Race Report from Ralph's 70. 3
by Tom Anderson
Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel a deep burning pain in my side…
Marty Robbins
El Paso
The Oceanside event was very well presented and I would be hard pressed to find fault with any phase of the race or any of the ancillary activities, (e.g. registration, organization, venue, post-race food, awards).
The swim might have been the most enjoyable ever during a race. We swam in the Oceanside harbor that has a jetty and breakwater to protect the boats (and in this case swimmers) from the ocean turbulence. This made for calm water and recent weather brought the water temp to a balmy 60 0. I got out with the front group and had little traffic except for passing through slower swimmers from earlier waves. I remember one fellow back-stroking at a right angle in front of me at one point. There were plenty of volunteers to help us up the boat ramp at the end of the swim and when I reached back to unzip my suit I realized it was already done for me. (I think I would know if I’d swum the course that way) I lucked out on my assigned transition spot; right in the first row with plenty of room.
The bike leg takes you through Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base which is both good and bad. The good was at least one lane of traffic was available to us throughout the entire race and automobile control was managed and enforced by Marines with guns. I never saw anyone challenge their authority. On that subject, the Marines also donated hundreds of individuals to the race as volunteers and all did a wonderful job keeping things organized and running smoothly. The course was also picturesque with rolling hills and rolling hills and rolling hills and steep hills! The pavement was good and divots, manhole covers and the like were clearly marked for identification and avoidance. The bad, at least for me, was the lack of accessible preview to the course and not having competed at Oceanside before left me with some surprises and unknowns. It was also kind-of boring. I suppose we’re spoiled by living and riding where we do but I can’t help judging rides by comparing them to what I’m familiar with. It’s hard to beat Sonoma County for beauty and diversity. If only they’d close the roads to traffic. The bike leg was hard for me because of the affects of a recent and current cold. My heart rate ran high with any surge and felt managing it into acceptable levels was most important to the ultimate outcome. So the bike ran long, probably 20 minutes longer than I think I could do but that’s the way it is. I couldn’t wait for the run.
The run course is a double out and back along Oceanside’s Beach Boardwalk and parallel streets. Whenever I leave the transition area for the run I never know fully how my legs are going to feel until I try running on them. This time they felt great and found an 8:20 pace to my liking. There was an abundance of crowd support throughout, well staffed aid-stations and plenty of cold water. The air temp was in the 60’s and in spite of a brilliant sun the run was quite comfortable. The second lap was more difficult than the first (of course) and began to feel some of the cold’s affects with coughing fits etc. All was manageable until mile 12 when I realized I was leaning forward much more than I should. It may have been the fact I had to raise my eyes to see the tips of my shoes that gave it away but no amount of straightening myself could bring me back the correct posture. It was as though the back muscles had shut down and could no longer do their job. So I finished nearly vertically, under 6 hours and within 30 minutes was well on my way to eating my weight in pizza.
With the Oceanside race behind me I find myself analyzing my pluses and minuses and what I would have done differently if I could. I suppose it’s only natural to do that, particularly when the results aren’t as good as expected and you want to second guess yourself or assign culpability to too much of this and not enough of that. So the bottom line was 5:52, and if your goal was to be under 6 hours then I suppose that’s fine. But I really saw myself as being at least 30 minutes faster. I finished 4th which earned me a neat placard and a spot on stage for the award ceremony. I also got to meet triathlete Paula Newby-Frazer a long time idle and really wonderful person.
What would I have done differently, it’s hard to say. Illness can’t be predicted or prevented and northern California winters certainly have their restrictions for available riding conditions. Do more strength training, but at the expense of what else? The Oceanside race was certainly hard and I knew that going into it, I suppose its challenge of new adventure that makes all this tri-stuff so fun.
Tom
Welcome to the newest, fastest growing triathlon club on the west coast - the North Coast Triathlon Club. The "Tri-Dogs" held their charter meeting in February of 2002 and have now grown to over 100 members in less than a year! "What's the big attraction?" you ask. Since we live and train in Sonoma County, which is one of the finest cycling and running areas in the world, we have long been aware of the abundance of triathletes in our area. Now we have developed an organization to help local triathletes gather for training, racing, talking a little trash, and just getting together. And yes, with our sponsor, Lagunitas Brewery, we have been known to have a cold beer here and there.
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Latest Club News
Memberships
It's that time of year again!! Time to get off the couch and start training again! Maybe you've already signed up for a few races for the year, maybe you aren't racing this year, but still want to train with a group. Whatever the reason, the TriDogs would love to have you as a part of our team! Either print out an application from our membership page and mail it in, or you can sign up on active.com. The TriDogs have some great new ideas and plans for this year, so sign up now and don't miss out on the fun!
Woof!!
Last updated: April 16, 2008
New Club Sponsor
Ironman Organic Coffee has joined the TriDogs as a new sponser! Only the best 100% certified organic, single origin beans are chosen for roasting. Their coffee roasters have spent 25 years perfecting the art of the dark roast. The result is a superbly dark, bold and satisfying coffee. They guarantee that every bag of hand roasted coffee is packaged within hours of leaving the roaster. For a limited time only, save 10% off your order with the following discount code: IM208 More discount codes will be posted throughout the year.
Layne has already given the coffee his seal of approval, any we all know how picky he is...
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Coach's Corner
By Dave - October 7th
Transitional Phase
Hey Dogs,
Here is an article that I like to re-visit and have my clients re-visit on a yearly basis as we hit a recovery or a transitional time of the year post-racing season. Take a read, it may help you gather some ideas when you start thinking ahead to 2008.
Throw us a Tridog Bone
Welcome to the new Tridog website! The main purpose for revamping the website was to make it easier to maintain and update with new content by multiple members. With that in mind, If you have any pictures, web links, or articles of advise, rants, race reports or experiences that you think would be of interest to the Tridog community please send it to any Alpha Dog (see About Us page).
Please send us your comments on the various local Triathlon events listed on the events page. We all like reviews especially from people in our own group (with appropriate bias adjustment depending on who's making the comment). This information will be a tremendous asset to the Tridog website.
