Vineman 70.3 Race Report 07/21/2009
 Drove straight through on Wednesday from Seattle to St. Helena in around 12 hours. Stayed at the vineyard, winery and home of some family friends in St. Helena which is about 40 minutes away from T2 and an hour from T1. It was a special treat to get to stay there and the place is fantastic and quiet. It was searing hot all week leading up to the race with temps in Windor (T2) in the mid 90's and in Napa Valley the temps were in the 100's. Swam in the Russian River at the race site on Thursday and decided I wouldn't swim with a wetsuit but opt for a swim skin given the really warm water (75 degrees). Swim and T1: The swim is in the Russian River which has no real current to speak of, is really warm and very shallow (a few spots only 2.5 feet). The course is very narrow as it's a narrow river. I was in wave 2 behind the pro's which was cool as my previous few races I've gone off in later waves and had to fight through the crowds on the bike and run, not this day. I got out good in the swim but visibility was really tough as there was a bunch of fog right at the water level so sighting was tough but the river is only 40 meters wide so you can only get so far off course without running aground. At the course marker buoys just before the turn three guys hooked a left right in front of me and I kept swimming over their bodies towards the turn buoy another 80 meters ahead, the kayaker had to paddle hard to go get them back on course. I swam hard and had a good swim coming out of the water in the second group in my wave. I was 28th out of the water and through T2 in my AG (2nd/3rd waves) in 34:10, I’m guessing I was around 31:30 for the swim. My transition wasn't great in terms of time but no disasters.  Exiting the swim in the Russian River. No wetsuit for me just a swim skin with water in the mid 70's. Bike: I got on the bike and got quickly into my rhythm. The bike course is tougher than I thought as I had driven the course a couple days prior. There were only three short climbs one steep and one relatively moderate and one somewhere in between. The course just undulates the whole way so it's not one you can just lock in and go, much of the road surface is pretty rough and there are a number of technical sections. These courses typically don't suit me. There was only a couple of riders from my group that got out ahead of me (most of the fast swimmers were in the 3rd group). At mile 5 I caught two riders and immediately dropped them on first short steep climb. It was a very odd feeling as I was completely alone for the next 15 miles, no other riders in front, behind, no spectators and no race officials. At one point I wondered if I had made a wrong turn. Finally I caught sight of a group of three up the road and proceeded to reel them in over the next 4 miles. They were clearly working together and when I caught them I hit the gas and dropped them. Alone again. It would be another 20 miles until I saw a lone rider ahead of me I had caught one of the pro females who had started 8 minutes ahead of my group. Finally at the bottom of Chalk Hill Road two riders caught me and I managed to go with them and I can say we were riding the legal draft distance but working together to keep the pace high. I pulled ahead and lead them into T2 in Windsor. I was shocked when I checked my watch it looked like I was sub 2:30 which I've never done. I had a perfect running dismount and started on the long transition run and got through T2 with no issues. I finished up in 2:29:19 (~22.5 mph) with the 6th fastest bike split in my AG and a half IM bike PR. Makes me wonder what I could have done if I hadn't been all alone for 40 miles.  Heading out of T1 onto the bike at Johnston Beach.  Heading into T2 after a solid bike effort of 2:29:18 (22.5 mph) Run: This run course is a beast. It's just rolling hills (some of them pretty darn steep) with no shade, by far the toughest half iron run course I've ever raced on. My plan is always to go out easy and then pick it up at between 8-10 miles and negative split the run. I got out in a very comfortable pace but could tell it was going to be a tough run as it was already hot (80 degrees at just after 9:30 am when I started the run). I was shocked when I hit the first mile and checked my split a freakin’ 6:13 mile, way too hot a pace. I backed off a bit and at about 1.4 miles my leg cramped. It does it every race and no panic just stop rub the thigh cramp out and get back in my cadence. I got back in my cadence and the miles clicked off at between 6:50 and 6:55 for the next couple of miles. I had the pleasure of watching the pros heading back towards the finish aside from Joe Gambles who won they all looked like they were hurting, in particular Craig Alexander who finished about 17 minutes behind Gambles. Around mile 9, I was really hurting and only managed a 7:20, I felt like I had really fallen off the pace for good and stopped checking splits. In the end I had actually picked up the pace to near 6:45/mile pace on miles 10 and 11 and held it together for the final 2 miles to end up with another half IM split PR finishing the run in 1:30:14 (6:53/m) good enough for 11th best in my AG.  Heading out onto the hot and hilly run at 6:13 mile pace a little too hot.  A few yards from the finish and very glad to be done!!! I ended up finishing 7th in my AG in 4:36:06 a new half iron PR and the 48th best age group time. Best of all is I feel pretty good the day after. A few more weeks of solid training and then we'll let it rip at IMC and hopefully get a return trip to Kona. Overall impressions of Vineman. A really good race. It's a great swim especially for those who aren't the strongest swimmers or have a little open water phobia as if you panic you just stand up. The bike is tough but fair and has the potential to be fast. The run is hard it's hilly and hot but will really benefit those who are just plain strong mentally and those of us who live in Seattle and train on the hills day in and day out. If anyone has plans to do it in the future email me and I'll give you a few tips (especially for the transitions).  Kristen and I at the finish. CommentsLeave a Reply | 2010 Race ScheduleIssaquah Sprint Tri
Ironman Boise 70.3 Mountain to Sound Relay - Solo Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead Beaver Lake Sprint Tri Grand Columbian Half Iron Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Ironman Western Australia 2009 Race SceduleCapitol City Half Marathon 10th OA/2nd AG 1:22:46 2008 Race ResultsKirkland Half Marathon 1:25:27 2nd AG/10th OA ArchivesSeptember 2009 |
RSS Feed