Santa Cruz 70.3 Race Report

I decided to finish up the triathlon season with the Santa Cruz Half Ironman. Overall I finished 5th in my age group and 30th woman overall.  Not a bad way to end the first season in the 25-29 age group. I was a tad nervous to age up but it is a very fun experience to have to push so hard in competition and the finish is that much more rewarding. 

For now I am signing off the triathlon scene to focus on a few more trail runs and a marathon in November. Any more swim and bike is for fun and cross training, woohoo! I don't have any triathlons on the radar jut yet for next year, so feel free to leave a few suggestions. 





Swim

I don't always wear neoprene pantyhose,
 but when I do, I wear Blue Seventy

I absolutely love being the first wave in the swim, a few guys from the next wave caught us but as a whole it was a short span in the washing machine then a wide open course. Really happy with my Blue Seventy Fusion suit, after a short cold shock it warmed right up and didn't let too much water into the sleeves. 

Having the dock at the center of the swim allowed for some easy spotting. Also beneficial because staring out into the vast ocean provides a bit of an existential crisis, which I just don't have time for. I generally try to avoid ocean swims but this one went very well with a  total time just over 40 minutes.

What I do wish I had done differently would be to have some sandals or something waiting. The run to T1 was a third of a mile and part of it was on cobblestones. I neglected to do so thinking it would violate the rules about outside assistance, but there were many lined up at the exit. It turned out OK this time but is good to remember for the future.

Bike

WEEEEEE!!!!

The bike is always my favorite, while this one was marred with small annoyances I still got to climb up in the rank from 32nd to 5th. My handlebar tape decided it didn't want to be there anymore and my gear box kept opening up to say hello. Luckily both of these issues were easy to fix while on the go and were more noisy than anything else. My bento box full of caramel Bonk Breakers stayed shut and that's what matters most!

This course was less hilly than some I have done since coming to the Bay Area but was not without its tough parts. Right at the 20 miles mark as a decent 2 miles climb with the remainder being rolling hills. Best way to handle this kind of course is a power meter. Maintaining as consistent a power output as possible keeps the energy output lower, leaving more to finish the run. Hills will require slightly more to go up but ensure you take the recover time on the downhill when pedaling is not as effective. Using this methodology, I finish up the bike after 2:43 and get ready to run to the finish.

Run

The first photo, with a costume change!

This run felt down right perfect. I PR'd my half marathon time with a 1:45 finish and managed to maintain the 5th place I had gained on the bike. There was some touch and go with a few other runners but I dropped the last one for good with 3 miles to go and just had to hold on to the finish. As a forewarning to anyone considering running this race, the run finishes with a 3/4 mile stretch on the sand and has a two mile stretch of trail running right in the middle. My Bocos might have been a better choice for these stretches but the Distance Elites, as always, held their own. This also might be the first race where I put more Ruby's on after the finish to protect my feet from the sand in my socks!

See you all next year!