2016 Ironman Oceanside 70.3

This was my first year doing this race. Every year it seems to sell out fast so I never really got a chance to do it. It also didn't seem very popular with my tri club (Pasadena Triathlon Club). I think it isn't that popular because it is so early in the season and people are reluctant to start training so early in the year. Anyways, this year it seemed like a few members of the club were going to go so I decided to do it since Oceanside is so close. I had been training through the winter but my my diet was out of check and I was a good 10 lbs heavier since Ironman Mont Tremblant last year. 


Swim (1.3 miles) : 45:38 

Coming out of the water looking a bit winded!

Was very nervous about the swim as I heard it is a cold swim. It was pretty cold that morning and it turned out that the water temp wasn't that much different from the air temperature so it didn't feels to bad. The swim is in the bay so the water was pretty calm until we got to the out edge of the bay. I didn't have a spectacular swim but that is the norm for me when it comes swim.

Bike (56 miles) : 2:52:12

The bike was a tough route with some good climbs through Camp Pendleton. It would be the first race on my new Felt IA10 Tribike. I would encounter a problem right off the bat. I hit a bump and my front hydration system flipped over dumping the entire contents out on the course. I would have to ride the rest of the ride with one bottle grabbing hydration whenever possible from aid stations. It wasn't a deal breaker but definitely changed my hydration plan. Over I felt I did well on the bike but in hindsight might have pushed a little too much.

Run (13.1 miles) : 2:08:13

This run is on a rather flat course. Immediately I started cramping in the first mile. So much so that I had to stop and stretch it out. I never really recovered and would suffer for the rest of the race. I'm a bit disappointed with my run performance this race. I could only think that maybe I rode too hard during the bike. I still managed to squeak in under 6 hours but I thought I could have done much better.

Overall I really enjoyed the race and enjoyed the close proximity of the race to my home. I will definitely be doing the race again next year!