Vineman Ironman 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Great swim for me. This is my worst event, and I had my fastest time ever. 8 minutes between waves was perfect. More people than any race I've ever been in, but I had clean water the whole time. I stayed against the bank both ways so sighting was easy, even if I swam a little farther. Couldn't have been happier--and that calmed me down.

Nothing

This was long!Long run to the bike. Sand and rocks. Lots of people and bikes. Very crowded. I had to sit down and towel off all the sand before I could get shoes on. Then it was a long run with the bike. But, I was so happy with my swim I didn't care.

Get a better bike position. Have water to pour on feet for dirt.

Mile 5-15 was very technical, but actually not as bad on the bike as it appeared in the car. At mile 15 my derailer broke so I rode 41 miles on the lower sprocket. This cost me time on many hills, but probably saved my legs a bit for the run. I was spinning a lot--must have looked a bit comical at times. My chain also fell off once when I was trying to force the sprocket change.

It was a good race. It was a new bike--I was not quite used to it. I found out after the race all I needed to do was tighten an allen nut on the shifters--oops, that probably cost me 15-20 minutes on the bike.

Okay--my time was terrible. I usually average 1:30 on t2, but I had a long run with the bike, a long run out, and I had to pee--so I waited in line for the outhouse. I also shot the breeze briefly with another racer.eOh well. I was ahaed of my goal, even with my problems.

I wish I had biked the course ahead of time, but this was not possible this trip. Also, perhaps not drink so much on the bike? Actually, I wasn't rushing--I wanted the run to be good.

I had only done 1 70.3 before (good swim, great bike--terrible run. I threw up and overheated in 100 degree weather). I just wanted to run as long as possible, not overheat and try for under 2 hours. I said to myself no walking until the turn around. I walked in the aid stations just long enough to drink and get ice. At mile 7 I started to get hot. At mile 10 I was done. I tried to a new strategy--run 2 minutes, walk 30 seconds. At mile 12 this turned into run 2, walk 1. Still, I finished strong and under 2 hours!

I was happy. I wish I could have made myself run the whole time ( I could have saved 15 minutes), but I just couldn't. I also had a hip injury that started hurting in mile 2, but I pushed it along. All things considered, I was very pleased.

Drank water, poured water on my head, stretched a little, went to the hotel to take a shower, went wine tasting. I did nothing at the race site--just wanted my wife to start enjoying her vacation. Great dinner in Heladsburg.


Transitions, bike problems, hip issues, lots of people in the way on most parts of the race, especially transitions.


I had all kinds of doubts about the race--bike too technical, rough and dangerous, run too hilly, swim starts made little sense. When the race started, it all played out perfectly. The people who organize this race really knew what they were doing. I repent of my skeptism and give them a 10! I also was happy with my pre-race nutrition, water and taper plan. I think I can go under 5 hours next year with a good training season.