Vineman Ironman

Vineman

            This is one of the craziest things I have ever done!  This race was not planned nor was it on my list of things to do.  I just so happened to be in San Jose for a party and figured I would visit my coach and wish him good luck before his Vineman race.  The afternoon before the Vineman, I was eating with my coach and partner Charlie before the race at about 4PM and we were discussing how I needed to do a long run of 24 miles that week to gear up for Ultraman.  Somehow the idea of doing the Vineman came up.  Charlie, my boyfriend, had driven up to San Jose to meet me for a nice weekend. He coincidentally had a bike (his bike) with him along with my shoes and helmet.  It was now 4:30 and I needed to make a decision quick since we had dinner plans with Charlie’s sister at 7:30 that evening.  After Peter finished his food, we went to the truck and pulled out the bike to see if I could ride it.  Charlie road it at RAAM and had not touched it since.  It had cobwebs on it and a rusted chain.  He also used a different pedal system than I did.  It was not looking like I would be doing the Vineman at this time. I decided to let the expo decide my fate.  We headed to the expo to see if we could make the bike work.  If not – then I would not sign up; if so – then I would but only if we could make dinner by 7:30 with Charlie’s sister.  We got to the expo at 5:15 and found some pedals that would work but we were going to have to change the cleats on my shoes.  We also found a bike mechanic that was willing to fix the bike and shoes.  We needed to work quik so while the mechanic fixed my shoes I signed up.  I was not really thinking at the time.  I was going with the flow and waiting for the red flag to give me a sign to not enter the race. I kept thinking that Peter, my coach, or Charlie, my sweetheart, would talk some sense into me – instead it was almost like they were daring me.  Next thing I knew I was signed up and officially entered into the race.

I then hopped on a bike I had never ridden and road around the parking lot to make sure it shifted and I was ready.  This race has two transition areas and the second one was where the expo was so I had to lay my stuff out then.  I quickly got my Rudy Project Visor, shoes, a water bottle with needed Hammer Nutrition electrolytes and number and placed it in the transition hoping it would be there for me and I was doing things right.  Charlie and I loaded the bike after getting the instructions to the swim start and headed to dinner in Bodego Bay  to eat dinner with his sister.

During the ride to the hotel / restaurant, I prepared my bottle for the bike and got anything else ready that I could.  Since I was only planning a long run for the weekend, I was really low on my Hammer Nutrition.  But I did have one serving of Perpetuem and one serving of Sustained.  I combined in a water bottle with a tone of electrolytes.  Charlie’s bike only had one water bottle cage so this was all I had for the bike.  I did prepare a Ziplock bag with Endurolytes and decided I would just have to use what the race offered on the course.  I was unprepared and was not even sure that I was going to do for breakfast in the morning.

We checked into the hotel just in time to change and go to dinner.  At dinner we had wine and I had an asparagus soufflé that was greasy!  I had not eaten or drank much that day since Charlie and I were always on the go. I was not going to let the Vineman ruin dinnertime with the family or my time with Charlie.  This was a trip to see him – not to race.  So, I was not going to make a big deal about Vineman.  I chose to enjoy myself at dinner and my previous meal became creme brulee since I did not like my dinner.  We got to bed at midnight and I had to get up at 5 AM since we were 45 minutes from the swim start.  I will say that it was real cold that night and I was a little worried – and yes – wishing I had not signed up.  I hate cold and I knew it would be brutally cold in the morning.  I had no wetsuit.  I almost was without a skinsuit, but Hammer Nutrition mailed me one and I brought it to try for my long run (not to race in).  I also had the wrong goggles.  I was hoping the alarm clock  would fail and I would miss the race, but my boyfriend, Charlie, was sure to get a wake-up call and set the alarm on his phone.  I still had hopes that none of them would work and I could sleep late and go to a party with Charlie like I had planned to originally  Charlie wanted to get the bike out and clean it up for me, but I would not let him.  We went to sleep.

Race Day

5 AM.  That darn alarm clock goes off and I lay there with a headache from the small amount of wine I had the night before.  I hoped Charlie was not going to kick me out of bed, but he did.  We had to hurry!  I got my skinsuit out of the wrapper, hoping it would not fit and it did.  I looked in the fridge to see if there was any food, and all I could find was some nuts and a snickers bar.  I needed calories and what I was about to eat was wrong, but it was better than nothing.  Charlie and I hopped in the car and headed to the start.  It was so cold outside!!  When we  arrived at the start, I was a human Popsicle!  I got my stuff ready and bike put in the transition.  Was I ready – No!  I did not really have time to think about it.  The next thing I knew we were all getting into the water and I was one of the only ones without a wetsuit.  I had barely worked my way in when the gun went off.  It was time to warm up  I got going swimming, but with my old goggles I could not even see the buoys.  I had to stop frequently to lick my goggles to see where I was going.  I was swimming all over the place, but I did finish.  I am not sure what my time was.  I skipped the awards and have not been on the computer to look up the splits. I am even writing this race report on the plane.  If you would like to know how I did, go to www.vineman.com.  Anyway I lived through the swim and hopped on the bike I had only ridden for about a minute the day before.   

The Bike

This is a great course with rolling hills and is two loops.  I was taking it easy and wishing I had aero bars but I didn’t.  Next thing I knew, I saw my coach Peter Kotland on the side of the road.  Luckily, I had some Co2 in a Ziploc in my pack pocket.  I turned around and gave him what I had and off he went like a bolt of lightening.  I was surprised that that many people passed him and no one offered to help.  I hate to say it, but that does not happen much in the Ultra-world.  We all are out to help each other and that is why I like Ultra stuff so much.  The bike went very well the rest of the day and was very pleasant considering it was a long and rainy day for me. I was forced to drink Gatorade (I hate this stuff),but it did keep me going.  I just bloated up like a balloon from all the simple sugars. I did most of RAAM without using simple sugars.  I don’t believe in them and I really don’t now.  I am a true Hammer girl at heart.  I think I finished the bike with a good time even on a borrowed bike.  I can also say that I was at the lower part of my aerobic zone for the bike.  I am leaving for France on August 25th to do another Ultra race, so doing the Vineman hard was out of the question.  I was doing Vineman for fun and I was having a good time.  I know – that is sick, but I love what I do!  I also helped a lady change her tire and then found out that she was not even in the race.  Hope she had a good bike ride.

The Run

I took my sweet time in the transition and sat down to put my shoes on and also borrowed some body glide from another athlete.  I was really unprepared, but at this race, Vineman, there were nicer people than at the Ironman race.  I ran with a nice gentleman named Eric Fontaine from Houston for a while, but he was having trouble with his flat feet, so I went on.  I wanted to get done to spend time with my sweetie and get it over with.  I did wind up running with tons of people and also helped others out.  I think I am at about 13 ironmans now, so you could say I have had my share of problems and there were lots of first-timers at this race.  I carried a tone of electrolytes and was the true Hammer Nutrition girl, donating them to people who needed them more.  I was going to finish even with my bloated belly, but I hated to see people thinking about not finishing and I was determined to help anyone finish that I could.  If that meant giving them some electrolyte, then I would give my last one.  If it meant walking a minute to encourage them, I did.  I am a sponsored Hammer Nutrition athlete – Ironman is not my forte and never will be.  I am not the type to win an Ironman, but I might perhaps be a winner in an Ultraman.  I am sure that when Hammer Nutrition sponsored me, it was to help me achieve my dream of RAAM, but also because of my sportsmanship and resume, I am always going to try to help others in any way I can.  I hope I showed this in the run.  I cheered for the girls ahead and wanted them to do well.  I was sad to see one of the girls who had the race of her life walking at the last mile and wished I could turn around and run her in.  I know she finished but she was sure out of it.  I also caught up to another girl who was quitting three miles from the finish.  I offered to walk with her in (even though I wanted to see my boyfriend), but she sagged in anyway.  I had fun on the run and really enjoyed the three loop course.  It allowed for more bonding and that is what racing is about for me.  I am not sure my run time still – I will look when I get home or might not but I do know that I had a great time. 

After the race I gathered my stuff as quickly as possible and left.  Normally, I would hang out after the race, but I thought it was supportive enough that Charlie had taken a day away from me to let me race.  I need more balance, and so I needed to spend time with him at our nice hotel. I hope those competitors that I ran with forgive me for not being at the finish but when you race as much as I do, sometimes you need to tend to those who support you the most – friends and family that miss you while you are training and racing. 

Vineman is a great race and one for people to consider.  It is a race with a little more heart than Ironmans and the support is incredible.  Vineman had the best aid stations I have ever seen with a real cheery bunch of people.  This was by far one of the most fun races I have ever done as far as Ironman distances get.  Races with 1000+ people are just to hard on the volunteers and the racers don’t seem to bond and talk much.  I was not having that much fun at the last few Ironmans, and I think it was because there were always too many people trying to get a spot for Hawaii, making the race too intense. Vineman returned my love for triathlons and I am sure I will be back someday to race again. 

Hope you enjoyed this race report..  If you were looking for me to bore you with a course description and heart rates, than I would not read my race reports anymore.  I race to have fun and gave that up a long time ago.  My race reports will be more about the whole experience in general.  I would not advise you to sign up a day before an Ironman or borrow a bike.  However, I do have a low back and saddle problem, not to mention it was really noticeable while racing.  Having your own bike and nutrition is ideal, so I don’t advise this to anyone else, nor will I do it again…..but then again you never know…I do admit I am an addict of fun.