2018 Bayshore 70.4 Triathlon

On Saturday, March 10,  I competed in the 2018 Bayshore 70.4 Triathlon in Long Beach, California. Yes, it is 70.4 (not 70.3) due to licensing issues with the company that owns Ironman. To get around that, this race lengthens the swim to 1.3 miles.

Quick Race Summary

For those interested in skipping details, here are my results:

Swim (1.3 miles): 33:51
T1: 4:05
Bike (56 miles): 2:34:42
T2: 2:59
Run: (13.1 miles): 1:54:42

Total Time: 5:10:21 (2nd place M45-49, 17th place overall)

This is a huge PR for me at the half iron distance, and my third age group podium in my last three triathlons!

Pre-Race:

Despite being so close to home, and having courses that are familiar to most of my triathlon friends, not too many people seem to know about or have had much interest in doing this event. It happens to fit my IM Texas training plan perfectly, so I decided to go for it as a practice event. We were warned ahead of time that this is a very 'grass roots' local event, and not to expect high end support, fast courses, etc. But overall, I thought it was pretty good (a few notable exceptions in the details below).

For race morning: I had trouble sleeping, and was up without an alarm at 3:50am. I did my usual morning routine which is a dose of lyposhperic vitamin C, and some coffee, but I forgot to take my liquid vitamin B12. We left the house at 4:45am and I ate a PB&J Bonk Breaker bar enroute to the race. We arrived at 5:30am on the dot, and I was able to go in and get a great spot in transition, at the end of a rack so I could put my gear on the side without risk of anyone accidentally knocking it around. Weather was overcast, and cool (but not cold) and we knew the rainfall was imminent. I relaxed with my family for a few minutes, then got my swim gear on, did a quick bathroom stop, and headed to the swim start area with about 15 minutes to get warmed up.

Swim:

The swim course is at Belmont Shores, where my local club trains quite a bit. The only difference is that the start/finish was down the beach, outside of the Kayak Cafe instead of near the corner of Bayshore dr and 2nd street. The water felt COLD! They reported the water temperature as 56 or 57 degrees, but at packet pickup, I was told it was actually 54 degrees. When I stepped into the water to try and get warmed up, I was shocked. It took me about 5 minutes of wading and paddling around before I could even stick my face in and eventually dunk myself. I swam about 50 yards out, and then back. I went onto the beach and just did some jumping jacks and stretching to try and generate more heat under my wetsuit.

The race started promptly at 7am, in a mass start. The race was capped at 250 people, so it wasn't that bad, but I will say this was the most crowded triathlon swim I have done. I was in a tight group of people, making lots of contact, getting my feet and legs yanked, etc, for the entire first lap (it was a two lap swim where you get out and run around a cone on the beach before jumping back in for the second lap). Things opened up on the second lap, and I was finally able to keep my head lower in the water without getting sea water splashed into my mouth every other stroke. The second lap also seemed to go by faster. When I made the left turn to head back toward the dock, I drifted a little too far to the right, which probably wasted 20 seconds or so, but aside from that I was pretty even (16:22 first lap, 16:45 second lap). I was 33:07 out of the water and reached the timing mat entering T1 in 33:51. Since this was a 1.3 miler, I'd say that equates to probably a 31 minute 1.2 mile swim, which I'm very happy with. My hands, feet, and face were numb from the cold, but aside from that I was in good shape, not tired at all.

Though it was crowded for the first lap...

I actually managed to exit the swim all by myself.

T1:

I had a great transition setup, but when I got to my bike, my hands and toes were so numb that I had trouble getting my cycling shoes on. I fumbled around for quite a bit, and finally got them. I also put on my HR monitor and my tri suit top (which I left in transition to make sure I started the ride in a dry top). Finally, I put on arm warmers, since it was starting to sprinkle and I knew it was supposed to rain for much of the ride. Those were hard to put on with numb hands as well. Finally, I had my helmet on and made my way to the exit. My T1 time was ridiculously slow, but with the numbness, not much I could do about it.

Bike:

The first and last 3 miles (roughly) of the bike course are on city streets in Long Beach (and NOT closed to vehicle traffic). We had to obey multiple traffic lights and stop signs to and from the San Gabriel River bike trail. Right out of T1, I was stuck behind a slow car on Bayshore Dr, and had to unclip and wait at the corner before heading onto 2nd street. I made it through one traffic light on green, but got stuck at the longer one on a red light. After that, it wasn't too bad. I'll admit to blowing through one stop sign at full speed (clearly no cars around) and only slowing for another one that was also clear.

Once I dropped onto the bike trail I settled into a good rhythm and started picking people off. The rain also started at this point too, and got steadily worse throughout the ride. Since the course was not closed, passing was often difficult because cyclists coming the other way were a factor, and I also seemed to have bad luck at catching up to other racers right when we were dipping down into the narrow under-passes on the trail. On the trail itself, we had a couple of awkward spots, one were you dip down into a super narrow and dark tunnel, and another where you exit the trail and cross over the river on a local street. I managed to keep my speed up in the tunnel, but the river crossing did require everyone to slow way down. Beyond that, there is a spot near a golf course where you climb up a short steepish hill on a very narrow part of the trail, which winds up and around before you drop down towards the junction of the Rio Hondo and LA River trails. Not only did we have to slow down drastically here, but the rain had caused this whole area to get very slippery. A volunteer was tending to a guy who had slipped out and crashed at the base of the hill. He seemed unhurt, but his bike was damaged to the point where he wasn't looking to continue the race. I made it over the top with no issues. A guy close behind me loss traction on the way up and had to unclip. The next quarter mile or so is winding, downhill, and especially slippery so I took it easy and once we were back on regular asphalt resumed my normal power/speed. As I approached the turnaround, I started counting people to get an idea of where I was overall. At mile 28 I realized I was in 9th place and about 10-12 minutes behind the overall leader.

On the return trip, the rain and wind got a bit heavier. I was being very careful during turns, and doing my best to avoid painted lines, arrows, etc as they were extremely slippery now. When we got back to that bad area near the golf course, I got stuck behind a guy that I was clearly faster than, but it was just too dangerous to make a pass. Finally when things opened up I was able to go by him. I probably got stuck for a good 5 or 6 minutes there. I caught one other rider, and then at about mile 45 someone passed me (this was the ONLY time I was passed on the bike). We exited the bike trail, and this time I had less luck at the stop signs, I had to stop at both of them. I approached the first traffic signal and it was red. The guy who passed me, and the woman who was currently 2nd place female were also stuck there. It seemed like a very long wait. Once we finally got going, I dropped behind those two, I didn't feel right passing them after they had to give up 30-40 seconds they put into me because of the red light. All three of us made it through the next light on green, and then had to merge into 2nd street traffic and make a short stop at the last light before turning onto Bayshore Dr and heading to T2. We even had to weave around a couple cars to turn onto 54th street just before we dismounted.

My time was 2:34:42, which is a great split for me. Without the stops, and without having to slow down for slippery stuff so much, I think I could have dipped below 2:30 with the same physical effort. I've been solid and consistent with my bike training, and it showed today (a new awesome bike may have also contributed!). I was pretty efficient as well. My average power was only 199W and my normalized power was 207W, which gives a variability index of 1.04. Considering the conditions, the stop and go, etc, that's pretty smooth (I think anything 1.05 or under is relatively smooth). For my full IM, I only need to take maybe 10W off of this effort. It felt extremely easy for me.

Exiting T1, and as dry as I was going to be all day.

T2:

I intentionally took my time in T2. My toes were still numb, but hands were a bit better. My running shoes have regular laces, so getting them on and tied up was a bit slow. I also took the time to put on dry socks. The two people I entered T2 with were both on to the run course about twice as fast as I was, but I wasn't concerned. I lost two gels on the bike course, but I had a flask of concentrated Infinit Jet Fuel in transition just in case. I took the time to drink that, follow it up with a few sips of water, and then headed out.

Run:

The run is a double out-and-back on the beach trails. There is a set of switchbacks that you go up near Bluff Park, so the course is not entirely flat, but I'd still call it a relatively flat/fast course. This layout made it easy to break the run up into four segments, basically 3.25 miles each.

On the way out on lap 1, I was just focused on maintaining a very easy effort, mentally telling myself to think of how I want to feel when running the 26.2 miles at Texas next month. My HR was nice and low, legs and breathing felt great. I ticked off the first mile split in 8:08, which kind of alarmed me. I was aiming to average more like 9 to 9:15 per mile. I tried to relax and ease up. My HR was still low and I felt great. Mile 2 came at 8:16 and once again I was concerned that I was going too fast. Again I tried to ease up, and the next mile was 8:25. I decided to just quit worrying about it and focus on my effort and perceived exertion.

The first trip up the switchbacks made my body react. My breathing and HR went up a bit, and my pace slowed. I fully recovered on the downhill though. After that, my splits were a bit more 'normal' with flat miles coming in the 8:40's and hilly miles in the 9:15 to 9:30 range. There was a definite tailwind as we headed west (outbound on each lap) and a stiff headwind as we headed east (back toward the finish). Once I hit the 10 mile mark, I could tell that my legs were feeling a bit stiff. The last trip up the switchbacks was tough, but I was able to manage it pretty well. There is one last small uphill with about a mile to go, with an aid station. I actually walked for about 20 seconds while drinking one last cup of gatorade. After that, I pushed the last mile into the headwind, and made the little loop down to the beach, where we finished on the sand.

My run time was 1:54:42, which far exceeded my expectations and is also by far the fastest half marathon I have run in a triathlon.

Rounding the last corner before the finish... this part of the course was kind of ghetto, but what do you expect for a race this inexpensive?

Notes:

Some personal details about my preparation, gear, etc.

Nutrition:

I didn't eat much before the race. Just a Bonk Breaker Bar and some coffee. For race nutrition, I had about 450 calories worth of Infinit GoFar in 35 ounces of fluid in my BTA system on the bike. Additionally, I carried three GU gels for a total of 750 calories. My goal was to consume all of this on the bike. I did drink all of the fluid, and ate one gel. But then somehow the other two gels bounced out of my BTA system, so I missed those 200 calories. Fortunately, I put a flask of Infinit Jet Fuel in transition, so I consumed that to make up for the lost calories, and made sure to drink a few cups of gatorade on the run course. Overall I had no problems with energy and hydration. I didn't feel the need to chug water or eat a bunch food right after the race (though I had a free burger and beer, courtesy of the race director).

My nutrition plan is solid (roughly 300 calories per hour) but I need to dial in my storage so I don't lose anything when I do IM Texas. There will be less room for nutritional mistakes when the distances are doubled.

Gear:

- Swim: I wore my Roka Maverick Elite wetsuit (full sleeve) and my TYR SpecOps II goggles, with transition lenses. It was overcast and a bit dark, so I wanted clear lenses. I had no fogging or leaking issues, but I was cold. I have never used gloves or booties in a wetsuit swim, but they may have helped here. I also just used a regular (non-thermal or neoprene) swim cap. Though my face was cold, my head felt just fine.

- Bike: This was my first race on the new Felt IA16, and it was fantastic. Gearing was a 53/39 chainring setup (Rotor Q-Rings) with an 11-speed 11x23 cassette. My Ultegra Di2 is now set up to use Syncro Shifting, and it was awesome to have on this course. With the frequent stop and go, and the slippery slow sections, it was nice to be able to rapidly shift through a lot of gears with just one button, and picking good gear ratios. Wheels were HED Jet+ Black (a 6 on the front, and a disc wheel on back). This was my first race on a disc wheel, and I have to say I love it. It posed no problems in the crosswinds, and in fact it felt like having the disc may have helped reduce the pressure felt on the front wheel in the crosswinds. Unless I am doing big or long climbs, I intend to race this wheel setup a lot. For a helmet, I used my Giro Aerohead. The visor fogged a little bit when I was breathing through my nose while drinking out of the BTA straw, but was otherwise crystal clear. It also had no problems shedding water as the rain was pelting it. I used a Profile Designs FC 35 BTA, with no additional bottles. Plenty of fluid (I easily refilled it at aid stations) but the rear nutrition basket let me down, by allowing two gels to bounce out of it. Even with 35 ounces in it, the BTA didn't spill or splash at all, much better than my old Torhans 30.

The new bike 'honeymoon' is over. It was covered in mud and grime after 50+ miles in the rain.

- Run: I ran in the new Hoka One One Mach. They felt great. Not squishy like my Bondi's, but enough cushioning for me. They felt very light and quick. I don't have quick laces in them yet, which wasted some time in T2 as i struggled to tie them quickly with numb hands.

- Clothing: for a tri suit, I used my LG two piece short sleeved kit. I used arm warmers on the ride, and a visor on the run. Even when I was drenched from the rain, I was warm enough, and had no issues with chaffing. That's a great kit. My watch was the Garmin Fenix 5X. I can't say enough good things about it. And my HR monitor was a Wahoo TICKR chest strap, which was also flawless.

Logistics:

The race has a Friday packet pickup, but also allows race morning pickup. In the future, use the race morning pickup. No need to waste time in Friday traffic.

For race morning parking, use the paid lot near Ocean and 54th. It is free until 8am, and is super close to transition. Lots of free street parking nearby, but good luck fighting the local residents for it as that is their only parking option.

Leaving the house at 4:45am was about perfect. Plenty of time to get a good transition spot, get gear prepped, etc.

Conclusion:

I was pleasantly surprised with my results in this race. I set out just to test my gear and nutrition and to decide how prepared I felt for IM Texas. To get a huge PR at this distance, without even going all out, is amazing. With just a couple of minor tweaks, I think I have a relatively easy shot at going sub-5 hours for a 70.3. Heck, I may have been close to that here if it had been on a closed bike course. As far as the event itself: yeah it was definitely a low key 'grass roots' event. But it was still fun. Also, the entry fee is about as low as it gets these days, and it is close to home. So, I would recommend trying it at least once. But if you are purely seeking an 'A Race' quality event, I'd probably not choose this one. At any rate, I think I proved to myself that I am ready to go make a solid effort in Texas next month.

NEXT RACE: 2018 Ironman Texas (April 28)