Vineman IRONMAN 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

One of my best swims to date. The horn sounded and I went hard for a few 100 meters along the bouy line. I found two other swimmers going along the markers and I joined their draft in the 3rd poistion. We stayed together the entire swim. I was directly behind the #2 guy and was right on his feet. Visibility wasn't the best, but I could feel his draft and would sight every 4-6 strokes to stay behind.

We rounded the return markers and found ourselves in water that was maybe 3 feet deep. The guy in front of me stood up and started to dolphin dive a few times. I did the same just to make sure he didn't get away. The lead swimmer just kept his head down and kept going and we all joined up togehter again. The dolphin diving wasn't any faster but it felt good to take a 10-15 second swim break and do something different! As we neared swim exit, my draft buddies stuck to the bouy line but the exit was to the right and I put my head down and hammered into shore. I was the first person in the wave to finish.

Nothing but work on breaking 29:00 now!

The rack for M35-39 was very close to the swim exit but the run to the mount line was very long. I had to pack my wetsuit, cap, and goggles into a bag provided and chucked it over the fence to my Mom. It was either that or allow the race organizers to bring it back to T2 later. I was all of 5 feet from the fence and still almost shanked the toss. No wonder I don't play baseball.. I throw like a girl.

My shoes were clipped into the pedals and I ran down on the carpet, which was very narrow and surrounded by sand and rock if you went off it. Well, Mr. ITU Transition boy here was stuck running behind other men wearing their bike shoes. I was screwed unless I went around them into the sand...so that's what I did.

Once at the mount line, there was a very short but steep hill. Someone on SlowTwitch had recomended just running up it and then mounting, which I did. That got me clear of the teetering, swerving chaos! My feet were a little muddy, but I got into my shoes quickly and was off.

Start passing folks in their shoes earlier, learn how to not throw like a girl.. ;)

The first 5 miles are long a flat road running up through the Russian River Valley. It was the perfect time to get on top of my nutrition. I had my gel flask on my top tube with 6 Roctanes in it ready to go. I went to try and suck some down but the cold temps and turned it into cement! I couldn't get any out! All I had on the bike was a bottle of water. This was going to be a problem. Before I was able to deal with it, I hit the technical section of the course and had to pay attention to the road. It wouldn't be until nearly 45min into this ride that I was able to unscrew the cap and try and suck down a big gulp of gel.

I was moving along well, my HR was in the low 150's. I was passing riders from the earlier waves, and then would be all alone for long stretches of road until I caught another small group. I was a little concerned I was pushing too hard and was worried about my lack of calories. I grabbed a bottle of G.E. at the first aid station and still had my own water bottle. It was chilly and I wasn't dehyrdating aggresively so I sipped G.E. for the calories and kept working on trying to get in more gel. By the end of the ride, I still had half the flask full and a little G.E. left.

Eventually I caught another group with one guy who was also moving through them. I caught him and passed but he passed me back about 5min later. We went back and forth like this, moving through small clumps of riders for a bit. I realized I couldn't drop him and we both acknowledged that fact. We just kept draft legal and worked up the road together. Heading into Windsor, I put on a final push and was ahead of him until I got to the dismaount line, where my feet were so numb from the cold I couldn't get them on top of my shoes and ended up messing with them so much he passed me 10 feet from the line!

Looking back, it was probably the best I could with the bike fitness I have currently.

My feet were so numb I couldn't even feel them as I ran down into T2. The guy who I had been riding with was right in front of me and we were within 10 feet of eacother on the rack. We both sat down to put on socks. He asked me where I was from and I said AZ. He said he just raced IMAZ and qualified for Kona. I said I did that last year! We laughed and as we got up to run towards the exit he had to stop to use the porta potty. We wished each other luck and I took off. He ended up finsihing in 4:30, 4th in the AG.

It wasn't very fast, but I needed to put on the socks and it was hard with numb feet. I actually wouldn't even start to feel my feet until mile 3.

I started out of T2 feeling pretty good. I had come into the race optomistic that I could have a good run as I had spent the first 3 months of the year training my run for the Boston Marathon. I had to sacrafice my bike fitness a bit, but now I needed to make up for that. I fell into a good pace and for the first mile or so was alone heading out. At the first aid station, I tried to get down a little more gel and water. Up ahead I saw another runner who I caught and as the road opened up more, I could see a few more up the road. Around mile 3-4, the pro men came by heading back. Terrenzo looked great, Crowie looked a little frustrated, Joanna looked tired but still going strong, and Sam McGlone looked mad!

It was right around mile 5 that I felt a sudden pang of cramping in both hamstrings. That's wasn't good. It went away but I was officialy on notice that I could blow up if I wasn't careful. G.E. wasn't woking so at the next aid station it was time to hit the Coke. That seemed to help just make me feel better. For the next two miles, I actually felt pretty good and just kept thinking hold on to this.

I made it to the La Crema Winery where the turnaround was and had my first chance to see where I stood versus the field behind me. I had gapped the last guy I had passed and didn't see anyone coming on strong. On the way out of the winery, I passed my new buddy Reed and we wished eachother well again. I was around 42min and change at 10K, but I knew I wouldn't be negative splitting on these legs. I was getting tired, and now my quads were getting tight and the hammies every now and then would send a jolt of pain through my body. I went into Ironman survival mode.

I stared at the road 10 feet in front of me and just shut everything out excpet moving forward. I kept up on the Coke at the aid stations and now there were runners streaming down the road heading the other wway. I received some nice words of encouragement from folks and that helped keep me distracted. Around mile 9, I saw one last runner ahead going my way. Once I passed him, I was the sole runner I could see heading back. Although I knew some guys who started 8 or 16min ahead of me were probably way up there, I couldn't see them and I felt like I was leading the race. That was a fun little fantasy!

The last 3K seemd to go by faster than the previuos and now I knew I was close. The crowds of runners continued to grow the closer I got to the high school and I had to run out in the road to avoid them after almost having a collision with a guy who had his head down. I ran through the parking lot and the spectators were cheering and I wasn't sure where the finish line was, I rounded a corner and STILL couldn't see it. Some lady yelled,"You're almost there!" and I said, "Where?!" She laughed in pointed to the left. There it was. I nice run through the grass and I crossed.



Nothing, this was the best I could do.

My timing chip was removed and I guy cam eover and asked if I was Bryan from BT. I said yes and he introduced himself as a fellow BT'er. I don't recall his name, I was a little out of it, so my apologies to you if you read this! My Mom was yelling something to me as I walked over. I figured she was congratulating me...but no. "Jamie cam in 2nd in her AG at her Sprint Race!" she yelled. LOL!


Bike fitness. I had enough aerobic training done on the bike but not enough speed work and speed work is crucial for this distance.


Excellent run race in a beautiful setting. Great awards including a bottle of wine, a giant Tyer backpack and goggles for 2nd place...and the Clearwater slot giving me another chance to imrpove at this distance. I'm not sure if 70.3 plays as well to my abilities as an athlete as Ironman does, but I would like to try and get better if I can this year before heading back to the IM circuit. I had assumed that 70.3 would feel more like an IM but it really is more like an Olympic and I need to train that way.