Oceanside, California
We went down to the Oceanside Pier at night this year. It is a really different place at night. We also spent some time on the Strand this year. We rented one of those pedal cars and pedaled a big chunk of the run course. It was nice to enjoy these places that I have associated only with pain and suffering in the past. It helped me on the run this year and seemed to make the run shorter.
We went down to the Oceanside Pier at night this year. It is a really different place at night. We also spent some time on the Strand this year. We rented one of those pedal cars and pedaled a big chunk of the run course. It was nice to enjoy these places that I have associated only with pain and suffering in the past. It helped me on the run this year and seemed to make the run shorter.
I had my best swim ever at Oceanside. I shaved off almost 4 ½ minutes from last year. I just felt good and swam hard. The conditions were better too. It was flatter and the water was 8 degrees warmer. Instead of 55 it was 63 degrees. I can’t really explain why I swam that much faster though.
Bike
It was a nice day and not raining this year. I enjoyed the bike ride a lot more. That first hill never gets any easier. I always think that I am better trained and it will not seem as menacing, but it is what it is . . . which is . . . one mean hill! Although the rain was gone, there was some wind. It wasn’t terrible, but over the space of 3 hours I think it cut into my time. I probably road a lot better this year than last, but the wind carved into my time and I ended up with a bike split 2 minutes longer than last year.
Run
My old Garmin
watch recently died, and I bought a new one. I hadn’t used it yet and I spent
way too much time in transition trying to get my watch on and get it to work. I
finally gave up on getting it to work. Luckily I know the course and would
always be able to figure out approximately what mile I was at. I did have the
time of day working and used it for nutrition every half hour. For some reason
the run was difficult from the first step to the last. My legs just did not
want to run. I have several theories: 1)
my bike training is not where it should be; 2) I toasted my legs too much in that wind in Havasu a week ago; 3) I ran too hard the other night
racing the boys. 4) I am 10 pounds
heavier than last year; 5) a
combination of all the above.
Whatever the
reason, I struggled to run. It was a continual battle. I did not surrender to
the pain and continued to push however. Mile after mile I waited for my running
legs to show up. They never did. My left Achilles tightened and threatened me
and I prayed. It went away. My right foot began to hurt with every step and I
prayed and it went numb. In the end, I ran the half marathon about a minute
slower than last year. So the 4 minutes I gained in the swim this year the bike,
run and poor transitions took back and I ended up finishing the race 16 seconds
faster than last year.
