Fun in the Sun: Rocky Point Triathlon

So I went to a beach party and a triathlon happened. The next  stop on my 2015 race season continues with an Olympic effort at the Rocky Point Triathlon in Puerto Penasco, MX, AKA, Rocky Point to AZ and CA locals and commonly referred to as “Arizona’s Beach” only a 3.5 hour drive from the Phoenix area.

Puerto Penasco is nestled against the northern most point where the Sea of Cortez greets the Mexican coastline in the State of Sonora. A once quaint fishing village has grown into one of the top tourist and go-to spots for ‘fun in the sun’ of residents of AZ, So Cal and NM.  Known for its warm water temps, ocean breezes and crazy tide changes, Rocky Point is the perfect venue for this race. The race takes place at the Las Palomas Resort and boasts having the best post-race party. I cannot disagree!  Although the Mexican ambiance is super laid-back with your typical Uno Mas attitude, the course is no joke featuring a rough breakwater swim, windy bike and hilly run through the resort golf course.

Making a relatively last minute decision to race Rocky Point, I was looking forward to coming back to avenge my 2^nd place AG finish (by a mere 17-seconds) of 2012 with my eye on winning my AG and a top-5 or even possible Overall podium. I hit my goals taking 1^st in my AG and 5^th Overall, and stoked with an Olympic PR of 2:12 -- only a few minutes off the OA podium.

Feeling fit and ready, Chris (Bagg, my awesome coach) has effectively transitioned me from early season long course training for Oceanside 70.3 to short course focus over the 4-weeks between races. Our work together has again paid big dividends. With a short course focus over the summer months I’m very excited about the Rocky Point outcome setting a baseline for us to build, tweak and execute as I am quite certain the competition at Alcatraz, NYC Tri, and USAT Nationals will have built and tweaked all they can and definitely be ready to execute. 

I love ocean swims and was glad to see the surf on race day, although fairly rough, had calmed from the day before when I got banged around during a practice swim. The great thing about fighting the surf going out is using it to your advantage coming in, and with a two loop course – the fight out and trip back in provided double the fun. My new Blue Seventy PZ3TX Skinsuit worked like a charm. I exited the water 7^th (out of 26) in my AG ready to ride.

 

The bike course was 3-loops of 14.4-km (9-miles) or roughly 43.2-km’s total. A bit longer than the standard Olympic 40-km distance, but what the hell, this is Mexico and they’re close. The ride out was fast and fun with a strong prevailing tailwind making the return into the headwind a grind. Either direction the key was to keep low in your aero’s to maximize or negate the wind. I had the 2^nd fastest bike split in my AG moving up 5 spots into 2^nd place. Coming into T-2, I was told I was the 7^th racer in. Feeling energized by this news – I was anxious to run.

As I exited T-2 there was no other runners in sight yet I knew there were at least 6-guys in front of me if spectator intel was accurate. I had my work cut out for me. For the first time the dry-arid Sonoran heat caught my attention forcing me to now pay closer attention to a climbing HR. As I got my legs under me I focused on keeping a steady-conservative pace in the 6:30-6:45 range. Within the first 1.5-miles I came up on the first guy and passed him.  The constant ups and downs created cramping in my left hamstring causing me to slow up on the downhills.  At mile-3, I came up on the next runner, Greg Stelzer who is in my age-group, after passing Greg I could now see the resort in the distance but still had some work to do. Thoughts of cold cerveza at the finish fueled my efforts as I came into the home stretch, rounded the last corner onto the beach across the finish line. My 10K run split of 40:33 was the fastest in my AG and 3^rd fastest overall – allowing me to secure the AG win and top 5-finish.

Thank you Chris for changing gears so quickly to short course and to the Timex Factory Team and team sponsors Scratch Labs, Blue Seventy, and Skins for the sweet training and racing tools.

The good people at Human Movement Management work hard and do a nice job organizing and putting on a great race.  So if you’re looking for a little fun in the sun – I highly recommend the Rocky Point Triathlon. Thanks for reading.

IM 70.3 California (Oceanside) Race Report: "Five W's and One H"

Kaboom! The 2015 race season is game-on! My first race working with Coach Chris Bagg, proudly representing the Timex Factory Team was nothing short of an awesome experience.

Prepared! Not just a word but a resonating theme I can’t get out of my head best sums up
this big early season test. My left brain forced me to analyze (likely over-analyze if you know us Type-A triathletes) why prepared fits so well while my right brain is just feeling warm and fuzzy about the outcome. To satisfy my need for analysis I decided to apply the “Kipling Method” or better known to my son’s 5^th grade class as the “Five W’s and One H” questions. None of these questions can be answered by a simple “yes” or “no”, but even Capt. Kirk Obvious knows the Five-W’s…Who, What, Where, When and Why are fairly self-explanatory, albeit, Why was murky at times training through cold/wet/winter days in GA. But as an avid and competitive age-group triathlete, Why was easily justifiable. It all boiled down to the mysterious and clearly most exciting part of the equation – the 6^th and final question…How. How was I prepared?

 

The “How Blindfold” seeped a glimmer of light when I received my first training block from Chris on November 1^st. It didn’t take long for me to realize the herald line from Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” was staring me straight in the eye. I was coming out of a 6-week Transition Period (arguably 12-weeks beginning post IM Boulder -- with the Lifetime Olympic Tempe Triathlon in mid-Sep interrupting it...), lulled into the annual comfy and secure transitional period zone. But things were about to change and I couldn’t have been happier and more thrilled to get going with Chris.

My training blocks began to build like a carefully crafted and very cool “How Lego Set” as pieces magically fit on-top, alongside or below the prior like they knew exactly where to go.  Heart rate based speed work pushed the pace and I was making gains across the board like running an 18:04 5K in my Kiss MS Goodbye virtual charity race. As race day approached Chris was dialing me in and my focus and training efforts intensified -- I was prepared!

On to race day...                              

Decent swell near the mouth of the Oceanside Harbor along with patchy fog and glare towards the water exit made for challenging sighting at times, yet I would classify my swim as good. Not great, not really good, but good enough to come out of the water 39 out of 180 guys in my AG – or top 22% -- a nice improvement from my typical top-third placing. I was in a great spot -- I had 56-miles on the bike and 13.1-miles on foot to run down the 38 guys in front of me.

The bike at Oceanside is no joke! With 2,720 feet of elevation gain that really begins past the halfway point at mile-28, you can get pulled into an early course vortex that will turn-around and spit you back out by mile-41 if you’re not mindful. Chris said be patient, be patient and I was. But after-all this is a race so I found my rabbits creating a sense of urgency, staying with a Wattie athlete and a local San Diego guy through the hills and into the 11-mile home stretch.  The bike strategy paid dividends as I came off the bike in 19^th place, moving up 20-spots.

I came out of T2 super stoked -- feeling strong and focused. I was also excited to see my kiddos with my awesome brother Craig along the course. I gobbled down my T2 banana, locked and loaded into my first 5K HR zone and off I went. As I moved into my 2^nd 5K, I came up on the heel of a female pro and used her for pacing. We were running a slight sub-7 pace and I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. After approximately 2-miles she faded a bit and I passed her. I ran each 5K as a race within a race focused on managing my ever-drifting HR. I pulled down a 6:45 final mile and held on for a 133:03 ½ marathon – the 4^th fastest run split in my AG, and more importantly moving up 11 spots for an 8^th place AG finish. 

Thank you Chris for your direction and guidance answering my How getting me so well prepared.

Ironman 70.3 California will serve as a fantastic springboard for what is shaping up to be a banner 2015 season. Next up is the Rocky Point Olympic triathlon in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, and then onto Escape from Alcatraz for escape number 6. You’d think even Capt. Kirk Obvious should be able to figure out how to get the heck off the "Rock" again, but one thing is for sure – I will be prepared to do so.  Stay tuned and we’ll see.