The Vineman 70.3 triathlon was held this past Sunday in Sonoma County, CA. It was a very fun race, and a great reason to visit the Bay area. We arrived Friday night on the same flight as fellow racer Jeri Sullivan and Dave Chamberlain. Char Latham also raced, but she put the long miles on her car in order to get to the venue. (Hopefully one or both of them can add onto this). The weather was great all weekend – Saturday was beautiful and sunny, and a great day for some wine tasting before getting to the race expo.
Event organizers required everyone to attend a pre-race briefing and get their hand stamped before you could get your registration packet. Warning to anyone planning on doing this race (and I do recommend it): you can't show up at a briefing late, as they close/lock the doors to the gym and don't let late stragglers in. So you have to wait till the next briefing an hour later if you're not on time.
Vineman is different from many triathlons as it is point to point, with T1 not being in the same place as T2. The race expo is held where T2 exists, so after getting your packet, you can simply drop off your run gear and be done. Makes packing on race morning kind of weird, though, as I kept thinking I was forgetting something, since my pile of stuff was smaller than usual. Up early got us to the transition area in plenty of time. Lots of big name pros raced, including Miranda Carfrae who ran by me as I was bringing all of my gear down to transition. Chris Lieto chatted with Ben and me after the race, while we were mulling about waiting for awards. A very nice guy.
Swim start for Jeri and meThe swim is in the Russian River – a shallow, wide, minimal current waterway – you swim upcurrent for half, and then turn around and come back. There were tons of starting waves – the pros went off at 6:30 men, 6:32 women, and then every 8 minutes after that; Jeri and I weren't till 7:26 and there were plenty more people after us. One nice thing (especially compared to Boulder Peak Olympic distance a week ago), people were free to come and go in transition well after the race had started. (In Boulder last week we all were kicked out at 6:20, ten minutes before the pros started, and we were never allowed back in, no matter the fact that I didn't go off till 7:10). The current did not seem bad at all, although it looked like some people really had trouble with it. For a couple of the waves, we watched the slower people seemingly go no where as they headed out - very troubling till I got in and couldn't figure out what issues they were having, as it really didn't seem like much. The water was 70 degrees, so wetsuit-legal for everyone – there has been one out of the past 20 years that it was so warm, no one could wear a wetsuit. The water was shallow, so that at some points, you could see the bottom, and at the turn around, there were quite a few men walking. I walked a little bit till I realized it was hurting the bottom of my feet. Still, it was so shallow, that you could had to pay attention to not hit the river bottom with your hands. This was only for a little bit, though. And the way back did seem faster than going out. We swam up the right side and back on the left.
Transition was sandy then rocky, but a carpet was laid along the length of the area, except not between rows. Enough to not be too bad, though.
"Where's my bike?"You have to pay attention to where your rack is - there were close to 40 different rows. They gave you a plastic bag to load your swim gear into so that they could transport it to the finish area for you, or you were free to toss it to your cheering family – which I was able to do. Dan and the boys had gotten up early with me, and had been at the start area the entire time.
Immediately coming out of transition is a little hill. I had watched some of the pros run up it, and others ride up it (yes, they were in, out, and on their way, before I had even entered the water). I chose to run up it before mounting my bike, which I think was the right decision. The bike ride was great. Some hills (one in particular got my attention), with some twists and turns, but very pretty, riding through many vineyard areas and other crops, as well as lots of trees. Best part about the day – the weather was overcast until mid-way through my run. It had been hot on Saturday, which was fine for walking around and touring, but the clouds on Sunday really helped keep it cool throughout a good deal of the race. (I spoke to Liz Miller once back in LA, who has done therace the past two years, and she spoke of >100 degree temps when she finished her runs each time. Ugh). The bike surface is pretty good, although not always. It's a point to point to point bike, leaving Guernesville and ending up in Windsor at the high school. Almost all back roads except for the very end, so quite pleasant. I gotta admit, it's pretty cool to come into transition and only see one other bike anywhere near yours. Some lady came in soon after me, though, and mentioned that I was in second and that the woman in front was a good swimmer. I had no idea. (Turns out the woman in front of me, stayed in front of me for the entire race. And good swimmer, indeed; she's an ex-Olympic swimmer, and was a pro-triathlete for three years as well. And very nice, as I found out while chatting with her after the race).
The run was nice – some more back roads and then literally into and around La Crema winery's vineyards. I knew Dan was bummed, though; part of his spectating plan had been to be sipping wine at the winery while the runners came by. Unfortunately, there was a big sign as we entered the winery, saying “Welcome to La Crema Winery – visit our store in downtown Healdsburg for Wine Tastings,” or something to that effect. So he and the boys had driven all the way out for nothing! But I did get to high-five with the guys a couple of times in and out of the 1.1 mile loop in the vineyard which was fun.
There were a few hills on the run which kept it interesting as well. I saw Char and Jeri, and my friend Jaclyn from TriSports.com on the run, but with everyone starting at different times, it's hard to tell how everyone was really doing. (Although afterwards, I saw Jeri and she said she took more than half an hour off her previous half iron distance race!).
I crossed the finish line 5:05:14 after I started – a time I was pleased with. I certainly felt more recovered from Ironman CdA this weekend than I did in Boulder, although by about mile 8 in the run, I was feeling it in my legs. I ended up 2nd in the W45-49 age group. Awards weren't till 4:00, which gave me time to get a shower (they had a hose-fed three shower head arrangement at the finish – out in the open, but I was able to do a decent enough job in my singlet and shorts, and then get changed in the school's bathroom, that I felt a ton better afterwards), and get my bike boxed up and put away. Awards went 5-deep for age groups with more than 100 competitors, and 3-deep for the smaller ones. We each got a bottle of La Crema wine (which we drank that evening with my cousin at her house in San Francisco – it was quite good!), and some other swag. First got a TYR wetsuit, 2nd got a TriSports.com gift certificate, 3rd got a visor, and then I lost track... I turned down my slot to the 70.3 World Championship in Las Vegas this year – Dan will be away at a conference, and I'm not comfortable with such a tough race just a month out from Kona. In past years, the 70.3 race has been AFTER Kona, making it more possible for me, but this year they not only changed the venue from Clearwater, but also the time of the year, so no thanks.
We didn't leave California till Tuesday, taking all of Monday to be tourists in San Francisco. What a great city. I would definitely recommend this race to all Triatomics. Being near sea level certainly makes you feel strong, and the hills are nothing compared to what we have to train on, although they are not be taken lightly, either. And, it's a great reason to take the family to northern California for a long weekend. (A visit to Ghirardelli mid-morning - does it get any better?!)
