Splash + Dash

Tempe, Arizona

I enjoy these Thursday night Aquathlons. It is nice to suit up in the late aftenoon and run the shores of Tempe Town Lake as the sun is setting. Great time to race. Christian continues to get faster and finished 1^st in his age category. My swim is getting slower and apparently I need to work on it.

Open Water Swim

Tempe, Arizona

This race was a bit unique in that start of the race was at 1:00 p.m. I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn.  I was a little tired from racing and swimming earlier today and not eating anything. It was a two lap course. I did very well the first lap but faded a bit in the second. I finished with a decent time. I was only about 30 seconds off my best. I was really proud of Christian. This was his first attempt at the 1.2 distance and he finished it like a champ. I was actually surprised to see him done so quickly. I made him stop at the finish line and watch all the very fit men who finished well after him. He is 12 years old and should be proud of himself.

I am little proud of having taught him to swim also. It just goes to show how important technique is. Christian competed as an 18 year old and got 3^rd in his age category.

Splish Splash Dash

 

Mesa, Arizona

This Aquathlon takes place in a what has got to be the nicest pool I have seen in the State of Arizona. Having been a lifeguard and working in and around pools for most of my youth I have to say that who ever is doing there water is awesome. Crystal clear 30 meter visability. Awesome. I had a good swim. I had an entire 50 meter lane to myself at times. The swim was not crowded at all. Despite getting off course and adding a bit to my run I managed to a good run also. 

Carlsbad 5000

Carlsbad, California

The whole family participated this year. Vayden got out and ran quite a bit of the 5K. She wanted to run so fast that she was taking me out of my comfort zone. I have no aspirations of doing anything but walking this thing after putting in 70.3 miles the day before. There are different 5K races all morning long. We did the walking division. It was a beautiful day. This race is a gorgeous course by the ocean. They hand out medals to the first 250 competitiors of each racing division. I really wish I could try for one, but that is just never going to happen the day after an Ironman 70.3.

*

IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside

Oceanside, California

Oceanside! I look forward to this trip. Our suite at the Marina is like a little home with our beautiful view of the marina and the crashing waves. We get to watch flocks of diving pelicans fishing the harbor just outside open back door while sea lions bark and play in the distance. It is a great place. It was a lot cooler this year than last year.

I wasn’t as nervous this year, which helped. I did make some mistakes to learn from however. My first mistake was made the day before the race when I spent too much time out in the sun at the pool with the kids. I did not think I was out there that long but I got sun burned. This would play a factor I my race.

Swim:
The water temperature was 55 degrees. That is as cold as San Francisco Bay. I was glad I had brought my “Just in Case Bag” which had a cold water cap to wear otherwise I would have had brain freeze. The cold water was made worse by my sunburn. My hand s went numb and my chest tightened from the cold. I didn’t line up in the front and when the horn went off I struggled for some water to swim in for a good minute or two. The cold shortened my normal breathing. After awhile I warmed up and things felt pretty normal. But I lost some time getting there. About the time things started going well the swell picked up. It wasn’t horrible, but enough to possibly cut into my time. My swim was almost two minutes slower than last year. I was having trouble getting my wetsuit off. I think it was the cold hands. So I started the bike a good 2 and a half minutes behind last year.

Bike:
My goal on the bike was to be conservative enough so as to not destroy my legs for run. That gets a little difficult for me with the Oceanside course given the hills. This year was a very wet ride. It drizzled and lightly rained the entire ride. This made vision a bit difficult at times. I couldn’t shed the glasses because when you were passed by other riders it kicked up water and mud in your face and you needed the glasses to protect your eyes. I had to brake cautiously also. I noticed on my first steep decline when I jumped on the brakes at the end for an upcoming turn that I had lost some of my breaking power. I guess those cork pads on carbon wheels just don’t work as well in the rain. Although I would have preferred a dry day, it could have been a lot worse. I did ride a bit cautious at times. That one hill is every bit the monster I remember it. I was able to take it in the small ring this year which saved my legs a bit. That being said, there is just no way for me to get up that hill without going anaerobic and taxing the major muscles in my legs. That hill costs me. I feel it later in the in the run. Other than the hills, especially the first one, I enjoy the course. It is diverse, interesting and goes by fast. My body temperature seemed to hold up given the level of work I was putting out. I felt a bit cold and uncomfortable at times mostly because of the sun burn I think. There was some head wind and I heard people complaining about it, but I did not think it was that bad. In the end I improved on last year by exactly 10 minutes.

Run:
My T2 transition was almost a minute faster this year and I was happy to get off the bike and start my run. The rain stopped for the run, but there was no sun to be found. That is not a bad thing though. I struggled a bit in the first couple of miles. The doubt always creeps into my confidence in those first miles, but eventually I found my running legs. The course was different this year. I think it was an improvement. The cool weather probably helped me. I was still dousing myself with cups of water and using sponges. I would like to have run faster, but I managed to run a full 9 minutes faster than last year and pull off my fastest 70.3 run to date. Ultimately I ended up with a 16 minute improvement on last year.

Ironkids

Oceanside, California

They had an Ironkids run on Friday night before the race. Christian did it while Vayden cheered him on. She was really cute. They have done away with both Ironkids San Diego and Tucson triathlons this year? Good thing Christian has moved basically moved on.

L.A. Big 5K

Los Angeles, California

This race is part of the LA Marathon, and I wanted to do this race, in part to check out the Expo. As it turned out, pouring rain and fear of getting stuck in a traffic nightmare prevented us from even seeing the expo. As I began this run, I came to the conclusion that my legs are sufficiently trashed from the mileage building up for Oceanside. This 5k had some significant uphill which actually felt better than downhill given the state of my legs. It rained and it was cold and windy to boot. I even wore a jacket. No post race food or even water, but they did give out a finisher medal which is rare for a 5k. Given the rain, the cold, the wind, the hills, and the state of my legs, I actually felt I deserved a finisher medal for this 5k. The race took place at Dodger Stadium. I have not been there since my childhood. It was an interesting course. I ran the whole thing talking to Christian. He sprinted ahead of me in the final 300 yards. The final stretch was down hill and I knew better than to give chase.

*