2016 Santa Cruz 70.3 Half-Ironman race report
How I experienced my first long-distance triathlon
Intro
In my five-years long adventure as a triathlete, I had not ventured outside the Olympic distance. However, I found myself growing as an endurance athlete both in volume of exercise, and also in addition to the practice. My regular work-outs were often long, and I frequently ran half-marathons, and Century bike outings, past the 160 kilometers mark. So, to avoid getting confortable in the two hours and half-ish that takes to complete my dear Olympic distance, I set as a goal to complete a long distance triathlon in 2016, preferably in California.
I also wanted to experience an Ironman-branded event, and see how it compares to other independent events. I discarded Oceanside because of the timing — it takes place early in the season- and I discarded Vineman because of the high registration fee. So Santa Cruz was the winner!
Pre race
The drive from LA to Santa Barbara is long, but often picturesque, crossing orchards and vines in the central valley of California. I stayed at a very affordable but correct hotel, Harbor Inn, checking in the Friday before the race with ample of time to settle. Bike check-in and race packet pickup was Saturday, which removes some of the stress of race morning. Some of the goodies included in the athlete’s pack were a nice wetsuit bag, nutrition, and many coupons — nothing extraordinary.
Race morning, Sunday 11th of September 2016
My alarm sounded at 4:30a, and breakfast was a drink of Alpha Amino Xtreme BCAAs along with a bagel, and a banana. After I applied sunscreen, lube and put on race kit, I drove the 10 minutes to the transition zone, where I set up quickly, still in the darkness. A soft drizzle covered everything, making the early morning even darker and colder.
After my ocean check the day before at 7am to replicate race conditions I had become worried about the frigid and murky water of Santa Cruz, at around 58F/14C. So one of my goals was to warm up well, and make sure I did not experience my frequent anxiety and lack of breathing coordination when I my face is submerged into very cold water.
Swim 1.2 miles / 1.9 km — 37m36s or 1m56s per 100m
As I was part of the second wave of the day, only 4 minutes after the pros, my start came quicker than I anticipated at 6:54a. However, one of the key differences I felt between the 70.3 versus Olympic distance was the general calmness of the start — no sprinting, no elbowing, not much melee-ing.
The fact that the bottom of the beach drops very quickly (no whitewater surf zone) makes it even easier to transition from beach running to proper swimming. All in, the start was confortable and relaxed. Civilized, almost.
The fastest swimmers charged and quickly packed in front while the rest of us scrambled to find a pace line to follow. I started left of the ideal course, but 250 yards in I moved inside (closer to the buoys) and grabbed the draft of another swimmer. There was some shuffling just before the first 90-degrees turn, and I continued alone from there. No significant currents and just a long-period background swell. The water felt salty, dark, and reddish. It seems that the color is caused by the different algae populating the bay.
My wetsuit was a 2XU V:3 and I wore Aqua Sphere Kayenne googles with clear lens, and my race kit was composed of 2XU shorts and shirt with zipper in the back — I prefer a two-pieces format as opposed to a singlet because of the increased flexibility and freedom of movement.
T1
I already knew that this was going to be a long one, as in the previous editions most athletes were over 6 minutes — when normally T1 takes around 3 minutes. The run from the sand to transition is long, but a good chance to get warmer after nearly one hour in frigid water. I put on socks but not arm-warmers (I was prepared in case I felt cold after the swim). I remember well the feeling of running 400 yards with my feet freezing-in some sense it was like walking on broken glass. The nice soft texture of the astroturf transition zone was a welcome feeling.
Bike 56 miles / 90 km — 2h44m at 33km/h
The course elevation was essentially constant rollers (small hills) plus a big climb in the first third of the course to a total of 3,000 feet or 940 meters of elevation gain. Open to traffic (boo). Mostly in my beloved Pacific Coast Highway, which runs parallel to the ocean. However, the foggy morning did not allow for truly espectacular views of the shore.
The first part, in the city, was curvy, and technical. The rest, more straight and exposed to breeze, with occasional sections in forests such as the Swanton climb section. This sector featured even more pronounced rollers, and one 1-mile 7% ramp which is pretty steep for traditional Ironman standards. As a good basque, I did well in the climb, keeping cadence high, and passing many riders. In the descent, very technical and convoluted, I did well as well.
After the climb, I actively managed my energy expenditure for 30 or 45 minutes, staying away from the red zone, and eating quite a bunch of chewies. When I saw the 50 miles sign, I pushed a bit as the end of the bike segment was near.
All was happening faster than I expected.
My time was 2h44m, an average of 20.4mph or 33kmh (Strava link)
Nutrition was composed of a peanut butter Clif bar, 6 chewies and two bottles of water. In terms of equipment, I rode my Argon 18 E80 Time Trial with 80mm rims. My helmet was a Bell Star Pro with Zeiss visor, a third-generation aero helmet that is fast but does not look funny pointy. The hydration system was a Profile Design Aero Bottle with long straw. I used my regular road bike shoes, SiDi APO Euro Edition.
T2
Even though faster than T1, I took the time to sit down, change shoes, drink, and dry my face with a towel. I also made the humane compromise of taking a restroom break as opposed to just peeing on myself. Just a small threat.
Run 13.1 miles / 21.1 km — 1h39m @ 4m44s / km
What a great relief was to finally stand up and relax my lower back after almost three hours cramped in the aero position. Being able to rotate back the pelvis again was a great feeling -weird sentence, true- and my legs were feeling great.
The run course was beautiful, along the water mostly, with a long section of unpaved trails over the cliffs part of the Natural Bridges park. Also, some pronounced rollers that brought the elevation to 140 meters.`
In a couple of fast kilometers out of transition I passed the two or three racers that went into T2 with me but did not take a bathroom break. I kept passing a few more to a 10K split of 46 minutes. From there, the trail dirt, the slopes, and the 4 hours behind started to weigh in and my pace slowed down. There was less passing as everyone found its place in the final hour of the event.
I embraced the fatigue and I did not fight it — pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
My final half marathon time was just under 1h40m, which is in-line with my estimates. For this run, I chose my Adidas UltraBoost running shoes.
Total race time of 5 hours and 13 minutes
Post race
Crossing the finish line was very intense. I did not anticipate this, but I cried. A lot! To be honest my breathing muscles were so fatigued after more than 5 hours of aerobic exercise with bursts of anaerobic, that it felt almost like a spasm response similar to crying. I know, weird! I also got cold, very cold. It was still cloudy and transition was closed for 90 more minutes. The bright spot was this incredible 20 minutes massage I got -a truly pleasant gift. Overall my balance is positive for my first long-distance triathlon.
In terms of repeating, the upside is that this course was not easy so I would easily improve my time, on the downside, the tension that gets accumulated of the few weeks prior to the event -when almost every microdecision has to be weighted against the goal- can be a bit too much. It is definitely possible that I will find myself in this situation again in 2017.
