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!!!