Oceanside 70.3 Race Report
Race report taken from my blog (http://thejoyoftriathlon.wordpress.com/)
There were so many feelings, thoughts, and emotions going into this weekend. First, as always, was excitement. It’s such a good feeling knowing you’re about to explore a new place, surround yourself with thousands of triathletes, and of course race. Racing triathlon is so incredibly fun. Everything from the energetic fans, supporters, and volunteers to simply being able to swim, bike, and run as fast as you can with a bunch of people with similar goals makes for an amazing day. With the excitement though also comes some nerves and anxiety. I know a little bit of this is normal, but for me this seemed to be elevated this time around. This was the first race of the season, the first time Danny(husband) and I were competing in the same race in a very long time, and I was still concerned with how I performed or didn’t perform in Vegas last September. That was a brutal race and I was really hoping for redemption with Oceanside. Thankfully I can say I found it, and here’s how 
Swim: I’ve really been working on my form over the last few months… well as much as I can that is. We don’t have a swim coach or the ability to swim with a masters swim group, so all improvements can be credited to what I’ve read and videos I’ve watched from Endurance Nation. Go team EN! Ok so back to the swim… As usual, I positioned myself towards the back of the pack and just before the horn went off I flashed back to Vegas. When my wave started in Vegas (both Oceanside and Vegas are deep water starts), I no more than put my face in the water and was kicked in the eye. It sucked and it took me a while to be able to see out of the right side of my goggles. Needless to say, when the horn went off here in Oceanside, I took the proper precautions to avoid this collision. As we got to the 1st and 2nd buoy, I was pleasantly surprised to be hanging on with a decent amount of people. I felt pretty good about my rhythm throughout and only had to stop 5 or so times to let water out of the left side of my goggles. Time 37:26 (rank 1370, placed 34/66 age group)– a 2:46 PR from Lake Stevens 70.3, 2012. I’m happy with this time for now, but I know I still have a lot of work to do to be competitive with the swim.
T1: 4:39 – also room for improvement.
Bike: I heard a lot about the bike going into the race. (Athletes aren’t allowed to pre-ride or drive the course because the majority of it’s on a marine base - Camp Pendleton) The first half was flat and fast, and I was told not to go too hard because the hills and head wind in the second half could crush you. Keeping in mind the EN philosophy “race the race you should, not the race you could” I went out at a good pace. I felt fast and was passing a lot of people. I was actually trying not to look at my watch because I wanted to go by feel, but I did look when I passed the 20mi sign. I was doing over a 20mph average. My first thought was ‘crap I’m going too fast’ but I felt good and wanted to see what I could do, so I put my head down and continued to check off the miles. The hills came and were pretty tough, but I knew I could handle it and I just kept plugging along. Even with the hills and wind, I felt as strong as ever on my bike and came into T2 with a bike split of 2:57:59 (rank 887, placed 11/66)– a 23:27 PR from Lake Stevens. Awesome. I’ll take it!!!
T2: 2:26
Run: Here we go! The run course was two loops of two out and backs along the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I saw Danny after I hit the turn around on the first out and back of the first loop (he was on his second loop – his swim wave started 24 minutes ahead of mine). It was great to see him and it motivated me to see how far I could get on the course before he caught me. The first half of my run felt ok. I’ve always thought I’m a pretty strong runner, but I start with the head games and can struggle a bit on the run portion. I got through the second turn around and there he was again…closer this time. He passed me between miles 5 and 6 and he was looking strong, on his way home. I fed off his strength and the simple comment, “focus” from a spectator to another competitor whose run turned into a walk. I kept a steady and acceptable pace through the second half of the race and felt strong at the finish. Run split was 1:54:41 (rank 756, placed 11/66) – 1:23 min PR from Lake Stevens.
I realized at the end of the race that I felt the strongest I’ve ever felt during a race. It’s wonderful to feel like my training has finally paid off! I’ve been training for this distance now for just about 1 year. Beginning in November, I started training with Endurance Nation and it’s awesome to see my improvements. When I crossed the finish line, I also realized that I finished under my goal of 5:40 with a 5:37:01 (29:01 min PR [originally I thought I PR'ed by 31 minutes because I can't count])! I love how well this race went, I love triathlon, and I can’t wait to see how I do with the rest of the season! Thank you EN!!
Vegas redemption... check 
Comments
Thanks Matt!!
Awesome result and congrats on the PR! I've shared your RR with our fans on Facebook!