Ironman California 70.3 - March 31, 2012

Team Skil

Two years ago, I followed my brother as he finished the run portion of his Half Ironman.  About a week ago, we started and finished the race together.  I've always wanted to finish a triathlon side-by-side with my brother.  It was an amazing feeling and I'm really lucky to have him as my brother and best friend.

My brother...2010

We've done several triathlons together since.  But usually we start at different times and so we have never been able to finish a race together.

The Ironman California race is in Oceanside, California...practically in our backyard.  So it's an easy one for us to do.

Besides my brother, I also have a group of friends that usually do the race each year.  It is always better to do a race when you have someone to train with and run with.

The Swim - 1.2 Miles in the Murky Oceanside Harbor
Our swim wave kicked off 10 minutes after the professionals at 6:50 a.m.  The water in the harbor was 58 degrees.  Luckily with my wetsuit, it didn't feel all that bad.  My brother and I floated at to the start line.  The gun sounded and we were off.

I lost sight of my brother after about 2 seconds.  Everybody looks the same in the water, so all you can do is swim your hardest.  I tried my best not to gag several times as I took in harbor water while breathing.  I also tried my best to swim as straight as possible, but it's anyone's guess as to how successful I was at that.

Swimming in a triathlon can be a little like a controlled riot at times.  I've heard of people getting kicked in the face and having their goggles ripped off their head in the frantic frenzy that ensues.  Several times during this race, I had someone behind me come right over top of me and take my legs out for a moment.  I tried to fight off panic as I felt myself sinking.  Then I got clear and kept going.

At one point, I felt like one swimmer literally tackled me by the legs in the water.  I sank further than usual and when I came up, I was pretty fired up.  As he swam past me, I seriously resisted the urge to clock him.

I hit the turnaround point at 21:26 and was feeling pretty good about myself and my swim.  Then, as we turned, we started getting rocked from some very large swells from an offshore storm.  The swells were especially bad here because we were at the mouth of the harbor and there was little sheltering us from the swells.

My brother came out first...I was about 6.5 minutes later...
(Apparently, I was swimming with my eyes closed...maybe that's why I was so slow!)

One change from last year was that the volunteers did not help us strip off our wetsuits as we exited the water this year.  It was much appreciated last year!  It can be a little tough to unzip yourself when your arms are tired and your hands are numb!

T1: Rumbling, Bumbling, and Stumbling Through a Costume Change
The next stage of the triathlon is the first transition or T1.  This is where you shed your wetsuit, get your bike gear on, and get back on the road.

The first thing I noticed when I got to my bike on the rack in T1 was that my brother's bike was gone.  I felt like it took forever to get my wetsuit off, but on my socks, bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and then pack up all my wet gear.

Team Skil Exits T1 and Prepare to Mount Up

The Bike Ride - A 56 Mile, Rainy Tour of Scenic Camp Pendleton
The weather was cold and rainy.  That didn't matter very much in the water.  But now it did.  I saw a sign during the bike ride proclaiming that the air temperature was a balmy 48 degrees!  Yikes!

The first 24 miles or so of the course are fairly flat and parallel the coast and I-5 as the bikers leave Oceanside and head north into Camp Pendleton.  I got off to a fairly good start.  I caught my first glance of my brother at about mile 10 or so as the course looped back.  I figured I was probably 10 minutes back.

Our jerseys are pretty distinctive on the course which makes it nice for us to see each other and cheer each other on.  I tried to keep up a good pace and was trying to beat last years average pace for the first 24 miles. Last year, I averaged 19.1 mph on this stretch and I was trying to beat that this year.

Let's face it...this form is not going to get me in the Tour de France!

Unfortunately, I soon met my first obstacle.  I couldn't find a pit stop in T1 so I had to get on the bike without heeding the call of nature.  I was determined to through the first stretch without having to stop, but I soon realized that I might not be able to and further I worried that I wouldn't be able to find a pit stip when I needed to stop.

I skidded to a stop at a convenient bathroom along a stretch of San Onofre State Park.  It seemed like the longest 2-3 minutes of my life. After exiting and getting back on the road, I realized that my speed had actually gone up from 20-21 mph to about 28!

I exited the first stretch on Cristianitos Road in San Clemente.  I checked my average speed for the first 24 miles--19.6 mph!  I felt good about that improvement from last years 19.1 and continued on my way.

The next significant part was Mile 28.  The Hill.  Last year, I had to jump off my bike to avoid an accident in front of me.  The Hill as so steep that I couldn't get back on until the top of the hill.  This year was different.  I tried to avoid tipsy cyclists and was able to power to the top.

At Mile 41 I was starting to feel a bit of fatigue and was wondering why I wasn't seeing anybody on the course even though I felt like I was making good time, despite the rain and sloppy weather conditions.  It was a little disheartening.  Just then, I caught a flash of red, white, and blue up ahead!  It was my brother!  The thought of seeing him on the course gave me a second wind out there.

I finally caught up to him at Mile 43 on a short downhill.  As I passed him, I tried to encourage him by yelling: "Only 12 more miles!"  I think I was actually trying to encourage myself as well!

I can smell the finish of the bike portion...

Last year, I remember at about Mile 50 thinking that I wasn't sure that I had a half marathon left in my legs, but somehow I managed to finish.  This year, I felt a lot more confidence as I pushed through the final miles on the bike.

As I hit the Strand, I looked at my watch and realized that I was going to finish the bike in a little over 3 hours.  Deep in my heart, I had been secretly hoping to do the bike in about 3 hours.  (Last year was 3 hrs 26 minutes).  I got more than a little emotional as I cruised down the Strand toward the second transition (T2).  I was glad that I had sunglasses on.  If people had been able to see me, they might have thought that I was in physical agony or that I was happy that the bike was over.

In truth, I was feeling overwhelmed with the realization that I was going to be able to finish and that I would hit my goal time.  That was a huge deal for me.  I had had nightmares about this race all winter.  My nightmare was not that I wouldn't finish--my nightmare was that I was going to do finish, but have a slower time than last year.  I was so grateful that my bike finish virtually guaranteed that I would meet my goals for this race.  It was a brief, personal moment, but I was grateful for it.

I swear I'm going faster than it looks...

T2: An Unexpected Delay
T2 is generally pretty short.  You rack your bike, ditch your helmet, put on a hat, put on your running shoes, and go.  I didn't stumble through this (like I had in T1) and I started heading for the gate to start the run.  Right before the run start was a bank of Biffy's.  As luck would have it, all were occupied!

I never thought that I would have to wait to make use of the facilities, but after my experience on the bike, I wanted to make sure I was really ready to run.  It didn't take that long for a spot to open up, but it felt like an eternity!

The Run: The 13.1 Mile Dash(???) to the Finish
I started the run plagued by cramps in my lower back.  I really need to spend more time on the bike so that the transition from bike to run is a little easier.  It really took about 6 miles for those cramps to loosen up a bit.

My brother attacked the run.

Even with the cramps, I felt like I was making pretty good time.  I don't have a fancy GPS triathlon watch (yet), but by my calculation, I was able to keep up a sub 10-minute mile pace for the first 11 or 12 miles.  I had visions in my own mind of

That didn't happen!  I knew that my brother was behind me, but I wasn't sure how close he was.  Turns out he was close and as I slowed down, he caught up to me with literally about half a mile to go (or less).  This time, it was his turn to encourage me and we entered the finish chute together and finished side by side!  =o)

It was really cool to hear the emcee at the finish line announce our names together and then also announce that we were brothers!

Team Skil finishes in 6:21:57

All in all, I was thrilled with my race.  But for the last mile of the run, I really felt like I exceeded my expectations and did better than I could have expected to do.  My goal was to go sub 06:30 and I did that.  In fact, both my brother and myself set personal records for the race.

Here is how this year's race compared to last years for me:

2011
Swim: 49:47
T1: 9:04
Bike: 3:26:49 (16.25 mph avg)
T2: 4:09
Run: 2:29:19 (11:23 pace per mile)
Total: 06:59:08

2012

Swim: 46:52
T1: 8:23
Bike: 3:06:31 (18.01 mph avg)
T2: 3:53
Run: 2:16:18 (10:24 pace per mile)
Total: 06:21:57


I don't operate under any delusions that I'm fast out there.  In fact, there were over 1300 people that were faster than I was on that day.  But I was excited that I was able to improve in every single stage of the race.  And the best part is that I know I can do even better next year!

I'm celebrating the fact that I'm done!

Special thanks go to our cheering section, who even brought signs.  Mom, J., Nicole, and the kids, you guys were awesome!  (and I promise to post a pic of the signs once I get them!)