Wildflower long course: Race report
2 half-irons down!
Another action-packed weekend down in Lake San Antonio, the crowds didn’t disappoint and the race was as organized as ever. It was a pretty hot weekend overall, hitting lower 80’s during the heat of the day.
My training has been going pretty well since around January. Up until about 5 weeks ago things were going great, but then I hurt my right glut muscle. I’ve been seeing a Chiropractor since then to try and sort it out. I’ve been easing off the running since then (maxing out at 6 miles), and trying to keep my fitness up with biking and swimming. I went into the race pretty confident but not as prepared as I could have been, especially on the running.
This is the first time I’ve actually been too hot in the swim, I have never swam in open water without my neoprene headgear but I might have to start! I was really hot after maybe 400m into the swim. Was eager to get out of the water and get the wetsuit off. Ended up with a time of 32:42 which is about what I was expecting (1:41/100m). I could improve on this but its always risky blowing out on the swim when there is a big day ahead. I was also in the crowd more than I usually am, I started middle of the pack for some reason which meant I was fighting over people’s feet for the start. This was also better than my swim split last year for the Olympic distance (1:45/100m).
Once again I had my awesome sports photographer chronicling my every move!
I was really happy with my bike split. I was able to keep down in aero for the majority of the ride and didn’t have the same soreness as Kahuna. My right leg did flare up around mile 20, but I just pushed through it and it went away after 5 miles or so. I tried to keep the speed over 19mph average until nasty grade, this would put me around the 3 hour mark for the ride. Other folks (with their TT bikes and race wheels) overtook me on the flats, but come nasty grade the tables turned. I was feeling good on the climb and managed to pass a lot of the people who had passed me 10 miles before, that was a good feeling.
I was able to hold them off until the end of the bike too as there is a huge downhill after nasty grade and then a few rollers back into transition.
3:08 on the bike with an average of 17.8mph - the exact same average as my Wildflower Olympic bike this time last year, great improvement!
The run was a whole other story! It was really hot by this stage and the run is brutal. Everyone around me was finding it tough, especially when we got to the trails along the lake, there are a few steep hills which I had to walk up. I started out trying to keep the pace around 8m/m, but couldn’t hold it and had an 11 in the middle. Towards the end I got back into my groove and kept a good pace up for the last 6 miles or so.
Similar story with taking over people on the run. There was another competitor in my age group who finished the bike at the same time as me, he broke away from me around mile 2 and I lost sight of him. It wasn’t until the hill up to the top of Lynch that I spotted him in the distance. He looked like he was fading so I used this as an opportunity to push myself the last couple of miles. I ended up passing him down Lynch hill as I got into a good rhythm going downhill.
1:55:08 on the run with a pace of 8:47m/m.
Despite what I thought was a poor run, it was my best result (relative to the field) of the 3 sports. The order in all my races has been run, swim, bike. My AG position was 49/185, top 26%.
My nutrition was a lot better overall on this race. I had a good bowl of oatmeal and a banana for breakfast. Then about 40 minutes before the swim I had a bagel with a bit of Nutella - this I probably should have done earlier than 40 min as I definitely felt it a bit on the swim. Then during the bike I drank plenty of fluids, about 2.5 bottles of water and a bottle of Gatorade. I also had a granola bar and some Cliff chews. On the run I mostly just took in liquids, one rest stop I had half a banana, and another I had a slice of orange. Only felt hungry a couple of times and was able to fix it pretty quickly with what I was carrying.
Full time overall was 5:42:48.
Things to change:
- Don’t be afraid to wear less on the swim, maybe pay more attention to water temperatures and adjust accordingly
- Swim a bit harder at the start - get in a good position
- Not much to change on the bike I think, the next upgrades are big ones - TT bike and power meter!
- Run harder! Need to get a respectable time on the run, shooting for 8m/m as a starting point on the next half-iron
Next up is Vineman 70.3 with the family! Less than 10 weeks to go, will hopefully be able to get the head down and get in some quality training until then.
Big Kahuna Half Ironman: Race Report
Half way to being an Ironman!
Great weekend down in Santa Cruz competing in the Big Kahuna Half Ironman consisting of a 1.2 mile swim around the pier in the ocean, a 56 mile out and back bike on windy Hwy 1 and a 13.1 out and back run along the coastal trail.
I managed to get all of my take aways from Wildflower in order. I have a bike computer, aerobars, elastic laces and promised myself to swim harder! Overall these were good changes to make and my swim and bike time seem to agree.
Was great to have a personal sports photographer on hand to document and celebrate the day with me. :)
The weather was great on race morning, no fog and a nice temperature in the air meant I didn’t have to deal with jackets/arm warmers. The swim wasn’t as crazy as wildflower, the corals were small and being in the ocean there was plenty of room to get space and swim your own race. The main downside were the bouys, they weren’t visible from the shore as the first was behind the pier - I didn’t end up seeing the first buoy until I was already a fair bit off course. That was a good lesson to blindly follow other peoples path - there seemed to be a number of people off course.
After the first buoy I settled into my own sighting and made it around the 2 buoys safely. It was difficult to see the finish from out beyond the pier, but I managed to sight some buildings and kept on course. Eventually the red finish came into view and I knew I was on a good path. On the way back there were 2 swimmers who crossed my path at 90 degree angles! I was confused for a bit, but after confirming I was on the right path I continued into my stroke.
Ended up with a swim time of 31:31 and a pace of 1:37/100m (10th AG). This is a nice improvement over my 1:45/100m pace in wildflower despite the increase in distance. I feel like I could have swam harder, but being my first half ironman I definitely didn’t want to burn out before 7:30am!
Quick jog up the street barefoot to the transition area. SF Tri Club got a great spot right next to the gates so I was in and out in no time. Had to actually do a double take to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything: 4:35 T1.
Out to the bike for a 56 mile out and back along Hwy 1. I was feeling pretty good with my swim and started the bike with a lot of confidence. I had been expecting a possible headwind heading north but surprisingly it was calm and I got off to a great start. Was averaging a solid 21/22mph on the way out over the first 20 miles or so.
Things were going well right up until the turn around, headwind! It began right at the turn around and all along the way back there was a pretty strong wind. I tried to just buckle down and drive through it but it was definitely tough on the long open roads. I was pumped to get back into Santa Cruz and go through the streets in shelter. It was a thrill blasting around the streets at a high speed.
Aero bars and computer were invaluable, I used the aero bars for about 95% of the ride and checked the computer frequently to make sure I was keeping the average up. That and frequenting M2 seemed to really help my bike split. 2:46:05 (20th AG) with an average pace of 20.2mph - a big improvement from my wildflower avg of 17.8mpg - although wildflower was a more hilly ride.
I was really happy to get off the bike, my ass was in quite a bit of pain by the end! Might need to get an aerobar fit as I just installed them myself and I found myself sitting forward on the saddle to try and get a better pedal stroke.
Back to the transition area for a quick change into running shoes - 44sec!
The run is where things started to go a bit south. My legs felt like lead from the beginning. I tried to keep a pace around 7-7:30min for the first couple of miles, which worked but after mile 4 or so things started to slip to 8m/m. I just couldn’t keep the pace, I felt hungry and couldn’t get enough water at the aid stations without slowing to a complete stop - something I didn’t want to do too often as I feared my legs would give out.
Thankfully one of the aid stations had bananas which was a welcome hit of food. My pace didn’t really quicken though as the race went out into the Santa Cruz coastal trails. Ended up with a 1:46:25 half marathon time - definitely nowhere near where I want to be with a pace of 8:07. The Santa Rosa half marathon I did 2 weeks ago had a time of 1:31 which is around where I want to be - even after swimming and biking.
Overall though I’m pretty happy with my first half iron experience. 5:09:21 overall which placed me 16th/57 in my age group and 96th/622 overall.
Things to improve on:
- Sighting on the swim - maybe get a pair of tri goggles instead of my pool racing pair.
- Bike fit - make sure I’m doing aero right and getting maximum strength in the pedals.
- Run faster - I didn’t feel great after the finish, but I definitely didn’t feel like I was pushing it as hard as I could have. I need to really push the run more and get it down to my training run speed.
- Nutrition - do some research on good nutrition on the bike so I’m not left short for the run.
Next event I have signed up for is the Levi Gran Fondo 100 mile bike ride. Still not ruling out another tri before the season is over though. :)
Santa Rosa Half Marathon
Well after a summer fighting injuries, I’m back on the race circuit.
I had originally signed up for the Santa Rosa full marathon, but after my training didn’t go according to plan, I decided to settle for the half marathon. Turned out to be a great race and I felt pretty good all the way through. I didn’t push it as hard as I could have towards the end as I didn’t want to do any damage to my legs. I ended up with a new PR which I’m really happy with: 1:31:51, put me 2nd in my age group.
Onwards to Big Kahuna Half Ironman next weekend!
Wildflower Triathlon: Race Report
Back from a great first Triathlon in Lake San Antonio. Was a great race and a great day.
The swim wasn’t as crowded or as crazy as I thought it was be. I lined up a couple of rows back off to the right side. After a couple of half strokes I was able to get my head down and swim out to the side to get into my own groove. I found sighting to be nice and easy with the massive bouys, but was caught out a couple of times following other people who were going the wrong way. Note to self: be your own sighter!
I took it pretty easy on the swim, not knowing how much to save in the tank for the rest of the day. I decided to error on the side of caution and not go all out even at the end. I had heard that it is a good idea to kick harder towards the end so some blood goes to your legs before getting vertical, so I did that but didn’t really push it too hard. Posted a modest 26:23 for the swim, with a pace of 1:45 per 100 meter.
After getting out of the swim I lightly jogged uphill to the transition area. I had planned on changing into my tri top so that it would be dry for the bike - big mistake! I had already attached the bib and packed it with food for the bike. All this just made it more of a pain to get on and the chomps ended up falling out which resulted in a bit of a struggle. Ended up with a 3:27 transition time which, needless to say, could use some work.
So, I cut my loses and headed out on the bike and straight up into lynch hill. Took me a while to find my groove on the bike, after mile 2 things started flattening out and I settled into my pace. Managed to overtake a bunch of people on the hills, only to have the sound of aero wheels wizzing by me on the flats. I took 2 chomps while out on the bike and also rationed my water, I had taken 2 bottles and went through both by the time I was finished. Avg pace on the bike was 17.8 mph with a total time of 1:23:22. I am pretty happy with this result as the bike is something I am the weakest at, looks like all those spin classes are paying off.
Transition 2 was a lot more respectable: 1:20. Slapped on my running shoes, ditched the helmet and headed out on the run. I had remembered to fuel up before getting off the bike so I was good to go for the first couple of miles on the run without fuel. Straight back into an uphill on the run. The first few km were steady up and down along a dirt trail. Then around 4km it was a hard long uphill. Many people were walking and struggling. I was feeling ok so I kept on my steady pace, was doing around 8min/m on the uphills. Once I got up to the flats of the fire trail I started to open up a bit and try and make back some time. Just as I was opening up, it was straight back into another hill. The run basically ends at 8km as the last 2km is a really steep down grade at lynch hill. At this point it’s more about control than speed. I just got into my downhill groove and paid attention to my footing. Ended up with a run time of 45:08, definitely not my best 10k, but it was a tough course and my first time doing it after swimming and biking that far.
Here is the elevation chart for the bike and the run (run takes over at mile 25):
Total for the day was 2:39:40 which put me at 41/187 in my 25-29 age group. Not bad for a first Triathlon on a pretty tough course.
Some things I plan on changing for my next tri:
- Wear my tri top under the suit - try and cut down on T1
- Elastic laces for my run shoes - try and cut down on T2
- Aero bars for the bike, I feel like this will help me get into a groove better on the flats and keep my MPH up.
- Cadence and MPH computer for the bike. Again, in a effort to keep me focused on the bike I’d like to have real time updates on my MPH on the bike to see when I am losing speed. I had a GPS, but it was pretty flaky and hard to look at my watch when I was in riding position.
- Swim harder!
Many thanks to all the great support along the way, there was a great crowd out there and the energy definetely helped with some of those hills!
