IM 70.3 California 4th time is a charm?

IM California 2015 is my 7th half ironman and 4th time repeating this course.  I know it well and I know where I break down.  I am an Ironman now so I decided this year I would work on running speed and faster half ironmans instead of another full ironman. I gave up my Big Sur Marathon entry to focus on 70s and speed training.  I have worked hard on my climbing and my running speed since IMAZ with very little time off.  My swimming skills are about the level of a 4 year old compared to the life-time swimmers my age but sometimes I can have a good day and then something derails me and all the focus is gone again.  I do my workouts with intensity but understand that even if I improve in seconds per 100, some uncontrolled obstacle like current and elbows to the head amongst the mass of swimmers or a sudden cramp can throw all my hardwork as if it never happened.  Honestly it's not only that I swim slow, but I don't sight well either in the Oceanside race .  The route is shaped like a banana and the sun is blinding on the return. So this year, my swim goal was to figure out how to ONLY swim 1.2 miles!  I tried new approaches to tackle each discipline this year to try to break 6:30.  I had high expectations with all this  hay in the barn. 4th time is a charm, right? I'm ready.

 It was the first time I had raced with one transition for California 70.3, so receiving one bag instead of 4 made it feel like a new race!  I wondered how the bike route changed and how long the 2nd loop of the run would be since it still ended at the pier.  I realized we had to run up Breakwater street on the 2nd loop too.  There were enough changes to make it seem new for sure. I was still worrisome on race day but friends kept making me smile and laugh.

I didn't stay overnight in Oceanside at my parents house because it wasn't an available option this year so I had to add a 45 minute commute to my morning.  This meant rising at 3am but it wasn't a problem as I took my niteaid pill by 7pm and slept well.  I had my Osmo and Imodium at night and again in the morning with my standard oatmeal and banana but I couldn't eat the bagel this time.  I had coffee, 2 aspirin, 2 roctane pills, 2 salt pills and decided to bring the bagel to eat in transition.  It was never eaten so my morning calories were light at 360. Marcus bought the VIP pass so we had close parking and he was pampered all day with food and drink and the best viewing spots.  He somehow snuck into the transition area and took loads of TCSD pictures throughout the day with about 700 pictures total!  He captured a great day for everyone to see.  He was as tired as I was at the end of the day!

Once again the TCSD rack was placed at the very back by the swim exit which I find a disadvantage vs where my AG racks so I opted out of the team racks.  My AG was just past a tree and along the carpet edge so it was a good spot right in the middle of transition. I laid out all my stuff nice and organized (on the down wheel side!!!) and went to the bathroom.  When I returned, the bike next to me dumped all their crap on the up wheel side crowding my stuff and she was no where to be seen.  Whatever, let it go.  I did my walk around trying to notice the buoy placement in the dark water and then it was announced the water was 66.8 degrees.  That's the warmest it has been in my 4 years and now it's not neoprene sock legal which means a barefoot run for a 1/4 mile after the swim exit.  I'm never barefoot due to my foot surgeries because my foot pads are not even.  Barefoot = pain for me. More worrying followed...

 However the carpet looked good and there were places where there were two rows of carpet.  I would just have to be careful. Thankfully I added an old pair of regular socks to my check list and wore those while I was waiting in line to swim.  I was wave 15 with the 50s and 25 year olds!  wow they looked so young!  I started to get hungry while in line for my wave start at 7:23 so I did my ritual of eating a GU and drinking my water in line and then as it got close, poured the remaining water in my suit to reduce the water temp shock.  However the water temp felt great and my feet were comfortable.


I swam comfortably following the buoys out of the harbor.  Only once did a swimmer swim over me and she was light and way off course which made me giggle a little.  I just kept swimming without interruption to the 2nd red bouy.  Suddenly it seemed choppy which is normal so close to the ocean.  I felt like I lost a lot of speed here though but kept heading to the rock jetty as my experienced swimmers told me to do and soon the next red buoy was in sight right in front of me.  For the first time I wasn't lost in the harbor swim!  I turned toward the sun and just to the left was the big building which I had never seen before!  I never saw a buoy on my left until there were only a couple left to pass and then as I wanted to increase my speed, I started to kick harder and suddenly my right calf cramped hard.  It did this on my last OWS with no explanation so I knew I had to point and flex to get it to release which completely disrupted my swim rhythm. I kept swimming the best I could until it released.  I saw a lot of racers to my left but I just sighted the tall building the entire return and it took me just along the pier dock straight into the ramp exit.  it was the easiest swim I had completed and the first race that I had swam with a cramp.  The good news was that I was happy that my yardage was close to 1.2 although still a little over.  Then I noticed my swim time was slower as well, by at least 5 minutes so yea I sighted well, but I swam 5 minutes slower. That's a lot :(  I didn't let it get to me like in the past.  I really just wanted a great run.  I would just make it up by running faster.  I just let it go because ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

My swim-bike transition was 6 minutes as planned.  I exited without a problem and took off with a plan to not hammer the bike course. I wanted to save it for the run. I had pinned my number to my shirt and wore it under my wetsuit so I didn't fight with the race belt.  I only wore arm sun sleeves in my wetsuit and not calf compressions because it seemed to affect my circulation in the past.   I had my front bottle with 400 cals of Carbo Pro and 210 cals of IM Perform. I ate two half pieces of banana along the course and drank water between slurps of calorie water.  I prepared for the first hill with two puffs of my inhaler so I could breathe easier and I did fine.  I didn't have to serpentine climb the hill and my breathing and HR was under control.  I just went up and over with relief.  The other hills were tolerable too.  The new requirement to stay under 25 mph on dead man's curve was a distraction for sure.  The no pass zone suddenly appeared and a slow rider was in front of me going 18mph and I reminded her it was a 25 limit which promptly caused her to brake and I flew past her.  Sorry, I've never done that before but I didn't want to lose any more speed because then the required 25 mph timing section arrived for about 1/2 mile and I stared at my garmin the entire turn while trying to be under 25 and I ended up at 24.11 mph!  That's pretty close to 25 and I would have been disqualified had I passed that speed.


Nothing unusual happened for the rest of the course except I got bored on the long stretches while trying to hold lower power and a slower speed. By mile 40, I started getting a neck and shoulder cramp making aero positioning very uncomfortable. I also felt that same twinge in my right rib start to pinch. Finally mile 45 arrived and the 10 miles of head winds were in my face.  As always, I eat one GU here to prepare for the run. The headwind seemed stronger this year to me. It was awesome to roll back into the harbor without climbing Surfrider to get to transition BUT we had to cycle the same long chute we had run during the swim and that just totally sucked.  My speed dropped again as another rider in front of me didn't want to pedal along this narrow path.  I saw my final bike time was 11 minutes slower than the last 2 years. But that's ok because my normalized power was within range so I would have a great run, right?

I got to my stuff (including my cooling towel which is a life saver for hot runs) and swapped it all out for run gear within 4 minutes and took off at a slower pace to get my legs ready and just as I started up the small overpass hill, my left thigh cramped badly.  It stopped me in my tracks and I grabbed onto the fence while trying to massage the muscle to let go. I limped along for a bit and the pain subsided within a mile.  I didn't panic about my pace because I had a water bottle with 200 cals of carbo pro to drink.  I took 2 aspirin and 2 salt pills during the recovery mile.  Very soon after the cramp subsided, my right rib started to pinch again. This pain became a sharp knife pain for the next 12 miles of jogging.  My legs seemed heavy but not in pain.  I wasn't hot because the aid stations had ice water and ice and kept my cooling towel always fresh.  My legs were just not cooperating and the knife in my side made me feel like I was running off center. I faked my smiles for the camera but each time I saw my Chiro Doc on the run, I knew that he knew, I was hurting and the entire body was pulling on the right.

Doc, can I lay down RIGHT NOW for an alignment??

 I can't explain what happened over those 12 miles except there was a lot of begging going on to try to go faster.  I demanded that I run up the short steep ramps and Wisconsin because I promised myself that I would not walk them this year and then the glutes and hamstrings disagreed.  Each mile, my watch would remind me of my slow pace even though I thought I was actually running. By mile 11, I saw my total finish time goal had passed and it blew the wind out of my sails.  This was another ruined run making mile 12 a death jog.  I was disappointed in everything.  Holding back led to a slower race, not a better run for me so the formula is very perplexing to me.  It makes logical sense, but I can't execute the plan.

After reviewing some statistics, my normalized power and average power rates are not close and they should be.  This means my cycling efforts are not steady, but I thought they were.  How do you fix something that you can't feel is wrong? This leads to fatigued legs for the run. Yes I understand the logic but where's the improvement in my run when I hold back?  Just like I thought a controlled swim would give me better technique and a smoother faster swim result but it didn't.


I jogged through the finish chute feeling unworthy and embarrassed and draped myself over my Ironsister Elva.  My friend Dave helped me find a chair and reunite with Marcus. I was so sad. Dave asked if I wanted the finisher's food.  EWWW. It always smells horrible to me and can send me into dry heaves if I'm too close. Marcus handed me my favorite cookie instead - snickerdoodles always make me smile!




I just wanted to find my chiropractor who also raced and he cracked my neck and then said he would see me Sunday for a complete realignment. I wasn't holding my head up straight. I got a body massage for 30 minutes in the Ironman village, trying to get the knife out of my side but it didn't help much. I'd have to get a 90 minute massage tomorrow. We went home and I soaked in Epsom salt, ate chicken soup, and took muscle relaxers and went to bed very disappointed.  I'm still disappointed and wonder if I should stop setting goals since I can't seem to achieve them.  At this point, it seems just finishing shouldn't be the only goal I can meet.

The next day, I read about others who had mechanical problems and physical problems too.  Misery loves company so at least I wasn't alone. I'm not the only one that worked really hard for disappointing results.  It still stings but somehow I will get back out there trying to find my 6:30 result.  I have no plans to repeat Oceanside again.  My next 70.3 will be a new course in Victoria, British Columbia on June 14 so it will be exciting from beginning to end!  Maybe I won't set a finishing time goal in the future. 

At the end of the day, I still have my bragging rights for a lifetime. I. AM. IRONMOM. and I am a finisher again today.