Vineman Full Ironman - TriathlonFull Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Santa Rosa, California
United States
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 16h 45m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

First let me say that I came in after the 11pm cutoff, so I don't have a time for my final run lap. By that time my Garmin had run out of batteries, but from the information I do have, I'm estimating my finish time at 11:20pm. In spite of what the online results indicate, I did finish, and I am an Ironman.

Up at 4am, usual morning routine. Had a bowl of cereal and started nursing a sports drink bottle with 2 scoops. Loaded up the car and headed down to the race start, arriving shortly after 5:30am.
Event warmup:

Set up my T1, then came back and got in line for the bathroom (way too few bathrooms in T1). With only about 5-10 minutes until my wave started, ran back to my T-area, got suited up, and headed over to the start. Luckily the water was warm, so no acclimatization was needed. Just got all wet.

The start is a deep water start with a flag line overhead.
Swim
  • 1h 34m 41s
  • 4224 yards
  • 02m 14s / 100 yards
Comments:

This was my best leg, even though it's my weakest sport. My goal was 1:40, and I beat that by over 5 minutes. When I checked my watch at the turn-around points, my splits were pretty even throughout.

Because the water was so warm, I didn't have any breathing problems. I hung towards the back as usual, to avoid the wrestling match that these swims usually are. I just took it easy and kept my stroke consistent. Although I might have gone a little faster, I decided to swim the entire course. I didn't even walk at the turn-around which was actually kind of difficult because it was so shallow. But as the announcer said at the pre-race meeting, it was a good opportunity to practice high elbows.

It's a beautiful swim course and a real pleasure to swim. Many trees line both banks of the river -- pine, redwoods, etc. The water was warm and clear.
What would you do differently?:

Not much I would have done differently here. I know my swim needs work, but for where I'm at, I think I did really well.
Transition 1
  • 11m 19s
Comments:

Took my time a little bit in T1 because I had a lot to do. My goal was 10 mintues, so not too bad. I wanted to hand off all my stuff to my wife (as the RD's had recommended) so I didn't have to pick it up later. So I had to bag up everything, in addition to getting geared up for the bike.

I used the wetsuit strippers. It was great because it made it really easy, except that where they were doing it, the ground was not covered well and I got a lot of gravel on myself. I never got all of it off. Luckily this wasn't a problem for me down the road.

There were also people using the narrow strips of carpet as a place to stand while they changed, getting in the way of people making their way to the bike out.
What would you do differently?:

Move quicker. I could have paid better attention at the wetsuit strippers and tried to make sure I didn't get gravel all over myself.
Bike
  • 7h 51m 15s
  • 112 miles
  • 14.26 mile/hr
Comments:

My goal for the bike was 7 hours, which was actually kinda optimistic to begin with. But I also had nutrition/stomach problems starting about mile 80 when I could no longer drink my sports drink mix and had to switch to just water and Clif Bloks (aka. Plan B). I probably ended the bike a bit dehydrated, but didn't cramp on the bike and didn't have to walk up Chalk Hill either time.

I had my usual long ride issues: seat, lower back, some neck stiffness. My feet were better than usual because I got new padded inserts for my bike shoes just before the race. My goal was to keep my HR up to, but not over, 140 bpm as much as possible, and I did a good job with that. I had to keep it down at first, but that set me up well for later in the ride.
What would you do differently?:

Less breaks and time at aid stations.

The other thing that I didn't really figure into my plan is that starting out the bike, I was very hungry. I drank almost 2 bottles in the first hour as well as eating at least 3 bloks. I just need to factor this into my nutrition plan.
Transition 2
  • 08m 5s
Comments:

Not exactly sure why T2 took so long. I remember not being able to find my rack right away -- I was looking for 329 instead of 239. And I think part of it was that my nutrition plan had fallen apart, and I had to completely change things at T2 for the run. My goal was 5 minutes.
What would you do differently?:

Move faster.
Run
  • 6h 59m 40s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 16m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

My goal for the run was 5:30. So much for that. Like I said, my nutrition went south a couple hours before the finish of the bike, so I was already having stomach problems and therefore dehydration issues before the run.

I actually felt great getting off the bike, as I usually do. My Garmin said < 10min/mi at the beginning and I wasn't even pushing it. But that didn't last long. At the 2nd aid station, my stomach said it was time to empty so I hit the porta-potty. As soon as I sat down, my left inner thigh started cramping and there was nothing I could do. I probably spent about 10 minutes in there (long enough for the volunteers to knock and ask if everything was OK), but my stomach felt a lot better afterwards.

Nausea and cramping threatened me for the rest of the run. When my effort went too high, I felt nauseous, and continually felt on the verge of cramping. I did what I could to drink water and take in calories. I actually tried some food and drink that I wouldn't normally take just to see how it would go. This included taking some Pepto Bismol tablets on lap 2, which I think helped for a little while. I never actually threw up or fully cramped because I held myself back. Maybe if I had pushed myself over the edge and vomited, I might have felt better, who knows.

I really liked that there were so many people around on the course through most of it. The 3-loop, out-and-back format is nice. It also made it easy for the spectators to see lots of action and it was great to go past them on every loop.

There was a 9pm cutoff for athletes to start the 3rd run loop, which I barely made. The third lap was pretty lonely, but there was one Athena woman from Spokane, and a couple TnT guys (an athlete and a support person) out there with me. The moon was almost full and help illuminate the road where there were no lights. When I couldn't see much, I would just try to follow the lines in the road or the yellow glowstick halos up ahead. It was kinda surreal at moments.

I'm disappointed that I didn't finish within the time limit, but I am very glad that I did finish. I considered dropping out after lap 2, not because I didn't think I could finish, but because I knew I wasn't going to finish in time and I also knew my wife was miserable out there waiting for me alone in the cold and dark. I had no doubt that I could finish the distance, regardless of how my stomach or my legs were feeling.

On the third lap, I started a strategy that I think helped me finish it sooner than I otherwise would have. I would grab one cup of water and one cup of Gatorade from the aid station and just keep going. This minimized my time at the aid station, and gave my stomach more time to assimilate the nutrition. It slowed down my power walk a little bit because I couldn't swing my arms as much, but I think it helped overall.
What would you do differently?:

Given the situation, I think I did pretty good.
Post race
Warm down:

There were still a few spectators and finishers at the finish line area, but some of it had already been broken down. I did get my picture taken, along with my wife who I had brought down the finish line chute with me. I got to take a finisher's shirt and medal from the boxes on the tables -- there were no volunteers anymore. I believe the clock had stopped. There was no food anymore.

I kept walking and had something to drink. My wife brought my jacket and we slowly walked to the car. My wife had already packed all my T2 stuff (I had given her my T2 gear pick-up ticket). She worked so hard that day, I really owe her a lot. Next time I'll arrange for a whole crew to be there for me.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The biggest thing is the nutrition/stomach issues that I have. It is better than it used to be with this new nutrition, but still at some point it is an issue. Unfortunately, that point is pretty far into things. I had a couple experiences of these problems with the new nutrition while training, but only on the longest days. I thought it might have been the heat, but I guess it was the nutrition as well. So in order to figure this out, I may have to do some very long experiments.

My weight is also a factor, slowing me down. And longer times lead to more problems. Maybe if I get done sooner, I will have less time where I'm struggling. I think my weight is the only problem with my bike and my run.

My swim technique needs work. It's better, as well as my endurance getting better, but can always be improved.

Event comments:

There are a lot of really great things about this race. It's not terribly crowded. There are a lot of aid stations. The scenery is amazing. The bike course is challenging without being crazy difficult. It's a Team-In-Training race, so there is a lot of energy for the participants out there. The multiple loops on both the bike and run make it easy for your supporters to find you, and ensure that you have other participants around you all the time.

The only real downside would be the roughness of the bike course (I've read about some crashes ending peoples' days out there). There's also not much talk on the website about the hilliness of the run course. They provided an elevation profile of the run, but don't really say much about how hard it is. Make sure you preview it before the race so you know what to expect. The sooner the better so you can train on similar terrain.




Last updated: 2009-04-15 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:34:41 | 4224 yards | 02m 14s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Suit: Orca S1 full
Course: The course is in the Russian River right above the small dam at Johnson's Beach in Guerneville. The river there is about 50 yards wide. The water is quite warm this time of year, and they announced on race morning that it would be wetsuit legal. It's a 2-loop course, with buoys on the left. They make a "lane" of buoys in the center of the river for kayaks and such, and the athletes stay outside of that lane. There is no noticeable current. The water is shallow enough to stand and walk for parts of the swim, especially at the turn-around. There is an outcropping about 1/3 of the way from the turn-around to look out for, as well as passing under 2 bridges. The turn-around is not actually half way, it's a little farther than that. That's because the finish line is not where the starting line is, it's up the river a little ways, maybe 200 yards.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 74F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 11:19
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
07:51:15 | 112 miles | 14.26 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
My Garmin showed almost 5500' of climbing for this ride. Some of that is at the beginning prior to where we loop back the second time, so the first loop has more climbing than the second.
Wind: Some
Course: 2 winding loops through beautiful Sonoma county with lots of rolling hills, vineyards, and trees. The second loop doesn't go all the way to the beginning of the first loop. Chalk Hill is the big hill and comes after the white rock formation it's named after (the hill before the white rock is not the real hill). The road can be quite rough in some places.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 08:05
Overall: Average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
06:59:40 | 26.2 miles | 16m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Bad
I don't have a time for the 3rd run lap because I finished after 11pm, but the first 2 run laps were timed. I'm estimating my finish time as 11:20pm. First run lap: 2:05:14, 2nd lap: 2:26:41 (at 8:52pm), and estimated 3rd lap: 2:27:45.
Course: Out and back 3 times from Windsor High School, through the suburban and semi-rural neighborhoods of Windsor. There are street lights for the first mile or so, but after that there are no lights (if you are out there after dark). This course was surprisingly hilly -- well beyond what I would call "rolling hills". The loops also go by the transition area, and you are allowed to go into your T2 and pick up anything you need.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4