Race Report – Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz

Summary: 6:58:59.
Swim: 41:20
Transition 1 (T1): 10:14
Bike: 3:14
T2: 1:54
Run: 2:51

Pre-Race.
Wed 9/7, I was signed up for my first relay. Originally, I was signed up to the swim only. Marisa was going to do the Bike and Maria was going to do the run. This was a terrific plan. Easy packing and car-pooling without a bike. It was a relief to not have to worry and stress over the run. But, days before the event, Maria texted us because she seriously injured her leg and couldn’t run. Uh-oh. Marisa graciously accepted the run and I took up the bike.
Fri, 9/7, I rode up to Santa Cruz with Carrie and Marisa. It was about a 5 hr drive from LA. It was cool summer day up in Santa Cruz, escaping from the summer LA heat wave. First activity was shopping at Ironman Village. I bought the Santa Cruz Event T-shirt. We met with Alvin, Julian, Suzie, Kevin, Paul at the VRBO. This VRBO was so well located. It was a half block to Transition area and half block to the Pier. We walked down to the pier and ate a seafood dinner, joined by Jack and Lidia. Yum.
Sat, 9/8, Morning open water swim. Jack and I went for swim right next to the pier. We swam out to three buoys. We saw Eric and Erick and Will, coming out of a early swim.
Group Check In at 10a. The group checks into together gets to rack their bikes together. We also sat in the Athlete Briefing. We walked back to the VRBO, put the stickers on our bikes and walked the bikes to Transition. Saturday night was quiet before the race.

Swim: 41:20.
5:45a. Foggy and dark in the morning. We walked half block and set up transition. I set up bike gear and then walked back to the VRBO. Jack’s bike had a flat in the mornings. Uh-oh. It was a scare, but he got it taken care of. Potty break back at the VRBO was perfect. I squeezed into the wetsuit and then walked down to the Pier. By 7a, the sun was lighting up the sky and burning off most of the fog. Jack and I jumped into the water to ‘warm up’. 59F. Not too cold. I was wearing my thermal ROKA cap and Blue Seventy booties with my ROKA wetsuit. Felt good. No waves. No current. No swells. Perfect swim conditions. I lined up at the 37-40 minute group with Paul. We started at 7:34am. I lined up with Paul.
On the way out, I felt pretty good. The buoys on the right side and going along the Pier. Easy sighting, since I breath on my right. I was able to swim straight buoy to buoy. My Garmin read about 20 minutes at first right turn around the pier. Feeling great. Kept up the pace. 41 minute was a great swim for me. No waves on the exit of the water. Swim booties helped walk over the kelp and seaweed.

T1: 10:14
The booties also help on the long run / walk to the transition area. Kiddie pool entering transition to wash off the sand. The soccer field was nice and soft to run on. I saw Marisa at the Bike Rack. I wore EKAI helmet, squeezed into a PTC jersey. No vest. Sun was out. Small bottle of water to wash off sand from my feet. Rolled socks on. Walked my bike out. Saw Maria cheering as I left the Transition.

Bike: 3:14
Rack was close to the bike out. The bike route was great. Mile 1-3 was along the bluffs along the beach. Beautiful scenic route. The rolled through the neighborhoods for a couple miles, then onto Pacific Coast Highway, for an out and back. One lane and the shoulder for racing. Very little car traffic. There was more hills than I remembers last year. The memory fades apparently. My belly felt good today, total blessing. My legs didn’t feel particularly strong, but I felt I could definitely grind it out good today. There were rollers 5-6% and some steep rollers 9-10%, but nothing too long. The down hills were terrific for aero. At Aid Station #1, I took a super short potty stop. Total worth it. I didn’t have to stop for the rest of the ride. The view during the ride was spectacular. Ocean waves crashing on the rocks. Rolling hills, farms, fields. Mile 20-28 before the turn around spot, the head winds were pretty strong. Super glad to turn around and get the tail winds. As I turned and picked up the speed, there was no sounds of wind for awhile, so the wind was probably 15mph at least. On one of the descents I hit a top speed: 44.7 mph. Wahoo!

Run: 2:51
Marisa picked up the race from here. So thankful I didn’t have to run / walk today. Wahoo. She hadn’t been planning on this run, so it was tough. But, she did great in my book.

Post Race: I walked my bike and swim gear back to the VRBO. Half a block. Awesome. Took a shower. Suzie returned to the VRBO with Julian’s bike and swim gear. What an awesome fiancee! She was going back to transition to pick up Alvin’s bike and swim gear. What an awesome friend! I walked down with her and walked Alvin’s bike back. Then we walked to the run course and cheer everybody on. We saw Michael H., Eric O., Kevin, Julian. Then I walked to the finish line to take pics. I saw John, Paul, Alvin, Marisa, and Carrie come in.

Post Race Party back at the VRBO. Tacos. Carne Asada, Chicken. Rice, Beans, Chips. Boston Cream Pie. Lots of drinks.
Stayed at the VRBO one more night. Good sleep.
Drove back to LA with Carrie and Marisa. We stopped for a yummy breakfast before leaving Santa Cruz, Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe. Waffle and eggs. Cinnamon roll. Coffee. Yum.

In the off season, I’m going to be trying more baking. Lynda has been encouraging me to try alternate sweeteners to make my bakes less bad for my weight. Ok. I’ll try it.

IM Santa Cruz 70.3
9/8/2024
Teresa Rokos	5:02:06
Eric Otero	5:56:55
Julian Kung	5:59:28
Kevin Peng	6:03:49
Alvin Hom	6:08:52
Erick Meadows	6:21:30
John Stephens	6:24:04
Michael Hagler	6:28:22
Paul Green	6:35:48
Jack Zernik	6:38:21
Larry Wyatt	6:56:18
Joe / Marisa Relay	6:58:59
Carrie Wilksen	7:16:19
Daniel Healy	7:37:03