70.3 Santa Cruz 4:40:16, 19th A/G, 70.3WC Qualified!

Yesterday my wife and I completed the Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz triathlon. There was a 1.2mile swim in the 63F water of Monterrey Bay around the Santa Cruz boardwalk, a 56mile ride out and back along the famous RT1 just short of Pigeon Point lighthouse, and a 13.1mile half marathon run along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I had a very good race finishing in 4:40:16 placing 19/262 M35-39 and Fiona went 5:28:20 placing 14/70 F35-39. I was able to get the 3rd of 4 roll down spots to compete in the 2024 70.3 Ironman World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand but Fiona missed out with only 1 spot in her A/G.

The year was a good one finally getting over painful plantar fasciitis that lasted for nearly 2 years. We started training after we got back from visiting Australia at Christmas to see family in preparation for Ironman Lake Placid in July. I slowly got back to training and started 400m/1M repeats since, and started going to some cycling groups. The weight was mostly around 183pounds the whole year, never really getting back below 180. I reduced liquor and energy drinks a bit too and stayed consistent up to 17hours per week. It was 7 weeks between races which wasn’t really enough. Fatigue and lack of motivation ran high but consistency is key.

We signed up for the race a year ago after watching TTL Paula and Eric Lagerstrom race. Since then, I added on a cruise which we leave on today, Navigator of the Seas, 5 day/4night out of LA to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. Then The Lumineers in Concert, (Ho Hey was our wedding song in 2014) and a drive back to Tucson, Arizona.

Thursday – 5:20am swim 1.6KM. 500 w/u, free/nonfree, 500 pull, 500 pull/paddle, 100 non free c/d, get massive breakfast burrito, 6.5hr drive to Ontario, CA. 3m run at 8:55/mile on treadmill

Friday – Large free brekky, drive to Santa Cruz past largest vineyard in the USA. Get to cheap but great location Ocean Gate Hotel. View of the boardwalk. Ran 3M to end of pier past seals past rides and the start/finish. Then we had fish and chios at the end of the pier for sunset dinner.

Saturday – 16min swim at 1:42/100m, not excited about the pace. Pursued by a seal. Water 63F cold but felt great after 2min. 3.5m bike and my new Vittoria Pro tubeless was leaking so spent $150 for a new tube at the expo which they put on for me and did a great job at TriPlay Sports. Thanks guys! We checked in the bikes to transition on a soccer field. My Gold All World Status had me with a nice low number 123 which I reckon I have had in the past. Perfect shot to the exit.

During the day, we drove the bike route to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, carbo loaded with cookies, soda, and more food. We went to the Boardwalk, went on some rides, and had a churro. Great Boardwalk! Dinner was 2 frozen mac and cheese and 4 rice puddings.

Race Day – Up at 4am. 2 muffins 2 redbulls, and a banana (1,000 calories). Watched some of the IMWC from France. Walked just under 1mile at 5am to transition. Tires were fine, didnt touch them. 2 bottles of Maurten 320, 2 bottles of LMNT sodium (1g salt per bottle). 2 Cliff gels citrus and caffiene, 1 Maurten Caf 100. ( 940 calories, 400 cal/hr). Walked the painful cement (no carpet) which is my only complaint about this race, to the start. Hung out with feet in the water to get adjusted to water temps. No warm up. Seeded myself in 27-30min goal time. Wore by TYR wetsuit and TYR goggles. Garmin on the outside of the wetsuit. Kissed Fi who was a little behind me. National Anthem. Go time. 100 Caffiene gel 15min before the start.

Swim 1.2M, 28:58, 1:30/100m, 2nd fastest 70.3 after Geelong, Australia 2015
4 athletes leaving every 5 sec. I ran in and got to work with high cadence and felt like I was moving fast already passing many people in front which was nuts. I thought those ppl were going to seed themselves better. The water was very calm and the cloud/fog was present. I drafted at times and it was a little chaotic at the first bouy swallowing some salt water. I stayed wide as usual and was sighting quite well. I looked at my watch at the half and was on good pace of 1:33/100m. Then on the way back I focused and didn’t let up. I came to the mat and clicked 30:12. So I am not 100% sure if the timing was off because it doesn’t make sense to me but results are results so I have to use what they reported. I was quite happy with the pace and said “Way to start the day!”

T1 – 3:42
I saw a lot of shoes for the run… well played folks. But I just ran the best I could and try not to think of the painful cement. At the bike, wetsuit down, helmet on, sunnies on, shoes on, go. I just run inbtge cleates now. Safer and faster.

Bike 56miles – 2:21:39 – 23.9MPH – 9th A/G, 30th Overall – 3rd fastest bike after 1/2 at 70.3 AZ. 127HR, 263avg power/271NP
No pacing strategy. Go as hard as you can and be fast. I headed out on new roads and once I got to RT1, got down and started moving. I held 301watts for 20min, 294watts for 30min, and 282watts for 1hour. Goal was 300 watts for 1hr but didnt know what I had in me. I did Mt Lemmon 2 weeks ago and only held 261 watts for 1hr.. quite poor for me.. Positive was 3rd best 90min power in 2023 at 272 watts. I think residual fatigue from Lake Placid. I drank every 7min with my automated timer and threw in LMNT too. I had gels at 30min, 1hr, and 90min with the 2nd Caf 100 at 90min. I went around 1:11 on the way out and was battling with a pack of 5 but was dropped and went solo back into town. Power dropped and wasn’t able to sustain the power intensity. The road surface was pristine and the views were great. At mile 42, waves of people were on their way out, 28miles behind me. It made me feel strong to know how well I am able to perform and made me feel good. Wind wasn’t strong but it was present. The one steep decent had me peak at 49mph and Fiona hit 42mph! I finally got back to T2 in a time I was quite happy with considering there was 3,000′ of climb. But because this is on the coast, the only major climb was around 3min. Most of it was rolling which led to fast times.

T2 – 2:28
Bike in rack and I sat down to put socks on. Feet were a bit numb so moved feet around and then put on Hokas. I have run before with numb feet and it sucks. Out the field and legs felt ok.

Run 13.1miles – 1:42:32 – 7:40/mile – 50th A/G.
No pacing. Go as hard as you can. I took off and wasn’t anywhere near my PB pace but was OK with the pace and just felt like I was working hard and solid. I took gatorade from the aid stations. At mile 3 I had to pee, as I was most of the day and super hydrated. I walked to grab a gel and get the pee flowing… I dont stop. This was my only walk on the run. The volunteers were great and this course was mostly flat over varied surfaces. The loop around the reserve over looking the cutout bluffs was great and Fi saw seals on the beach. I kept getting passed as I am 15-20min slower on the run than the boys at top. I saw Fiona at mile 9, her mile 4 and she had a great big smile. I thought she was a bit far back but her finish in 5:28 and 14th A/G was solid. With 3 miles to go, I went down through this wooded area, a bee hit my face and stung me. It hurt worse than my legs! haha. I also saw our friend from Project Multisport Tucson, Kailey but missed Chas. Well done friends on your first Half! I picked up the pace and HR the last several miles as 13.1miles really doesnt sound far once you train for Ironman, so the positivity was there. I also wasn’t focused on the time, just my effort and giving my best. Down the last segment, on to the beach, another finish. I sat in a chair waiting for Chas and Fiona and went out to support Kaylie.

We hung out, went to awards, and then to roll down. With 40 spots, my chances were low. However, I really had no idea. With a $780 entry ($437 for Santa Cruz), nothing about the sport is cheap.. and this price is absolutely rediculous. It is also Dec15th, 10 days before Christmas. So being 39yrs old, I didn’t expect many ppl our age who are typically married with kids, would be willing to do such a big trip. So while I still feel it is a bit of a joke, there were only 40 spots for 2,154 finishers, you do have to be in it to win it. But it rolled down big time in M40-44 so I was hopeful and ecstatic when I earned my spot! I love NZ as this will be my 6th time there having done IMNZ 2012 (cut to a half), Challenge Wanaka 2013, IMNZ 2017, and 2 cruises from Brisbane and Sydney. Fiona will be able to use TriBike Transport to bring her bike to adventure around from our 2019 IM Ireland vouchers, and we are now cancelling IM Ireland to save some money. We are now most likely out $1,100 fir tgise entries spent back in 2019 in an effort to save $6,000 to go to Ireland!