San Francisco, CA
Race Totals: 3:04:54
Swim: 47:22
Bike: 1:16:25 (20.44 mph avg)
Run: 51:49 (7:24 per mile avg)
Race Totals: 3:04:54
Swim: 47:22
Bike: 1:16:25 (20.44 mph avg)
Run: 51:49 (7:24 per mile avg)
Pre-Race:
This was my first race
after Vineman 70.3, and it was nice to get back to into my comfort zone of doing
shorter courses. This race is very unique in that it is a 1.2 mile boat start swim
from Alcatraz to SF in freezing cold shark invested waters, followed by a super
hilly 26 mile bike, and a twisty, turny, hilly 7 mile run which includes
running in deep sand & climbing the infamous 400 step sand ladder.
A little info about myself:
I’m 30 years old, weigh 150 lbs, my FTPw = 225watts, and my VO2max = 69.2 (320
watts)*. My pre-race goals were 40 min swim, 1:10 bike, and 49 min run. Was hoping for a top 5 AG finish, and a
top 50 OA finish.
* Power & VO2 Testing
done May 2011
4:00AM I ate 2 instant oatmeal packs, a single serving package of almond butter, ½ banana, a some Ritual Coffee ( yes I’m a coffee snob ). ( 550 cal )
4:30AM Arrived at transition
5:00AM On the bus to the
boat
6:00AM On the boat
6:45AM Honey Stinger Gel on
the boat chased w/ water. ( 120 cal )
7:00AM Race Start
Swim (1.2mi):
I’m not a strong swimmer so usually I just try and survive the swim and try not to fall too far behind. I had been working on my swimming A LOT so I was hoping to do a little better than I normally do compared to my peers, but this was a tough swim. The water was choppy, the sky was foggy, it was hard to sight, and during some parts the ocean felt like a giant treadmill. I popped out of the water with 51:05 on the clock, a full 11 minutes behind my goal (although in reality it was 7.5 minutes since I wasn’t the first off the boat.) Definitely not good enough to place well. Oh well guess I still suck at swimming, time to go kill it on the bike & run.
Swim Total: 47:22 (9th 30-34AG, 107thOA)
T1: 8:12 ( there was a long run here, don’t judge me )
Bike (26mi):
This is a pretty unique race with a lot of steep up hill and down hills. The advice that most people give for this course is to charge the hills with all you got and rest on the downhill’s. This goes along with the age old saying on how to use your power most effectively. “Go fast when the race is slow”. The advice worked really well, because I ended up passing a bunch of people, but I got some pretty intense power readings ( > my V02max power ) on some of the hills. At the end of the bike, I checked my time and it was about 6 minutes slower than I wanted which sucked because I felt like I gave it my all. I also checked my average power and it was 220w. Holy Shi*t that’s way too high, I wasn’t expecting that. Hope I have something left for the run.
I’m not a strong swimmer so usually I just try and survive the swim and try not to fall too far behind. I had been working on my swimming A LOT so I was hoping to do a little better than I normally do compared to my peers, but this was a tough swim. The water was choppy, the sky was foggy, it was hard to sight, and during some parts the ocean felt like a giant treadmill. I popped out of the water with 51:05 on the clock, a full 11 minutes behind my goal (although in reality it was 7.5 minutes since I wasn’t the first off the boat.) Definitely not good enough to place well. Oh well guess I still suck at swimming, time to go kill it on the bike & run.
Swim Total: 47:22 (9th 30-34AG, 107thOA)
T1: 8:12 ( there was a long run here, don’t judge me )
Bike (26mi):
This is a pretty unique race with a lot of steep up hill and down hills. The advice that most people give for this course is to charge the hills with all you got and rest on the downhill’s. This goes along with the age old saying on how to use your power most effectively. “Go fast when the race is slow”. The advice worked really well, because I ended up passing a bunch of people, but I got some pretty intense power readings ( > my V02max power ) on some of the hills. At the end of the bike, I checked my time and it was about 6 minutes slower than I wanted which sucked because I felt like I gave it my all. I also checked my average power and it was 220w. Holy Shi*t that’s way too high, I wasn’t expecting that. Hope I have something left for the run.
Bike Nutrition:
· 0-20min: H2O only
· 20min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal) + water
· 40min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal) + water
· 60min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal) + water
Bike Nutrition Totals (+/-):
· Calories: 200* (160
per hour)
*For reference, raced at ~150LBS (Hourly Caloric Intake (Bike):
1.1 calories /LB)
Bike Total: 1:16:25 (3rd 30-34AG, 38th OA)
T2: 1:06
Run (7.0mi):
I was pretty down on myself at this point in the race. I thought I was 10 minutes off on my swim time, and 6 minutes off on my bike time, but as I rolled my bike into T2 there were less than a dozen bikes there. Huh? All of a sudden I got SUPER motivated. Time to go ALL OUT !!!
Bike Total: 1:16:25 (3rd 30-34AG, 38th OA)
T2: 1:06
Run (7.0mi):
I was pretty down on myself at this point in the race. I thought I was 10 minutes off on my swim time, and 6 minutes off on my bike time, but as I rolled my bike into T2 there were less than a dozen bikes there. Huh? All of a sudden I got SUPER motivated. Time to go ALL OUT !!!
As it turned out there was
a HUGE current this year that ruined everyone’s swim times, and the wind on the
bike course also slowed everyone bike times down from last year.
I did most of the run by
myself, but ended up catching a couple of the pro women around the sand ladder,
and actually ran miles 6 & 7 stride for stride with Courtenay Brown from
team trakkers. Somehow my splits
got mixed up, but below are my approximately my splits.
Mile 1: 6:48
Mile 2: 6:48
Mile 3: 8:26
Mile 4: 6:56
Mile 5: 9:17
Mile 6: 6:40
Mile 7: 6:24
Run Nutrition:
Misc: Drank
½ cup of water at every aid station
Run Total: 51:49 (3rd 30-34AG, 33rd OA)
Race Total: 3:04:54
3rd M30-34
15 OA (amateurs)
Race Total: 3:04:54
3rd M30-34
15 OA (amateurs)
Lessons Learned. This was my
first AG Podium at a big event, so I was super stoked with the race. Seems like
a lot of the hardwork I put in this year is paying off. This is a very unique
venue and I would highly recommend it anyone who is considering it. Thanks to Tri
Cal who always puts on great events. Thanks to Trisports.com, Long Beach Tri Club and thanks to all
my friends that did it with me. Not Many lessons learned here except I need to
learn how to swim. Oh and I also need to learn how to run downhill, for some
reason all these people would pass me on the downhill running then I would
catch up to them, and then they would get ahead of me again on the next downhill.
Next stop my local long beach sprint triathlon.
