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| Between swim loops |
Bayshore 70.4 is a local half-iron distance event put on by the Long Beach Tribe triathlon group, and I have to say, it immediately rockets to the top of my list of favorite half-irons to do. The name, all by itself, implies there is something different about this course, since they add a tenth of mile onto the swim from a standard half iron distance--and as a swimmer, my reaction is more like "Go ahead, add a tenth of a mile. Actually add a mile to it--the swim is always too short in a triathlon!"
The race is billed as something between a training day and what's come to be known as the perfectly polished venues put on by the major powers in Ironman and half-Ironman distance racing these days. While the beginnings of Ironman triathlon predate my existence in the sport (and almost predate my existence period), I imagine that the feel that I got from Bayshore 70.4 is a lot more in line with what the first Ironman event in Hawaii was like than what it has become now. The sport has evolved--it's elite level athletes racing and finishing the event in times that were unfathomable when the sport was first born--and it's awesome. It's just that it's different than what it began as.
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| T1--starting the bike |
Make no mistake--if you come into this event expecting a closed course--athletes dominate the area--complete safety while racing--type of experience, you will be horribly dissatisfied. But if you're after what I was--something more like a day to challenge yourself, to test your capabilities in a long triathlon, and something that is just more relaxed...it's an awesome place to be.
The differences begin right from the point where you sign up. I was enamored with the statement that they would have timing chips this year. Packet pickup the day before was about picking up your packet...instead of wading through a tent-city of merchandisers strategically placed to make you look at everything on your way to picking up your packet. I chatted with some people in line (the line was only about 5 people deep, so there wasn't much time)--someone was there doing their first half iron. And there was somebody who was having drama that there were not course maps available...but from what I could tell, those maps were going to be available later, and he just happened to show up right at the beginning of packet pickup. Since I train on the San Gabriel all the time, all I needed to know was how far up the turn around was, and that was easily answered--frankly, I didn't really even need to know that at this point...but it's nice to visualize where you're going to turn around.
Leading into this event, I was having problems with my back--one of the reasons to do this early season event was to shake out issues that I would need to correct before racing Full Vineman this summer. My back is my primary focus from here on out. In any case, I talked with Joanna the day before, and wasn't sure if I'd even be able to get up and go to Bayshore at all the next day. It was entirely possible I would wake up with the sharp stabbing pain I've had in the past, and not be able to swim, let alone bike or run. I spent the remainder of the day doing what I could to loosen up my lower back--some time in the hot tub--some stretching, but not overstretching. Stay relaxed, stay hydrated, drink some V8 and hope for the best. Joanna and I talked at length about the various outcomes that may happen, and I'd take the day one step at a time. Each leg of the race would have it's own set of circumstances. I was going to work the swim only as much as I could and not adversely affect my core muscles for the bike. The bike would be about riding intelligently--taking it easy to begin with and seeing what kind of pace I could settle into, while focusing on a negative split effort if my body allowed it in the back half. And the run would be about doing what I could and surviving to the finish line. In any other race, I might not have even started, but since this is right in my backyard, and I knew how to bail out of the course and get home all the way through it, it made sense to take it as it came and treat it as a training day.
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| Perhaps the best finish line picture of me, ever. |
I slept like a rock the night before this race, which is really, really unusual for me. Too relaxed? Maybe. Whatever--I welcomed it. I think I was the last person to get into transition, or maybe the second to last...because--hey, the race starts 2 miles from my house. Why rush? It turned out I hadn't planned on where to park, and wound up standing in line because the beach pay-stations are ridiculously slow to use. I wound up leaning my bike against a wall in the transition area because the racks were at capacity, and thought to myself that a WTC race official in any other race would have yelled and screamed at me until I made a whole bunch of people screw up their transition areas to squeeze me into their rack--or they would have said something once, and then quietly disqualified me. But Bayshore 70.4 is about just rolling with the punches--there's a space there? Well, use it!
I got done and was ready for the swim about 10 minutes ahead of time. Brian came with me to help me into my wetsuit--because my wetsuit is ridiculous, and requires a series of coordinated movements and someone to aid me to get the back zipper closed (the thing I hate most about this wetsuit is the upside-down zipper). The swim was relaxed--it required two loops with a short run out and back into the water in between, and a couple of spots you had to swim over a rope on each loop because it was half in and half out of the sectioned off safe swim zone at Bayshore. My hand got tangled in the ropes that were holding together the turn around buoy when I passed it on the second loop. As I stopped for a few seconds to take my hand out of the ropes--I thought "Somebody really went to war with this thing..." I swam into the large swim area demarcating rope shortly thereafter and felt my back tinge--that may have been it for me for the day, but it turned out that it didn't bother me for the rest of the swim or going into the bike.
I came out of the water and in transition heard somebody tell someone behind me they were 5th...so I assume I was 4th out of the water, but don't really know for sure. I got through T1, and took off on the bike. The first couple of miles of the bike (and the last couple) are on streets, and you have to deal with a handful of traffic lights. On the way out, it's really no big deal, because they are all either straight-throughs or right turns. On the way back, you could get nailed by a lot of traffic and some long waits for a left turn signal, and you just have to accept that (and remember--it's a long training day). The ride went better than I could have possible imagined--I stuck with the plan. I sat up a lot. I got out of my seat when it was completely unnecessary. My focus was on keeping my back loose. I negative split my race and averaged 199 watts for the whole thing (8 watts higher than my previous best at this distance)--wattage was in the lower 190s going out, and above 200 coming back. At the halfway point, I stopped for a short bit and the guys at the turnaround refilled my bottles for me--they were prepared to do a much more rapid swapout, but I just told them that it was a long training day for me and didn't need to rush. One of them said something like "But you're dominating!" and then they offered me a beer, which I actually considered for a brief second--but decided I should get on my way. The ride back was uneventful--you have to yell "On your left" a lot on this course because it is well used by local cyclists and people just out for a fun ride, but it's fine as long as you have a set of lungs on you. I got insanely lucky with the left hand turns on the streets leading into T2, and wound up splitting just under 2:45 for the ride.
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| Bike Power--the few dips are where you have to slow down, or you will crash |
In T2, somebody told me that I was in 13th place, and I thought to myself "Well, I'm about to be in 80th" but with my out-loud voice I thanked them. The run wound up being a 3 loop run along the beach that was changed the morning of the race. I can only imagine how difficult the city was being with the people who put on this event, if it culminated in a literal last minute change. Kudos to Tribe for handling it so well. The run was one of the best marked and best organized and supported runs I've done for a triathlon. My back, however, had a different opinion of the run--it would turn out that it decided it was not ever going to loosen up on me for the entire half marathon. I struggled through the first 2 loops of the run, and then completely fell apart on the third. My friend Steve had planned on meeting me during the run to get his Saturday run in, and wound up joining me just as I was falling apart--it was good to have somebody who was capable of chatting (one sided chatting for the most part) to help keep me going. And that's what's great about this course--some races would have strictly forbade this...booted him off the course and disqualified me, but it didn't matter here. It was an open course and the moral support was amazing. I split a time of 2:19 on the run...way off of what I should be capable of, but probably the best that I could imagine given my back issues.
I finished the day in 34th place (out of 100), in a time of 5:39, which was my 2nd fastest half iron to date.
I have to say--this event is amazing. It hearkens back to something more pure about the sport than a quest for merchandise with a logo on it. It's about challenging your body, and having fun doing it. Sign up for Bayshore 70.4 if you can (it fills up every year), and set yourself up for a day of having a good time swimming, biking, and running. I think seasoned triathletes and newbies alike can find something different to enjoy and challenge themselves with, that you just don't get at other events.
