“4:27am……why am I here? Why am I not in bed, like everyone else, dead to the world? Why do I live in constant pain, the suffering, the sacrifice? Why? Because I can. Because pain tells me I’m awake. Reminds me I’m alive. Who am I? I am the wrecker of steel. I am the crusher of mediocrity. I am the face of destiny. I am Animal……”
RACE
REPORT: 2015 Ironman 70.3 California
I
woke just before the alarm sounded at 3:45am, about three hours before my wave
hits the water. I always like to give
myself about 3 full hours to wake, eat breakfast, use the facilities, make my
way to transition, and complete whatever warm-up is necessary given the race
distance, usually including some type of static and dynamic movements. I have been here many times before; ready to
toe the line with thousands of other athletes, but every race brings with it
new goals and new expectations. So, my
nerves keep me alert and prepared for the day that lies ahead. I raced this course before in 2013 and was
prepared to create a new PR. My training
was complete, my nutrition plan and fueling strategy were set, and my race plan
was put into place.
As
I stared across the crowd of eager fans and nervous competitors, I could see
mental preparation at work. I could feel
the energy of the transition pulsating with excitement. I could feel the anticipation of the day
slowly surfacing. No matter how prepared
for the race I may think I am, there is always an injection of pounding
nerves. Ultimately, it will either
consume your focus, or give you the hunger to physically and mentally exert
yourself past your point of comfort! I
like to feed off the nerves as a source of adrenaline! You must ask yourself; how much are you
willing to put your body through in order to reach your goals? You already know it’s going to hurt, but how
much suffering are you willing to endure?
The Swim: As I lined up in the corral with my wave, I
learned the water temperature was a warm sixty six degrees; definitely warmer
than Bartlett. By the time I jump in the
water, it will be warmer than the air temperature outside.
My wave is told to enter and swim to the
buoy line, so here I go. The water is
perfect! My wave is small compared to
others, and I decide to place myself in the front. Although my swim may be my weakness, I know I
can hold my own just behind the lead pack.
I jumped in and swam to the buoy line.
As I positioned myself to the outside, I keep moving by treading water
to keep my shoulders engaged. As I do
with all my races, I turn to my fellow age groupers and wish them good luck!
The horn sounds, and the race begins! I spent the first 500 meters settling into my
pace. I noticed almost immediately I had
caught up to the last wave that swam off, just a couple minutes ahead. At this point I am glad I chose the outside
of the wave, because the passes were made with ease.
As I see the lead group leave the harbor
and enter no-man’s land, I keep the last of the gray caps in sight; soon I will
lose sight of them. For the next 500
meters, I settle in and prepare for any current that I may experience. To my surprise, the water stayed relatively
calm which gave me the opportunity to conserve my energy. As I neared the turn-around, I ran into a
large group of green caps and orange caps.
I now caught two waves and can see a few men struggling with the
distance of the swim. I continued to
pass, not having to dodge too much traffic.
Once I breached the turn-around, I began to
head back into the harbor. I picked up
the speed and settled in for the next 15 minutes. As I entered the harbor, I saw a sea of multi-colored
caps; this is where sighting becomes key.
With little difficulty I reach the turn into the boat ramp and increased
my kicking cadence to feed my legs with a little more blood before I stand and
run to transition. Once I sighted the
ground, I stood and made my way through the knee-deep water. I unzipped my wetsuit, detached my Garmin
using the quick release, stripped the top down to my waist, and re-attached my
Garmin. I look down and see 32 minutes
and some change.....perfect, right on time!
**Swim
Time: 32:53**
T1: I ran into T1 shaking my sea legs out. I continued to pull my wetsuit down preparing
for the strip down. This year the
transition was a little longer than expected and we were forced to run to the
end of the chute before making a U-turn towards the bike racks. I began to sight on the landmark I identified
earlier for easy spotting of my bike.
After spotting my rack I ran to my bike and stripped the wetsuit. Race number clipped, sunglasses on, helmet
snapped, and I’m off. My bike shoes are
already clipped into the pedals so I make my way to the bike-out.
**T1
Time: 3:29**
The Bike: I mounted my bike, slipped into my shoes,
and began pedaling. Nothing happens
until I exit transition for safety reasons.
As I passed the athletes wildly attempting to make it through the chute
in record time, I knew the ride was 56 miles and there will be plenty of time
to get situated accordingly. Once out of
the harbor, I quickly strapped my shoes and began pedaling at a high RPM in
order to flush even more blood into my legs.
I left the bike geared down and prepared for the little hill that needs
cresting before any change in shifting occurs.
Once I crested the hill, I settled in by drinking a little water and
grabbing a couple of small pieces of bonk breaker. I have always been a solid food fan during my
races, but today this will be my only consumption of solid food………so I enjoyed
it while it lasted!
The Oceanside bike course is tricky if you
aren’t prepared for its false speed. The
first 25 miles of the course take you through the entrance of Camp Pendleton
and into the base where you are left with no one but your fellow athletes. The first 25 miles area deceptively fast as
you approach the next part of the course consisting of over 2000 feet of
climbing in just 15 short miles. Each of
the climbs are relatively easy if you keep your effort low and conserve your
strength. Too many athletes will
mis-read the climbs and waste too much energy trying to crest the top. The last 15 miles of the course gives you the
opportunity to settle back in to a comfortable pace. The only challenge that occurs in the last of
the ride is possible head winds, but nothing you haven’t ridden during monsoon
season in PHX!
In preparation for a fast and hilly ride, I
spent weeks training with high gear, low cadence hill repeats on Bell Road and
Dynamite Road. These workouts were
designed to increase muscle strength while attempting to maintain a smooth
pedal stroke and lower heart rate.
Tuesday’s were designed to increase my comfort in aero position while
still learning how to create power through the elevation change. In conjunction with hill repeats on Tuesday,
Thursday’s were spent on Legacy Boulevard, between Hayden Road and Scottsdale
Road, repeating one mile TT intervals.
This training was not only designed for increases in speed and effort,
but also to tax my heart rate while attempting to maintain a sub-threshold
pace, simulated by using a 40K-type effort.
On each of these days, it was important to understand how pace and effort
must be steady and consistent through each interval. You don’t want to start too hard leaving
yourself exhausted by the last interval.
My Saturday’s were spent recovering from the week with long aerobic
rides. The idea behind Saturday was to
keep my heart rate and effort low. These
rides were designed based on time only; speed and distance were not
important. Riding aerobically after a
heavy week of cycling intervals helps the creation of capillaries further
assisting in much needed recovery.
Needless to say, these training sessions created a solid base and
prepared me both physically and mentally.
The first 25 miles are flat and fast. My average MPH maxed out at 22.2, and the
weather stayed cool and overcast. I knew
the hills were coming so I kept my effort low and prepared for the work yet to
come. As I reached the first, and worst
of the climbs, I could see so many athletes beginning to struggle. I saw one guy who already chose to dismount
and walk……at the base of the hill dude?…………Come on dude………didn’t you train for
at least a little climb??
As I crested the hill, my heart rate spiked
for a couple of minutes. No
worries. I settled back into aero
position and continued to spin. As I
neared the first aid station, my bottle of calories is empty; time to
refill. As I passed the aid station, I
uncapped my aero bottle and poured in a batch of reserve powder. I grabbed a water bottle from a volunteer and
began to pour the water in order to mix the powder.
Unfortunately, the way I chose to do this
didn’t work and I lost the water bottle and my aero bottle with calories just
outside of transition………shit! I couldn’t
let the bottle go because it had my calories, and I couldn’t go back for more
water because I was too far outside of transition and would lose too much
time. I stopped and dismounted in order
to pick-up my aero bottle with calories.
I barely got in enough water to mix the powder leaving it too
concentrated to drink at one time. I am
limited in water, having only about 10 ounces left in my front hydration system
mounted on my aero bars. I decided to
sip my calories and water in order not to consume a concentrated dose of
calories. Next aid station………19.3
miles………shit again!
The next in the series of climbs comes at
mile 38. This hill is longer and less
steep, but again I see athletes beginning to really struggle. As I crested this hill, the enforced speed
limit of 25 mph lay ahead. As I made my
descent behind a long line of riders, I took this time to spin out my legs and
prepare them for the last 17 miles, which would include another little climb
and possibly head winds.
The next climb came quickly, and is done
before I knew it. At this point I have run
out of water and was still unable to adequately fuel due to having dropped my
bottle earlier. As I came upon the next
aid station, I decided to uncap my aero bottle and place the cap in a side
pocket of my jersey to avoid the juggling act like before. No luck; I dropped my aero bottle AGAIN! What the hell is wrong with me? I stopped again to retrieve it. As I slowed my speed to stop and turn, I
heard a fellow ONE member say “don’t go back!”.
If it had only water, I would
say screw it, but I needed my calories now more than ever. After getting a hold of everything I reached
the aid station, bottle in hand and cap tucked away.
I grabbed another water bottle from a
volunteer and carefully negotiated the pour.
I was able to get all the water in my aero bottle, and toss the empty to
the side. I reached for the cap to my
aero bottle……gone! Double shit! I looked back to see if it’s
near………nothing! This is getting
ridiculous. I quickly improvised and
poured the contents of my aero bottle into my front hydration system, tossing
my aero bottle and deciding to never try that again!
I settled back into aero and picked up the
speed for the last of the ride. Knowing
the last 15 miles are flatter and faster, I began to fuel and prepared my legs
for the run. At this point in the ride,
my average speed had dropped to almost 21 mph………time to pick up the pace.
The last 15 miles flew by with ease. Luckily no head winds as I was able to bring
my average speed back up to 21.7. As I
neared returned to harbor, I shifted gears and increased my cadence to 100+ in
order to flush my legs out. I came out
of the saddle a couple times and stretched my back and hip flexors getting
ready for the most important part of the race………the RUN!
Bike
Time: 2:34
T2: As I enter T2, I began to unstrap my shoes
and loosen my feet. I heard a volunteer
don’t dismount; I still had time to ride.
I entered the chute and again began to dismount thinking the dismount
line was close. Another volunteer told
me to wait and continue to ride on through.
Are you kidding me?………I literally rode through the entire chute……this is
new! I looked to the end of T2 and saw
athletes still riding………keep riding I guess.
I finally reached the dismount line and
hoped off, shoes still clipped. Like so
many times before, I hopped off and began to run losing no momentum, making for
a quick transition. I again scanned for
the landmark near my rack. As I hit the
ground running, my legs felt fresh, considering. I had about 100 more yards to run to get to
my shoes, and my legs felt ready for the grind ahead!
I reached the rack, ditched the bike and
helmet, slipped into my Zoot running shoes, grabbed my signature ONE Elite
Bondi Band, and was off once again!
T2
Time: 3:09
The Run: The third leg of this race is all about
execution. The run will always be the
most important the race, and I have yet to master this discipline. One thing I have learned to do is be
patient. So many times I will hear, ‘I
fell apart on the run’, ‘I need to run more in training’, or ‘I just didn’t
have it in me’. With so many thinking
the run is their weakness, they fail to examine their bike strength. Did you ride too hard? Did you train enough ON the bike? I felt ready to run from the moment I hopped
off………and now it was time to execute!
My plan: the first four miles are used to
settle in and find my running legs, pace – 7:15 per mile. Miles 4-10, increase the pace and drop my
pace to 7:00 per mile. If it’s there,
the last 3 miles are designed to hurt. I already know the last 3 miles are the
worst, and I’ve been there before. Give
it all and don’t look back, pace – 6:45 or faster! The name of the game; NEGATIVE SPLIT.
The Oceanside run course is flat with a few
little pier climbs and a little uphill grind through the beach front
neighborhood. The majority of the course
runs parallel to the coast of the Pacific Ocean with amazing views. The run course consists of two loops, the
first loop being longer than the second.
In preparation for the run, my training
sessions during the week consisted of track work, hill intervals, and long
aerobic distance runs. Wednesday’s were
track days. Each of these workouts
consisted of threshold intervals designed to teach my body to maintain a high
heart rate while keeping a consistent pace.
Friday’s I spent running hill repeats using Bell Hill. These training sessions were designed for
specific strength output over elevation change.
The first few months, the intervals were 60 seconds. During the last two months leading up to the
race, the hill intervals decreased as the time increased to 90 seconds. While my heart rate increased during each
interval, the main purposes of these sessions were built on strength, not
intensity. Similar to hill repeats on
the bike, I was forced to focus on good running form (forward lean, stride
length, and cadence) while utilizing the resistance of the hill. Sunday’s were spent on Pinnacle Peak
Mountain. Starting from the trailhead,
my runs consisted of 6-10 miles of road with several elevation changes,
ultimately ending with a trail run over the back side of Pinnacle Peak
Trail. This session was used for recovery,
maintaining a low heart rate over an extended period of time. The final two miles of the run always ended
on the trail which prepared me for the last miles of the run, which will always
be the hardest part of the day. I
learned to run on fatigued and tired legs for an additional two miles utilizing
the aggressive grade of the trail.
Knowing I am possibly under fueled for the
intensity of the last few miles of the run, I immediately began taking on coke
and water at the aid station right out of T2.
At this point in the race, the simplest sugar is the only option. What’s simpler than the sweet taste of COKE!
The first 4 miles go smoothly. I maintained an average pace of 7:18. As the weather began to warm the sun finally
breaks through onto Pacific Street. Once
I reached the turn around, I began to pick up my speed. By mile 6, my average pace has dropped to
7:08……right on pace!
As I made my way back to the harbor for the
turnaround for the second loop, my legs started to feel heavy. I knew this feeling well and prepared to run
on fatigued and tired legs. I was still
able to hold an average pace of 7:08, but now I had to bring that number down
in the next few miles to finish strong.
Mile 9 approached and my legs are started
to give a little. I lost my average pace
as I saw it drop to 7:10 and 7:11. At
this point in the race, I knew my mental strength would be tested. Miles 10 and 11 brought with it the last of
the pier climbs and rolling hills. My
legs were trashed! My overall pace suffered
and my average pace jumped to 7:15 and 7:16.
How do I continue when every muscle in my body is screaming STOP!
I made the final turn onto the
boardwalk. I saw the pier in the
distance and knew the finish line was less than a mile away. My legs were NOT turning over! I tried to focus on running form and forward
lean as I almost fell forward from fatigue.
My body began to tingle and I started seeing stars. I’m bonking, but my legs will not give in……I
refused to stop moving! I won’t not stop
until I cross the finish line. I lost
track of time, pace, and distance. I
looked ahead and zero in on the pier. I
heard the roar from the finish chute. I
saw the finish line arch and a faint picture of the clock.
As I entered the finish chute, there were
no other athletes around. The screams
from the ONE tent filled my head and the roar from the crowd sent a burst of adrenaline
through my body. Just as I breached the
finish line I looked up and made the #1 with both my hands, sticking my tongue
out………my infamous finish line pose!
**Finish
Time: 4:50:15**
*21st
in Age Group and 142nd Overall*
In 2013 I raced Oceanside and finished in
5:03. Today, I shaved over 13 minutes
off my time. I was faster in the swim by
a couple minutes, I was faster on the bike by over 6 minutes, and faster in the
run by over 9 minutes! At least I am
moving in the right direction!
As I look back at the race, I could have
not asked for a better day. With the
heat wave that hit San Diego in the days leading up to the race, all of us
lucked out and got a nice cool day. The
race Gods must have been watching!
With every race, you must walk away
learning something about yourself and about the way you race. No race goes to plan, and today was no
different for me. I decided to
re-allocate my bottle set-up so my calories would not be compromised and it
wouldn’t appear as if a circus clown was riding a TT bike through
transition. I suffered on the run
possibly due to a nutrition deficit on the bike, and we all know you can’t make
that up once you hit the pavement! I gave
myself a goal window of 4:35-4:45, and was damn close! I could say to you, “if hadn’t dropped my
bottle TWICE on the bike I would have shaved off 2-3 minutes” or “if I was
fueled properly for the last 3 miles of the run, I would have ran a new PR for
the half”.
No matter what I say, it’s time to take
what I have learned and hit the drawing board.
The race season is upon us and I have only tapped my full potential for
2015. My road to the 2015 70.3 World
Championship in Australia will not be easy, and I don’t want it to be. What kind of athlete would I be if it was
handed to me because I naturally raced this sport with ease? Years ago I entered this sport and quickly
learned I must earn my keep and today was no different. Where failure is evident, success is
inevitable!
I would like to thank those that trained
with me, coached me, and sat on the side lines as I raced. You were out there with me every mile of my
70.3 adventure! Thank you to my mother,
Christie, and step-father, Keith, for making the trek to California to spectate
and cheer me on! Thank you to John Reich,
run coach for Phoenix Free Soles, for designing my track workouts. Thank you to Nick Goodman with Durapulse for
pushing me and teaching me to train at a new level. Thank you to Jozsef Major at Major Tri
Coaching for not only guiding my training sessions, but letting me chase you in
the water and on the road. Thank you to
Val for waking up with me every day when sleeping in would have been so much
sweeter!
As the first quarter
of the year comes to a close, I am ready to rock the rest of 2015! Next up on the race schedule; Life Time
Marquee Triathlon and the Rock Point Triathlon!
