Oceanside Half Ironman Race Recap

*Editor’s note: This post was not published in a timely matter due to extreme procrastination.

Triathlon season has officially begun! (*All the tri geeks applaud*) This year I started my season off with a bang — I’ve already competed in three races and I am signed up for three more this summer (yikes!). I typically do 1-2 races a year, but I decided 2019 was going to be different. This year, the plan is to race consistently to see if I can improve my times and efficiency.

So far, the few spring races I’ve competed in have gone pretty well. Although, I think I’m ready for a training break. Swimming, biking and running six to seven times a week (sometimes multiple times a day) can get exhausting. It’s not just physically draining, but mentally tiring as well. (If you’ve ever done a 6 hour workout, you know what I’m talking about.)

I figured I’d start sharing my race recaps and tips for anyone who’s looking to get into the sport of triathlon. While it may seem intimidating, I promise you, it’s really not as hard as it may seem. Plus, the best part of training for hours on end? Eating all the pizza!

More miles, more pizza!

So let’s start with my Oceanside half ironman race recap and discuss every mile of the 70.3 race (joking, that would be extremely boring). I’ll share a short recap of my training, an overview of the race course and my top lessons learned from racing the half ironman distance.

When and Where

Oceanside 70.3 usually takes place in early April — one of the first 70.3 races of the season. Oceanside is located in Southern California, just south of the Camp Pendleton Marine base. It’s an ideal race for anyone who loves sunny California.

When To Register for Oceanside 70.3

I signed up for the race back in July 2018 — I’ve had my eye on this race for awhile for two reasons: first, it’s a local race and taking travel out of the equation is one less thing to worry about; second, it always sells out (like really, really fast), so this time, I committed as soon as I heard registration was opening. This time, the race sold out in less than a week! If you are considering signing up for Oceanside 70.3, I would recommend setting your alarm and registering right when it opens to secure the lowest price and a spot at the start line.

The Training Plan

Training is so much fun, I swear!

When you sign up for a half ironman race nine months in advance, it may seem like you have all the time in the world to train — but don’t be fooled. Make sure to allow yourself enough time to build a strong base and enough time to gradually increase your training distances to avoid injury. Because this race took place in early spring, I knew I would have to have a strong base at the end of December and start ramping up my training in January — about three months prior to the race.

With the help of a Garmin Connect training plan, I began my training in January (that “strong” base didn’t really happen in December between traveling to Australia and getting sick!). I 100% recommend making a written plan or downloading a plan to follow: without one, you’ll aimlessly train and may not be prepared come race day.

Garmin’s community is free to join and they have a variety of training plans to download. They actually didn’t have a 70.3 training plan, but I followed the Olympic selection and added more mileage as I got further into training. Here’s an example of what the triathlon training plan looks like:

You can select between beginner and intermediate training plans depending on your level.

Pre-Race routine

Favorite dinner at Clara in Carlsbad.

After checking in our bikes the day before (which was so nice because come race morning, you don’t have to worry about getting your bike to the start!), we were ready to race! We enjoyed our favorite meal at one of our favorite spots in Carlsbad (Clara - Read My Review Here!), and tucked in for bed early.

I’ll write another post on all of my pre-race tips — but here is one you should always do, no matter what race you’re competing in: Don’t do anything different the night before or the morning of a race! Whether that be the food you eat, the race clothes you’re wearing (make sure you’ve practiced in them before), or your hydration — keep it similar to how you’ve trained! New shoes, for example, can cause blisters if you’ve never worn them before. A new food the night before may cause you indigestion. Stick with what you’ve been doing for the best possible experience!

Oceanside 70.3 Race Day

I woke up about four hours prior to the start of the race (enough time to eat breakfast, drink coffee, put on sunscreen and do a last-minute gear check!).

Bikes racked and ready!

My go-to race morning meal: Oatmeal with berries (blueberries and raspberries), almond milk, cinnamon, a scoop of peanut butter and a little brown sugar.

My boyfriend and I drove to the start where there was permitted parking in select lots. Once we made it to transition and placed our remaining gear by our bikes (towel, bike shoes/socks, running shoes, hat, sunscreen, nutrition and water) — it was time to race (after one last bathroom run, of course!). I always listen to some music before the race to get me pumped up.

Favorite pump-up race music: Anything by Beyonce, especially “Formation” #islay

The Swim - 1.2 miles

The night before the swim…

This year the swim start was a time-trial start — meaning everyone lined up based on their predicted swim finish time and groups of 3-4 athletes started every 5 seconds. This was different from past years because typically, you would go by age group and there would be a mass start. However, I personally love time-trial starts because it takes the pressure off (at least a little bit), and then you aren’t getting punched in the head once you start the swim (as much).

The swim was quite nice — we started in the ocean and wrapped around the Oceanside harbor where the swim ended. Luckily, the waves weren’t very big so my water entrance was smooth!

I felt strong exiting the water and beat my goal time of finishing in 40 minutes: 37:34.

The Bike - 56 miles

Oh, the bike. I was a little nervous going into the bike for a couple of reasons. First, I had only practiced on part of the course (since part of the course is on Camp Pendleton, which is a military base, there isn’t public access). Second, I had heard there was a hill called “Hell Hill” — so yeah, I wasn’t too stoked on that.

I crushed the first 22 miles or so since I’d regularly practiced on that section of the course (you can get a bike pass to go on part of the base), averaging around 19 miles an hour. I wanted to make sure I paced myself appropriately, knowing that this “Hell Hill” was inevitable. As I came down over another rolling hill, I finally saw it: Tiny little people on bikes going up this ENORMOUS hill. “Well, if that isn’t ‘Hell Hill,’ I’m really screwed,” I thought to myself.

If you are training for this race I can not stress enough: TRAIN ON HILLS. Train on them often, and be prepared to CLIMB at this race.

I did not train enough on hills — that was apparent. I crawled up “Hell Hill” and finally made it to the top (there were plenty of people walking — that is something I refused to do, but I totally get it). What comes up, must come down, right? Right — until there was another “Mini Hell Hill” (seriously, they had signs for each of them — which made me laugh, but also cry a little inside).

After going up three more brutal hills, there was a steady downhill that took us back to the coast. The only drawback: major headwinds. So while I did top out at 40 MPH — once I hit a flat section, it was struggle town to maintain a decent pace.

Lesson learned: If I complete this race again, I will practice climbing steep hills and ride more in general to prepare!

The Run - 13.1 miles

After crushing my bike time goal (I wanted to finish under 3:30, and I came in at 3:16), I told myself I had it in the bag for the run — as long as I could go sub-2 hours (which is pretty doable for me).

Unfortunately, my body did not feel the same way. Although the first couple miles I started out strong (8:15 pace), I tanked around mile 3. My strong stride turned into a lethargic shuffle (9-minute miles turned into 9:30-minute miles, and finally 10-minute miles). I felt like I was pushing so hard, but going nowhere — it was pretty frustrating (and painful, I’m not going to lie!).

Struggling on the 13.1 mile run.

Oceanside 70.3 is a flat two-loop half marathon course right along the coast.

The great part: there are TONS of spectators and cheer squads.

The bad part: it’s two loops.

After battling the first loop, I sucked it up and set out for the second. Although it was probably one of the most painful races I’ve had to date — it was fun seeing my boyfriend and brother on course (as they passed me headed to the finish line, jerks — kidding). Also, my parents came to cheer us all on which was a much-needed morale boost.

My overall finish time was 6:10:33 — my goal was to come in under 6 hours. But I was still stoked on beating my previous half ironman time by 23 minutes — a huge accomplishment!

So. Glad. That’s. Over.

But already thinking about the next race…

Lessons learned: If you are considering racing Ironman Oceanside 70.3 — I would definitely add some hilly bike training sessions to your plan as well as some long brick workouts to prepare for the two-loop run course.

Every time I finish a big race like that, I always think I’ll never do it again … until I reminisce (after the pain has subsided) and think about how great I felt post-race. Will I compete in Oceanside 70.3 half ironman again? Perhaps. Will I do it again without training for huge hills? Definitely not!

Have you competed in another half ironman? Do you have any tips I should use for my next race? Let me know in the comments!