California Ironman 70.3 Oceanside
April 4, 2009
With over 2100 competitors set to start the half Ironman distance triathlon in Oceanside harbor the venue was alive with predawn activities. For me and my brother Pete, this would be our second 70.3 mile distance triathlon. Having picked up our registration at the site the day before we scouted out our positions in the transition zone to set up our bikes and gear for the competition. Our families accompanied us in full support even though the 3:00 am morning wakeup call makes for a challenging way to start a Saturday.
As we carefully laid our swim, bike and run gear in the transition zone in the morning, thoughts quickly lead through the day’s competitive events and any last minute preparations. It was now time to get the wet suit on and begin to line up in wave groups for the swim start at the boat launch ramp. The swim course is an out and back passage through the narrow channel in the harbor to the mouth of the breakwater with boat docks aligned on both sides. Water temperature was a chilly 59 degrees and the sky was clear with a moderate off shore wind blowing out to the west.
Three minutes prior to my swim start we swam out to the start line in the middle of the channel with little time for a warm up. With over 100 swimmers in my wave I attempted to position myself toward the rear of the group and away from the marker buoys where the fast swimmers were aligning. The starting horn went off and we all plowed in the cold salt water trying to get a rhythm and course going. With the usual arms and legs of the triatheletes moving through the water around me I was searching for the correct pace and stroke while trying to not drink too much of the salty bay water.
The swim for me is the least comfortable leg of the triathlon and the limited space in the channel made for many collisions with fellow swimmers. Most of the times as we would bump into each other the impacts were clearly unintentional and usually resulted in a quickly stated “sorry for that” or a slight change in direction. There was a few times when the competitors were clearly on a mission to qualify for the Kona Ironman or to set a personal best time and they would just swim over the top of me without missing a stroke. The last woman to crawl over my back was almost met with a quick grab of her ankle and a little lesson on open water etiquette. It got to the point where I felt like a piece of driftwood being kicked to the side of the channel.
Once I made the turnaround at the mouth of the harbor and set my sites on the return course my swim stroke and rhythm seemed to improve. What troubled me throughout the swim was my limited ability to sight properly and swim in a consistent straight line. Nearing the end of the swim I’m sure somebody pushed a boat dock into my path because there is no way I could have jammed my left knuckles into those barnacles on my own.
Finally, I’m out of the water trudging up the boat ramp back to transition to get on that bicycle and have some fun passing up some of those folks who swam over the top of me. The left side of my neck was in serious pain and I thought something must have bit me during the swim. Contemplating a visit to the medical tent, I figured out that the chin strap on the wetsuit hood had worked its way down onto my neck and began rubbing off skin with each stroke. Putting the pain aside, now I had to make the clothing decision on what to wear for the bike course. Bike jersey or Tri top, compression socks now or wait until the run and as the seconds were ticking away I looked around to judge what others were wearing which was mostly Tri tops. With my compression socks and Tri top on, helmet strapped down on my head it was time to run out of transition and get comfortable with a good cadence in the aero position.
The bike course was very scenic and enjoyable as we traveled up the coast into Camp Pendleton. Having not previously ridden the course, a fellow triathlete informed me of a few hill climbs on the second half of the ride that would require a standing position. Getting to the base of the first major climb I quickly ran out of gears and it was into the standing climb for the remainder of the grade. Cyclists ahead of me also were struggling and many gave into the hill and begin to walk their bikes up the grade. I couldn’t give into the urge to walk and made it to the top standing on the gears and grinding muscle against bone. Falling back onto the seat at the crest of the grade, with a quick look down I realized that the bike was still in the large sprocket on the crank and I had just spent more precious energy than necessary to get up that hill.
The remainder of the bike course was uneventful except for the great cheering of the marines positioned along the route shouting out great encouragements. A nose bleed made for a diversion but no need to stop. With my rear end uncomfortably rocking back and forth on the seat and my neck aching by being stuck in the areo position I ground out the last few miles passing riders that looked more distressed than me.
Moving quickly into the second transition I was anxious to get the running shoes on and start the thirteen mile stroll along the beach. Dismounting the bike I took off the shoes with the idea of being a little quicker by running through transition barefoot. Finding out later that the main result of this was bruised heals so that lesson is now learned for the next race. Even though the run course was along the shore, looking three miles down the road brings little sense of distance accomplishment so I concentrated mostly on the pavement in front of my sore feet.
The choice of Gatorade, gel packs, bananas, cookies, water and oranges at each one mile aid station made for thoughtful full planning along the route. Saving the cookies for the last few stops sure made them taste especially great. I set a pace based upon a reasonable heart rate and managed to keep it throughout the run. Just make sure that I finish the run with no significant walking or injury was now the goal. After all, I was going to the Grand Canyon for vacation in a couple of days and that was my real goal for the week.
The last few miles of the run were tough for me and it makes you wonder about engaging in such a strenuous activity. Strange thing about triathlons, if you finish well and realize what you have accomplished, the next day you begin to think about performance improvements if you could soon get back out on the course. I guess that’s why I am looking forward to starting on a new training routine for my next triathlon. Am I hooked on triathlons? No, just hooked on how good I feel while doing other strenuous activities like hiking down into and back out of the Grand Canyon.
George Wiens
April 4, 2009
With over 2100 competitors set to start the half Ironman distance triathlon in Oceanside harbor the venue was alive with predawn activities. For me and my brother Pete, this would be our second 70.3 mile distance triathlon. Having picked up our registration at the site the day before we scouted out our positions in the transition zone to set up our bikes and gear for the competition. Our families accompanied us in full support even though the 3:00 am morning wakeup call makes for a challenging way to start a Saturday.As we carefully laid our swim, bike and run gear in the transition zone in the morning, thoughts quickly lead through the day’s competitive events and any last minute preparations. It was now time to get the wet suit on and begin to line up in wave groups for the swim start at the boat launch ramp. The swim course is an out and back passage through the narrow channel in the harbor to the mouth of the breakwater with boat docks aligned on both sides. Water temperature was a chilly 59 degrees and the sky was clear with a moderate off shore wind blowing out to the west.
Three minutes prior to my swim start we swam out to the start line in the middle of the channel with little time for a warm up. With over 100 swimmers in my wave I attempted to position myself toward the rear of the group and away from the marker buoys where the fast swimmers were aligning. The starting horn went off and we all plowed in the cold salt water trying to get a rhythm and course going. With the usual arms and legs of the triatheletes moving through the water around me I was searching for the correct pace and stroke while trying to not drink too much of the salty bay water.
The swim for me is the least comfortable leg of the triathlon and the limited space in the channel made for many collisions with fellow swimmers. Most of the times as we would bump into each other the impacts were clearly unintentional and usually resulted in a quickly stated “sorry for that” or a slight change in direction. There was a few times when the competitors were clearly on a mission to qualify for the Kona Ironman or to set a personal best time and they would just swim over the top of me without missing a stroke. The last woman to crawl over my back was almost met with a quick grab of her ankle and a little lesson on open water etiquette. It got to the point where I felt like a piece of driftwood being kicked to the side of the channel.
Once I made the turnaround at the mouth of the harbor and set my sites on the return course my swim stroke and rhythm seemed to improve. What troubled me throughout the swim was my limited ability to sight properly and swim in a consistent straight line. Nearing the end of the swim I’m sure somebody pushed a boat dock into my path because there is no way I could have jammed my left knuckles into those barnacles on my own.
Finally, I’m out of the water trudging up the boat ramp back to transition to get on that bicycle and have some fun passing up some of those folks who swam over the top of me. The left side of my neck was in serious pain and I thought something must have bit me during the swim. Contemplating a visit to the medical tent, I figured out that the chin strap on the wetsuit hood had worked its way down onto my neck and began rubbing off skin with each stroke. Putting the pain aside, now I had to make the clothing decision on what to wear for the bike course. Bike jersey or Tri top, compression socks now or wait until the run and as the seconds were ticking away I looked around to judge what others were wearing which was mostly Tri tops. With my compression socks and Tri top on, helmet strapped down on my head it was time to run out of transition and get comfortable with a good cadence in the aero position.
The bike course was very scenic and enjoyable as we traveled up the coast into Camp Pendleton. Having not previously ridden the course, a fellow triathlete informed me of a few hill climbs on the second half of the ride that would require a standing position. Getting to the base of the first major climb I quickly ran out of gears and it was into the standing climb for the remainder of the grade. Cyclists ahead of me also were struggling and many gave into the hill and begin to walk their bikes up the grade. I couldn’t give into the urge to walk and made it to the top standing on the gears and grinding muscle against bone. Falling back onto the seat at the crest of the grade, with a quick look down I realized that the bike was still in the large sprocket on the crank and I had just spent more precious energy than necessary to get up that hill.
The remainder of the bike course was uneventful except for the great cheering of the marines positioned along the route shouting out great encouragements. A nose bleed made for a diversion but no need to stop. With my rear end uncomfortably rocking back and forth on the seat and my neck aching by being stuck in the areo position I ground out the last few miles passing riders that looked more distressed than me.Moving quickly into the second transition I was anxious to get the running shoes on and start the thirteen mile stroll along the beach. Dismounting the bike I took off the shoes with the idea of being a little quicker by running through transition barefoot. Finding out later that the main result of this was bruised heals so that lesson is now learned for the next race. Even though the run course was along the shore, looking three miles down the road brings little sense of distance accomplishment so I concentrated mostly on the pavement in front of my sore feet.
The choice of Gatorade, gel packs, bananas, cookies, water and oranges at each one mile aid station made for thoughtful full planning along the route. Saving the cookies for the last few stops sure made them taste especially great. I set a pace based upon a reasonable heart rate and managed to keep it throughout the run. Just make sure that I finish the run with no significant walking or injury was now the goal. After all, I was going to the Grand Canyon for vacation in a couple of days and that was my real goal for the week.The last few miles of the run were tough for me and it makes you wonder about engaging in such a strenuous activity. Strange thing about triathlons, if you finish well and realize what you have accomplished, the next day you begin to think about performance improvements if you could soon get back out on the course. I guess that’s why I am looking forward to starting on a new training routine for my next triathlon. Am I hooked on triathlons? No, just hooked on how good I feel while doing other strenuous activities like hiking down into and back out of the Grand Canyon.
George Wiens
