Vineman is a course that I know like the back of my hand. From the first year that I started triathlon, I did the Vineman Half Aquabike, and then progressed to the Vineman 70.3 the following year. A few years later, I did the Vineman Full Aquabike as a prep race towards IM Canada that year. Not to mention the countless number of times we went up north from SF to train on the course. Yet each year the race director required us to attend the mandatory pre-race meeting, which was truly mandatory unlike other races that may say it's mandatory but it's really not. In this case, we couldn't check in until we received a hand stamp after attending the meeting. I don't usually fall asleep in public, but after the long drive, I apologize for any snoring that you may have heard coming from the top of the bleacher!
Pre-Race Logistics
I love racing Vineman, but I could do without the two-transition logistics. After the long drive, pre-race meeting, and packet pick-up, first we transferred our run gear into the T2 bag provided and dropped it off on the other side of the school. Next we checked in to our hotel and went out for an early dinner. Then back in our hotel room, we sorted out all our gears. Finally, before we could go to sleep, we had to drop off one of the cars at the T2/Finish for post-race logistics.
Swim (0:43:21)
Shannon and I arrived at the start way earlier than we needed to because Julia's wave started about an hour before ours. I'm a "Just In Time" type, so I was actually lost on what to do with extra time. After setting up, I wandered around and pretended to do some warm up. I'm also not a "Warm Up" type. I figure the first few miles out of the 70.3 miles is the warm up. I was so disoriented from all the extra time that I almost missed my wave start.
Maybe it's because of the narrow river, I always find the swim start at Vineman super aggressive. In the past races, I have stayed closer to the shore on the way out which supposedly has less current to fight against on the upstream, and then swam along the buoys on the way back to takes advantage of the current on the downstream. This time, I ended up swimming along the buoys both ways. I think it worked out better because it was easier to swim in a straight line. Moreover, there was less spots where the river was too shallow that would break the flow and force to stand up. Depending on whether you prefer to run in water than swim, then you could choose to walk as much as possible given the low level of water due to drought.
The swim exit was lined with spectators for us to soak in some cheers before the long, quiet bike ride on narrow country roads.
T1 (0:03:33)
By the time I got to my row, Shannon being the faster swimmer of us two had already left. To help her speed up her transition time, I had promised to pull her towel off her if I saw her in transition, so she had made sure to clear transition as quick as possible. I was hoping to crush the T1 in under 3 minutes (note: I take great pride in my transition time). I did my best to minimize gears as athletes are responsible for putting everything into T1 bag due to the two transitions, but I struggled a bit with putting on my sun sleeves with cold, shivering fingers.
Bike (3:09:28)
Mile 0: The first 50m of the bike is always a little comical. There's a small hill at the mount line, and some would have difficulty getting on the bike while some would run up the hill and then hop on, causing those who got on the bike earlier to weave around or stop abruptly. My tactic is the safer but not necessarily slower method of run up the hill and ride.
Mile 0 - 5: It's easy to go out too fast because the road from the start to Sunset is flat. I set out on a comfortable pace and tucked in instead of pushing hard to gain speed by reducing air resistance. I'm always on high alert at the beginning of the bike because some racers would go past recklessly or some drivers, likely spectators, would buzzed by too close trying to catch up to their racers. At the end of this stretch, some quick shifting would be required. We would make a sharp right turn with a hidden downhill, curve left around the block, and another right turn this time with a hidden uphill.
Mile 5 - 8: From Sunset to Wholer, I called this the first feed zone in order to take in enough fluid with nutrition whenever I can while sticking the plan of riding at an uncomfortably-comfortable pace.
Mile 8 - 17: We crossed a little bridge, and then from Wholer to Kinley, the road went up and down, up and down, and up and down some more. Knowing the course well, I could anticipate which is the best gear to be in for each hill.
Mile 17 - 25.5: The section from Kinley to Canyon is often precarious with angry trucks with trailers buzzing by too close for comfort. Race day was no different as the course was not closed to traffic. Once we turned onto Canyon, it got better.
Mile 25.5 - 28.5: On Canyon, we were greeted with an uphill. For some odd reasons, I love this hill. I always pass other riders with ease without putting in any extra effort. I think maybe it's because my power/weight ratio is just perfect for this incline. What goes up must comes down, and down we go to the end of Canyon turning onto Geyserville.
Mile 28.5 - 39: After fueling up at the Geyserville aid station, it's time to kick it up a notch in effort. I call this next phase: comfortably-uncomfortable, aka race pace, but still conserving a bit in anticipation of tackling Chalk Hill. It's similar to uncomfortably-comfortable in name, but completely different when it comes to RPE.
Mile 39 - 44: From Chalk Hill Road to the top of Chalk Hill, this is where I always lose focus during training rides. Thinking it's because I'm low on fuel, I decided to take in an extra nutrition to boost my energy. It kinda worked, but still felt a bit sluggish going up the hill.
Mile 44 - 56: Finally, we were all done with the hills, and it's time to take it home at a good strong pace.
T2 (0:04:15)
I had completely blocked out the fact that the transition required dismounting at the parking lot and running with our bikes around two buildings into transition on the other side of the school. Not only was it challenging to run in bike cleats, the path was not wide enough to pass causing stop-and-go traffic hazards.
If there was another timing mat at the end of the path before the transition field, I bet my real transition time would have been under a minute. I chose to wear a hydration system for this race, and other than changing shoes, I just grabbed the hydration pack. My visor, race bib and sunscreen were all attached to the pack, so I could put them on as I ran out the run exit.
Run (2:17:33)
I was happy to off the bike and on the run. The run start was lined with spectators and I enjoyed spotting as many people as I know and giving as many high-fives as possible. I was hoping that by the time the crowd thinned, I would have found my running legs, except it took almost 5 miles before the legs came alive.
At first, I was wishing that I didn't have the hydration pack on me, but I knew I was benefiting from taking regular sips almost every minute. For the next 5 miles, my pack was already much lighter and I was working through the crowds. And once I saw there was only 5k left, I switched to Coke at each of the aid station and was pumped and ready to bring it home!
Total (6:18:10)
This was almost an hour PR from the last time I raced Vineman 70.3. I actually learned to swim after all these years, knew what pace to push it on the bike, and finished the run strong. What a difference consistent training makes!
Post-Race Logistics
Tired legs weren't the worst part. The post-race logistics was always the nightmare. After gathering all our friends, we had to drive or shuttle 16 miles to pick up the car at the start, drive 16 miles back to the finish to pick up our bikes and gears. The whole process took so long that we were
No comments:
Post a Comment