Vineman 70.3 Weekend and Race Report

Why did I drive to Napa Valley to punish a body that has treated me very well over the years? Maybe my upcoming 40th birthday, maybe to force myself to get in shape. Honestly, it was probably the bragging rights that sealed the deal.

To understand it a bit better, check out the back story: Prelude to the 2009 Vineman 70.3

I tried to keep the story short, but it really is a long race. I decided to answer the most asked questions at the beginning so you don't have to wade through the entire story to find it

Was it worth it

Yes, I finished. Yes, it was worth it. Yes, I'm glad it is over. Yes. I'll probably do another half ironman. No. I don't plan on doing a full ironman.

My finishing time for the race was 7:55. I had expected to finish between 7:10 - 7:25, but some unexpected events (911 call, flat tire, heat) added a large amount of time to my race, so I am not disappointed with the official time. I'll definitely have a faster time in the next race.

I will probably do another half ironman since it is easier to maintain my endurance than it is to build up to the race. The past several months have been unfair to Rochelle and the kids since I have spent a great deal of time training. If I can maintain my current capability without the same investment in time, I'll definitely do another race. Otherwise, I'll keep to the olympic distance races. Training for the full ironman is a full year commitment that I am unable and unwilling to make. The sacrifice is too high.

I do enjoy most of the training, but mostly I enjoy the camaraderie/competitiveness between Roger and I before and during each race.

Before the race

Roger and I decided to head to Sonoma County on Friday to acclimate to the surroundings and to have Saturday to prepare and attend the various events. This meant I needed to be prepared Thursday evening. I spent a lot of time making sure I had everything I needed. Tri-shorts? Check. Wetsuit? Check. Goggles? Check. Wait, did I have my Wetsuit? This went on and on until I convinced myself I had everything. Then I moved to the bike portion, which is really equipment intensive. That almost drove me nuts. Finally, the small, but growing, Type A part of my personality came in handy and generated some neatly packed baggage. Rochelle was very proud of my organizational skills.

We left early on Friday morning so we could eat breakfast at my mom's restaurant, Dream Castle Cafe in Frazier Park, on the way. The drive to Sonoma was uneventful and we kept passing other racers on the way. How could we tell? The bike racks and racing bikes gave a lot of people away. A good number of them would wave as we went by.

Most of Friday was spent looking for good food and trying to be in bed by 8:30. We succeeded. Saturday was our busy day. Breakfast at Starbucks and off to visit the various race venues.

Our first stop was Johnson's Beach in Guerneville to check out the swim portion of the event. Johnson's beach is a dammed area of the Russian River with limited current and shallow, warm water. It was an absolutely beautiful setting and my nerves about the swim were mostly calmed. The only downside to this transition area from the swim to the bike is the gravel and dirt that make up the area. Our feet weren't going to like us.

The second transition area was at Windsor High School about 15 miles away from Johnson's beach. Instead of driving straight there, we decided to drive the 56 mile bike course to scope it out. There were several place we were glad we had seen before the race. As we drove, we were more excited about the bike course. We expected an uneventful, beautiful ride through the vineyards. We were wrong.

We arrived at Windsor High School about 11:30 am, mirroring the time we expected to get there on Sunday after the bike ride. We immediately knew the race would be tough. It was 90+ degrees already and warming up. That was our first hint that all might not go as planned on Sunday. Registration was quick and painless. We dropped our running gear in the transition area and tried to find shade. We didn't stay long at the high school. It was just too hot. Instead we went back to the hotel and took a nap.

The normal pre-race dinner of Costco Pizza didn't happen since the local Costco closed at 6pm. We made do with mexican instead. The remainder of the evening was spent preparing our nutrition for the next day. My nutrition for the bike ride consisted of:

• 1 bottle water
• 1 bottle gatorade
• 3 packs of Clif Bloks
• 4 shots of Gu Energy Gel
• 1 water bottle filled with unflavored energy drink with salt mixed in. It tasted like salty pancake batter.

Everything was packed, our bags were ready and off to sleep we went. After watching Wipeout, of course. Those fools doing crazy things to their bodies. When will they learn.

Race Day

I actually woke up excited about the race. It was 4am, so I might have been delirious. We parked at the swim start and had a bite to eat at the car. We got our body markings and setup our transition area for the swim to the bike while joking around with the the others in our wave (40-41 men). It was a relaxing atmosphere that soothed everyone's nerves and prepared us for the long day ahead.

Our official start time was 6:38 in the wave right after the pros. All of the sudden the pros were in the water and the starting gun went off. Roger and I hightailed it to the starting line with several other surprised men in green caps. The water at the starting line was neck deep and warm. Roger and I made our way to the back of the starting group and waited for the horn. The next time we would see each other was back at transition. The first person out of the water was to wait for the other.

The swim was awesome. I took a few hits and kicks, bust mostly had a lot of room to myself. There were sections of the river where a dozen of us would suddenly stand up and walk 10-20 meters before swimming again. I took the swim fairly easy since I had decided to pace myself a bit slow for the race. 39 minutes later I was out of the water and running into transition.

Not only was Roger there and waiting for me, he was completely ready! He had beat me out of the water by 4-5 minutes. I am extremely proud of how much improvement he has made to his swimming from just 1 year ago. I am also extremely annoyed that he was faster than me. I'm the swimmer.

Before we could leave transition, we stashed all of our equipment in a provided plastic bag so it could be trucked to the High School finish line. Once done, we exited transition, mounted the bike and were off on the second leg.

We got up to speed on the bike quickly and cruised through the flat five miles that started the race. We hit the turn onto Sunset and entered the back roads. This is where the race got weird and I was glad I had carried a cell phone.

At mile 7, we came up a slight rise with a dismounted rider at the top of the hill shouting "slow down." To our complete disbelief, we came over the hill and a large oak tree was lying across the road being held up by the power line it had fallen onto. Streams of bike riders were ducking under the tree where the power line was holding it off the ground.

Three bikes were tangled up in the fallen tree, one of the men was lying on the road and another was walking around holding his arm. I really never figured out who the third person was. Since Roger and I both had cell phones, we immediately stopped and called 911. We couldn't actually see through to the other side of the tree where a couple in a car had stopped and were also calling 911.

As we learned later, the tree had simply fallen as the riders passed underneath. It had struck one rider in the back on the way down and the two other riders couldn't stop in time before hitting the tree. It was quite a scene.

While we waited for emergency personnel, I unsuccessfully tried to contact the wife of one of the injured riders. When the ambulance arrived, I promised the rider I would pull over to take a return phone call and Roger and I hopped on our bikes to do the next 48 miles.

At this point, our adrenalin had spiked considerably and we tried to get it back under control. An hour and a half later, my cell phone rings and I pulled over to take the call. There wasn't much I could tell the rider's wife except to say that his injury was limited to a broken collar bone and that she should call the race organizers to determine where he was taken. Once that responsibility was done, we mounted again to hopefully finish out the race.

Luck was not on our side. At mile 48, Roger goes flat and we had to change a tube. In the middle of changing the tube, another rider pulls over with a flat tire. As we are getting ready to leave, she is having problems with her CO2 and doesn't have a backup. I give her a cartridge, and Roger helps change her tire. Our bike time slips a little bit more.

We had decided early to set easy targets for our times on each leg. My goal for the swim was 42min, I made it in 39min. Our goal for the bike was 3:45 to 4:00. As we hit the last 5 miles, Roger and I realize we are still on pace to hit 3:55 with all of the stops. With almost 30 minutes of stopping, we managed a bike time of 3:55.

Of course, our goal for the half marathon was a 2:30 and that failed miserably.

Transition was easy with a quick restroom stop before heading out on the run. At 11:30, the temperature had hit 90 and was quickly rising. The first 3 miles of the run were in the shade and relatively painless. During mile 3, I began to develop a bad stomach cramp and moved to a run/walk for miles 3-5 hoping to recover. At each aid station, I was only able to take in about 4oz of water before my stomach would revolt. At that point, I knew I was in for a bad run.

At mile 5, I switched to a walk and told Roger to go ahead. I calculated that I needed a 15min/mile pace for 8 miles to come in under 8 hours. I moved to a fast walk for the remainder of the race. At each aid station I would take 4 cups of water. I tried to drink one cup and dumped the rest on myself to cool down.

At the halfway point of the race, the temperature had moved up to 95. However, the unshaded asphalt road was more than 100 degrees as I continued my brisk walk. At several points in the last 4 miles, I began to see spots and my eyes would start to close. I knew the dehydration was beginning to take over and I needed to keep moving. I would have like to run out the last mile of the race, but I settled for the last 100 meters so that any picture would at least show me running.

Crossing the finish line was just a blur as I tried to keep myself together for a finishers photo and the necessary end of race bits. I grabbed the proffered water bottle (ice cold, thank you) and drank the entire bottle in my quest for shade. I found some shade in the transition area and sat down.

A volunteer who was in the area came over and asked if I needed anything. Luckily, she had a large amount of water that I used to fill my water bottle and pour over myself to cool down. I spent an hour in the shade without moving and resisted the urge to fall asleep.

After an hour, I made contact with Roger on his way to pick up the car at the swim start. He wouldn't be back for at least another 30-45 minutes, so I went off in search of food so I could prepare for the 7 hour drive home. Luckily, the drive was uneventful and we alternated driving with 40-60 minute catnaps. We arrived back in Encino a little after midnight, showered and went straight to bed.

Poor Roger had to wake up at 4am to head back to San Diego for a poorly planned work meeting at 7am on Monday.

sorry for the abrupt ending, writing was more tiring than the race