Vineman Ironman 70.3 : Official Thread

i'm in for 2010! Really looking forward to it. Anybody out there have good suggestions for hotels/motels near T2/finish line?

I'm in! My first HIM - my first distance other than a Sprint!

I'm in for the second time. This was my first HIM last year and it was a blast! Looking forward to doing it again...

I'm in for a second time. I had a body malfunction on the run last year and want to 'redeem' myself. It will be interesting since I have only 10 weeks between this and IM St. George.

For those who are new to this race, it is a great course, and the swim is hands down the most beautiful OWS venue.

I'm in for 2010!  This will be my 3rd Vineman.  Great course, hopefully it will not be as hot as it was in 09!

Edited by AbbieR 2009-12-02 11:02 AM

X2 hopefully not as hot!

As of today the race is officially sold out! They are still taking people on the wait list though.

Wow, that was fast this year-last year it took a couple months if I remember correctly

I don't know if I'm in or not! I mailed my entry, I had no idea it would go so fast! The participant list is for the showdown & only has @ 500 people on it. I hope I find out soon!

This will also be my first HIM and I'm pretty excited.  What kind of knowledge can a previous participant share about the swim in the russian river?  Is it up stream out and down stream back?  Is there some type of barrier to separate the swimmers?  Thanks for any advice.

 
 

The swim, IMHO, is utterly beautiful. It starts slightly against the current, tho its so subtle to be unnoticable. There are HUGE orange floaties separating directions, with a 'dead' space between the outgoing and incoming swimmers. The floatie at the turn around point is a triangle, the other are circular/square shape. There are 2 parts where it get so shallow where you can get up and run. The water tends to run close to being a non-wetsuit race.

The best part is while you're swimming, each time you roll to breath, assuming the sun is out, you look directly up at soaring redwood trees and bright blue sky. The trees seem so tall from that point of view.

Since it is started in age group waves, I find it a very peaceful swim with room for everyone to have fresh water.

Suzanne.

Thank you very much, that was very helpful.

This will be my first HIM and I'm really looking forward to it!

Wohoo!  I'm in as well.  First HIM and I've heard that Vineman is a great one.  Will be interested in hearing more 'advice' from the veterans here on certain aspects of the course.

This is my 3rd time.  I'm on the waiting list. 

On the swim....  Couple great commments earlier, but I would add:
1.   You are swimming in a river.  I actually sight on the shore instead of in front. This is different than any other race that I have done.  
2.   The river is dammed up.  There are portions where you can actually stand-up.  In fact I have monkey arms and my hand will hit the bottom at parts. 
3.  Swim out is 'up hill' into the slight current.  Stay to the right. On the 'down hill' on the way back try to stay toward the center.
4.  Many find the wetsuits too hot.  I don't. I would try the swim before hand to make your own personal judgement.

Also, the transitions are miles apart.  This creates logistical issues for you. Take your time and think things through.  Lists are your friends.

This will be my first HIM and I am very excited about it. My family and I will be camping in our motorhome at a nearby RV park, which is actually on the race course, so that will be nice. I am definitely psyched about it, but first I have to focus on my first Olympic race this coming Sunday.

This will by my first HIM! I can't wait. A couple questions for those who have done it:

1) I've got long arms and want to find the deepest water on the swim. Should I stay as close to the middle of the river as possible?
2) Chalk Hill - reviews seem pretty mixed. Can anyone give me an idea of the incline and how long it is? I'm in the south bay/peninsula and do rides up to Skyline...are there any climbs in that area that would be similar to Chalk Hill?

Dave- I found Chalk Hill to be surprisingly tame.  I like riding down in the Woodside area and prepped by adding Old La Honda to a few of my long rides and my epic tuneup was the Tunitas Creek ride from Sawyers camp and back.   Chalk hill is much easier,  If you do Skyline you will have no problems.  It's kind of like Canada on that hill coming back up towards the freeway intersection, but longer and a little steeper.  Not sure of the elevation but definitely not bad.

Gorgeous bike course, you will love it!  Let's all hope for 80's and not 100's!

In general, yes, but as you get close to the turnaround, you'll probably find that it won't make a difference.  I'm 5' 10" (ish) with not particularly long arms and was scraping the bottom a bit at that point on both the 70.3 in 2008 and the Full last summer.  (For much of the outbound swim, you can actually get deep water off to the right towards the east shore, btw.)

I am short/little at 5'3, and there are places in the swim where I scrape the bottom....pretty unavoidable.

As for Chalk Hill, I agree, its tame. I'm a really strong cyclist and the only reason I go to my small ring on Chalk Hill is to save for the run. The first time I did the route I was miffed at the end cuz I kept waiting for the 'dreaded' Chalk Hill.

x2 hope for 80's....that 103 degrees last year was brutal!

Edited by LittleCat 2010-04-21 2:33 PM

Coming off IMSG, I will be challenged not to Bi&%h Slap anybody that mentions the words "hill or climb" in reference the course".  :-)