Vineman 70.3

This past Sunday was Vineman 70.3.


This was my first HIM last year and I was looking forward to racing there again just to see what another year of fitness would produce. The IM training plan I'm following has me scheduled for a HIM in late September so I wasn't as ready for this race as I would of liked to of been. I was a little stressed about not being ready so I was very good the week before and ate 'clean' and healthy. No candy and no wine!

We drove up to Windsor Saturday morning and met our friend Mike at the check in. This was Mike's first HIM. He had been dropped off by his wife Bonnie. She was then going to meet our other friends Nancy and Cindy who drove up for some wine tasting and race cheering. Vineman has a mandatory race meeting we had to attend before they let us pick up our race packets. Afterwards, we set up our T2. This is a point to point race so we had to leave our running stuff here and we would bring our swim/bike stuff to the start in the morning. The racks were set up in the order of the swim wave starts and there was a whole rack and 3/4 of another rack for the W50+ group. I set up my spot at the end of the 3/4 rack because there was a big divider sign for the rest of the rack and I knew I'd be able to use it to find my bag quickly :)

After the three of us were all set up we met Bonnie, Nancy and Cindy at Seghesio Family Vineyards for a picnic. They had brought a wonderful, healthy (mostly) picnic lunch for us all to have and relax with while they enjoyed some wine.

Here I am flanked by my Vineman Virgins ;)

The racers and the winos!

If you play music around these girls, the dancing and singing can't be stopped.

We had a wonderful pre-race dinner at a little bistro in Santa Rosa.

Then back to the hotel for an early bedtime and a 4:00 am wake up. I had my normal pre-race breakfast of an english muffin, peanut butter, a banana and some coffee. Then the three of us headed out to the race start, the Russian River in Guerneville. The girls slept in and enjoyed a fun morning before heading to T2 and the finish.

This is T1. Below a hill to the left is the swim start.

Dave and I.

Mike and Dave.

The Three Amigos.

Swim start.

The swim waves go off every 8 minutes for 2 hours. There were over 2000 racers. One of my favorite things about this race is they don't have the wave starts go out in the traditional way of young to older. I was in wave 10 of 18. With that start, it makes me feel like I have lots of company because when I'm in the last wave, the run is pretty lonely!

Mike went out in wave 8. I knew I would never catch up with him because he's fast! Dave was in wave 11 and I knew he's catch me on the bike. The swim is an out and back. The river isn't very wide so it's pretty easy to sight. It also isn't very deep so there are a couple of times when your hand will hit the bottom. My wave start was good. The water got a little churned up but I worked on starting out with a steady stroke. There was more contact then I've had for a while but I just forced my body to maintain it's space and made people go around me. That worked until Dave's wave starting catching up with me and then it was Grope City! Those men have no shame! Actually, it wasn't too bad and the best part is all the contact didn't slow me down too much which was great training for IMAZ! I did get up and walk around the last turn buoy because if I didn't I would be swimming between all the other walkers legs and that would of been interesting! After the turnaround, the course is slightly shorter and there is a very slight current so it went by really fast.

Swim time 2011: 49:21

Swim time 2012: 45:33

T1 was good. We had to stuff everything into a bag before we left and that took a little more time then I was hoping but overall I don't think I wasted too much time. Last year I stuffed everything into my big tri bag and handed it over to Dave and Kathleen as I was leaving. Stuffing into the smaller bag they gave us so it could be transported back to race finish took those extra seconds. Yea.......I'll go with that story :)

T1 time in 2011: 5:16

T1 time in 2012: 6:03

There is a small hill heading out of T1 so I geared down ahead of time. A lot of people just run up the hill (including the pro's) instead of riding up and potentially crashing into wobbly riders around them and I thought I'd leave my options open in case there weren't a lot of racers around me. I had lots of company so I ran up the hill and off I went. The course is absolutely beautiful! There are a lot of rollers and some fun downhills. I decided to push on the bike and see how much my legs would get trashed. I always feel like my legs are trashed in the run anyway so I decided I might as well push. Dave was behind me and I was hoping to get half way around the course before he caught me. Wrong! He caught me about mile 20 and we went back and forth for a while passing each other. Then he went on ahead and I didn't see him until T2. Chalk Hill is the big hill everyone talks about at about mile 45. I was very pleased to get up it without too much effort. It was hard but it was much harder (or maybe it was steeper!) last year. Overall, I was happy with my ride. I did a good job of remembering to drink/eat my nutrition and I think that helped a lot. I rolled into T2 feeling good.

Bike time in 2011: 3:40:39

Bike time in 2012: 3:28:59

T2 was also good. I was happy to easily find my bag with my run stuff. I found Dave too! He was looking for his bag so I hurried up and ran out so I could get ahead of him a little :)

T2 time in 2011: 6:13

T2 time in 2012: 4:38

Running out of T2 and seeing all of my girlfriends!

(I need to do something about those thighs.)

I started out on the run feeling pretty good. It was starting to get a little hot so I wanted to make sure I drank at each aid station and kept up with my nutrition. I decided to walk through the aid stations and keep a steady pace in between. I think I drank more during this run then in any other race and it wasn't terribly hot. It paid off because I ran consistently. I took a few more walk breaks towards the end but not nearly as many as I usually take! The best part was I think I could of run further so that has given me a little more confidence for November.

Run time in 2011: 2:40:32

Run time in 2012: 2:32:02

Total race time in 2011: 7:22:11

Total race time in 2012: 6:57:15

A big fatty PR for me! I truly was surprised that I did so much better since I came in feeling undertrained but that just goes to show you what another year of fitness will do for you. I might just do this race again next year to see what I can do :)

Dave had a great swim and bike. About half way through the bike he got a bad stomach cramp that stayed with him throughout the run. He finished feeling pretty bad and ran much slower then normal. He gutted (yes, pun intended) it out and finished though so he's happy. He even said he's do another HIM!

Mike had a great race! He finished 13/27 and hit his target goal time and I think I'll be able to convince him to do another HIM too :)

After a post race chocolate milk, we headed back to our hotel to sort out cars and my girlfriends set up a  wonderful picnic to tide us over for the drive home. Nancy volunteered to drive Dave's car and that was the greatest thing!

.......and one of the things we all race for.........

Silicon Valley International Triathlon

Last Sunday was my first triathlon of the season. It should of been my second but April's tri became a duathlon after the water quality test of Almaden Lake Park failed. The SVIT swim was also supposed to be held at Almaden Lake but the race organizers were informed early that the water would not pass inspection so they changed the swim to Uvas reservoir which made it a point to point race. I have to give a lot of credit to USAProductions for making this race run so efficiently despite the change in venue.

Dave also signed up for this race. We had both raced here last year and we were looking forward to racing in our 'backyard'. We both set some goals for ourselves. We wanted to push a little harder and we wanted to see where we are fitness wise. Since it was a point to point race, we had to drop off our bikes at T1 and then drop off a bag of T2 run stuff on Saturday afternoon so race morning we just had to take a bus from the finish at Almaden Lake Park over to the race start at Uvas. It was kind of nice knowing we had packed everything we needed so race morning we just had to get up, eat and drive 10 min for the bus :)

We got to the race start about an hour and a half before our waves went off. We set up our T1, walked around to check out the water, went to the bathroom before the lines were too long and then just hung out. The announcer mentioned that the water temp was 71 degrees (20 degrees warmer then the air temp!) which made me really happy.

The Swim:
My goal for the swim was to stay relaxed, keep my stroke even and consistent and not get worked up if there was a lot of contact. The comfortable water temp helped a lot to stay relaxed. My wave wasn't very big (they combined 50 and up so there were only 24 racers) and the start line was wide so it was a really comfortable start. I tried to draft a little bit but most of the time I just swam and swam and swam. My sighting was pretty good for a change and I think I swam a pretty straight line from buoy to buoy.
2011: 42:16
2012:39:08

T1:
We had to bag everything in T1 before we left on the bike so our bag could be transported to the finish so I really thought ahead about how to minimize my time and get out of there. I brought my tri bag and just tied the plastic T1 bag (with my # on it) they gave us to it so I would have more room to stuff my wetsuit in. I think getting my rolled up socks on took the longest. I haven't tried to go sockless yet. Maybe I'll try that during training to see how it feels.
2011:3:16
2012:2:22

The Bike:
The change in the bike course made it a little bit more challenging. It had several smaller hills compared to one big hill from last years course. Hills are not my strong point. Overall it was a good ride. I still need a lot of work on the bike. Stronger legs would help a lot!
2011:1:29:30
2012:1:36:56

T2:
We had dropped our T2 bags under the rack with our numbers. By the time I got there, my bag was in the same place but the rack was full of bikes. I had to do a little back and forth but it wasn't too bad.
2011:2:52
2012:2:11

The Run:
My run has been stronger this year but it always seems in a race, by the time I get to running, I start pooping out. The first half of the run I was staying under 10:00 min miles but the second half I started slowing down. I took a couple of walk breaks and argued with myself ;) Even though I've been a runner longer then I've been a swimmer/cyclist, I still find running my hardest sport.
2011:1:02:54
2012:1:02:15

Finish time:
2011:
3:20:48
Age Group 9/11
Gender 139/193
Overall 468/550

2012:
3:22:52
Age Group 6/10
Gender 110/157
Overall 385/468



A couple of minutes slower than last year but I think if the bike was on the same course I might of been a little faster there. Who knows really? I was really happy with this race. I moved up in my age group and I was productive the rest of the day instead of taking an afternoon nap :) No pictures from this race since I kept my phone locked in the car so I will have to include a cute picture of my favorite dog!

France

We just returned from a two week vacation in France. Our youngest daughter, Laura, studied in Paris this last semester and we decided to visit her and bring her home!

We took our workout stuff with us and managed to get one swim and a few runs in. We walked for miles each day and ate wonderful French food. It wasn't quite an equal amount of calories burned for the amount ingested but it was all worth it.

Here are some pictures from the trip with as few words as I can manage :)

This is looking onto the Place de Clichy from Laura's apartment.

Notre Dame

The Lock Bridge. It was only rainy our first day and our last day.

Le Arc de Triomphe

Montmarte

Laura, Dave and I on top of the steps leading to Montmartre.

I love you in many, many languages.

We went to a fondue restaurant that served wine in baby bottles.

Lunch in Giverny.

Monet's Gardens in Giverny.

The flowers were absolutely beautiful!

Monet's Garden

Laura was trying to teach Dave how to sit on a bench and relax like the French do :)

Versailles

Inside Versailles

We are so cultured.

Looking down into the gardens of Versailles.

Lunch at Versailles.

It is art!

We went to a restaurant where they only asked you how you wanted your steak cooked. Simple menu of steak and fries and it was incredibly good.

One of our favorite desserts. Little cream puff shells filled with ice cream and covered in chocolate.

Chateau Fountainbleau.

Cool door knocker.

Breakfast in old Lyon.

Yes, a pastry shop!

Looking over the river in Lyon.

Notre Dame in Lyon. I think there is a Notre Dame in every city.

Old ruins dating to 13BC.

Lunch in old Lyon.

The French countryside.

Bad girls.

Les Baux de Provance. A hilltop village you have to walk up. No cars!

Ruins of the old castle in Les Baux.

Neat walkway.

Street in Avignon.

Another favorite dessert. I think we liked them all!

Le Pont d'Avignon. There is a French song about dancing on this bridge.

The Pope's Palace.

Crypt of a couple that obviously liked their dog.

Beautiful old, old carved door.

Fountain in Aix en Provence.

My cousins Beatrice, Helene and Brunella.

We climbed up the Sainte Victoire mountain to reach the cross on the top.

Part of our climb.

We had to follow trail signs. See the red dots?

We made it to the monastery.

Some other hiker left a box of wine, glasses and cheese. So french!

Standing on the cross. We made it!

The views were amazing.

The wind was blowing like crazy and I could hardly look at them standing so close to the edge.

Another meal, another feast. In Aix.

Every meal had to include good french wine.

Great salmon!

My partner in crime.

Oh look, it's another dessert.

Road trip from Aix to Paris has to include some reading time. 

We stopped in this cute village for lunch.

Back in Paris for dinner.

Another great meal.

More great desserts.

Laura's roundabout at the Place de Clichy.

The street door to Laura's apartment.

Laura's apartments tiny elevator we used to haul the luggage up to the 4th floor.

The Seine on our last day. 

Lunch in a park :)

Laura has become her father and loves her some maps!

The Pantheon. We climbed up to the upper dome.

View from the top. The church was in the movie, Midnight in Paris.

Our Paris girl.

I'm not a big fan of heights but this was worth it.

Venders along the Seine.

Laura's living room.

Her kitchen.

Sad face because we're on our way home.

First American meal request? In n Out!

We had a great trip with lots of adventures and good memories. Now, back to our regularly scheduled training.