(Huge thanks to the very talented and kind Jeff Kapic and Larry Rosa of for the wonderful race day pictures!)
T1 by the Russian River in Guerneville
I spent three really good weeks at home with the family after Ironman Coeur d'Alene (this race report makes a lot more sense if you know what went down there) and picking up my kids from the airport in Las Vegas. Sweet Reunion! Then I packed up my bags again and headed over to Northern California for Vineman. Two 140.6 races in four weeks. Why? A few reasons: I did Vineman last year, love everything about it, and really wanted to come back! CDA was sort of like a free trip because the kids were in Germany and didn't miss me. I wanted a race where I could bike according to feel and see where that gets me. I recovered well from IM CDA. It's within driving distance. I need more experience at this distance. I love racing and experimenting with new ideas!
It's a long drive up to Wine Country from Utah so I am very grateful to Namoi, who I stayed with during the nightmare that was Ironman Lake Tahoe 2014, for hosting me again on my way to Santa Rosa. I drove straight to Lake Tahoe for a little shake-out ride and swim. Biking along that lake is spectacular! Even in the wind. However, swimming in this big lake with significant waves by myself suddenly didn't sound like such a great idea and I bailed out. Instead, I talked the staff at this gorgeous private pool into letting me swim a few laps here:
nothing like a beautiful outdoor pool at 8,000ft!
I arrived in Santa Rosa on Thursday afternoon and went straight to the - you guessed it - outdoor pool! My awesome homestay, Layne Scoggins, is a personal trainer/spin instructor at Parkpoint Gym so I had free access anytime! Score!
Oh wait! I have to tell you how I ALMOST didn't make it there. Right before Vallejo the gas light went on but I couldn't find a gas station that was to my liking (i.e. within sight on my side of the freeway) and just kept going. Little did I know that there wouldn't be another gas station for 25 miles!!! How is that possible?!? Why didn't they put a sign up that reads: San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge coming up. No services for the next 25 miles! I mean, how was I supposed to know?!?* It was a LONG 25 miles. Once I was CERTAIN that I wasn't gonna make it, I came up with a plan: Coast over to the side, PLEASE LET THERE BE A SHOULDER, park, get my bike out of the car, ride until I find a gas station, get one of those gas canisters, bike back. Now that I was all set, I started to calm down. Now I know that this car can go a LONG way once the empty gas light comes on. A REALLY long way. Thank goodness.
*Yeah. I know. I need to get a new phone. But where is the fun in knowing everything ahead of time?!? Haha.
Unlike last year, it was a very cold and foggy morning.
Preparation for this race went well. I was feeling good despite my usual glute/hamstring issues, the venue is familiar, logistics for this distance are becoming easier, Layne (Vineman volunteer extraordinaire) could answer all of my questions, and excitement started to build. I was all set!
I told Coach Liz my plan for this race: BIKE with Garmin but no power on display. Ride by feel. That way we have the numbers afterwards but they're not in my face DURING the ride. RUN with Garmin this time. (I had no watch on me during the run in CDA.) Go out at goal pace or slightly under and really go for it. The goal is the medical tent. Haha. Plus, there is money on the line. I can be motivated by money. I think! There is a small amount of prize money for the overall male and female winner and a bonus if you break the course record. I was close the record last year and feel like, on a good day, I have a chance of cracking it. Coach (mostly) agreed with my plan. I had actually taken a sneak peek at the starter list but besides my friend, Kara LaPointe, who I raced with here last year, I didn't really recognize any names. However, at the pre-race meeting a girl came up to me and basically introduced herself to me as my main competition. Nice! I remembered her name and looked her up later and realized that she is a SUPER fast swimmer. Well, I thought, I am either going to catch her eventually or not. The more speedy girls, the better!
fog, fog, and more fog
Pre-race nutrition , slightly revised from CDA, went really well. Stuck to the usual in the days leading up to the race: white rice, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, avocado, chicken breast, eggs, cucumbers, rice crackers. As low-fiber as I could manage. Which, now that I wrote it down like this, doesn't seem low-fiber at all but, trust me, I tried!
Race morning breakfast at 3am: 1 cup cooked white rice, almond milk, 1/2 banana, some berries, a few sliced almonds. This was a bit too much. It went down well but then I felt too full. Next time I am going to try to mix some protein powder into the rice. And scale it down just a bit. I got in a good warm-up on land. I do need a good 30 minutes for a light jog, some strides and drills, and a few mobility exercises. I need to make sure I have enough time for that if at all possible! I usually have a gel 15-20 minutes before the start but this time I was still full from breakfast and skipped it. I should've taken it because I got a bit hungry during the swim already.
Yup. He was my guy. So fun!
The Swim
Highlights
- Success! I managed not to waste too much mental energy on the swim. Which is important because this such a long day of racing and if you deplete your mental or emotional resources too quickly, it's very difficult to keep the body moving. Trust me, I've been there.
- Having my own lead SUP! Only, it took me a LONG time to figure that out. Like 1/4 of the swim! Not sure when he jumped in but when we got to the turn-around on the first loop, it dawned on me that this random SUP, that I assumed was simply making sure we all stayed on course (although, there really is nowhere else to go in this rather narrow river) and just happened to be always in front of me, was actually there for ME! As in: I was for some reason leading the women's race! The water was at least as low as last year, so in between dolphin dives I yell: Are you my lead paddler? And he yells back: YES! Big Smile. John, who I met after the race, was SUCH a great guy. Hope we meet again some day and go paddle boarding together! Not sure what happened to speedy swimmer girl who started in the same wave...
Muddy transition but awesome announcer!
Lessons learned
- Don't eat too much breakfast or you will be too full to feel like eating a gel before the start and then get hungry during the swim!
- Even if there are a lot of people in your swim wave, that doesn't mean you you will automatically find someone to swim with. So make sure you try to get onto some feet right away!
- Dolphin dives are indeed faster than walking or swimming. In knee deep water at least...
- I would like you to push harder on the swim. Just to see what will happen. You will definitely NOT die.
no sunglasses = ugly race pictures
The Bike
All is well that ends well. This ride certainly did not START out well.
Highlights
- Staying focused and in the game when things didn't go so well at the beginning. I kept my down as much as I could, asking myself often: What's important now? What can I do RIGHT NOW to set myself up for a good race? Even if that meant I had to get off my bike TWICE to check if my brakes are rubbing. But when I realized that they DEFINITELY weren't, I was able to get back on the bike and put it behind me.
- Staying positive. I knew the race wasn't over just because my legs felt crappy. I gave them time to come around and I remembered Coach saying: Let the race come back to you. It's one thing I like about Ironman: There is enough time to come around. Patience is key.
- Special needs worked out well again on the bike. I want to keep using SN in future races. I think it takes less time than fiddling with too much crap on the bike. Changed my mind on this one, I guess! It helped that Layne was in charge of SN and recognized me right away. Thanks, Layne!
- Biking by feel. I knew I would but this confirmed it. All I could see on the Garmin and paid attention to was AVERAGE PACE. On this course I wanted it to be around 21.0 mph and I got it there in the end. It was a fun little game that didn't have me too obsessed but kept my head in the game.
- Nutrition went well. I had 4 Honey Stinger waffles, 4 pouches of Honey Stinger chews, 2 pouches of Powerbar chews (in SN), and 2 gels (in SN). Plus 4 bottles of OSMO, 2 salt pills every 30 minutes, and lots of water. Total = 2,200 calories. 350cal/hour. No issues on the bike. Yay!
- This course!!! Love, love, love it. Two loops, good roads, plenty of hills, vineyards, spectators. I want to move here!
Lessons learned
- If it's overcast and chilly, your legs will feel like crap on the bike. YOU will feel like crap. Wear a jersey or vest and gloves if needed to keep yourself as warm as possible. It simply takes too much energy (mental and physical) to get warmed up while biking in wet clothes on a cold morning.
- MAKE SURE YOUR BREAKS AREN'T RUBBING before the race. Then double check. Then triple check. Then know that it's your legs and not the breaks that aren't working.
- Somehow keep your sunglasses CLEAN or you will be racing without them and it will bother you ALL DAY! Actually, it will bother you every time you look at race pictures because they are that much worse when you don't wear sunglasses. In rainy or foggy conditions, somehow attach them to your hemet and don't put them on until the sun comes out. Or get a helmet with one of those ugly visors. At least put an extra pair into T2 so you will have them on the run! This time mine were filthy from the start but I didn't want to lose them so I had them tucked into my bra during the entire ride. Not the most comfortable thing to carry between your boobs for 5 hours.
Watch out! Here I come!
The Run
It's a beautiful but brutal run course.
Highlights
- Despite the slow time, I feel good about the run. Still too slow but it was a hilly and hard run course and I gave it all I had in the end. Which is really all I can ask for. I was really hurting and laying it all out on the line for that course record. I had passed Speedy Swimmer on the first loop of the bike and I knew Kara was struggling with a running injury, so it was mostly me against me out there. I feel like I paced it well and went hard but not too hard. In the future though I would like to push even harder earlier on to see what would happen.
- Breaking it up into thirds and thinking gear 1 - gear 2 - gear 3 is a good way to pace and push myself. Thanks for the tip, Patrick! Not sure I will ever manage to race like a machine but being a little less emotional definitely helps!
- No bathroom stops on the run!!! Nutrition was simple: A gel every 2 miles, starting at mile 3. Coke starting at mile 14. A salt pill every even mile. Total = about 1,400 calories. 300cal/hour.
Head down. One step at a time.
- Crossing the finish line in first and breaking the course record!!! Super stoked about this!
- Meeting my Coeur Sports teammate, Jeana, at the finish. She had done the Half and was waiting to celebrate with me after I crossed. I was so grateful! It's hard to come to so many of these races by myself with no personal support. But it's great to meet old friends and make new friends and enjoy this wonderful triathlon family we have! Thank you for lending me a shoulder where I was able to gather myself and cry a few tears of exhaustion and joy!
Lessons learned
- Try to be QUIET while pushing really hard at the endow the marathon. Make it look pretty!!! Haha. Seriously though...
- This is hard. Always. No matter how fast or slow we go. So why not try to go harder earlier and see where that will get you? Take some chances! Still didn't make it into the medical tent. Try again.
- Bring Karl and the kids or a friend next time and then go for a beach vacation afterwards!
No. I don't drink wine. But this made a nice present for a friend and he liked it so much, he ordered more of the same kind! Thank you, Vineman, for putting on an incredible race and spoiling us for the weekend! I hope to be back soon! I guess next year this will be an Ironman-brand race. I am a bit sad about that change but I understand the decision. I would still love to come back if I am anywhere close!
I stopped for another night in Truckee on my way home and enjoyed a beautiful recovery swim and spin around Lake Donner on a gorgeous day. I am making plans to take the family camping here next summer. I love this place!
Now for some rest, recovery, and family time!
A huge Thank You to my fantastic sponsors:
Coeur Sports - The BEST in women's athletic wear
T3 Triathlon - My FAVORITE triathlon shop
Fuji Bikes - In LOVE with my Norcom Straight
Zoot Shoes - My shoes of choice since 2008
Cobb Saddles - Most COMFORTABLE saddle ever
Osmo Nutrition - Hydration at its BEST
Honey Stinger - The nutrition that keeps me going
Tifosi Sunglasses - I wear them every single day!
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