Vineman Ironman 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim was great.. Water was nice and little or no current.. Shallow in certain areas but not a tough course..

will work on that since this was first HIM..

T1 layed out fine...found bike quickly..

didn't wear cycling jersey under wet suit this time..next time I will. Took 3 attempts to get it on cause of being wet.. Also will not use camel pak for the race. Did fluid exchange just fine at water stops so no need for the extra weight on the bike.

what a ride.. "E" ticket all the way.. rough ride but no flat tires

work on hill attack a bit better..next time I'll know the course now that I have done it once..

good 50+ yards from dismount to bike rack..

for first HIM, I did pretty good.. took a bit longer than expected probably cause I had to stop and pee before run.. Get a better feel for port-a-potty locationsand run start..got turned around a bit in T2..

Since I had never approached this endurance distance before, I did pretty good.. Walked about half of the 13.1 miles because of heat and health concerns. Didn't want to get hurt or get sick. Just wanted to finish under 8:30 and did not worry about anything else

now that I know what to expect for next year, approach will be more aggressive..

besides typical warm-down.. drinking fluids and snacking, nothing different..


Lack of experience and knowledge of race because it was my first time..Next time, look out!


I had a blast.. From the start to crossing the finish line, it was a day that flew by. That was the fastest 8 hours I have ever experienced.. Great race and would recommend for anyone looking to do their first 70.3.

Final comments and thoughts from my first HIM:

Well, not sure where to begin.. It was very busy when I arrived about an hour before my wave start.. So much activity but it didn't bother me. My wave start was set for 7:26AM.. I felt very relaxed even with my parents and husband there. The water was awesome and just right.. not warm and not cold.. I was still relaxed and confident when I went thru the timing chute before the start of my wave and got into the water.. One last wave to my parents and off to warm up... For a fleeting moment I thought, "Here I Go".. the gun sounded, I started my watch and away I went..
I stayed at the back of my wave and set a good easy pace.. Had to adjust my direction a few times to stay wide and out of the way of the faster swimmers.. After the bridge, I found myself scraping bottom it was so shallow. I stood up and it was barely up to my waist.. I thought about walking but the small pebbly bottom ruled that out in a hurry.. Knowing my luck, I'd cut my foot or something stupid and that would be it. I got to the turn-around and was just so excited to be there that I was whooping it up with the two lady lifeguards..
Made the turn and headed for the finish.. got run over a couple of times and moved back towards shore. Came out of the water feeling good and finished swim in 56 mins.. Took longer in T1 than I wanted to but had to pack everything up for pick-up and transport to the finish, or give to hubby.. I gave it to hubby, gave everyone a kiss and I was off. Got started on bike and wasn't 1/4 mile out and hit a couple of bumps on the bridge that jettisoned one of my Cytomax filled water bottles.. Figured this is gonna be fun.. Hit the first small hill at about mile 5 and panicked just a bit because of the 14 speed gearing I have.. I clipped out and walked up the hill.. Got back on and figured this might get uglier.. Was doing pretty good when I came to the first water stop at mile 13.. Tried my first moving fluid pick-up and was cheering when I did it and didn't fall on my butt!
Time flew one the course as I did my best to keep the other riders in sight. The course was not that well marked and if I had been out alone, I honestly feel I wouldn't have known where to go.. Could have felt that way too because of the enormity of it all... Decided to stop at the 2ND fluid stop to pee and slowed and clipped out on my left side as I coasted into the stop... BIG problem cause my weight was on my right side and you guessed it, I did the "timber" move and landed on my right arm and butt-cheek, with my bike between my legs.. I felt so stupid as I tried to un-clip my right foot so I could get up..At least no one was laughing.. Peed, grabbed more fluids and got going...By the time I got to the 3rd fluid stop, my hands were hurting from applying the brakes on some of the downhills..
See, I don't like going too fast downhill. I was hitting 25-26 MPH with the brakes screaming their resentment at having to work so hard... Hearing "on your right" was fun while getting out of the way of the "praying mantis" daredevils flying by me..Chalk Hill was too much for me and I clipped out and walked up that stretch...when I hit the top at mile 45, it was good from there to the town of Windsor..When we hit the city limits, the bike lane was coned off so there was a slight separation from the vehicle traffic..I was at about mile 50 when I started getting a cramp in my left quad.. I was trying to stay at about 17 MPH cause the course was flat now and I figured I could pick up some time...Slowed down and thumbed out the cramp after a few minutes...Caught up with a few other riders and pounded out the last couple of miles to the finish as I knew I was getting so close..
Had a bit of a run to T2 but got racked, shoes changed, peed again, and headed out for the run...Finished bike in 3:59 and with swim done in 56 mins, my watch said just after 5 hours when I started run...that gave me just about 3:30 to do the run and still be legal... It was hot...about 90 when I started the run... Got a couple of miles in and chose to walk some to make sure my left quad didn't cramp again and loosen my lower back up a bit, as it was sore... I was just enjoying the fact that I was almost done..that I had made it this far...I ran and walked and cheered on others that I saw in an OC Tri jersey...I poked fun at those wearing the LA Tri jersey...I yelled a few words of encouragement to several women along the way as I was outbound to the turnaround..
Met up with one guy who was struggling with some cramping at about mile 4 and gave him a couple of my Endurolytes, he thanked me and I was off again...we passed each other a couple of times later on the course..got to Le Crema Winery turnaround and passed one guy on my way out, who commented about "catching me"... I patted my tush and told him to "bite me, right here"...He said he would.. He never caught up to me.. I was walking and began chatting with a woman from Canada and we stayed together for about 4 -5 miles...Her knee was bothering her and she was going to walk more and I bid her farewell and good luck.. I ran for a bit more and came upon a guy who was having troubles...His knee was really hurting him and he was feeling ill..I walked with him and tried to encourage him for a couple of miles..
I was getting a bit anxious now and bid him farewell and good luck and took off again....I stopped at mile 9 aide station for a potty break and snacks and felt bad that someone was being loaded into an ambulance.. Hoped who ever it was would be OK....mixed in some walking and finally hit the last aide station before the final mile..Turned the corner and started to run, telling myself "yer not stopping until the finish"....just up ahead of me was the guy I had given the endurolytes to early on in the run...I ran by yelling at him "See, and you thought you wouldn't make it"....We waved at each other and I picked up the pace..
As I turned onto the main street headed towards the high school, I just kept telling myself.. "I did it....I did it"....turning into the school towards the finish, I was yelling excitedly at the 7 or so people still hanging around...I passed a couple of guys and teasingly said" come on, don't let me Chick ya"...one replied, " why not, you deserve it".. And ya know, I did...
I turned on to the final straight to the finish with only a few people still there, including my parents, cheering me on.. the thought of 5 months of training paying off and that I really did it, I couldn't help but to start crying.. I crossed the finish line, hit my watch at 8:09:27 and clutched the finisher's medal that was handed to me like it was made of gold.. My mom came over and was cryin...I was cryin...
Official time was 8:09:23.. swim in 56:55:9, bike in 3:59:01, run in 2:58:14... 61/66 in my AG and 1792/1836 OA

Man, what a ride...