2010 California 70.3 Race Report

Getting to the start Line:

Leading into this race I was never overly confident that I would put
together the best race. I had some issues leading into the event, tight
hip flexors, IT and hamstring. I feel the quality and quantity of bike
training was hindered by the weather we had in San Diego this winter, it
seemed to rain every weekend. I think everyone needs those long rides to
dial in their saddle time and nutrition.

I started training for this race back in late October/early November.
Things were going very well. I was losing weight, going to the gym and
getting stronger and my run was finally waking up. By late January my
right leg started to act up again. I stretched and foam rolled and
stretched some more, it didn’t do the trick. At that point I called Gino
Cinco, the PT who helped me when I tore the hamstring back in June, and he
recommended I come into his office to get some A.R.T. Boy do I feel sorry
for Gino and his staff, my muscles are thick and stiff, they had to work
their butts off to get thing to release at each session. I also received
many deep tissue massages and acupuncture from Simone W. Simone tells me,
of all the athletes she works on my muscles are the toughest to work with.
Thanks mom and dad. If it were not for the help of Gino and Simone, I
would not have been on that starting line on March 27th. I owe my race day
experience to them.

By late February I was already spent physically and mentally. My training
tanked, I was taking on weight, I felt like I had peaked and I was not
feeling confident in anything I was doing. I was not having fun. When I
decided to start training for this race I set very lofty goals and achieve
these goals I had changed some things. I went into kind of a monk mode. I
trained (a lot) by myself and that was ok for a while. I felt that is what
I needed to reach my goal but after awhile I started to miss my training
partners. I took some time off to re-evaluate my goals and lofty went back
to just wanting to have fun. I talked to my family and friends, to help
get my mind back on track. That was a great help, they popped my ego and
helped me set a new course; just have fun and get to the finish line.

The last few weeks leading into the race my confidence, to finish was
back.

Race Day:

The alarm went off at 4:00am and I felt like hell. I only got 4 hours of
good sleep and my right leg was bothering me. The damn dog next door was
barking all night and I was grumpy. I walked downstairs, with my race gear
on (Blazeman jersey & SLS3 race shorts), and I told my roommate I didn’t
think I could do the race. Not sure how I would feel when I got to the
race venue, I packed my media gear and race gear. 4:45am and we are on the
road. I zoned out with my iPod, while my roommate drove.

Once we got to the Oceanside, I unloaded both the media gear and race gear
and headed to transition. Once inside the transition area I racked and
unpacked my race gear, got body marked and talked to a few folks. From
5:500-6:20am I took off for a little warm up run, I needed to burn off
some nervous energy and test my leg. That was a smart decision, everything
went well and at that point I decided the race was a go.

6:57am and we are off. The swim was nice; I got kicked, poked, slapped,
punched, smacked and crawled up on. I was happy that I did not let it
bother me; I stuck to my mantra “You can not control the universe, so keep
going forward as that is where the finish line awaits your arrival” I swam
the straightest I have ever swam. I focused on my form and breathing;
speed will come later in the season. My new Xterra Vector Pro2 wetsuit
performed great, I couldn’t even tell it was on.

Coming into T1, I felt good. The crowd was cheering and the volunteers
were very helpful in transition.

Heading out onto the 56 mile bike course I decided I wanted to play it
conservative. Last year I hammered the first section of the bike course
and the hills handed me my ass on a silver platter. Plus truth be told, I
was not ready to hammer this early in the season. I had more trainer
sessions than I had time on the road, my nutrition was not dialed in and I
wanted to use this race to gain confidence in my run. I stuck to my pacing
plan but my nutrition plan sucked. I loaded 900 calories in my speed fill
(a mix of Accelerade and Carbo Pro) and with in an hour and a half I had
consumed over half. This was not smart; I started to feel bloated and ill.
I laid off the calories for a while and switched to water a bottle I had
mixed with Base Salt and Nuun. It seemed to be working.

Climbing up the first big hill, I felt ok. There were a handful of people
walking; there was no way that was going to happen. I was happy that I
never really went into a dark patches on the bikes. Historically I usually
do, I find myself having to dig out of a hole. After getting through the
four big hills, I used the tail wind and hammered for a while. Looking
down at my Garmin, I saw speeds in the low 30’s for a good chunk of the
last 15 miles. I eased off with a few miles before getting to T2; I wanted
to spin the lactate acid from my legs.

Coming into T2, things were going as planned. I was feeling fresh but my
tummy wasn’t happy. Before heading off onto the 13.1 mile run course I saw
Trevor Wurtele and Michi Weiss packing their gear. I asked them how their
race went. I was really hoping my stomach would relax while I was killing
time talking to these guys. I headed out of T2 and the announcer commented
that I was racing for the Balzeman Foundation. He also touched on the
story of Jon Blais. That was perfect timing as I knew I was going to need
that little extra out on the run course. I was running good at first but
by mile 2 the damn gas was killing me. I had to walk; it was the only
thing that kept this GI issue under control. I could have used a GasX out there. My feet blistered but that was because I was pouring water all over to keep cool. I ran when I could but I ended up walking more than planned.

I raced for the Blazeman Foundation, which I am very proud of. I also take
so many positives from this race. This race will help me put things in
order as I make plans for Ironman Florida in November.

I have to thank Paul at Hi-Tech bikes as he made sure my bike was ready,
Xterra Wetsuits, SLS3, Rudy Project, Friction Freedom and to all those who
volunteered and cheered all us athletes on.

TCSD Rocked! We had out own racks in transition, the club member support
was every where and the club colors were all over the course racing.
Congratulations to all my fellow club members.

A special thanks to the Blais family, Ruthy, Gino and Simone.

PS: Hey Athletes, IPods are not legal on the bike or run course. Also NO
DRAFTING on the bike course. Know the F’N RULES CHEATERS! You know who you
are.