California 70.3 Race Report

Well, another race under the belt for me in 2010, and a bit more experience for the future! California 70.3 was my first triathlon since Worlds 70.3 in 2008. I absolutely loved the battle. The pro field was stacked with the strongest women’s field I’ve seen at a 70.3 event Sam Mcglone, Mirinda Carfrae, Leanda Cave, Sam Warriner, and Pip Taylor. Before even starting the race, I knew it was going to be a hard day to get top 5 (where the prize money is)!

It all started Thursday when we (Coach and I) headed out on the road toward Oceanside. We had a pit-stop for a day at Chuck’s cousins where we were spoiled with great food and fun. I always enjoy stopping there because it’s a home away from home. Since I travel a lot, I like to have these ‘homes’ as much as possible. And well, in reality, I don’t really have a home, so a home away from home is the next best thing! Thanks Dav and Deb for a great weekend. Alec, our bike rides were fun!

My homestay for the actual race night was amazing! Unfortunately I had to go to bed early and didn’t get to enjoy in the festivities and great food. Chuck made up for it by eating, and chatting until we basically had to get up in the morning for an early 6:43 race start.

Pre-race I was a bit overwhelmed with the idea of swimming in the ocean. I mentally prepared myself for a freeze but luckily, thanks to TYR, I was able to stay toast warm! The Hurricane Wettsuit is by far the nicest suit I’ve used. Now, if only I could swim!

The race started fast and I did my best to grab hold of someone’s feet. My lack of experience in open-water held me back which I now realize is the dumbest thing to do. I need to go, and go hard right off the bat! I need to focus on the swim just as hard as I do on the bike. I ended up 5-minutes back from the main pack (that is a lot of time). Luckily though, there was a few of us stranglers and we worked together to not drown. 

In T2, I grabbed my bike and opted to not use the arm warmers. This was a smart choice indeed. The day got warmer and warmer….and windier! On the bike, I quickly found my groove and passed a number of my competitors in the first 40 miles. I was in no man’s land throughout the race and it was hard to gauge my efforts. Being in a ‘pack’ is much easier. I need to get there. I worked hard on staying honest with myself and pushed my way toward the top 5. Low and behold, even with only Rolfe Prima training wheels, I managed to get the fastest bike split! I can only imagine how those race wheels are going to work for me (race wheels are coming soon, I just made the switch to tubular)! 

The run was quite simply, hard! I ran solid for my current fitness, but I was amazed at some of my competitors speed. It definitely opened my eyes and has provided more fuel for the fire to stay strong these next five weeks for Wildflower. At least by grabbing the fastest bike split, I had some redemption for an 8th place finish (and no prize money)!

Overall I'm back in battle and now dealing with a slightly tight left butt cheek that I must have aggravated on the run! Massage, pressure, massage and jogging should do the trick!