.

 

It was nice racing in San Diego with a great group of athletes, but I left the race venue with a different disposition than I normally have after a race.  Maybe I’m a bit worn out.  Maybe I just felt bad about that lady on the run.  I just didn’t have a good feeling after this race.  I’ll put that race behind me, get some recovery time with a month off from racing, and will start to ramp up preparation for some big XTerra races in June.

Crossing this finish line will be my focus in October

XTERRA West Championship Race Report

I have never been more nervous in the days before a race.  Three days before the race, on Wednesday afternoon, I had to abort a track workout because of severe cramping in my calves.  That evening, I could barely make it up the stairs without severe pain in my legs.  Thursday morning, before driving to Las Vegas, I got a massage to try to work the cramps out—it didn’t work.  My calves were still very sore and cramped.  I wore compression sleeves on my calves during the 5 hour drive to Las Vegas and took the day off.  The legs felt a bit better by Thursday evening, but far from 100%. 

After a warm up run on the day before the race

The day before the race, I ran the first 2mi of the run route with my kids.  This kept me slow, helped me review a technical part of the run, and gave my son a course preview of his 5k.  The legs still were sore and I didn’t have confidence that I could push them.  As soon as the run was complete, I got on my bike for a bike course preview.  I’ve ridden the course many times before in previous years, but trails change depending on rains, use, and other factors.  It changed substantially from previous years—it became exceptionally difficult in some areas and much more dangerous to ride aggressively.

 

The bike venue.  This is atop the first climb

I practiced a few downhill sections that were sketchy so I could find a decent line without crashing on race day.  I was going fairly slow, but still had difficulty feeling in control of my bike.  I completed one loop of the course (on race day, it would be two loops) and came to a decision point: ride another loop to practice some technical areas or head back to the hotel without a crash and with my legs feeling okay.  I went back to the hotel with the plan that I needed to be cautious in the technical areas and knowing that other riders on the course would probably regulate my speed somewhat.  The ride needed to be focused on the uphill portions of the course and on the flats; I was willing to sacrifice speed for safety on the downhill areas.

The afternoon before the race, I relaxed by the pool with my family and an XTerra friend.  Josiah Middaugh stopped by the pool with his family as well, so we talked about the course and some of the challenges it posed.  Josiah would win the race the following day—what a nice guy and family.  I told my friend about my cramping calves and he bet me that I’d forget about the pain during the race.  I was hoping he was right, but I was exceptionally nervous.  The course was tough and dangerous, the temperature would be about 90, and the ability of my legs to endure the run was very questionable.

Before the swim, not feeling nervous anymore.

Swim venue.  In the foreground is the buoy I never saw.

Race morning came after a good dinner and a great night of sleep.  I got my bike set up in transition at 7:00 and went back to the hotel room a short walk away to get the kids ready for the day.  The start time for my race was 10:30.  During that time, I somehow found a way to relax a bit and my nervousness went away.  My plan to deal with the leg cramps was to drink a lot of water and push a lot of Enduralites during the race.  My transition area was set up, I had a nice 1.5mi jog to loosen my legs, and I finally felt ready to race.  My race was the run—I needed to get off the bike without crashing or some mechanical issue and my legs needed to be in good shape.  I expected that my efforts on the bike would loosen my legs somewhat, but still didn’t have confidence that the calves would hold out.

Under the bridge, ready for the swim start

 

The cannon went off after we assembled under the bridge for the swim start.  There was one intermediate buoy before the turn buoy that I lost track of.  The buoys were yellow, and so were our swim caps, so they were somewhat hard to distinguish among all the yellow caps at eye level.  I felt okay during the swim, although I wasn’t on anyone’s feet.  I got a few good gulps of water, but it was an uneventful swim otherwise.  Water temperature varied between 58-62, depending upon the depth of the lake, so the swim was actually pretty comfortable. 

 

Trying to get my balance in the transition area

In the transition area, I got my wetsuit off fairly quickly and attempted to get my shoes on.  I had a real tough time keeping my balance.  I couldn’t bend over to put my shoes on without stumbing.  So frustrating!  I burned a lot of time in the transition area attempting to get my shoes on.  My feet were covered with dirt from stumbling and I had a lot of muddy sand in my shoes once they were on.  I was pretty glad to be out of that transition area—one part of my racing that I need to improve…

 

It was about 11:00 once I was on the bike, so the temperature started to pick up.  More significantly, it became exceptionally windy.  Atop the first hill we climbed, there was a very strong crosswind that blew me off a thin established path into some loose rocks.  I almost lost my balance but gave a strong few pedals to get speed and balance established.  The first few tough areas soon approached; thanks to my practice the previous day, I dialed in the appropriate gears and took the right lines in the rocky downhill portions.  The course wasn’t too crowded, although there were a few of us in a loose pack.  I passed a few groups without much drama—I was lucky enough not to be constrained on a single lane.  I drank water at preplanned locations so I’d have two hands on the bars during technical areas.  At a water bottle exchange, they gave us a water bottle with cold water—that was quite welcome.  I was still riding with a small group, maybe three other competitors, at the halfway point.  During the race, I noticed that they were a bit slower on the hills, so I wanted to get ahead during the first big hill on lap #2 so I’d have a clean trail in front of me.

 

That round part in my suspension came loose and popped out

Lap number two on the bike went well for me.  I was confident, my legs felt pretty good, and the course was somewhat tamed due to all the bike traffic.  I was also alone, except for some of the people I was passing along the way.  I had no one to compete with for good ground on the bike course, which helped me get up, down, and around efficiently.  After a rough downhill portion of the bike, something felt odd when I was in the small chain ring.  There was an odd noise and my suspension didn’t feel right—something was loose.  With all of the difficult terrain behind me, I just hoped I could get the bike to the finish.  I was concerned that my cranks would fall off and was planning on ways to cope.  The bike performed well in the big ring, so I kept it there and finished the ride without incident.  Into the transition area I was so happy to have kept on my pedals for the entire ride and was ready to see how my calves would respond.

 

Up a steep hill immediately out of transition

Right out of the transition, there was a steep hill that led to the run course.  Then there was about a 1 mile steady incline after a somewhat rugged trail portion.  I saw Josiah coming the other way in the lead with Conrad Stolz a long way back.  I gave them both a shout of encouragement.  My legs felt okay and my calves were behaving, but overall I felt dull and the air seemed hard to get.  Miles 3-4 were merciless.  The hills made your chest pound and the grade was exceptionally steep in some areas—I couldn’t even run up a few portions.  I passed a few competitors and one who was in my division just before mile 5.  After mile 5, it was pretty much all downhill, so I picked up my speed, as it didn’t bother my aching hamstrings.  I finally had a good stride, but felt that my run overall wasn’t too good.  It actually ended up being the 10^th fastest run split in the race.

 

On the final stretch home

I got to the finish having given everything I had.  What a great feeling to be completely depleted after a challenging race with so many obstacles to overcome, primarily my spastic calves.  I saw my kids cheering for me on the way in, which was a welcome sight.  After I saw my results card, I actually gagged on the water I was drinking—I got on the podium!  I was pretty proud of myself and elated to have finished in good health.  With that finish, I qualified for the World Championships and met one of my goals—to podium at a Regional or higher level race.

Lots of Enduralites resulted in salty sweat but no cramps

 

At the conclusion of the race, in true XTerra fashion, a few of us shared some beers and stories at a hotel pool.  The following day, my son had his XTerra 5k, so that was the focus for the evening.  It was a good day for him too—1/7 in his age group and 7/199 overall.  He and the Middaugh family all stood on the podium after the 5k with proud parents in the audience.

 

So a great start to the XTerra season with a real nice trip to Las Vegas with the family.  The season is progressing nicely so far, with the San Diego Omegawave ITU in a few days, the B&L Encinitas Sprint Tri in May, and a few more XTerras in June. 

3rd Place Men 40-44

My son during his 5k

1st Place Boys 10-14

Oceanside Ironman 70.3 Race Report

At 3:30 am on race day, the alarm clock woke me after about 5 hours of sleep—not as much as I had hoped.  The day before was a very long day, which included an unplanned two hour hospital visit to take care of an infection (the doctors strongly recommended not to race), church, getting kids to practices, a visit to B&L Bikes in Solana Beach, and dinner preparation.  I finally started to prepare my gear for the race at 7:30 pm and finished at around 9:30—I had hoped to already be sleeping by then.

 

Race morning I ate two packages of oatmeal, one English muffin, and drank some coffee.  I found a great parking spot near the transition area, got my run gear set up in T2, walked the bike to run transition route a few times, then hopped on my bike to T1 and the race start about a mile away.

 

After setting up my bike in T1, I had about two hours to burn until my wave start.  I found a nice quiet place near the beach and closed my eyes to image the race from start to finish.  I mentally rehearsed the entire race envisioning the swim, transition 1, bike route, transition 2, and the run route.  I try to only keep positive thinking here—I keep negative thoughts aside and only imagine how I’ll feel when I’m feeling strong and moving fast.  I don’t image cold water, cramps, flats, or other distractions.

 

My wave started an hour and five minutes after the pros, so I had plenty of time to get my gear prepared.  I was in wave 22, the second to last wave, which meant that there’d be a lot of folks on the course ahead of me.  We got into the chute and proceeded toward the swim start like cattle.  I noticed that the guy in front of me had a timing chip on his ankle.  I FORGOT TO PUT MY CHIP ON!  Can I make it back to my pack and back to the start on time?  Wave 18 just went into the water.  Go for it!  I ran back to the boxes where we put our numbered gear bags and quickly located my chip.  I got it on and ran back down toward the swim start alongside the transition area.  The bottoms of my feet were so sore from the rough road.  I made it back to my cow herd in the pink caps with plenty of time to spare.  Forgot to put my timing chip on…how stupid of me.

 

The swim went okay.  I remember thinking, “wow, we’re at the halfway turn; that went quick!”  At about halfway through the swim, I found a pink cap and followed him the rest of the way, getting a decent draft.  We were passing more and more folks from the previous waves as we got closer to the swim finish.  With about 200m left to swim, there was a mass of swimmers in caps of different colors—it was a bit crazy dodging all of the swimmers and impossible to continue drafting off racers in my same wave.  All of the different swim caps in the water resembled a bunch of jelly beans in a washing machine.  Out of the water, I ran through the long transition area, got my gear on and pulled my bike off the rack.  I turned on my Garmin in the transition area because I forgot to before I left for the swim—another mistake in preparation.

For the first few miles of the bike, I noted sore glutes, but that soreness passed.  The first 20 miles went well—I was moving pretty fast heading north, probably due to a light tailwind.  I had a smooth ride along Highway 5, down Christianitos Rd to Camp Pendleton’s northernmost gate, then on to the first of three hills on the Marine Corps base.  I’ve been training on hills each week, so I was actually looking forward to them.  I geared down and took it easy getting up the hills, trying to keep in mind that I had more miles on the bike and a 13 mile run ahead of me.  On the hills, I kept saying to myself, “Not too hard, not too hard” because my tendency is to push hard on the hills like when I’m in training.

 

I forced myself to eat gels and half a solid energy bar along the ride.  I didn’t need the food then, but my body would need it later during the run and needed time to digest it.  My run preparation started at about mile thirty on the bike with Enduralites and scheduled nutrition and hydration.

 

Oceanside 70.3 Bike Course Elevation Profile

After the last substantial hill at about mile 40, the ride was mostly flat or downhill until the finish.  There was a decent headwind riding south on the base, so I tried to stay as aerodynamic as possible. 

 

Once back in the town of Oceanside, I felt pretty good about the ride and was excited to get running.  I had a good transition into T2 and got on the run fairly quickly.  I put socks on because I wanted to prevent blisters that would hinder training for some upcoming races.  I’m glad I burned the 10 seconds to put those socks on.

 

The run course was incredibly narrow in some parts—I was shocked that the race organizers made it so narrow.  There was only enough room for two people in the lane, so passing was problematic.  Since I was in wave 22, there were lots of people squeezed into the 4 foot wide lane near the Oceanside pier, so it was crowded and a hassle to pass.

 

I broke the 13.1 mile run into four quarters and planned nutrition accordingly.  At the southern part of the course, I finished the first quarter of the run and the start of lap two I finished the second quarter.   I felt strong during the run and had no cramps or pains.  At the start of my second lap I had some good energy and picked up my pace.  After completing ¾ of the run, I still felt good and pushed harder until I had the Oceanside pier (location of the finish) in sight about 1.5 miles away.  I picked up my pace a little more and crossed the finish, noting 5:41 on the timer, which translated to 4:36 for my wave.  I beat my goal of 4:40!  I also felt real good after the race; I wasn’t sore and didn’t feel wiped out, so I was pretty happy with my level of fitness and my training preparation. 

Splits:

Swim: 0:29

Bike: 2:31
Run: 1:31

Age Group Placing: 5/388   Overall: 102/2470

 

 

 

The gear I used:

Bike: Kuota Kalibur, SRAM Force gruppo, Hed Jet 90 rear wheel, Hed Jet 60 front wheel, Profile Design CX3 carbon aero bars, ISM Adamo saddle, Lazer aero helmet, Sidi T-2 shoes

Run: Saucony Fastwitch

Nutrition: Hammer gels, Hammer Enduralites, Hammer bar, Hammer Heed