2022 Ironman 70.3 Oceanside

On April 2, 2022 I was fortunate to be able to compete in the 2022 edition of Ironman 70.3 Oceanside. It was my first race since late 2019, and it was my first race as a member of the M50-54 age group.

Race Summary:

For those interested in just the race performance details...

Swim: 34:31
T1: 6:32
Bike: 2:42:34
T2: 5:32
Run: 1:48:04
TOTAL: 5:17:12 (54th AG, 490th overall)

Pre-Race:

I made the quick 90 minute drive down to Oceanside with my family on Thursday afternoon. After checking into the hotel, I grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the beach. I wanted to do a short practice getting through the surf. The waves were pretty big, but after a few practice runs, I was getting underneath them pretty cleanly. The water temperature at the time was also not too bad. My confidence about the swim start was going up as a result. For dinner, fish tacos from Hello Betty, which was right across the street from the hotel. And to top things off, I managed to get to sleep at a decent hour.

Friday morning, I got up and did a very easy 20 minute shakeout run on the last mile of the run course (10 minutes out and back from the finish chute). My legs felt great, and the effort was nice and easy. I even saw professional triathlete Ben Hoffman out there doing the same thing. After that, I had some delicious French toast for breakfast, then headed over to Athlete Check-in. My club had a large group of people in the race, and we were able to check in together and get sequential bib numbers (meaning we got to rack our bikes together in transition). I finally headed over to the harbor to rack my bike. Our rack was pretty far from the bike/run exits, but pretty close to the swim. Certainly not ideal, but I'm not going to fret over things that I can't control. Dinner that night was just some pasta (it had shrimp in it, but I only had a tiny bit of that). I had all my gear and nutrition ready to go early, and again was able to get to bed at a decent time.

Race Morning:

I woke up at 4am and started prepping food. For my pre-race 'meal' I had 1/2 cup of oatmeal with a tablespoon of coconut oil, a scoop of chocolate flavored collagen peptide powder, and 1/2 banana (basically my morning oatmeal that I eat on big training days, minus chia seeds and almond butter). To get some extra calories and simple carbs, I also had two Pop Tarts. I got dressed, made sure I had all my gear and nutrition in the backpack, then headed a couple blocks from the hotel to catch a shuttle to transition. I made quick work of getting tires inflated, getting my bike computer mounted, and adding fluids and gels to my bike. No transition bags at this race, so I also laid out my run gear, helmet, etc. on the ground next to the bike. Everything was looking good (I didn't forget anything), so I took an opportunity to hit the bathrooms before putting on my wetsuit and dropping off my morning clothes bag. I exited transition basically right when it was closing at 6:30am and headed to the beach start.

Swim:

I hung around to watch the professionals start the race, which ended up forcing me to be at the back of all the age groupers (bad move, and biggest mistake I made all day). I tried to muscle my way in towards the sub-35 minute group, but nobody was having that. I ended up not getting into the water until about 35 minutes after the age group waves started (Joe Wong was with me, and I saw Paul Green nearby as well). Once I finally got underway, I made quick work of the first batch of small waves by just leaning into them, then dolphin dived over two medium sized ones. Finally I had to contend with 3 big waves. I duck-dived under the first two without issue, but tried to surface a bit too early on the third one, which pulled me back towards shore a little. I compensated by swimming very hard for about 60 seconds, putting the breaking waves behind me. There were still decent swells and chop out to the first and second turn buoys, but the surf turned out to be nowhere near as hard to fight as I thought it would be. After the second right turn heading into the harbor, the crowding got a lot worse, and I found myself having to swim over people and get generally a bit more aggressive/hostile to hold my water than I usually do, but I felt good, and my stroke felt smooth and efficient. After the final right turn, towards the exit ramp, the water was jam packed with people, but I was able to shove my way through and get up the ramp. I was happy with my time (34:31). I maybe could have gone under 33 if I avoided some slower swimmers, but no problem. This was still a great way to start the race.

Exiting the swim (that's me in front, about to remove goggles). Just look at that chaos down in the water. Lesson learned: start the race near the front!

T1:

The run from the ramp into T1 was also very crowded. I was unable to keep a steady run as people would pause (or totally stop) on the carpet. I started yelling to people that I was coming through, then just went into T1 like a hockey player. From there, it was a short jog to my bike. I skipped the wetsuit strippers because enough people were there to require waiting. But no worries, I had practiced ditching the wetsuit, and got it off very quickly. I chose to put my cycling shoes on my feet even though the rack was quite far from the bike mount line, no flying mount. And even though it was slower to get to the line, again the mount area was littered with people and I ended up running a good 30 yards past the line to get on my bike, past the crowds. Looking back on it, I think I could have gone a bit faster with the flying mount (bike shoes already clipped to the bike).

Bike:

Right off the bat, the crowd issue continued. I had a hard time getting open space or pushing any real power for the first 10k of the ride. A lot of people were not staying to the right (and not moving when I screamed 'on your left'). I saw course marshals out there, but never saw anyone under the penalty tents. I think I had people blocking me (like Ironman rule-book definition blocking) at least 200 times. I've never had to use my brakes so much in a triathlon. I wasted a lot of speed in the first half of the course because of this, and was finally glad to see things open up once we hit that steep climb at about mile 28. Things got a lot better at that point. I did a great job staying on top of my nutrition and hydration, and once I was able to put out more steady power things were going great. I was ultra conservative in the 25mph speed zone. I'll bet I averaged below 20mph there, to be safe (if you aren't aware, Oceanside has a descent after one of the climbs that has a 25 mph speed limit zone. If you average above 25 there, you get DQ'd. Daniela Ryf fell victim to it this year. The officials don't mess around!). And then once we got to that final last 10k with headwinds, the majority of people were unable to stay aero and ride efficiently. So I passed another huge drove of people there. But, just to annoy me at the last minute, the bike-in area was super crowded and I had to dismount WAY before the line and deal with another bottleneck. I'll bet I lost 2 full minutes right there. It was ridiculous. Hats off to the overwhelmed volunteers there, as they were trying to get people through, but it was a mess. Even so, I rode a 2:42 and I was riding so easily that I was breathing just through my nose for everything except for the biggest climbs on the course. I think if I got out onto the course a bit earlier, I would have been looking at a low 2:30's ride with the same effort. I'm very happy with my ride, and the bike fitness I brought to this race. I'll have very little to adjust for St. George.

One of the few times I was in open space early on the ride (and look, I'm sticking to the right since I'm not passing anyone)

T2:

Once I actually got into T2, I got to my rack quickly, and was able to get my run gear on quite quickly as well. The problem was that I needed to use the restroom (and had needed to since about halfway through the bike). I refuse to be one of those people who pees on their bike (or on themselves as they run). So I had to find a port-o-potty before starting the run. There were a bunch of them near the rack, so I went right to them after I got all set to run. Pardon the 'too much info' but I had to go badly, and it took quite awhile. Sadly, I wasted a solid 2 minutes right here. But after that, I jogged out to the run-out line and started my watch for the run. Improvement for next time: don't run away from the run start to find a toilet. I should have tried to wait for one on course (or if any were between my rack and the run exit). Would have saved a minute or so at least.

Run:

My legs and breathing felt good immediately as I started running. I settled into what I felt was a comfortable and sustainable pace and tried to focus on stepping lightly and wasting no energy. In sharp contrast to the swim and bike, crowding was not a problem as the roads for the first mile are quite wide. I was surprised when I hit the first mile split in 8:10. I felt like I was closer to a 9:00 pace based on perceived effort. Rather than purposely trying to slow down, I just focused on my breathing, form and effort. Despite the faster than expected pace, I felt great. So I just kept going, and clicked off more mile splits in the low to mid-8's per mile, being careful to make sure I took in fluids and calories at every aid station. My first pass up the steep ramps at the pier went way better than I was expecting. These were very tough for me when I raced here back in 2016. But it was night and day difference today. I reached halfway (6.5 miles) in 55:42, and realized that if I could do a negative split, I'd go under 1:50 for the run. At about the 9 mile mark, I could finally tell my body was taking longer to settle back down after the sharp/steep climbs from the beach to street level, and even on the longer rolling hills. But I was still doing well. And at 10 miles, I made a conscious effort to pick up the pace and try to seal the deal on a negative split. The aid station near 10 miles is also the last place I took in fluids. I figured I was plenty topped off for the final 5k. The 12th mile has the last hill of the course in it, so I knew once I got there, I could really open up the pace if I had it in me. I ran my fastest mile of the day (7:38) for the final mile, and actually averaged about 7:52/mi for the last two miles. I ended up with a 1:48:04 run (for 13.0 miles, the course was 0.1mi short according to my GPS). The second half split was 52:22, over three minutes faster than the first half. This was way beyond my expectations, and a 6 minute 70.3 run PR (beating a time that was run on a way easier course). Needless to say, I'm very happy with that result. In fact, I'm trying to decide if I think I under-ran the first 6 or 7 miles.

I'm not usually that excited to check my run split. But I was pretty sure I had just run my best 70.3 1/2 marathon (and I did, in 1:48:04).

Notes:

- Nutrition

--Pre-race: Upon waking, I ate a light version of my usual oatmeal mixture (half-cup of oats, 1 tbs coconut oil, 1 scoop of chocolate collagen peptide powder, 1/2 banana). Additionally, I had two Pop Tarts. I find them easy on the stomach if I have pre-race nerves (even though I wasn't feeling nervous today). I normally have one or two cups of coffee w/ cream, but I skipped that and instead drank a 24 oz bottle of Raspberry (caffeinated) Tailwind Endurance. I've recently switched to Tailwind from Infinit and have been very happy with it.

--Bike: I carried two 24 oz. bottles of Mandarin Orange Tailwind Endurance, mixed to be 300 calories each. I also carried 3 GU Gels, for a total of 900 calories. I also grabbed a bottle of water at one aid station, drank about half of it before tossing it, which brings fluid totals to around 56 oz. To keep fluid intake consistent, I have an alert on my bike computer that reminds me to drink every 15 minutes. I took the opportunity to eat the gels when I was on slow sections (once on a climb, once in the 25mph zone, and once in the headwind section on the way back into town).

--Run: I took one cup of Gatorade Endurance at each aid station for the first 7 miles, then switched to Red Bull until mile 10, after which I quit taking on more fluids. I took no solids or gels on the run.

For the entire race, I had no energy or hydration issues, and my stomach felt great. But I did have to urinate a LOT when I got to T2. The temperature was mild all day, so fluid and sodium needs were atypically low for a 70.3 race. I won't count on it being that easy to stay hydrated in St. George though.

- Gear

--Overall: I wore a one-piece tri suit (DeSoto Forza Flisuit) which I think I prefer over two piece suits. I used my Garmin Fenix 5X watch, even though days before the race I thought it was dying (it had no problems this weekend). One recent change: I quit wearing a HR monitor chest strap in races. I have a WHOOP 4.0 wrist band, which captures HR data that I can analyze later if I want to, but I don't use heartrate as a metric during the bike or run anymore.

--Swim: Wetsuit was the Roka Maverick X. I kept the trisuit top unzipped and off of my shoulders under the wetsuit, and slipped the sleeves on as I ran to T1 (worked great). Even though I tested this setup multiple times before the race, I did get chafing near my left armpit, which has never happened with this wetsuit. I'll have to find a way to prevent that in the future. For goggles, I used Roka R1 with cobalt mirror lenses. It was so overcast during the race, that clear lenses would have been ideal, but I was concerned that if the sun broke out, I'd be hating it on the long stretch into the harbor (the sun is usually right in your face there). Even with the tinted lenses, I had zero issues navigating, and no fogging or leaking. Water temp was 59 degrees.

--Bike: I rode my Felt IA16 triathlon bike. For gearing, I ran 53/39 chainrings with an 11-32t cassette. This is the same setup I intend to run at St. George, and it also worked really well here. For wheels, I ran my HED Jet+ Black disc wheel on the rear, with a HED Jet+ Black 6 on the front. I noticed nearly all of the pros ran disc wheels, but I'd say maybe 1-2% of the age groupers did. I think it worked out extremely well, and was very stable in the moderate crosswinds and moderate to heavy headwinds we encountered. My tires are Continental GP5000. I run a 23mm front, and 25mm rear, with latex tubes at 85psi. I think the extra width on the rear makes things even more stable, and I feel like the bike rolls extremely well. For my helmet, I used the Giro Aerohead with a Halo sweat band under it. Great vision, no overheating (it was too cool to be an issue). I changed up my usual 70.3 bottle configuration. I ditched the behind-the-saddle cages and just ran an X-Lab Torpedo as the BTA system, and mounted an additional 24 oz bottle on the underside of my Tri Rig Alpha One extensions. This allowed me to have access to all of my fluids without having to leave the aero position. I will switch back to behind the saddle bottles at St. George though, since I plan to carry 2 bottles plus the Torpedo for the full distance race.

--Run: For shoes, I ran in the Asics MetaSpeed Sky. These shoes are AWESOME. I was hesitant to use a so-called super shoe, since I don't feel like I run fast enough to warrant such equipment. But these shoes clearly help me run faster and more comfortably. I absolutely love them. Ultra comfortable, unbelievably good cushioning, incredibly light, yet still stable and with a lot of spring. And after the race, my feet didn't have so much as a hot spot developing. I also used medium cushioned Drymax socks (from RoadRunner Sports). I wore a hat and my Oakley Prizm sunglasses, even though it was overcast and cool enough not to need them.

- Logistics

--Lodging: We stayed at the Seabird Resort in Oceanside. A little pricey, but it was very nice. Also, a lot of the pros were staying there, so it was cool to see them everyday. The resort is right by the pier, which is where I'd recommend anyone stay when doing this race. You basically want to be near the pier (athlete check-in, briefings, finish line, and near the Ironman Village), or near the harbor (T1/T2). I like the pier area better, and it seems to have more restaurant options. You can catch a shuttle to the harbor on race morning if you don't want to make the 15-20 minute walk. The Seabird is also pet friendly, which is a requirement for me, as our dog is part of the 'crew' when I travel with my family to races. If there is any drawback to the hotel/location, it is close to a railroad, so during the day you hear the signal at the railroad x-ing frequently throughout the day.

--Travel/parking: We drove down in our mini-van (90 minutes if there aren't any real traffic issues). We used the hotel valet service for the first night, then switched to a cheaper pay-by-the-day lot around the corner from the resort.

--Food: Our hotel location put us in proximity to a lot of good food: Hello Betty (known for fish tacos, but has plenty of other stuff, also great beer selection for post-race), Piper (upscale restaurant on the first floor of the resort, excellent breakfast, and farm-to-table food), Zig Zag Pizza (decent pizza place), and a great steakhouse in the other resort across the street (but I forgot the name).

- Improvements for next time

--Swim: Get into the correct group for the start. Having to swim and bike past several hundred (or more) people definitely cost me some real time.

--Bike: Not much to say here. Other than losing a few minutes due to the crowded course, my bike performance was as good as I could have hoped. I think I can hold the same effort (and avg/normalized power) for the full ironman distance.

--Run: I think there might have been a slight chance that I could have run faster overall. I was very conservative on the first lap to make sure I didn't blow up, and as a result I had tons of energy in the final 10k to run a negative split. But was that too much extra energy? Hard to say. But in any case, I'd rather under-run and have a strong finish, than over run and blow up. Also, even though I felt fantastic on the uphill, I wasn't very smooth on the very steep downhill (i.e. the ramps down to the pier and beach levels). That can be practiced (though I don't think there is any downhill that steep in St. George).

--Transition: T1 could have been faster had I stuck with my plans to do a flying mount, but I think we're talking 30 seconds or so. Also, instead of jogging with my bike to the exit, I'd have to run very fast to make up more time (again, hard to do with the number of people exiting at the same time). T2 could only have been faster if 1) I didn't use a porta-toilet in transition, or 2) I found one more in-line with my path out onto the course (or on the course at an aid station or something). Stuff like putting on/taking off my helmet, ditching my wetsuit, and getting running shoes (and socks) on went great, but I'll still try to practice more to refine those even further.

Even though I'm super happy about my overall time, I do see the potential to have gone under 5:10 (and maybe even flirt with a sub-5) if I can capitalize on the marginal gains that I lost here (less crowded swim/bike, no wasted time in T2 for bathrooms, and being a tad more aggressive in the first half of the run). I'll keep these in mind for my next races. I'd love to get into one of the faster 70.3's like Salem, as I'm sure I could crush a sub-5 there. But as my focus this year is on St. George (and maybe going for a fast time in Sacramento), perhaps I'll target a 70.3 as my 'A' race next season.

Conclusion:

When I factor in my age and the course, I think this is arguably the best triathlon performance I have had. When I did this race back in 2016, it was my second 70.3 race ever, and I finished it in 6:25. So to be 6 years older and 1 hour 8 minutes faster, its almost hard to believe. Even though I wasn't fully rested or tapering for this event, I managed a great (for me) overall performance, and really surprised myself with a 70.3 run PR. I think this is a sign of good things to come next month at St. George. My family had a great time this weekend as well, and my Pasadena Triathlon Club teammates also had great performances. A fantastic event all the way around.

Next Race: Ironman World Championships - St. George, Utah (May 7, 2022)