IRONMAN 70.3* Oceanside was the latest venue for members of the HERD. This was an especially big day for the Castillo family as EnJen was running in her first IRONMAN*. The atmospheric troughs that have been hammering the West Coast took a break, but mother nature continued to flex her muscle, changing the iconic ocean start that draws athletes from around the world, to a harbor swim that resembled the likes of the lagoon at Walt Disney world, allowing the participants to get an extra boost on fitness management for the remainder of the day.
The morning started off with a very uncharacteristic Uber ride to the starting line for the group, as El Prez missed booking the closest venue for the first time in his IRONMAN career, despite arriving in beautiful California 9 days prior to the race. Said El Prez, “I have never spent so much money on Uber rides to and from the starting line.” After completing Oceanside 70.3* with a time of 6:59:49, 4 seconds faster than his daughter's time of 6:59:53, El Prez commented, “I just got caught up in the natural beauty of California and this course, and if I buried my daughter’s hopes and dreams of beating me in an IRONMAN, oh well.” The Castillo’s placed 181st and 36th respectively in their divisions, giving the younger Castillo the highest Division finish in the family ever in any IRONMAN*.
Meanwhile, Brewmeister continued his onslaught of the IRONMAN courses around the world. Marcus completed the course and ended with a ranking of 118th in his division. The only thing Marcus enjoyed more than laying the wood to El Prez, was apparently the gallon of Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream that he inhaled at the post IRONMAN Oceanside 70.3* celebration dinner after they took a 20-minute Uber ride from the finish line.
Congrats to all the participants of IRONMAN 70.3* Oceanside, and especially to EnJen for completing her first IRONMAN 70.3*. Next up for the HERD is IRONMAN 70.3 Morro Bay and IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga, where there are currently 15 members that are slated to enter and compete in fully sanctioned, non-shortened, or adjusted races, assuming that half the team does not drop out due to travel restrictions, work related issues, training unpreparedness, bike malfunction, weather, global warming, or other excuses that seem to arise just prior to the race.
