Oceanside 70.3 Race Report

Well I'm glad that's over!  We were all treated to warmer than usual temps both in the air and by sea for this years Oceanside 70.3 as well as dry pavement.  If you have frequented this race in the previous years then you know this is not something to be taken for granted.  There is NO such thing as a "perfect race" or "perfect conditions" and the sooner one recognizes that in the sport of triathlon, the sooner one can begin to deal with adversity "perfectly".

Ben and I headed out to the race late Sunday morning in our home away from home when the Westie started smoking and leaking oil in Banning.

 

Now this fine piece of 1987 German engineering has been quite reliable I might add most of the time.  We even did a trip from Palm Springs all the way to Portland, Oregon in it without a hitch a couple years ago.  But it seems to have a knack for causing problems on the way to MY races.  Well, 3 strikes you're out in my book!  So we drove back to Palm Springs and grabbed a more reliable vehicle, reloaded the gear and the dog and begged my dear friend Anna Gerber to take pity on us and let us stay with her.  Being the sweetheart that she is, she said of course!  This went much better than our blowout on the way to Wildflower or the alternator on the way to Vineman!

Skip to race morning.  I was up around 4:30 for a quick cup of coffee, and some Ensure (my race morning breakfast of choice) before Ben drove me down to T2.  Like I said, the weather was awesome and you could sense the gratitude in the air amongst competitors.  For whatever reason, race directors like to put the Women's 30-34 virtually last for wave starts.  We were wave 18 of 24 and the gun went off promptly at 7:30.  I quickly got on the feet of my good friend/swimmer Christine Gould and some of her friends that she had identified as swimmers.  They quickly and smoothly pulled us away from the group and we seemed to move effortlessly (thanks to them) through the waves of competitors ahead of us.  Eventually, I was dropped around the half way point, which I was okay with since I didn't want to go too hard too soon.  The water was like glass and there was virtually no chop making it the easiest Oceanside 70.3 I can remember.  I exited in 26:30ish and remember thinking that seemed incredibly fast even for me!  Turns out everyones times were speedy so I'm guessing it was a little short or something?  Either way a good start.

I usually transition quite efficiently but in the past year or so I really have been trying to hustle a little faster to the rack where precious seconds can be gained or lost.  I got out quickly on to the bike and started to catch the uber swimmers ahead of me.  My heart rate monitor was not working so I was extremely grateful for my new Quarq powermeter, which allowed me to gauge my effort.  Around mile 30 I was caught by another very accomplished W30-34 triathlete Sonja Wieck.  I shadowed her for the remainder of the ride with her setting a solid pace on the flats and me on the hills.  We came into T2 together in a respectable 2:38.

Off onto the run, the sun was out, the temps were still cool by my standards, and there were plenty of people cheering to keep our spirits high.  The new Oceanside course (since last year) has a lot of 180 degree turns and at least 3 hard steep uphill/downhills, some of which are on concrete, that really take a toll on your legs either during the race or post-race.  I have been working on my running for awhile now and have seen progress.  A series of 5ks over the winter lead to a new 1/2 marathon PR in February and a decent 10k at Desert Triathlon.  However, my triathlon run leg is still unpredictable at best.  I would like to blame it all on my External Iliac Endofibrosis but blah blah blah...I can't!  I just need to continue to get faster and fitter, and in turn become a more consistent runner.  I came out of T2 in first from what I could tell with Sonja right behind me.  I didn't feel incredibly good or bad and again my heart rate monitor wasn't working so I just went with what felt like an ok pace.  There was a lot of jockeying of positions (me getting passed...others passing me...me getting re-passed) and it kept things interesting.  Starting in the last women's wave and being on a 2 loop course made it difficult to tell who was who and where exactly everyone was so I just ran my race.  I have always prescribed to that philosophy that if you believe your fitness is where it needs to be then the rest will fall into place (well...at least 90% of it!).  I ended up getting passed with maybe 2.5 to go by a girl that was flying so fast that I was sure she was on her first lap!  Turned out she wasn't!  Kendra Goffredo went on to nab the top spot in W30-34 and overall amateur with a blistering 1:29.  Then another girl came by me with maybe 200 meters to go with a 34 on her leg and I thought to myself how is this happening...I didn't see any of these girls behind me at the turns.  It was going to be a sprint finish and I was at a disadvantage as I didn't see it coming.  I tried to respond but she pulled away down the shoot.  I was bummed until I went over to congratulate her and she informed me that she was in fact in the W35-39 which went off before us. WHY she was sprinting it out with me...I haven't a clue?!?  My run split was a disappointing 1:37, but not a total disaster.  I had held on to take 2nd in the W30-34 and 2nd amateur.  I was also glad to see fellow competitor Sonja hang on to third after a gutsy performance.

Oceanside 70.3 30-34 podium

 

All in all, I walked away with a 4:47xx and a slot for Vegas in September which was my goal.  I will take that for an early season 1/2 IM where I felt like I performed on raw base fitness with no peak or taper.  I got through the winter without serious illness and dodged a few bullets in regards to injury.

Next up is the new St. George 70.3 in May which should separate the (wo)men from the boys from what I hear.  Now I can race it without having to worry about earning a slot.  A huge thanks to my B&L family who once again have gotten me to the line on the best equipment with the most dialed reliable ride! 

In the next few days I will be maximizing my recovery with my 110% Play Harder Compression Gear.  If you haven't heard about this stuff, you should take a look because its a genius idea and even better...it actually works.  It is compression wear mixed with ice.  It is easy to use and there is no mess or hassle of melting ice in Ziploc bags or defrosted frozen veggies!

I'm as skeptical as anyone but this stuff is legit and it actually compresses!!! 

 

 



 



Desert Intl. Race Report and other happenings

Well, 2013 is off to an eventful start!  I have been taking advantage of all the great local races we have out here in the desert starting with the Palm Springs Half Marathon.  This time of year can be difficult to stay health with all the germies lurking around (especially if you are a teacher, like myself).  I had a strong first showing of my new found running legs with a new PR of 1:30:20 on a rather undulating and technical course with all the turns.  Right after the race I noticed my hamstrings were incredibly tight.  To make a long story short, I did something pretty bad to my right hamstring the following Friday while helping Ben (my husband) lead a cycling camp put on by some of his teammates when the pace got kinda hot.  Chris DeMarchi of MRI cycling…thanks for that one…whoops!  So, I took almost 2 weeks completely off from running (2 miles here, 3 miles there) and iced, iced baby.  I also had to be very cautious cycling not to aggravate it.  I was concerned that that would be it…I was doomed to loose all the run fitness I had gained.  The week leading up to Desert Intl. triathlon, I was feeling better and even pumped out a track workout on Wednesday where I ran into the hometown hero Tim Bradley (World Champion boxer).  Something about that meeting really inspired me and got me pumped to race.  We will be rooting for him in a couple weeks when he puts his belt on the line…but anyways…back to me : )

Thanks Alan Woodruff for nabbing this shot!

Race morning couldn’t have been more amazing…it was warm, no wind, and an amazing sunrise as a bonus gift for getting up at 4:45 am on a Sunday!  Good friend and teammate Anna Gerber was in town to lend support for an added bonus with her spark plug training partner Gina Correll (who posted a solid 3^rd in the women’s 45-49. Gina, you simply amaze me mother of 2 and business owner!  Desert Intl. triathlon has been the long standing “season opener” amongst So Cal residents, especially those in preparation for other early season races such as Oceanside 70.3.  It has a laid back feel as if to say, “Hey, it’s a loooong season….let’s ease into this”!  I decided to race Elite thinking it was my best chance to push myself.  It ended up that there was only one other woman on the start line, the very accomplished Sara Gross.  We were off at 7:30 with the others into the brisk 65ish degree water.  It was calm and there was cloud coverage (so no glare from the sun).  The swim was relatively uneventful and I found myself in no-mans-land (as usual) after missing the front pack who were hammering!  I exited in 17:40 and hussled dizzy and a bit disoriented from the cold into transition.  I could hear my husbands words in my head before they even came out which are always “don’t miss the train…or…the train is leaving the station”.  I have learned over the years how important it is to hussle to get out on the road with your competition and keep them in sight (out of sight, out of mind which is never good in competition).

 On to the bike, yes the bike!  This year I was fortunate to gain the support of Mark Palmer and B&L Bike & Sports out of San Diego who has been incredible in getting me on the best ride possible.  While I’m not one to ooh and ahh over equipment, gear, and gadgets, I can honestly say getting on the Specialized Shiv with my Quarq powermeter has made a huge difference so far.  If you haven’t spent some time with him already, let me be the first to testify to the bike fitting skill and knowledge of Keith Butsko who single-handedly changed my life on the bike in terms of comfort and efficiency.  BIG thank you to Keith!

With that said, the data I’ve collected over that past few months has given me the confidence to know I can hang with some high caliber athletes.  I was determined to make it through the bike with the lead woman who I had managed to catch up to between transition and the first few hundred meters of the ride out.  One thing about racing Elite is being out on the lonely road which provides more incentive to stay in contact with anyone you can.  I found the pace manageable but didn’t want to push it any harder for fear of it affecting my run.  I felt confident in our pace to just let it simmer.  Sara and I came back into town neck in neck in around 1:01 which is a good time for women on that course.

T2 was a bit tricky for me as my feet were still blocks of ice making it challenging to get my running shoes on.  No hamstring problems, so that was good.  Sara pulled away fast as expected and I was prepared to run my own race and give it to myself as good as I could all things considered (and that’s another story)!  I managed a 40:50 and found myself feeling stronger on my second lap than my first which was good for a 2:02:06 and second female overall.

Now it’s time to recover quickly, stay healthy, and put the finishing touches on preparations for Oceanside 70.3 which is technically a “B” race, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’d like to earn a spot to Vegas World Championships sooner than later! Congrats to fellow teammate Keith Butsko on first overall and Brad Marshall on the double (taking a 2^nd & 3^rd on back to back days)…booyah!  Go B&L triathlon team…off to a speedy start!