We loaded up the Escalade with our two dogs, Mia (Golden Retriever) and Avalon (Coton de Tulear) and strapped in for the 5 1/2 hour ride to San Diego with a pee stop in Yuma. We picked Shea up from her high school and mashed the skinny pedal. We got to our friend's house in San Marcos and were crazy happy to see them there. Originally, they were to be on a vacation in Idaho or Montana or somewhere cold and we would have had the house to ourselves, but Mrs. C decided to slice her tendon on her left wrist, so she had to stay home. That was awesome as we love their company!
Friday consisted of checking in at The Strand and getting a volunteer all giddy because of my "All World Athlete" status with the Ironman people. It's a cool thing they've done based on last year's 70.3 race performances...they give you preferred status and front of the line passes and the like. Kinda cheesy but kind of cool too. We wandered around the Ironman Village and checked out all the stuff with Julie buying a OAGI transition bag to carry her triathlon stuff. Wait...she bought 2 of those bags, actually. I went to a Purple Patch Training meeting on the course recon and hints. Pretty informative although I did know most of the tricks from last year's race. I dropped off my run gear in the provided plastic bag and tied it to my spot in transition number 2. I had a sweet spot, right near the bike in, and was pretty excited about that. We rolled back inland and went out to dinner at San Marcos Brewery where I had my 1/2 beer and chicken tortilla soup.
I couldn't sleep worth a crap that night. Shocking. I slept maybe 3 hours and then tossed and turned from 1 until the alarm went off (meaning I turned it off before it sang to me) at 4. I jumped into my Tribe Multisport kit, lathered up, put on my 2XU calf sleeves (first time wearing them for an entire race...kinda glad I did too), and then put on my long sleeved sweat pants and my hoodie. IT WAS FREEZING, about 54 degrees outside. The drive to T2 was easy, where we found a sweet parking spot and unloaded the bike for the 1 1/2 mile walk to T1. Julie and I loaded up and away we walked with the other lemmings toward T1. Did I mention how stupidly cold it was?
I had to wait at least 2 hours after getting to T1 before I had to hop into the harbor water. No big deal, except it was freezing cold with a breeze, which made it colder. I actually wore my wetsuit for the last 30 minutes and was relatively warm. I brought my flippies and socks this year and wore them while waiting in line and walking towards the boat dock to enter the swim. That helps out the feet tremendously from getting torn up from the rough asphalt.
THE SWIM: It was a nice brisk, 62ish degrees in the water. It wasn't that bad and I never panicked when I put my head under water. My wetsuit kept me warm and that was a pretty good feeling. I do need a new wetsuit, as ever since I've had this one (Profile Design Marlin) my shoulders feel incredibly tired after every swim with it on. I do most of my swim with a hip driven rotation and think my long(er) torso and lack of flexibility in the shoulders on this suit contribute greatly to my shoulder aches. Anyway, the swim went really well and I felt pretty good and the best ever after I got out of the water. I only cut 45 seconds off my time from last year and ended up just under 37 minutes for the swim. There were some rollers near the harbor breakwater, I got smacked about 6 times, and the sun was REALLY tough to swim into on the way back in, towards the exit. The sun caused my sighting, or lack of, to suffer a bit. I was happy with the swim.
T1: No wetsuit strippers this year, although they did unzip me, which is always a challenge as my zipper goes from bottom to the top, as opposed to most that go the other way. It's a looooooong run to my bike and it went well. Lots less traffic in front of me, clogging up the mini carpet this year as I started the 2nd from the last swim wave. I got my wetsuit off, socks on, helmet on, and sunglasses on much better than last year where I struggled with the chin strap for at least 1 minutes. Jumping on the bike went well, albeit cold still, but it was as smooth as I could expect.
THE BIKE: I wore my calf sleeves for the first time ever, through the swim and on the bike. I can't say as if they helped or hurt, but I was okay with wearing them. They probably helped a wee bit over the course of the entire ride and run. I had a goal of keeping the power within 70-75% of my 222 watt FTP and pretty much kept it there. The first 25 miles are rollers and flats that can really cause you to hammer it because you are feeling good, it's crowded, and well...it's the first 25 miles! I kept it under control, maybe too controlled, and kept the power down. I saw a dear friend of mine at mile 25, the Cristianos Road turn off, so stopped to give her a quick schmooch and a hug after I saw her sign she had made for me. Too cool! The next 20 miles are hilly! I kept the power at a reasonable level and didn't over cook it up the hills. It's really easy to try and hammer it up the hills and burn those matches while getting minimal gains on the bike. The last 12 miles are downhill but into a headwind that was much windier than last year. I kept the power up and my legs felt much better and really overall pretty good. My time was 2 minutes slower than last year, but I attribute that to keeping my power in check ( I probably could've put a little more power to the ground, say 3% or so and kept it all together ) and more of a headwind than last year. I used Osmo Nutrition products in my hydration bottles and it kept me together. I didn't have to take any pills and used all 3 bottles, plus about 1 full water bottle, so about 80 ounces of water. I used Honey Stinger energy chews for fuel...about 2 1/2 packages full and really should've finished that last one. That was about 460 calories for 3 hours.
T2: My bike was a whopping 4 racks away from the bike in. Perfect. I left my shoes on my bike, racked it, grabbed my visor, baggie full of gels, put on my brand new (only 3 miles on them...yes, I was taking a small chance here) Newton Distance S shoes and sprinted out of T1, after a quick 30 second pee stop.
THE RUN: I went out way too quickly as the crowds really excite you and my legs were still turning over at that fast bike pace! I purposely slowed myself after a fast 8:15 first mile and settled in. Those quick, crazy 40 feet climbs in about the same distance traveled hurt and I slowed down going up them every time, but managed to get back in my rhythm quickly after those bursts up and down those steep hills. The first loop went by pretty well and I saw my wife, daughter, and parents about 4 times total on the run...they give me energy and make me smile and realize that it's fun doing this stuff. The last loop was a wee bit tough, but I held ice in my hands, sponges down my shirt, and kept motoring. I knocked about 5 minutes off my run time from last year and was really pleased. I slowed down a little bit that last half of the run, but never felt like I was going to stop and actually felt good at the end (maybe too good, but hey, I improved and met my goals). My fueling went well, using 3 gel packs, and I hydrated at every aid station and never walked at all. I passed lots of people on the run in my age group and overall. I'm excited about my run.
THE FINISH: Heard (didn't see) my wife cheering for me, which is always a great pick-me-up, and just powered through the last 1/4 mile to the finish. This has to be the best finish that I've ever done, along the beach with the great crowds.
I must say, the Newton Distance S III's did marvelously. They are a great racing shoe and I barely felt that they were on my feet. My 2XU calf sleeves worked wonderfully and added a bit of a touch of color to my legs. Tribe Multisport in Scottsdale set up my bike perfectly...P5 w/Zipp 606 tubulars. Osmo Nutrition worked it's magic in my water bottles, Honey Stinger fueled me along my bike and run. Fitletic race belt held my number around my waist without a hitch...even on the bike ride (race numbers where required on Camp Pendleton). I must also say that the Fitletic belt was the unsung hero of the day as this was the first time ever wearing a belt on the bike and during the bike and run, I NEVER had to adjust it...it never rode up, rode down, or twisted to the left or right.
