As the country waded through March Madness and spring breakers discovered new levels of debauchery, a very deep and determined field quietly assembled in Oceanside California for the kick off of the 2005 North American triathlon season. This race had always served as one of the first big yard sticks by which to measure your winter training but this year it was different. The race had been moved up two weeks to allow for a new Ironman race to make its debut in early April. Three weeks separated the two events and the gap was sufficient to draw a World Class field. Ironman Champions, Olympians and World Champions were all out to test themselves on a tough ”old fashioned” course.

I was toeing the line, healthy for the first time in two years, to see how my new approach was working out. I’d been training hard through the winter and had managed to string together several consistent months of training but regardless of how well your training has gone there are always unanswered questions bouncing around your mind. I had won a several local races but this was to be the first real test.

Race morning was dismal. A cold, intermittent rain kept spectators to a minimum as the athletes filed into transition. Space was tight and our bikes were packed together like some crazy mind bending puzzle.

The water was much warmer than previous years and the customary spastic head up freestyle as you convince your heart and lungs to relax and start moving again wasn’t necessary. With very little fanfare, the officials soon had us lined up. There were several confused individuals struggling with the concept of a straight line (maybe the water was colder than I thought?) but before they could figure it out, the cannon roared and the race was underway. 

There was a lot of early speed in the swim and coming up on the first buoy there were still about 20 of us swimming abreast. The first turn cured that and I soon found myself as the caboose on the McKenzie express (Luke McKenzie, Aus).  Two more turns had us well into the swim and getting ready to round the breakwater for the final stretch to the swim exit. For some reason, the pack leader took a very wide approach to the breakwater and had us swimming considerably farther than was necessary.  Watching this unfold from the back, I decided that the tangent was a much more efficient line and set off on my own, hugging the breakwater as close as possible. I managed to leapfrog from the back of our little pack up to about 4^th place and contented myself with my private little swim victory.

Transition at Ralph’s is huge and you end up running about 400m. You barely notice the first part as there are hundreds of screaming athletes cheering as they wait for their respective waves to go off. I say barely because the last 200m is on cold pavement and your feet are less than pleased to be dealing with this after having just been submerged in the icy Pacific for 23 minutes. As a matter of fact, I barely remember identifying them as feet. They felt more like two blocks of ice that I was skating around on as I tottered towards my bike.

I pride myself on the fact that Texas Iron athletes almost always have the fastest transitions in any of their races. I’m afraid I let the group down on Saturday. I watched in frustration as everyone that I exited the swim with quickly departed T1 and left me standing there fumbling with my arm warmers. To make matters worse, when I finally got on my bike, I looked like a drunken sailor as I tried to stick two frozen members into their respective shoes.

I felt relaxed on the bike and quickly settled into a comfortable pace. A couple of athletes went by me but I didn’t let it deter me, I was in for the long haul. The miles flew by much faster than I remember from previous races at Oceanside and before I knew it I was making the turn away from the coast and into Camp Pendleton. With no tanks or assault groups to bar the way, the miles continued to fly by and the only resistance I met was the driving rain that at times limited visibility to a few hundred meters. I charged by aid stations manned by cheering marines and soon hit the first major climb of the course.

Coming out of the aerobars for one of the first times in the ride I looked up the climb and was pleasantly surprised to see the lead group about a mile in front of me. They had been that far in front of me the last time I saw them (about 20 miles earlier) and I was ecstatic to see that I wasn’t loosing any time to them.

Athletes started coming back to me shortly after that and I managed to recapture all the places I had let go in the early stages. I rode well through the bike and managed to reach T2 in great spirits with my back feeling like I had just done an easy 60 minute spin.

I’m embarrassed to say T2 was a similar experience to T1 (I’ve got to work on that) but I survived and headed out determined to run through the field. The early stages of the run were great and my body felt good. I had some minor nausea issues but told myself firmly that I wasn’t going to let it come in the way of a good race.  I was knocking off 5:50’s effortlessly. I passed my wife Fish about 1.5 miles into the run and she screamed at me that I was only about 3:30 down on 3^rd place. Satisfied with that, I put my head down and focused on picking off those runners in front of me. Around mile 5 things started to get a little funky. I was eating but I was still feeling like I was running low on energy. I also started getting some GI signals sent my way and despite my best efforts I was forced to make a Port-o-loo stop at mile 7. I had been running in 8^th at the time but was passed by C.J. Castle while I was indisposed.

I felt better after the pit-stop but I was still feeling a little low on energy. I couldn’t figure out why because I had been eating properly and I was on track for the proper number of calories. As I made the final turn (right before mile 10) I found out why. I was suddenly and quite violently sick! I vomited three times and brought up everything I had eaten in the previous 24 hours.  Nothing I had eaten had been absorbed. It had all sat in my stomach and my energy levels had dropped as a result.

Feeling much better and a fair bit lighter, I looked up into the concerned eyes of an official. She had been about to radio for medical but at the shake of my head, she put down her radio and asked if she could help. I assured her that I felt considerably better and then proceeded to take off. Its amazing what a purge can do for you on the run. I felt so much better and my stride reflected it. I knew I’d be fine but I had to find fluids and calories to put replace what I had lost. Fortunately there was an aid station right up the road and I quickly reloaded on water, coke and oranges.

The last few miles of the run were fun. I could feel my energy levels fluctuating with my food intake. I’d refuel going through each aid station and then feel things start to come apart as I made my way to the next. Fortunately the stations were only 1 mile apart and I was able to store just enough energy to get from one to the next. I don’t have the split but I’m relatively sure that those last three miles were the fastest of the day for me.

The final few hundred meters were packed with spectators and I enjoyed every second of it. I crossed the line and was met by my wonderful wife who draped my finisher’s medal around my neck.

I had entered the race with no expectations. I was hoping to crack the top 15 and to post a respectable run time but would have been content with any pain free race. In place of that I finished 9^th. More importantly I positioned myself for a podium finish and thoroughly enjoyed a strong and steady performance.

This race marked a milestone for me and my recovery. With the right attitude and the proper preparation I will continue to improve on the performance continue my ascent to the top of the game.

Sincerely,

Jamie Cleveland

Ralph’s ½ Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)

1. Torbjorne Sindballe Denmark 3:59.58
2. Chris Lieto USA 4:04.28
3. Timo Bracht Germany 4:07.13
4. Richie Cunningham Australia 4:07.56
5. Luke Dragstra Canada 4:08.50
6. Matt Seeley USA 4:10.28
7. C.J. Castle USA 4:11.14
8. Matt Lieto USA 4:11.53
9. Jamie Cleveland Canada 4:14.38
10. Andy Martin USA 4:15.14