My Ralph's HIM Recap
Ed Bagley 

This is part race recap of Ralph’s Half Ironman California, part diary, but mostly incoherent rant. If you take the time to read this I thank you and if you’re able to take anything from it I commend you.

To begin I need to share some of my philosophy on racing. Every race I start I am in the best shape of my life. My dinner the night before and my breakfast the morning of were perfect. My training leading up to the race had been ideal. There is nothing that was in my control that I should have done differently. Why? Because I have to think this way. That’s all in the past and the most important decision is the one I’m going to make next. Every time I start a race there is only one thing to do and that is manage myself.

For me there are only three ways a race will go; I blow up, I burn out or I fade away. Now I’d rather burn out than fade away. And I never want to blow up, but one is always inevitable. So this is where race management comes in. Ideally I will burn out 10 feet past the finish line. Right after you get the Mylar blanket and medal and just before they take your chip. If here I can fall into a pile of a spent athlete I have had a great race.

It was this train of thought that I took going into Ralph’s. Well almost. This was more of a hard training day. A measure of what I have done in preparation for Ironman Arizona three weeks following this. I didn’t taper and actually put in 20 hours of training in the week leading up to the race.

This race had a different feel to it for me. It was as if I was there to get a job done. I flew in on Friday, registered, went to Nytro to buy a new wetsuit and before I knew it the time was 5:30. I met Courtney at the hotel and we went out to dinner. Picked up some stuff for breakfast and went to bed early.

Because this race wasn’t about time or place for me I didn’t care when we awoke to a cold and rainy morning. 60 and rain, bring it on. This is 30 degrees warmer then what I left in Chicago. I put on the full wetsuit and lid and waited out my time.

It did help that I was the third swim wave. Men Pros, Women Pros, M25-29 (me). Entering the water was a shock, literally. It was cold and they had us thread water for five minutes. My HR was about 90 and I felt good. I seeded myself toward the front, having learned my lesson from IMFL. The swim is in a harbor and the water was calm. I got into a grove and felt good through the turn around. On the way in I found some good feet. I am not strong at sighting so I took the draft. I felt I was moving pretty well anyway. Exiting the water in 31:30 I was a little disappointed. I know a sub 30 is in me, maybe next time. Still a solid swim.

The run to T1 is long. With the rain I planned to wear arm warmers and booties. Ideas are good, but execution is key. I couldn’t get my numb finger to zip up the booties, so I scratched the idea. After 4:59 – ouch, Matt would not be proud- I started the bike.

Ralph’s course takes you up the coast through the Marine base Camp Pendleton. A mixture of Highway, bike path and streets, this a challenging 56 mile course. The first 25 are quick. Some rollers, on ramps, some sharp inclines. There were some tight turns here made worse by the rain. Then at mile 25 there is a steep climb, only 200 feet of elevation gain, but tough nonetheless. They didn’t warn about this one in the race reviews I’d seen, so I began to worry about the big hills. Five more miles of rollers and then it was there. The first big climb. About 1km in length start right at the 30 mile mark this was the steeper of the two big climbs. Thankfully there is a steep decent on the backside to flush out your legs. Then you begin the work. A 600-foot gain over about 3 miles with about 400 of it in the last mile. This is ended with one of the scariest descents I have ever done on a bike. Because of a racer’s death in this section a few years ago they place a no pass/25 mph limit here. With the rain I couldn’t get below 30, and believe we I tried. Scary. Another climb, another descent and I come across an accident. It looked bad, but the situation was under control. Two ambulances, two cops cars and a handful of Marines were present. Still, it’s sad to see a hobby get so dangerous. The rest of the course was fast and I felt OK heading into T2. At 2:56 I was expecting to be faster, but it was a harder course then I imagined. A solid bike for me.

My plan was for this to be a b race. Small b, not even a capital b. I said going in that if I were having a bad day I would do the run at IM pace, 9 min miles. If I felt good I would push it, see what I had. Really getting off the bike I was in a gray area. My row was pretty empty. I decided I would ease into the run and go from there.

The run course is rolling, at least to me. Not as tough as Madison, but no Florida either. I eased into the run without taking a split for the first mile. My feet were numb and my stride painful. Each landing had a jarring feeling. I got a split from 1 to 2 and it was a little over 8 min. The next mile was about the same. My stride turned around and the next miles were sub 8s for the first loop. I was feeling good. Pushing a pace I felt I could hold onto. HR about 160. I had a new plan. At mile 10 I turn it up. See what I can do. I need to stop making new plans. Mile 7 the rain and wind picked up. Back to 8:15’s. By the time I got to mile 10 I was spent. I couldn’t get the HR up. I burned out too early. I was able to hold on for a 1:47 run, 8:12 avg. For me this was very solid.

To sum up my day; I was solid. 5:24:34 Compared to Muncie I was 7 mins slower, but 5 of those were lost in transition. So un-tapered, on a more challenging course I held my own. Mentally it was a great race. I didn’t falter and raced my own race. Exactly the boost I needed heading to IMAZ. Now its time to rest and see what I can do in Tempe.