California Half Iron '08
It's 7:40AM on March 30th and I'm licking my wounds from yesterday's first Half IronMan of the year; the California Half IronMan 2008. Man, I'm really sore....
As always, this race is probably one of the toughest 70.3 races out there with so many elite athletes (pros and age groupers) wanting to get their season off to a got start. This year was no exception. There were 380 guys in the 35-39 age group...No doubt about it, it's just getting tougher and tougher to compete at a high level in the age grouper events (hard to believe but this is my last year in this group....hoping the 40-44 group will be a little 'easier' but I'm not holding my breath on that front :)
I placed 14th in my group with a total time of 4 hrs and 46 minutes. My swim was good for me (31 minutes 11 seconds in 59 degree water and two leg cramps along the way - the first sign to me I wasn't 'quite with it'), my bike was 2 hours and 38 minutes with an average speed of just over 21.2 mph (I felt 'weak' the whole ride and was struggling to fight the windy conditions) and my run was 1 hour 31 minutes (I finally 'kicked' the jet leg around mile 8 and felt strong to the finish). Luckily, my hip-flexer injury didn't bother me too much but I am still not back to normal on that front.
It was the 6th time I did this race (done it since they started the Half IronMan distance) and, admittedly, I had high expectations for a good performance earlier in the year. Trouble was, I literally traveled around the world to get to the starting line this year. I had to go on a business trip to Dubai on the 19th of March and didn't return (to LA) until the evening of the 27th. Needless to say, my body was slightly 'off' from the jet leg and having breathed recirculated 'cabin crap oxygen' and eaten bad plan 'food' during the +30-hour trip from Dubai via Bangkok to LA, I was clearly not at the top of my game for this one....I hadn't been on my bike for 12 straight days - let alone my Tri-bike which I had not been on since I did the Florida IronMan in November of '07....). But hey, no excuses. I knew my body was off but I still wanted to complete the race. After all, it's all about having fun in this sport - even if you're not always 100% on top of your game.
I had shipped out my bike from DC ahead of time with my friends from the 'Bike Sherpa' (www.bikesherpa.com). These guys are awesome and I can highly recommend using their service to sanctioned events around the country and the world. They don't cover all races (at least not yet) but for the traveling 'business triathlete' like me, you cannot beat their services. I don't have my new Jamis T1 carbon frame yet so I used my 'old' bike (Jamis Trilolgy) from last year for this race. I'm looking forward to riding the new Jamis T1 since it'll be much lighter (carbon) and stiffer than the Trilogy.
Since I flew in from Dubai on the 27th, I had to register for the race and pick on my bike on the 28th in Oceanside. Luckily for me, I have family here in Long Beach, CA, so I was able to get around the trouble of finding a hotel and travel with my bike box. I drove to/from Oceanside on the 28th and again on race day (early morning as well as after the race). Unfortunately (or luckily), I discovered that the threads on my bike shoes were all but gone the day before the race so I had to hustle back to Long Beach to get my 'road bike' shoes instead. Lesson: always keep a second pair of bike shoes close by...
Like I said, this was a relatively good start to the '08 season for me - all things considered. While my business travel schedule isn't getting any less (off to Copenhagen on April 6th and Dubai again on the 20th...), I have to stay disciplined and stay focused on trying to manage a healthy balance between family, work and sports in the next few months. My next triathlon will be 'Columbia' on May 18th. This is an Olympic distance race so I don't have to worry too much about getting a lot of 'miles' in. This race will hopefully prep me for Worlds in Vancouver (also an Olympic) on June 5 - 8. I will also do New York City Triathlon in July (for Team Jamis Full Throttle Endurance) as well as the US National Championships (Olympic) in Oregon on Sept. 20th and the Nationals Team Event in Las Vegas on October 20th (with Team Jamis Full Throttle Endurance).
Other then that, I'm scheduled for IronMan Florida again in November and will also do some bike racing in-between if/when my schedule permits. I intend to keep you all posted here on my blog as the season moves on.
OK, folks, that's all for now. I wish you all a great spring and I hope to see you at the races! Happy training.
In sports,
Espen(USA:)
As always, this race is probably one of the toughest 70.3 races out there with so many elite athletes (pros and age groupers) wanting to get their season off to a got start. This year was no exception. There were 380 guys in the 35-39 age group...No doubt about it, it's just getting tougher and tougher to compete at a high level in the age grouper events (hard to believe but this is my last year in this group....hoping the 40-44 group will be a little 'easier' but I'm not holding my breath on that front :)
I placed 14th in my group with a total time of 4 hrs and 46 minutes. My swim was good for me (31 minutes 11 seconds in 59 degree water and two leg cramps along the way - the first sign to me I wasn't 'quite with it'), my bike was 2 hours and 38 minutes with an average speed of just over 21.2 mph (I felt 'weak' the whole ride and was struggling to fight the windy conditions) and my run was 1 hour 31 minutes (I finally 'kicked' the jet leg around mile 8 and felt strong to the finish). Luckily, my hip-flexer injury didn't bother me too much but I am still not back to normal on that front.
It was the 6th time I did this race (done it since they started the Half IronMan distance) and, admittedly, I had high expectations for a good performance earlier in the year. Trouble was, I literally traveled around the world to get to the starting line this year. I had to go on a business trip to Dubai on the 19th of March and didn't return (to LA) until the evening of the 27th. Needless to say, my body was slightly 'off' from the jet leg and having breathed recirculated 'cabin crap oxygen' and eaten bad plan 'food' during the +30-hour trip from Dubai via Bangkok to LA, I was clearly not at the top of my game for this one....I hadn't been on my bike for 12 straight days - let alone my Tri-bike which I had not been on since I did the Florida IronMan in November of '07....). But hey, no excuses. I knew my body was off but I still wanted to complete the race. After all, it's all about having fun in this sport - even if you're not always 100% on top of your game.
I had shipped out my bike from DC ahead of time with my friends from the 'Bike Sherpa' (www.bikesherpa.com). These guys are awesome and I can highly recommend using their service to sanctioned events around the country and the world. They don't cover all races (at least not yet) but for the traveling 'business triathlete' like me, you cannot beat their services. I don't have my new Jamis T1 carbon frame yet so I used my 'old' bike (Jamis Trilolgy) from last year for this race. I'm looking forward to riding the new Jamis T1 since it'll be much lighter (carbon) and stiffer than the Trilogy.
Since I flew in from Dubai on the 27th, I had to register for the race and pick on my bike on the 28th in Oceanside. Luckily for me, I have family here in Long Beach, CA, so I was able to get around the trouble of finding a hotel and travel with my bike box. I drove to/from Oceanside on the 28th and again on race day (early morning as well as after the race). Unfortunately (or luckily), I discovered that the threads on my bike shoes were all but gone the day before the race so I had to hustle back to Long Beach to get my 'road bike' shoes instead. Lesson: always keep a second pair of bike shoes close by...
Like I said, this was a relatively good start to the '08 season for me - all things considered. While my business travel schedule isn't getting any less (off to Copenhagen on April 6th and Dubai again on the 20th...), I have to stay disciplined and stay focused on trying to manage a healthy balance between family, work and sports in the next few months. My next triathlon will be 'Columbia' on May 18th. This is an Olympic distance race so I don't have to worry too much about getting a lot of 'miles' in. This race will hopefully prep me for Worlds in Vancouver (also an Olympic) on June 5 - 8. I will also do New York City Triathlon in July (for Team Jamis Full Throttle Endurance) as well as the US National Championships (Olympic) in Oregon on Sept. 20th and the Nationals Team Event in Las Vegas on October 20th (with Team Jamis Full Throttle Endurance).
Other then that, I'm scheduled for IronMan Florida again in November and will also do some bike racing in-between if/when my schedule permits. I intend to keep you all posted here on my blog as the season moves on.
OK, folks, that's all for now. I wish you all a great spring and I hope to see you at the races! Happy training.
In sports,
Espen(USA:)
posted by ESPENUSA at
10:42 AM
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