Ironman 70,3 Santa Cruz

So this is my 10^th 70.3 Ironman.  I should know what I'm doing by now right?

Once again, my ultimate goal was to break 6:30.  All the training points to yes, then shit happens… I’m a self-sabotager.  What more can I say? I had worked myself into a tizzy over Ironman Santa Cruz elevation maps and weather.  We stayed at the Carousel Beach Inn just across from the Boardwalk and near the swim start which was awesome but the transition is about 10 minute walk away and then you walk back to the pier for the swim start.  It was great to have our parking free and two Italian restaurants were within walking distance. 




I ate almost an entire box of triscuits fretting over the race conditions that night.  That’s about 20 grams of fiber in my stomach before I realized it.  Wow that was stupid and mindless. I then set the alarm for 4:30 TOMORROW!  Marcus woke up at 4:29! We ate our PR pudding on the walk to transition. I froze it the night before, wrapped it in foil and it went through security just fine. It's loaded with raw, nutrient dense energy boosting ingredients and digests easily and tastes pretty good.  the consistency is more like bread pudding than mousse.

Here's the recipe:
in your blender, 2 bananas, 1/2 cup dates, 1/4 cup ground flaxseed, 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs found at Whole Foods Market, 1 T coconut oil, 1 t lemon juice, 1/4 t sea salt, dash of cinnamon.  While it's churning, I add a splash of almond milk.  Tastes best made the night before and placed in the refrigerator overnight.  Serves 2.  Fitness Pall recipe builder says its 396 cals per serving.  We also eat a banana if we have room or time.
 

SWIM Course:

look at that huge wave on the left!

The swim is a beach start ocean entry rectangular swim around the pier.  Compared to Oceanside’s banana shaped swim course, this was a piece of cake.  I CAN swim in a rectangle fairly straight and it would not be into the sun at SC.  The SC water temp was just a slight concern.  SD has been so warm.  Between the pool at 84 and the ocean low 70s, I prepared for the standard low 60’s at SC with adding my neoprene cap and booties to the check list.  A bottle of room temperature water down the suit before swim start, arm coolers and calf compressions under the wetsuit for an extra layer, and I would be fine.  What about the surf entry?  Well Coach says train harder than race conditions and race day will be a celebration.  Ok, so I swam Oceanside’s Labor Day swim around the pier with 10 foot waves, thought I would die, but I didn’t, although I drank plenty of saltwater.  So Wahlaaa… I’m ready for SC surf entry which is basically 2 inches high on race day! 

I was in wave 14 with the 50-54 men behind me in 4 minutes and then the relay swimmers 4 minutes after them.  So the horn went off and I skipped into the ocean and felt complete warmth.  I did notice a little chop but the current seemed to help the pace.  The Pier is a 45 degree angle to the beach so the current was pushing towards the left side of the body and I had to keep checking I was on the correct path but my lines were pretty good.  There were 2 yellow buoys, then 2 red for turns, then 2 orange buoys on the other side of the pier.  I think they should have added a 3^rd buoy on each side for us old blind people.  I had to rely on other swimmers for the 2^nd buoy to come into focus!  The 50 y/o men didn’t reach me until I was on the other side.  Damn they will swim over anything in their path and waterboard you as they use you as their ladder.  As soon as I felt the grabs I started kicking like a crazy person and he would finally move over.  Women just adjust.  Men just climb over you.  I passed many women in the waves in front of me as I tried to focus on finishing my long stroke from the pull to the push to my thigh. I focused on high elbow and pressure on each armpit to ensure rotation on both sides.  It made breathing easier too over the choppy water.  I was a little disappointed in my 43 min finish and 200 yards overage but that’s Ironman measuring for you because my graph looks pretty good for sighting.  The timing mat is after you run through the sand to the sidewalk so Ironman added 2 more minutes to my swim time. I hate that.  (24 hours later, Ironman adjusted swim times down 2 minutes and added it to T1 times) But I use my Garmin swim time to compare my pace time which was 1:54/100y so I was really happy I was under a 2 minute pace.  The water was recorded at 63.1 degrees and the saltiness was so light it was barely noticeable, unlike in Oceanside where it seems like more salt than water.  I wore bronze goggles but clear might have been better as it was very gray and cloudy with just a peak of sunlight on my left side.  The air temp was 65 degrees and just a little wind.

 T1 course:

Depot Park soccer field and Ironman Transition

Once you have survived the 2 minute run up the deep soft sandy beach onto the sidewalk, there are piles of strategically placed athletic shoes that swimmers will jump into so they can run the ½ mile of concrete to the Transition location across the street and down the train track sidewalk to the soccer field in Depot Park.  I had booties on so the 2mm socks worked well for me so I didn’t need shoes for the  jog.  Just know if you plan to PR, you need to account for double the T1 time vs T2 time due to this run from the ocean to the soccer field, and then from the bike rack to the other side of the field for the bike mount line.  This took me a total of 8 minutes after running up the beach! (24 hours later Ironman adjusted my T1 to 9:30) BTW, due to the artificial turf of the pristine soccer field, no eating is allowed inside transition so plan accordingly or you could get a penalty. I was so comfortable getting ready for the bike that I never even thought to add a layer due to chill or wind.  the weather was just perfect.

BIKE course:

The mount line is not at the arch exit but a few more hundred yards around the side of the field. I have no idea why this is necessary since the exit is on the street corner.  When we drove the course, we were concerned about weather in Davenport where the meat of the course is ridden and the main hill on Swanton Rd. it was 60 degrees and very windy so we stopped at Target for a pullover just in case it was like this on race day but I was so comfortable after my 8 min transition that my arm coolers were enough.  I settled in quickly taking in all the beautiful trees and farms along the way.  I laid in aero almost the entire ride.  The smell of fresh strawberries, ocean air, and trees were soothing.  The wind was light.  When it was time to turn onto Swanton Rd at mi 17, for the 5 mile loop/25 minutes, I gave myself a pep talk and concentrated on a higher cadence than normal.  This road had the worst road conditions of the course (worse than Vineman before new pavement) and needs repaving but Ironman laid orange tape around the worst spots. My map shows the 1.2 mile hill was about 6% avg grade and took me 10 minutes at an avg 7mph of climbing uphill amongst shaded trees.  It never felt overwhelming in difficulty or temperature and was similar to our local Torrey Pines hill but so much prettier with lots of turns.  We were warned about the downside however.  No one was allowed to be in aero going downhill because the switchbacks are short sharp hairpin blind turns.  This started right at the crest of the hill. I thought this section was so much fun! Even though the road is not closed, I never saw one car.

My map showed a 3.5% avg grade downhill but with feather braking, I was averaging about 22mph downhill and it took 5 minutes for 2 miles.  Once the hill is finished, you continue up Hwy 1 coast into a headwind to the brewery for 7 miles.  I just lay in aero and watched my power and cadence in comfort while passing a pie farm, jam tasting farm, and loads of organic vegetables and fruits growing everywhere.  After the uturn, you have the wind at your back and the ocean in front with gorgeous scenery for about 27 miles which was zen-like to me. My favorite kudos is when I pass the fast swimmers in my age group while I’m on the bike course.  Sometimes passing was quite a challenge as the shoulder was barely wide enough for one bike at times and there were bumper digs in the concrete like at IMAZ and Palomar Mtn  so you couldn’t cross over safely. Cycling is my strength although not near the top athletes but I focused on higher cadence and pulling around a full circle in my pedal stroke.  I used 40 oz of plain water in my speedfil and 28 oz of IM Perform and Carbo Pro for 610 calories.  I never needed anything at two aid stations.  I grabbed a GU and piece of balance at the 3^rd station around mi 45 to start off my run.  This course was just so beautiful compared to Oceanside’s marine base and concrete paths of brown brush. My garmin showed 2582 ft gain in elevation and Ironman said it would be 3000.  I rolled into T2 at my fastest race pace ever finishing at 3:11 and 17.6 mph with tears in my eyes as I felt great and it was my fastest pace in a race.  The route was a little long at 56.35 miles. I would normally take in salt every 5 miles but didn’t take in any at all due to perfect weather.  (this was dumb and I won't let that happen again!)

Swanton Rd Loop

T2 transition:

This wasn’t as bad as T1 distance.  We ran .15 mi to start the run down the train track sidewalk to the street corner . It took me 4 minutes. I tried to slow myself on this path but I knew a hill was coming quick so I knew I would slow down soon.

Run course:

At .3 mile, there is a short sharp hill.  I felt great.  I was happy there was a hill because I knew it would keep me slow at the start but I was already running 9:30 avg to the hill which is too fast for me to start.  As I climbed the hill within 2 minutes, the quads started to ripple and shake.  I talked to them.  I said HANG ON! We are almost at the top.  I knew it would pass but it got worse and I had to pause.  I couldn’t pick up my legs so I waddled to the white fence barrier and flipped my left foot back behind me to stretch my quad and my hamstrings locked up.  I roared like a purple minion!  It was like labor pains at 10cm dilated! I let go of my leg and I couldn’t put it on the ground!  I just kept screaming in pain and all the spectators were staring at me!  A guy came up and asked if I had cramps?? I could only nod my head. He gave me 2 salt pills.  I swallowed them dry!  I had salt but I couldn’t think or move.  A volunteer rushed to me and asked if I needed medical attention.  I said HELL NO BACK OFF!!! I’m just in labor pain.  It will pass!  I will be fine.  It lasted about 4 mins until I finally picked up my feet and started to jog back up to my 10 min pace again and the crowd started applauding!

Wow that was sheer pain and then it just let go but I had burned a lot of my matches surviving those cramps.  I was suddenly tired and my legs were fatigued as if I had just finished the ½ marathon but had 12 miles to go!  I tried to focus on the beauty of the run course and dig deeper not darker since my goal pace could not be reached.  I had seen Marcus on the bike course on the other side but he didn’t catch me so I knew I would have to see him on the run eventually. I worried about him for 6.4 miles stressing over wondering if he was in the ambulance that was on the other side during the bike ride.  It completely engulfed my mind.   I was so relieved to see him after the turn around! 



Mi 12, taking a salt break and enjoying the view!

This route is 6.2 miles out and back.  Total elevation gain is 394 feet for the entire course. The first 3 miles is along the coast.  Then about 1.6 miles of pavement to the dirt trail where you are back running along the ocean.  The dirt is rough and uneven with lots of crevices to roll your ankle so you have to be careful.  Eventually you end at the big tiki statue and aid station where you turn around and go back to see the views that were at your back on the way there.  I never broke a sweat probably because I could not run at race pace and wonderful ocean breeze. The 20g of fiber bloated me into a 3 month pregnancy state to make me feel even worse.  After mi 8.5 it is mostly downhill following the ocean until mi 12 , the last hill, which I was caught walking up for the ½ mile!  As you run down to the beach finish you take a sharp right down to the sand which is deep and soft and mushy and not your quads’ best friend. 

 You run along the soft beach sand and under the pier following orange cones and never seeing the finish line for .42 mi until finally someone says TURN HERE!! And there is the finish line on the left where you are tripping over yourself trying to dig deep through the soft sand ending at 12.7 miles.  WOW this part just sucked!  But it was a unique finish and the pain was a lot less than the cramps at the start, except the spike in heart rate and breathing sent me into a quick asthma attack where I fell into Marcus’s arms as he got my inhaler out and a volunteer held me upright until I was stable. 

I sadly missed my goal by 10 minutes for the tenth time finishing at 6:40.  I learned from my nutrition course this month that I should add another 190mg salt per hour to my bike course even if I’m not sweating.  It was a huge mistake to not take in any extra salt during the bike course. I won’t let that happen again.  
 

Summary:

After I reviewed my data, I felt sad and proud at the same time.  My Swim, Bike and run avg paces were better than all other races and yet I still didn’t finish sub 6:30.  the 13:30 in transition times was too hard to overcome with my cramps so early. I thought about Meredith Atwood’s (SBM) full ironman where she had blisters on the marathon so badly that she had to walk all of it.  She signed up again immediately because she knew she had so much more to prove on that course.  I decided to change my race plan for next year and not race Augusta 70.3 at the end of September because I am returning to Santa Cruz mid September to give that course all that I know I can give (without a box of Triscuits and with extra salt on the bike course). I can't say enough about these scenic routes.  I know the weather can be finicky and we were probably lucky but wow I really loved this race.  There were also only 1500 racers so it seemed like there was always space to breathe!

Swim 29^th/43. Bike 19^th/43. Run 31st/43

Finish time 6:40 in 24^th place in my age group

What's up next? 

This is my 10th 70.3 and my 40th half marathon since starting this journey and I love this hobby still so much!! However, I've decided to take a break from tri's for about 8 months.  I'm going to run and swim focus heavily and only cycle once a week.  I want a stronger base so I need more time on my swim and run with dedicated coaches in their specialty.  I'm selling my tribike and upgrading to Di2 shifters and 11 speed as well.  My plan is to come back from my marathon in May stronger than ever,  start my season in June with maybe Escape from Alcatraz Olympic tri in June if I can get in the lottery, maybe Santa Barbara Olympic tri which is run focused, maybe CV challenge Olympic if the timing fits, return to Santa Cruz 70.3 for unfinished business in September and fingers crossed, achieve my 2nd full ironman at Beach to Battleship, NC in October hand in hand with my husband Marcus.  I'm so excited for next year, but first, I need to hear Mike Reilly say MARCUS SERRANO - YOU ARE AN IRONMAN at IMAZ Nov 15!  Hope to see you all there cheering and racing and supporting this amazing sport !

Barb's Race 70.3 is about Focus

This is my year to race 70s , or as some triathletes tell me, I'm JUST riding 50 milers this year! haha! I want to learn about the little details and see where I can make some improvements.  Barb's Race, near Santa Rosa, is my 9th 70.3 distance.  I hadn't really planned on racing the event but Marcus was using the full Aquabike as a training day for IMAZ and a friend split the registration with me so for $112, of course I wanted to suffer too!  I just love the 70.3 distance and supporting a charity for Breast Cancer gives the race another purpose too.

I recently had a break through on my swim technique.  Some days, I'd shock myself with sub 2:00 min 100s, sub 4 min 200s and not know why.  It would drive me crazy because a week later, I'd lose it and be back to a crappy irregular swim time all in the over 2 min range per 100y.  This has gone on for over a year.  I work really hard at swimming.  I sprint, do drills, use paddles, use fins, and a variety of lengths.  I just accepted I suck and it is what it is.    I've had many lessons from many coaches without change. My swim is my warmup. The end. I just stopped stressing over it.  Then one day I asked Marie McBride about her swimming background.  She was a life timer and swam with ease.  During the chat she told me she disliked Xterra wetsuits because the legs were so buoyant that she couldn't keep her kick underwater.  A light bulb clicked and I pictured my body in the pool wearing my xterra  lava pants.  I visually saw my feet in the air and my head underwater.  WOW that looks horrible! I have been pushing my head through the water! When you see an amazing swimmer, their head is up enough to cause a bow in the water where there is a pocket of air near their mouth.  I started visually seeing other great swimmers and how their bodies floated in the water compared to mine.  The next time I went to the pool, I saw the +  at the back of the wall on the other side of the pool.  I'd never really noticed it before but decided to really focus on seeing it in front of me.  Instead of a 2:08/100, I swam a 1:53.  HOLY CRAP!!  I have been swimming with my head between my legs all this time! I did my first 13 - 100s all under 2:00 which has never happened.  I sprinted 10 - 50s and hit a 1:40 pace! 



My goal for Barb's was to look for that imaginary + in the river and really focus on reaching towards it the entire swim and pulling back hard to my hip.  This requires great focus for me but the weather was amazing and the water was perfect so there's nothing else to think about right?.  However, I still can get easily confused even on a straight path.  Barb's race has a lot of non-competitive racing females as well as inexperienced so I was bumped a lot during the swim and one lady swam under me but I just kept going and moving around them.  I had asked the info desk how many buoys were in the river and she said 10 so when I approached #10, I started to turn and paused because I couldn't see the next buoy across the river... well there were 11 !  I started again to #11 at the turnaround but it was just a few buoys together.  I thought there would be another buoy  to swim across towards so I was lost again looking for a buoy.  Then I recalled my coach telling me to go toward the beach, not the buoys on the return so I took off wide.  Well I went so wide that I added 200 yards extra to my swim so I didn't PR in time but I'm really proud of my race pace, especially because I was so comfortable on the exit. My race pace was 1:54 which is a PR pace for me.

I ran to the wetsuit strippers and he ripped off my wetsuit and I was off running to transition.  I really wanted to be efficient this time and not take my time.  I had looked at the top 5 last year and set a goal of 5 minutes and finished in 5:30.  I had so much mud on my feet that I had to scrub to get it off and I had to apply neck cream to control the pain I experience in aero on the bike so I was happy with my time.  Even though the weather was very cool, I still wore my cooling towel on the bike because I knew I would need it for the run later anyway.  I also wore Desoto cool wings which are sunsleeves with the additional coverage on the shoulder blades.  I wore them inside the wetsuit so I didn't' fight to put them on later and slow my transition.  They were absolutely perfect and kept me warm the first hour of the bike since it was still foggy and kept me cool for the run later.

Last year, I did the full aquabike and was terrified of the ramp out of transition.  "everyone falls here!! Just walk the ramp"  was the constant advice but this time I talked to my coach and she said I was absolutely riding up that ramp.  really?  hmmm... I went to the ramp the day before the race.  I walked my bike down the ramp and turned around and looked up.  OMG  what the hell is wrong with me?  That is a mere blip.  I made sure I was in an easy gear, clipped in, and shot right up that ramp without any issue.  WOW I can be so dramatic sometimes!!!  Race day, I was fully confident and clipped in and passed everyone walking up the ramp with a big smile on my face!  I recalled my fear last year and was so proud of my growth in confidence and ability.

I felt fantastic on the bike and I was constantly reminding myself to hold back for the run later. My front bottle holds all my calories 400c Carbo Pro and 210c of IM Perform.  Then I alternate BASE salt every 5 miles with water and sip the calories every 15 mins.  I grab a couple pieces of banana along the way for a little bit of solid for the stomach.  I took the corner turn at Sunset well and knew the sharp hill was coming soon so changed gears and zoomed right up the hill passing the walkers.  Again, I recognized my improvements from all the hill riding this year.  As I continued along the miles I watched my power 30s, avg power and normalized power with intensity.  I was pushing above the upper limits that my coach gave me and I kept hearing her say if you don't do this, you will blow up on the run.  I felt stronger than any other race today.  I remembered the first half of this ride is much easier than the second half so I let my power go above the limit slightly, knowing that I would have to back off midway.  At the half way, I was avg 18.1 mph and about 10 watts higher than allowed.  So I settled and increased cadence and easier gears to let the legs relax.  Slowly my power dropped into range and I just kept going and passing cyclists. The roads were so much better than last year.  Then I hit a bump at mile 33 and my glasses fell out of my helmet.  I just bought a new Rudy Project helmet with the lens attaches inside and it dropped right into my hand.  So I stuffed half in my shirt with the other bowed half hanging out of my shirt and prayed I didn't run into any big bugs along the way! Back to focusing on power!

About mile 42, I saw the Chalk Hill sign.  I took a big deep breath.  I was meeting the devil again.  Last year in over 100 degrees, I barely got up it the first time and by mile 100, the second time I thought I was going to black out and walked up half of it.  This time I was going to kick its ass!  I turned the corner and thought about the 100s of times I had climbed San Dieguito hill in a variety of ways and powered up it in a big gear the entire time.  this would be no different.  I  had no power limits on this hill.  I just wanted to attack and feel great and that's exactly what happened.  I smiled at the top, said F-You Chalk Hill and smiled all the way downhill afterwards.  I had dropped to 17.1 mph with the rolling hills and lower power but I knew the next 16 miles would be better.  I pushed hard and landed right in the power ranges I needed and rolled right into transition at 3:11 and 5th place off the bike in my age group.  I felt great mentally even though my calves and legs were stinging a bit.  I forgot to take my Sportlegs medicine and aspirin this morning and maybe that's why the legs were stinging.

I racked my bike quickly, grabbed my stuff and took off faster than ever...and that's why when I noticed I was still wearing bike gloves!  I hoped for a 3:45 transition but slipped to 4:35.  I just couldn't pee on the bike this time so by the time I sat down to put on the shoes, I was still going in the grass when I was ready to run!  At least I had grass to pee in and not my socks!

As soon as I exited and turned the corner, I stopped at the water station to pop a couple aspirin.  This time I carried a handheld bottle with 200 cals of carbo pro and 1 nuun tablet.  This was golden because I nursed it throughout the run always slowly taking in calories so when I was at aid stations, I focused on pouring water over myself and ice in my shirt and cap.  I grabbed a couple orange slices and one GU throughout the run as well.  I took BASE salt every couple miles because it wasn't very hot.  I was never hot on the run, especially with the cooling towel.  My legs stung constantly and I swore I was getting a blister but just ignored it.  I was comfortable the first 3 miles and then the legs really started screaming.  I had to count to 50 and reward myself to walk a shaded part of the street and pick it up again.  The run course in not like the Ironman 70.3 which is two weeks prior.  Barb's is easier and just two laps of out and back which I found incredibly boring.  The two hills each way were painful but doable and I struggled more each time but always ran downhill for the free speed.  I made a mantra sheet that I carried in my hand so I could feel that Julie was with me the entire run.  I read over them completely once and smiled.  I glanced at it frequently to stay positive.  I repeated things like YES YOU CAN,  BE GRATEFUL BE THANKFUL , JULIE AND YOUR FAMILY BELIEVE IN YOU, HUNT THE RUNNER IN FRONT OF YOU...  I worked hard on hunting this lady wearing an E on her jersey.  Her leg said she was 57.  I chased her, I passed her, she passed me, I chased her more,  when she walked, I chased her. It really helped.  I tried so hard to keep moving but my pace kept dropping.  I was able to stay in the 10min+ range for 3 miles, then I stayed in the 11 min+ range until mile 9 when I dropped to 12 min and it angered me. It wasn't acceptable so mile 10 was back in the 11min range, then one last hill dropped me into the 12s again.  I jogged with no stopping the last mile into the finish line returning to the 11 min pace and praised myself for trying so hard to hold my pace.  I finished 2:32 and wanted 2:30 so much.  Luckily officially, I PR'd by 17 seconds on the run.  Avg pace 11:39.  I can make big improvements here for sure.  I am taking a running technique class at SDCC Aug-Dec so hopeful this will help.

I was happy that I had met many of my goals and worked really hard on focus this time.  I enjoyed the entire event and was happy with my PR finish time of 6:39 even though I wanted 6:30.  My best race was 6:42 so it felt great to raise the bar even if just by 3 minutes. I was 58th of 163 women that finished Barb's Race.  I earned 8th place of 29 in my age group. I'm really happy to be in the top 10!

I have no plans to return to Guerneville.  We loved staying at the Creekside Inn which is 1/2 mile from the starting line so we could walk in the morning. Although the food is absolutely the best of any race I have attended, the shuttle transportation really soured me.  We waited 1 1/2 hours for the shuttle to go back to the start line.  That trip took 30 minutes and then we had to drive back to the finish to get our bikes.  It made for an extremely long day.  We also had return flight issues with Alaska not notifying us that our flight was 1 1/2 hours earlier.  We toured the redwoods just to kill time and arrived at the airport with a staff that was very rude to us and chastising us for being so late with oversize luggage.  We had 8 minutes to get through everything.  Of course they chose Marcus to be patted down and practically strip searched.  Then they held our bikes and said they were tagged for security search.  The good news is that we didn't pay the $150 for the bikes due to the rush but we had to return to the airport at 11 pm to pickup the bikes which were on the next flight. This was another really long day for us and not getting to bed until after midnight.





Overall we both had great races and a really good time here.  Marcus is 2/3 ironman and I completed my 9th 70.3 race and learned great lessons to apply to my 10th 70.3 race in Santa Cruz in September!

IM 70.3 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

We decided to venture out into destination racing and chose IM 70.3 Victoria, in BC Canada (or 1.9km, 90.1km, 21.1km) but course maps revised their distances to 86km bike and 20km run.

Prep: We bought Scicon soft travel bike cases from www.probikekits.com. After measuring the bikes, we found the standard road bike size fit fine so we didn’t opt for the triathlon larger size.  I did buy aero bar pads and derailleur pads for extra protection.  The case includes a metal U-bar that protects some of the rear derailleur but the cover protects the entire rear mechanism.  For peace of mind, the extra pads were inexpensive and worth it to me but not required.  We used the SpringSwim zip-up swag bags to fit in the wetsuit and empty bottles and bike shoes.  The space behind the fork was a perfect fit for the bag. The aero helmets fit perfectly on the middle post.  I laid the air pump in the base of my bag.  The cases include TSA locks too.  Only bike parts removed were the wheels which fit in their own padded pocket on each side of the case. CO2 cartridges are not allowed as carryon or in luggage so we bought them at the expo.

Accommodations:  We stayed at the Host Downtown Hotel Grand Pacific with a view of the Victorian harbor, near the famous Empress hotel and beautiful Legislative building. We were able to walk around the harbor and view the surroundings the day we landed.  The room was average so not much to brag about and 20 minutes from the race venue.  We later found out that Howard Johnson is the other host hotel which is across from the shuttle to take you to the race venue.  We will stay here next time for convenience and it is cheaper.  We can always drive downtown when we want to but it is inconvenient to stay downtown if you are there only for the race. The good news is everything is off the hwy 17 so you can’t get lost.  We were grateful for blackout curtains because the sunsets at 9:30pm and we were in bed by 8pm!

Checkin and logistics:

It’s recommended to check-in on Friday and drop off your bike because they only allow parking at the venue on Friday.  On Sat and Sun, you have to park at the Elk Lake Regional parking lot and shuttle into the venue for about 10 minutes.  You could cycle back and forth if you can manage all your stuff and have the energy.  On race day, you gather your bags except bike, get on a shuttle to your car, drive back to the venue and get in a line to park temporarily to grab your bike and leave.  Royal pain in the ass but they just don’t have the parking space.  It’s a very small venue for 1800 racers. This year, the race sold out for the sprint and half distance. It didn’t seem like Ironman was prepared for the large group arriving on Friday.  It was complete chaos at the check in with lines to get your card with bib# and then a line to get all your other stuff and people were angry.  MANY people chose to drop the bike Friday and check in and clearly they didn’t expect this given only the hours 2pm-6pm.  Our flight was late so we didn’t get to check in until 3pmish and after all the lines and putting the bikes together, we had 1 hour to ride before transition closed!  Bike check-in should have been open until 7pm since people were still getting their race packets at 6pm. We also found no food at the expo so I’m so glad I packed 2 PBJs in my bag just in case.  They were smashed but tasty enough for the bike ride!


Preview bike course: We opted to ride the sprint bike course 13 miles which took 50 minutes and checked the bikes in just before 6pm.  We skipped the Friday 5pm athlete briefing since we knew we would return Saturday and 3 more were offered.  We decided Canadians had NO IDEA what a hill was or rough roads!  Have they never been to Vineman where you are dodging potholes constantly?  We laughed along the beautiful route and when we hit the “big” hill at mile 6, we looked at each other and said “SERIOUSLY? WAS THAT IT? We road GWL 9x for that?”  Why yes we did!  How could this be 3400 ft of climbing? We thought it was fabulous!  (turns out it’s about 3000ft gain like my RIDEWITHGPS route suggested) I noticed we were in filtered shade a lot.  Even though the water was 72 degrees, the air would be in the low 50s at 6am so I was concerned about being cold without the direct sun for about an hour.  I decided to bring a bike jersey if I was cold on race day and test sun sleeves inside my wetsuit for my pre swim.  The bike ride has constant rollers of a few low % grade but there are many.  I think 2 hills are memorable at mi 6 and mi 50 and there’s a long grade at the end of loop 1 and 2. We drove the course on Saturday and took loads of pictures admiring the greenery, cows, horses, homes, berry and sheep farms. 

We noted 3 Horseshoe turns which would slow the fast momentum, the first being the worst after a long downgrade.  During the residential side, there is a long stretch into the wind and full sun and then 6 speed bumps but they are well marked and the center is flattened if you look carefully so you can miss the entire bump.  There are 2 aid stations on each loop.  The first is at mile 9 because of the sprint course so you don’t probably need a water bottle since you can just get it there.  We thought all the roads were fine but only intersections were protected for cyclists during the race and cars were zipping by during the race and the shoulder’s edge is rough. The highways had bike lanes but other streets did not however the lanes were wide.

Pre-run

We only had 20 minutes to run in the forest.  The trails are very well groomed and you are never in full sunlight for very long.  The views through the trees were spectacular and the filtered lighting was a treat.  I chose no sunglasses so I could see well for roots and there are a few but the dust does pick up so it did get in my eyes and I was covered in light dirt which means I was sucking in dust during the race run too.  That is not good for me so I knew I would need to control my HR to ensure I was not gasping for air. The forest has lots of low rollers and low grades and 2 memorable hills during mile 5, repeated at mile 10.  We ran the lake twice for 20km which is 12.8 miles. There is a very long upgrade that never seems to end in the middle.  All of the grounds are well groomed dirt with some gravel, no holes, a few roots and some random piles of horse crap.  I knew I would never feel over heated during this entire run.

 

Pre-Swim:

There is a small sandy beach but the race starts in waist deep water. Luckily the water stayed at 72 degrees while the air was 50 degrees on race day.  We swam the sprint course for 1000 yards and I wore my sun sleeves under my suit.  I never noticed them so decided to use them for race day.  I always train with sun sleeves and I hate freezing or overheating on the bike.  These worked out great for me and kept my temperature always in balance.  We noticed the swim course runs north and south and the current is east to west so the only time we really felt it was at the short turn to the other side.   

The swim course has an odd shaped finish to get you back to the beach so buoy #6 makes the swim course turn about a 45 degree angle to the beach.  Buoys are on your left the entire course:  6 yellow buoys out, 6 orange buoys in, a red on each corner.  The sun will be in your eyes on the return so I used mirrored goggles. The lake freshwater tastes just fine but not that clear.  Families and casual swimmers were playing in it without wetsuits.  Only a few racers were sans wetsuit, and some sleeveless and the rest wore full wetsuits. I noticed the swim exit required running through sand to get to the carpet and then transition is dead grass so your feet are filthy for the bike.  I brought an extra water bottle to rinse my feet because I hate that stuff in my bike shoes.  I am not a  podium contender  so the extra time for comfort is worth it to me.

I also noticed the Swim In is the same as the Run Out.  The Bike In and Out is the same place and at the opposite end of transition. 

 Sunday Race Day:

Due to our location, we were up by 3am and driving to the shuttle with our full tribags by 3:45.  We left our helmet with our bike in transition on Saturday. We were on the shuttle by 4:15 and at the venue by 4:30ish when it opened. It was already starting to get light.  We immediately hit the porta-potties before the lines started.  The racks were pre-numbered but still crowded together.  You were allowed your tri bag and were asked to put it along the side fences away from the bikes after emptying all your stuff. I was happy to wear a windbreaker in the morning with the chilly morning air.

It was pretty cool to hear the Canadian national anthem at the start!

 My Swim: 

There were 85 women in my AG/wave. I was happy that the last wave behind me was older women which meant there would be no men to climb over me!  I am a below avg swimmer in my AG and I’m ok with that because I have a steady pace and don’t like to fight for space.  I sighted every 4-6 strokes and was happily at the red corner without a hitch.  I knew to look for another red buoy for the next turn and as I sighted, I was suddenly at an orange buoy.  I started to turn and realize this can’t be right!  They snuck in a buoy before the final red one!  WHYYY??  As I started to correct my swim, a girl swam right into me trying to turn as well and I grabbed her arm and told her NO keep swimming straight! She thanked me and off we went.  Made the turn at the red and swam as straight as I could although a silver capped man was a serpentine snake all around me and drove me nuts swimming in every direction. I finally reached a red buoy again? Oh another change…this is the 45 degree turn to the beach.  I swam to the sand and stood up at 45 minutes.  Yep, that’s what I do about every swim course.  Steady Nellie.  This time only about 118 yards longer than necessary…a world record for me landing me at 57/86th place.

T1 is a bit of a sandy dirty run through dead grass to the bike.  Rinsed my feet and put on all my gear and took off to cycle. No bike vest or jersey needed as I felt fine and happy with the sun sleeves.  I felt good on the bike passing many cyclists.  This is always my favorite part.  I’m a slow swimmer so every time I pass a cyclist, it means HAHAHA speedy fishy, I’m still passing you on the bike! This is why I don’t stress about my slow swim speed since it’s just my warmup for the bike.  I’m just never going to get a lot faster at swimming. Transition took me 3:16 with .17mi travel distance

My Bike: 

I didn’t see full sun for 50 minutes so I was really happy to have sun sleeves on for a little extra warmth.  I never felt hot the entire day.  My bike ride was beautiful and exciting with constant rollers and only a couple memorable hills. The only issue I had was reminding myself to drink water because it was so cool.  I drank my front bottle with calories about every 15 minutes but I also should alternate with water.  I probably missed about 20 oz of water. The rollers, traffic and a little wind kept me busy and I was never totally comfortable grabbing my water bottle below.  I guess it’s from the IMAZ wind tunnel that has kept me cautious about letting go to get a bottle.  I saw too many crashes at IMAZ due to cross winds.  The 2^nd loop was more wind and I got chapped lips really badly.  I used my easier gears more often as my legs were feeling fatigued and the hill at mile 50 almost made my left thigh cramp so the rest was right leg favored for sure.  My goal was to watch my power and stay steady, not to power through with speed.  Bike time was 3:21 for 3035 ft climbing (not 3400 as advertised) and the mileage was only 54.9.  I earned 44/86^th on the bike.

 I rolled into T2 with a smile and thinking it was the easiest bike course I had ridden in a race and I just loved it!  And this thought distracted me into going down the wrong bike rack!  Half way down the line, I had to turn back to go around to the other rack.  It was one long line of bikes and no way to cut across.  This made my transition longer than necessary but I got out in 3:17 and .11 mi distance traveled.

My run: 

I grabbed my bottle with 100 calorie of carbo pro water , popped 2 salts  and 2 aspirins and took off for the run.  There are 5 aid stations each loop.  Supposedly they offer the standard PowerAde gels, fruit, ice water, Pepsi, Gatorade buffet but I never found any food except gels on my run during the course.  The water was as cold as Antarctica and took my breath away when I poured it on my head. The Pepsi was carbonated and I couldn’t swallow it.  I had almost 2 powergels during the run which made my GI very unhappy.  I really needed oranges or watermelon and bananas for the run- you know. REAL food!.  I really don’t like GU, especially powergels.  I had run the first mile already and then it was all new. 

 
 

The rolling grades were kind of fun but you did have to watch for roots on the edges.  A lady started to pass me and tripped on one and was flailing her arms to keep from falling as I grabbed her arm so she could stand up.  REALLY?  What’s the rush?  I kept thinking I could run an 11 min pace in this forest forever! There’s only a few short sections of total sunlight on the run course. I never broke into a sweat.  It was an incredible course.  Then the coughing attacks kicked in.  Dust. GAWD!!!  Thankfully I had 2 cough drops with me to get me through the next 2 coughing attacks. The double hills at mile 5 were painful but ok.  Not so on the 2^nd loop!  Mile 10 with 2 hills just crushed me and suddenly I couldn’t keep running to the aid station.  The legs were dying and it was a fight to run.  I realized at mile 12 that my stomach was growling and I was feeling lethargic. The final chute is short but still gratifying to finish. The total distance was short at 12.8 miles and it was my 2^nd best run after the bike but I could have done better if I had kept pace the last 5k. I still need to work on my mental strength!  I earned 47/86^th at the finish. I’m a forever midpack racer I guess finishing in 6:51! I was expecting a PR at this race but until I can be mentally stronger on the run, I will continue to end about this time always.

I was happy to receive my medal, meet up with Marcus and go for the food.  FOOD?  Oh they ran out!  WHAT?? I’m not that slow!  Hungry, filthy, tired and I was mad!  We waited for more food to be brought out while I was feeling faint.  Finally, Marcus was handed a cup of sausage links and I had a cup with a little salad and 2 small pieces of ham!!!!  That was all they had to offer!  We were so disappointed with the food that we just wanted to leave to eat immediately.  We packed our bags and headed to the buses to shuttle to the car.  All of a sudden, Marcus says, WHERE are we going??? Huh?? Oh this bus goes to the High School!! WTF??  Took a tour of the neighborhood back to the race venue, got on the correct bus to the car and saw the miles of cars on the freeway trying to go get their bikes!  Oh HELL NO!  We stopped and grabbed sodas and sushi to go at a nearby store and ate in the car waiting for traffic to die down.  It helped a lot and we had an easy time to park and grab the bikes and pack them up for the flight home.  We stopped at Boston Pizza and Pasta to grab food to take back to hotel.  They offer amazing healthy options for pastas, salads, pizzas, vegan, vegetarian, GF, etc. We ate there twice.  We really enjoyed seeing the beautiful sites around the Victorian harbor.  There were fresh flowers everywhere.

It was so nice to take the mini pizzas back to the room and eat and shower and rest all in one place.  We rested well and slept in until 9:30!  We had time for a fabulous breakfast at the ABC Country Restaurant and an easy time checking into the airport.  On the other hand, getting through customs in San Francisco was a nightmare.  Be sure you have 2-3 hour layover! There was a line to scan the passport to get a paper, a line to get the paper stamped, a line to get the passport and paper checked, a line to pickup the bags and then to take them to be rechecked for the next flight, then a line to go through security again! This took over an hour and although I complained about our 3 hour layover, our first flight was 45 minutes late so really we had just enough time to grab a quick dinner before the connecting flight started to board!.  Flying out of country takes a lot of extra time!  It’s easy to get out of the US, just complicated to get back in the US! 

 

The bike cases made it through everything without any problems.  If you decide to travel with your bike, be sure you rent a midsize car to carry it!  We had a 4 door jeep and it allowed both bikes to stand up and room for 2 tribags and 1 medium suitcase.  We just loved the course overall and want to return or we might try IM Calgary in late July.  Their time zone is 1 hour ahead but it sounds just as beautiful as Victoria! I’m personally getting bored with sun, sand, salt and concrete! Calgary’s rolling terrain and clear blue waters of Western Canada’s Rocky Mountains makes this race one of the most scenic on the circuit and has been voted one of the top-ten most scenic triathlons in the world by Triathlete Magazine.