Vineman 70.3 Race Report

Total Time: 4:44:06

Swim: 29:05

Bike: 2:33:38

Run:1:36:40

I had by far my best race of the year, which is great as I go from my half-ironman training into my ironman training. I have seen my times get better from a 5:06 at California 70.3 to 5:01 at Hawaii 70.3 to 4:44 at Vineman 70.3.

The week leading up to my race went well, and my knee ended up being around 90% on race morning. However, during the race, I never had any problems with it. Race morning, I left my beautiful Motel 6 in Santa Rosa at 5:30, and downed a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, some OJ, and some iced coffee, which I got the night before at S-Bucks. It looked as though it was going to be a nice mild weather day.

Everything went well before the race. I racked my bike, got all set-up, stretched, and got ready to GO!

Swim: My swim wave left at 7:42 ( first wave was at 6:30). The water was a perfect 71 degrees. I had a good start and found myself in the top 1/4 of the swimmers at the start. My easy start paid off as I started to pass a lot of the swimmers that started too fast, around the half way point. I found a swimmer that was the same speed as me and drafted off him the rest of the way. I got out of the water and Kim yelled my time was 29 minutes. I was really happy because I felt really fresh leaving the swim, and I was aiming for a 30 minute swim.

Bike: After getting through the rocky and dirt transition area, I headed out onto the bike. The bike is really scenic as it winds through the vineyards. However, I had never been on this bike route before, so I took it conservative. In the technical and down hell parts I went easy because I didn't know if there was danger lurking around the corner. I was happy to have dodged all of the water bottles people had lost after hitting the pot holes. I did not loose anything. In the flats and open areas I would pound away and make my move, since I could see where I was going. The bad part about having such a late start time is having to pass the lesser bikers. The only bad part of my bike was when I went up a hill and downshifted too fast, which caused my chain too come off. I got off and put it back on. However, I then had to get my momentum back to go up the hill. This didn't cost me more than a minute. I had some stomach problems on the bike, but was able to overcome them in time for the run.

Run: I got off the bike feeling good and thinking to myself that I had a chance to maybe get below the 4:45 mark. I took the first 4 miles nice and easy. However, I still averaged a 7:15 mile. I drank water and/or cola at every aid station. It was not too hot, so didn't need a ton of fluid. The coke was great in settling my stomach and giving me a great burst of caffeine and sugar. I had never tried it in a race, but was told it is great at settling the stomach. Was a risky choice to try it, but paid off. I am a big fan of coke in races. FYI: I have not had coke in 2 years. I got passed by one person on the run, in my age group. However, I was able to run down 3 others my age group. Interesting to see my once weakest sport (running) turning into my strength. At mile 9 I caught somebody in my age group and played a little cat and mouse. I followed behind him for 2 miles and made him keep looking back at me. At mile 11 I put down the hammer and he had no response. I ran the last 2 miles all out, and it was great to go through the finishing shoot all alone and hear my name over the speakers.

I had no idea how I did compared to others in my age group, but I finished feeling great about my performance. That is all you can control. I got fifth in my age group, which I was excited about. Here I am after 1.5 years in triathlons, and I just got fifth in one of the most popular half Ironmans in the US. A special thanks to Edge Cycle Sports for hooking-up my bike with a great set-up!! Also, thanks to my girlfriend for being there to support me and put-up with my pre-race mood swings.

I took the next 2 days to do some wine tasting and eat some great food. Food that I don't eat when training. Had a lot of cheese and desserts. I will take the next week to get healthy and plan out my Ironman training plan. Thanks for all of your support!!!