My Vineman 70.3 Weekend

Background

After a couple years of participating in mostly Olympic distance triathlons (1500m swim/40k bike/10k run), I decided that this would be the year for me to make the leap and try my first Half-Ironman (1.2m swim/56m bike/13.1m run). So after 8 months of training and preparation, Ang & I headed to Windsor, California on Friday, July 17^th for our weekend at the Vineman Ironman 70.3 Half Ironman race on July 19^th.

My goals for this race were pretty simple –

1. Get there prepared! - Having followed a very detailed training plan for the past 8 months, I felt like I had done everything I needed to do in order to be physically ready….approx. 3200 miles of riding, 750 miles of running, and too many laps in the pool to count. All those long weeks of training had me ready to go!

2. Finish in less than 6 hours! - Based on my times in shorter races and in training, I thought this was a reasonable goal for my first “Half” if everything went smoothly. For the 1.2 mile swim I wanted to shoot for around 35 minutes, which would mean a strong pace without having to hammer it. I thought that 3 hours was a reasonable target for the 56 mile bike leg…that’s only an average of 18.6 mph, but the course is pretty hilly with a few big climbs (more to come on that later), and I figured this would allow me to stay in my aerobic heart range for most of the way and leave plenty of gas in the tank for the run. And then there’s the run…I am not a fast runner, so I had hopes of simply running the whole way (meaning not having to slow to walk other than at an aid station) and only needing to average 10 min. miles to complete the 13.1 miles in around 2:10. Add in a little transition time and maybe a pit-stop, and that all added up to just under 6 hours!

3. Have fun! – Everything I had heard about this race was great, from the scenery to the people, and since it’s one of only 2 official “Ironman” 70.3 races in California drawing over 2200 participants, I really wanted to soak it all in, have fun, and enjoy the experience!

Friday – Hangin’ with some Tri legends!

We arrived in Windsor around 4:00 pm and checked into our cottage at the Windrose Cottages, a surprisingly beautiful spot that’s similar to a B&B but with cottages that each have their own kitchens, bathrooms, etc. It’s also conveniently located about a mile from race headquarters & finish at Windsor High School.

After grabbing some dinner we headed to the Windsor High School Theater for the Athlete Welcome Reception, which was basically a welcome to the Vineman Ironman 70.3 and a talk show featuring a number of pro athletes and race sponsors. I’m pretty sure it was mostly first-timers in attendance, as there were only a few hundred people that showed up, but that just made our odds better for the raffle prizes! The race host and announcer Dave Latourette did some Q&A with 4 pro triathletes that would be competing on Sunday – Eduardo Sturla from Argentina (multiple-winner of Ironman Brazil), Tyler Stewart (2^nd place woman at 2008 Vineman, winner of Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2009 earlier this year), Joanna Zeiger (triathlon legend and reigning 70.3 World Champion), and finally the one and only Craig Alexander, the reigning King of Triathlon as the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Champion! This was pretty amazing to see and hear them so up close; they all seem to be amazing people in addition to being phenomenal athletes.

Saturday – Check-in & relax!

Saturday morning we headed out around 8 am for breakfast in nearby Healdsburg…time to load up on some calories for race day! After loading up on pancakes, potatoes, eggs, Ang’s leftover French toast, etc., we wandered around the town square and window shopped at all the quaint stores. We’d never been to Healdsburg and would really like to come back and spend some time there….sorta had that “Carmel in the wine country” feel.

Next it was back to Windsor High for a full slate of pre-race requirements. I was lucky because they have time slots allocated for these based on your last name, and last names starting with M-Z went first so that was VERY nice to be first in. First stop at 10:30 was athlete check-in to sign in, pick up the race bag of goodies, and activate the timing chip that I’d wear during the race around my ankle. At 11:00 was set-up of the bike-to-run transition. Unlike most triathlons where you do all of your transitions in the same place, Vineman has a split course in which you swim in Guerneville (about 15 miles away), then depart Guerneville on the bike leg which eventually finishes in Windsor, where you then run the out-and-back run course. So basically this meant finding your designated bike rack (each wave start was designated a set of racks in T2) and setting up your shoes, hat/visor, etc., and anything else you needed for the run. It was an amazing sight to see all the racks for 2200+ bikes. I was the first person in my start wave to set up my T2 running stuff, so I got a prime location on the end of a row. Since my start wave was second, immediately following the pros, my designated T2 row was directly next to the pro racks and close to the run start. Finally was the mandatory athlete meeting in the gym, where they went through a variety of topics such as course, safety, aid station locations, rules, etc.

After grabbing some lunch we went back to the cottage for a little R&R, and I even managed a little nap. Afterwards, Ang cooked me a spaghetti dinner while I prepped everything for race day….double checking everything on the bike, getting all my nutrition ready, packing all my swim gear, etc. Lastly we got everything packed up so we’d be ready to roll in the morning.

Sunday – Race Day!!!

Since my swim wave started 2^nd at 6:38 am, and we had to drive the 20-25 minutes to Guerneville, the alarm was set for 4:00 am! Of course I woke up around 3:20 and started thinking about the race, then finally just got up a few minutes before 4:00. After a quick shower I had my usual race-day breakfast of a banana and peanut butter & honey sandwich on potato bread, along with a little Gatorade & water. We cleared our remaining stuff out of the cottage and headed for Guerneville around 4:45.

The swim-to-bike transition area opened at 5:30, so we pulled into Guerneville in the dark around 5:15 and got a prime parking spot. Ang would have to drive from here back to Windsor High School after I headed out on the bike, so she was glad for a close & convenient parking spot.

As day broke it became clear that it was gonna be a HOT day. Normally in this area the fog will push in from the coast and hang around until mid-morning, holding the warmer temperatures off until later in the day. Although that had been the forecast for today, this morning the skies were clear and there was zero fog, meaning the day would heat up fast into the mid 90’s. As I racked my bike along with all the other Men 40-41, we were all commenting on how lucky we were to be starting in the first “age grouper” wave at 6:38 and not in the last wave at 8:30….makes a big difference later in the day on the run!

After setting up my bike and pulling on the wetsuit, Ang and I went down to the swim start to watch the pros take off, and then it was time to get in the water and warm up. The 1.2 mile Vineman swim is on a stretch of the Russian River that is dammed up in the summer, with a small spillway at the end. The swim starts just above the dam, heads up-river for the first half, and then turns back for home. Since the river is not real wide it made for a pretty congested start with the 150 or so other guys in my wave, but after the first couple of minutes I found some clear water and put it on cruise control. Swimming in the river with the tree-lined shore made for pretty easy swimming, since I could just spot the shore line on my right with each breath and only had to sight up-river every minute or so to make sure I was still on a good line to the next buoy.

My goal was to complete the swim in under 35 minutes, and as I exited the water I looked at my watch and it showed 34:40, so right on track. I found Ang along the line of spectators, stripped off my wetsuit and handed it to her along with my goggles and swim cap, then ran off to find my bike. After pulling on my helmet & bike shoes, I headed to the transition exit and jumped on my bike.

The first 5 miles or so of the bike follows River Road up the river before turning north into the foothills. It’s pretty flat & straight here, so I quickly settled into a good rhythm. About 3 miles into the ride I hit a pretty nasty bump in the road then heard the rattle of plastic hitting the pavement….something had fallen off. I reached behind me to find that my CO2 inflator (the small tool that I use to inflate a tire in the case of a flat which I had strapped to the outside of my saddle bag since the bag was full with 2 tubes & CO2 cartridges) had bounced out! I hit the breaks hard and circled back around to find it, but it was nowhere to be found….it had bounced off the side of the road and down an embankment into a huge patch of what looked like berry vines. This meant that I had another 53 miles to ride and no way of fixing a flat tire! Thanks goodness that I wouldn’t end up needing to worry about that.

The 56 mile Vineman bike course is pretty tough, with lots of climbing as you can see from the elevation profile, along with some pretty rough roads at times. Fortunately I had ridden the course a few months back so I know exactly what to expect.

I tried to keep a strong pace without going into the “red zone”, and kept a steady 18.5 mph pace despite all the climbs and windy, rough roads. As I pulled into Windsor it looked like I was right on pace for a 3 hour ride, and when I hit the transition area my bike computer showed 3:00:45, so right on pace. I ran my bike to my spot on the far end of the transition area, racked my bike and pulled the running shoes on, and I was off.

The 13.1 mile run course is an “out & back” from Windsor High School out to La Crema winery and back again. We had driven the course on Saturday and discovered it was a LOT hillier that I thought, so my plan was to force myself to take it slow to the turn around then see what I felt like…just put in some really slow 10 minute miles and pick it up on the back half if I had the legs. My goal was 2:10, which I thought was reasonable even though my fastest ever stand-alone half-marathon was 2:07. I was hoping my training would pay off and get me the 2:10 I was looking for.

The first mile there were lots of spectators on the course cheering us on which was great. I was also heading out just as the pros were coming in, so since it was “out & back” they all came flying by me which was very cool. At mile 2 I checked my watch and saw that I was averaging 9:15 miles for the first 2 even though I felt like I was going slower. I was feeling good so I just kept that pace and continued taking in my GU, electrolyte capsules, & water. The course was definitely tough and it was getting hot, but all the participants, spectators, and great aid station volunteers made it great!

After the turn-around at La Crema I was still holding a decent pace and feeling pretty good, but since it was pretty hot I decided to wait until mile 9 or 10 to try and pick up the pace…the last thing I wanted to do was to blow a gasket and end up struggling the last mile or two. I kept looking at my watch and doing the math, and it looked like I should have no problem finishing in under 6 hours, and even started to get ideas of breaking 5:45 if I could pick up the pace in the last few miles.

Around mile 9 I felt the dreaded twinge of a cramp beginning in my left hamstring….uh oh. I shortened my stride a little to keep the cramp at bay, which meant that picking up the pace was probably out of the question. At mile 10 the same thing started to happen in my right hamstring and it almost seized up at one point. After stopping for a quick stretch I resumed my running and focused on a short, choppy stride that didn’t require me to extend my legs too far out in an attempt to prevent full blown cramping….it probably wasn’t pretty but it worked. It was frustrating because I felt good otherwise and had the energy to go faster, but didn’t dare try…I didn’t want to have both hammy’s seize up.

As I approached the 12 mile marker it started to set in….I was gonna make it and beat my 6:00 goal! The number of spectators grew as I got closer to the high school, and the cheers & cowbells really carried me. I really felt for the competitors that were just heading out for their run because at was probably already 90 degrees.

As I turned into the high school the cheers got louder and I could hear the announcer. As I entered the finish chute with about 100 yards to go I scanned the crowds for Ang as I heard the announcer call my name….this was amazing! I hit the finish line with arms raised, found Ang along the left side just after the line and leaned over the barrier for a long, sweaty, teary hug, then stopped my watch….5:48! A little quick math told me that my run split was around 2:04 or so, my fastest ever half-marathon.

Next was a frenzy of volunteers putting finisher medals around your neck, taking the timing strap from your ankle, handing you water bottles, taking your picture, etc. Another long hug for Ang…it was amazing having her there to experience this with me and encourage me. It was an incredible rush of adrenaline and emotion.

In the end my official time was 5:48:18, good enough for 109^th out of 320 in the “Men 40-44” age group, 563^rd out of 1517 total men, and 715^th out of 2286 overall. Although I know I could have gone under 5:45 if it weren’t for the cramping hammy’s, I was thrilled with the result!

Thanks to all my family & friends for all the support & encouragement along the way…it was a great journey!