Vineman Full Ironman - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Guerneville, California
United States
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 11h 13m 26s
Overall Rank = 36/650
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 12/99
Pre-race routine:

I woke up at 5:15 with the goal of leaving for transition at 5:55 to get there at 6. Transition does not close here so we were just going to ride down on our bikes.

Had coffee, showered and used the toilet a couple times. I stuck to my plan of eating 2 Stinger bars, drinking some gatorade, and having a Stinger gel right before the start. I ate the first bar in the room and the second in transition.

We deposited our special needs bags with extra snickers, pickle juice, water bottles of gatorade and gels before heading down to body marking.

Everything went fine in transition. I had just a couple minutes to spare before the official start. I found Robin and got ready for the race.

Event warmup:

None.
Swim
  • 1h 18m 30s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Good swim for me. I planned on pacing by making sure I could breathe every 3 strokes the first loop and then pick it up if I wanted to on the second.

I paced well and navigated well the first loop. Going out felt far, but I warmed up and got in a good rhythm. I decided to stop at the second turn around and pee because I thought it'd be easier there than on the bike. I looked at my watch at the turn and was at 1:01. I knew with the current, I was right on pace for 1:20, which was my expected time, so I was pretty confident.

Because of that, I decided not to increase my pace and just swim strong but comfortable and focus on my stroke for the swim into T1. It was going to be a long day and I wanted to conserve energy. A couple minutes were not going to matter that much in the water.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. The swim went surprisingly well and I felt good the whole time.
Transition 1
  • 04m 25s
Comments:

This was a pretty good transition. I had to use my towel to dry my arms to get the arm warmers on and wipe my feet to make sure I didn't have pebbles in my socks for the ride. I chose to wear my smartwool socks for the extra warmth since the bike ride can be chilly.

I also put my shoes on for the run out because of the hill climbing out of T1 and the fact that a few seconds at this distance does not matter as much as shorter races.

I packed my bag with my swim gear and jogged out of transition to find Robin and give her the bag. Found her, got a kiss, and was off.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. Good plan, stuck with it, and got out of this first transition in a reasonable amount of time.
Bike
  • 5h 53m 14s
  • 112 miles
  • 19.02 mile/hr
Comments:

Good bike. I caught Chad at mile 33 and figured either I was going too fast or he was going too slow because he had a 4 minute lead on me out of T1.

I was holding my heart rate steady in the mid 130s so I felt like he was going too slow.

I thought the ride was really good. I drank my pickle juice and ate my snickers after special needs. I also stopped one to pee for 2 minutes. I did launch a gatorade bottle after a bridge, so that cost me a couple seconds as well, but I knew I needed fluids for the final 15 miles.

I really wanted to be done with the bike around mile 85, but I got to Chalk Hill and felt good going up it and then down into transition.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Transition 2
  • 03m 47s
Comments:

The run into transition was very long, but I got to my spot without incident. I grabbed my gear and started running to special needs to get my water bottle.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Run
  • 3h 53m 30s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

The run was good. I started easy and pulled back on the reins a couple times when I felt myself going to fast. I did the first loop in about 1:19. The first loop felt really good. I drank all of my gatorade on the loop.

Stopped at special needs and replaced my bottle and drank some pickle juice. The second loop was good too. I was slowing a bit, and I stopped to pee so that cost another minute. I was running with Chad for the most part, but I was glad to lose him at the stop because I like running alone and pacing myself. I caught him at the turn and we pretty much ran together back to the end of loop 2. The last mile of this loop hurt and I found myself wanting to slow down.

Loop 3 started and was rough. I stopped a little longer at special needs to give myself a little rest. Only a few seconds, but long enough. I also let Chad go off first so I could run my own pace. I let myself walk three of the aid stations here and used that as mental strength to keep running even up the hills where most people walked. I could see Chad up front the entire time and he was doing the same things.

During the lap I knew with 10k to go that I was going to finish in 11:20 or better because I could run 10 minute pacing and make it home well under my 11:30 time goal.

At the last turn, I really got strong again and told my self to run the last 4.3 home because it was almost over and 4.3 was nothing. I picked up the pace and really used the downhills to my advantage. I negative split these miles. From 21 home, my splits were 9:32, 9:14, 9:08, 8:16, 7:50 and 6:36 for the last .2 in the chute.
What would you do differently?:

I might try to speed up a little sooner on the last 8 miles. I feel like I had more in me. However, I wanted to run under 4 and I did that. My A goal for the run was 3:45, but I think that's tough for this course. I suspect very few people did that.
Post race
Warm down:

water and sat down. I felt surprisingly good at the finish.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

experience

Event comments:

The post race food was bad. The post race activities paled in comparison to what Endorfun sports and high five events do, but not everything can be excellent.




Last updated: 2010-08-04 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:18:30 | 4224 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/99
Overall: 189/650
Performance: Good
Suit: Xterra Vendetta
Course: Out and back - 2 loops - in the Russian River
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 70F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Good Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:25
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
05:53:14 | 112 miles | 19.02 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/99
Overall: 79/650
Performance: Good
Avg. HR for the ride was 140. Pretty good for me. Nice and low for the effort.
Wind: Some
Course: lollipop 2 loops.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 90
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:47
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Good
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
03:53:30 | 26.2 miles | 08m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/99
Overall: 31/650
Performance: Good
Avg. HR was 153. Low for me, but it was a long day.
Course: Out and back - 3 loops. Some good size rollers to keep runners honest.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4