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Ironman 70.3 Vineman - Triathlon


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Guerneville/Windsor, California
United States
Vineman, Inc.
77F / 25C
Sunny
Total Time = 5h 41m 17s
Overall Rank = 757/2400
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 26/89
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:00 am as T1 opened at 5:30 and I wanted to get a good spot. Cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter and honey for breakfast. Mixed the Infinit concentrate for the bike leg. Got to the starting area early and sat in the car to stay warm . Shouldn't have as they actually opened the T1 at 5:00, not the advertised 5:30. Nonetheless got a great rack position.
Event warmup:

10 minute jog 45 minutes prior to start. Only swim warm-up I saw while watching the other wave starts was in the 6 minutes between waves, so got in a 150ish warmup. However, as I went into the starting corral, I did see that people were able to get into the water below the dam just downstream of the starting area.
Swim
  • 35m 10s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 40s / 100 yards
Comments:

Current is negligible so no real benefit as staying near shore. Water gets really shallow when you move away from the centerline buoys. I got a bit off course on the return leg just a bit and ended up in knee to mid-thigh deep water and had to walk it back to the deeper portion.
What would you do differently?:

Sight more often on the return leg when I got a bit tired to avoid the shallows.
Transition 1
  • 04m 55s
Comments:

The transition area racks are well marked so no problem finding my bike. Took my time to get everything done right, but not slowly. You have to stuff everything into a plastic bag they transport to the finish line, so that takes a bit of extra time. Happy with the result
What would you do differently?:

Nothing
Bike
  • 2h 57m 14s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.88 mile/hr
Comments:

Without the HR data I blew it on my strategy to keep some in the bank on the first half, but it actually worked out great. All practice rides had a faster back half and I still wonder how it would have worked out if I'd executed to plan, but I cannot argue with the result as I came in 13 minutes under target. My concern at that point was the run - would I completely melt down?
What would you do differently?:

Remember the HR strap :-)
Transition 2
  • 03m 49s
Comments:

Again, a well marked transition area. Switched to a white running singlet as the sun was out in full and applied spray sunscreen liberally. Had a little 8 oz water bottle I took out onto the run.
What would you do differently?:

nothing
Run
  • 2h 00m 9s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

Goal was for a 2 hour run and came within 9 seconds, so can't complain about that. Plan was to start out at a 9:00 pace to try and maintain for the run. Fast bike legs betrayed me though, and first few miles were in the 8:20's which, after the too fast bike leg, I feared would do me in on the back half. Pace stayed under 9:00 until mile 7 where it started creeping up with the last full mile being at a 10:17. Took full focus to keep the pace as high as I could in the last couple and felt the nausea building. I saw recently that if you puke before the finish line, you went too hard, if you puke after the finish line you didn't go hard enough, and if you puke at the finish line, you left it all on the course. Well, I didn't quite puke on the nice volunteer who was removing my timing chip, but as soon as she was done . . .
What would you do differently?:

Slow down on the start. I just cannot figure out how to do that.
Post race
Warm down:

Flat on the back for 10 minutes rediscovering oxygen and having a medic bring me ice water. Nausea persisted such that I could not eat anything for an hour and half after I finished.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I'm not sure. I exceeded my stretch goal time by 19 minutes so not sure if I had raced to plan I'd have done any better.

Event comments:

Highly recommend. Well organized with 1000 volunteers - they were everywhere. Course was well marked and staffed with law enforcement for traffic control.




Last updated: 2013-05-20 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:35:10 | 2112 yards | 01m 40s / 100yards
Age Group: 18/89
Overall: 559/2400
Performance: Good
Suit: Full
Course: Upstream out and downstream back
Start type: Wade Plus: Waves
Water temp: 72F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:55
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
02:57:14 | 56 miles | 18.88 mile/hr
Age Group: 29/89
Overall: 785/2400
Performance: Good
First 28 @ 19.2mph/1:30:35, Second 27 @18.7mph/1:26:39. Completely counter to my training rides there and my strategy which was to conserve on the front since it is a series of challenging rollers. Back has a lot of flat with some rollers and one hill in the 40-50 mile section. Whole ride was to be HR zone based, but some idiot forgot his HR strap at home.
Wind: None
Course: Loop, starts with flat ride for about the first 6 miles the a series of rollers on rough roads for the next 20 - shift early and shift often. Turn onto Canyon road for a nice gentle climb then a great fast downhill to start the back half. Roads smooth out here for the first 10-13 miles then it is back into rough rollers and the biggest climb at Chalk hill at about mile 44. The downhill after Chalk starts steeply but then levels off somewhat but is very fast for about 2.5-3 miles. Then it is a few more rollers and onto the urban streets for a mostly flat finish. The run-in to T2 is fairly long (300 yds) so a good warm-up for the run.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 84
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:49
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
02:00:09 | 13.1 miles | 09m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 26/89
Overall: 757/2400
Performance: Average
Official results site has an error in the first/second half splits saying I did the first half at a 7:55 (in my dreams) and the back at a 10:26. Garmin data is more realistic coming in at an 8:44 and 9:44 respectively.
Course: Loop with rolling hills and an inner loop through the La Crema winery vineyards. Aid stations every mile, well stocked and plenty of volunteers. At two spots homeowners had dragged hoses out and were offering to spray you down as you came by and there was a full 30' spray tunnel on the Le Crema property!
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2013-07-15 4:37 PM

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Regular
673
5001002525
SF Bay area
Subject: Ironman 70.3 Vineman


2013-07-15 5:35 PM
in reply to: #4804847

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Master
2621
2000500100
Almaden Valley, San Jose, California
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Vineman
Great race report!  Looks like we probably finished the bike pretty close together, and then you did a great job on the run!  nice job.
2013-07-16 11:22 AM
in reply to: velcromom

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Extreme Veteran
633
50010025
Hollister, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Vineman
Wow! Sounds like an excellent race with excellent transition times! Well done. Did we luck out with the weather OR WHAT!!? So happy about that!
2013-07-16 11:24 AM
in reply to: EV3110

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Extreme Veteran
633
50010025
Hollister, CA
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Vineman
Also, thanks so much for all the pre-race updates! :D
2013-07-17 12:36 PM
in reply to: #4804847

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Veteran
1677
1000500100252525
Houston, Texas
Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Vineman
Great race, Tom!  So glad your cold cooperated enough to let you race....and crush your goals!!
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