Ironman 70.3 Vineman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Windsor, California
United States
Vineman, Inc.
81F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 23m 18s
Overall Rank = 1192/2172
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 159/269
Pre-race routine:

Woke up at 4:30. Breakfast of coffee, bagel with vegemite, Cytomax and a banana, mostly in the car driving from Santa Rosa to Guerneville. Set up transition and spent some time watching the pros getting ready, starting and finishing (for the front-runners) the swim. My wave started at 7:00am
Event warmup:

Some stretching and walking around as I watched the pros start. Then when I was in the water, 50-75 meters warm up to get the blood flowing.
Swim
  • 39m 17s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 52s / 100 yards
Comments:

Overall a quite good swim for me - kept my head down, and focused on my form and on maintain a consistent effort level. Somehow I was swimming straighter than last year, so wasted less time sighting and veering off course. I was 4 min faster than last year - with spending less time in the pool in the lead-up to the race, most of the speed was due to improved form over the last year.
What would you do differently?:

Get in the pool more - I think better conditioning would improve my time further.
Transition 1
  • 04m 16s
Comments:

Fairly efficient T1. 1017/2172 overall and 104/269 in my division
What would you do differently?:

Not a lot. It is worth taking time to clean and dry my feet.
Bike
  • 2h 57m 26s
  • 56 miles
  • 18.94 mile/hr
Comments:

Overall a great ride - although in retrospect I overcooked it a bit and didn't leave myself in a good position for a strong run. I felt strong and rode strong, and avoided any issues on the Chalk Hill descent (unlike last year)
What would you do differently?:

Go easy and try to focus on riding with less effort instead of trying to beat last year's bike time.
Transition 2
  • 04m 19s
Comments:

Very good T1, mostly due to running wiht the bike through the long (.2 mi) entrance chute. 420/2172 overall and 65/269 in my division
What would you do differently?:

Apply sunscreen, or at least have it there to put in my pocket
Run
  • 2h 38m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

Started a little too strong, and with the lack of a reserve coming off the bike, I managed to run most of the first half (apart from aid stations and the short uphills), but lagged a lot in the second half, with increasing frequency and duration of my walking breaks. By mile 11-12 or so, it was clear I did not have it in the legs to do much (any) more running, but I still put on a burst through the last 1/4 mile or so.
What would you do differently?:

Train more. Push less hard on the bike.
Post race
Warm down:

No real warm down, as this had happened already over the last 1-2 miles of the run!! I found some of the limited shade and stretched on the ground. Also got some food into me which was great.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Carrying more weight than last year. Also overall less training and conditioning, particularly in the run

Event comments:

Only challenges with this race were:
1. lack of shade after the finish (can be remedied)
2. time for shuttle back to T1 to pick up car and then return to T2 to pick up bike. Anyone should avoid the need to do this if they can (hard for race organizers to remedy this, I know)




Last updated: 2015-07-16 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:39:17 | 2112 yards | 01m 52s / 100yards
Age Group: 146/269
Overall: 1181/2172
Performance: Good
HR: avg 150; min 144; max 159 53 strokes/min average
Suit: Xterra vortex 4 longjohn
Course: The course is a nice, well-marked out-and-back along the Russian River. Swim upriver from dam at Johnson's Beach, turnaround at ~0.65 mi, then downstream to swim finish just upriver from the start. The dam below the start keeps the river at a good level... although a couple of points are decidedly shallow, with hands hitting the riverbed mid-stroke.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 69F / 21C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 04:16
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
02:57:26 | 56 miles | 18.94 mile/hr
Age Group: 123/269
Overall: 888/2172
Performance: Good
HR: avg 156; min 51 (?); max 221 (?)
Wind: Little
Course: Great undulating course through the wine country. This year they had newly paved a lot of the roads on the first 2/3 of the course, including West River Road I think. The only real hills aren't huge, but break up the course a bit: an up-and-over heading into Geyserville and a climb and somewhat technical descent on Chalk Hill Road.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Too hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 04:19
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Bad
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
02:38:00 | 13.1 miles | 12m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 198/269
Overall: 1582/2172
Performance: Below average
HR: avg 160; max 169; min 138
Course: The run course is generally a loop course on country roads south of Windsor, with a common start/finish stretch of ~1/2 mi, an out-and-back tail between mi 4 and 10, and a 1.5 mi side loop through the vineyards of La Crema winery. Overall ~300ft of climbing over some rolling hills and a couple of short steep pitches also. The first half of the course is more sheltered, but second half of course is exposed which can be tough midday heat (>80 deg F, but still less than mid-90s last year)
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4