Vineman 70.3!!!!

Vineman 70.3! What a beautiful race! I guess if you are going to torture yourself for almost seven hours, it might as well be in one of the prettiest places in California. And everyone that knows me knows I love my wine, so there is no place I feel more at home then in Sonoma. Overall, it was a challenging but wonderful race. There were a few rocky moments but I finished in 6:40 with a smile on my face. Okay, let’s break it down.

Swim 00:39:37.9

What a beautiful swim! The swim was in the Russian River, which was a perfect 73 degrees, with no current and gorgeous redwoods lining the shore. All the 29 and under women started in the water at 8:14 in the morning. There was a feeling of fear and excitement in the air. Steph, Katie, Linda, Em and I huddled together in a circle to give a quick “GO TEAM” before the race started. It was amazing having such wonderful friends by my side at the start of the race. The contagious excitement of the girls getting ready to start their first half ironman eased my nerves as the announcer began to count down. With my heart rate spiking and a few kicks to the face, we were off. I took it easy the first half of the swim hoping to calm my nerves and save my energy for the second half. I turned the corner and realized I had been swimming for almost 21 minutes. I felt a slight panick since my initial hope was to come in under 35 minutes. I tried to push myself on the way back but could not make up for the lost time. I came in just under 40 minutes. I was a bit disappointed with my time but happy that I could learn from this experience and improve for Big K. BTW, I BEAT BRIAN!!!!! BRIAN CAME IN AT 40:51. Okay fine, he beat me on the bike by almost an hour and beat me in the run by almost 30 min but I BEAT HIM IN THE SWIM!!!

Bike 03:27:44.5

The first half of the bike was AMAZING! I took Kimberly into aero and pushed as hard as I could. I was flying up the hills and staying in aero down the hills. Riding through the gorgeous wineries with Kimberly was a breathtaking experience. Then, mile 30 hit. A headwind started up, my back began to hurt from staying in aero for such a long period of time and my legs began to weaken. I watched my average speed slowly drop from 17.3 to 17.0 to 16.8 and all the way down to 15.7 at one point. I was miserable. I hit a wall and could not mentally get beyond it. Watching my average speed slowly drop was extremely frustrating. When I tried to get back into aero to pick my speed back up, my back would begin to ache with pain. I was completely miserable. At one point I even thought about riding my bike into a ditch on the side of the road so I would not have to finish the race. I tried everything to get myself out of the spiraling negativity but I could not get beyond it. I knew there was a huge hill at mile 45 that I was dreading for the past 15 miles. When I finally got to the hill I convinced myself that if I could just get to the top of it then I could finish the rest of the race. Someone in a peppy mood came up behind me in just the nick of time to cheer me up the hill. He pumped me up and I cranked all the way up the rest of the hill. I felt amazing flying down the other side. I brought my speed back up again and was able to finish the race with an average speed of 16.2 mph. I also finished in under 3:30, which was a big accomplishment for me. I was a bit bummed about my ride since I hit such a negative wall for over an hour but looking back now, I am so glad that it happened. I have come to realize what a mental game triathlons are. Training only goes so far, it is an inner strength that will get you to the finish line. I am glad I went through this experience because now I know that if it happens during my Ironman, I CAN get passed it.

Run 02:23:12.4

I have never been so ecstatic to run before. I would have done just about anything as long as it meant getting off of the bike. My back was aching, my legs were screaming and let’s just say sitting on a little seat for that long is not the most comfortable place to be. I think I may have lost my ability to have kids one day. Oh wait, I think that only happens to guys. Anyway, I felt great when I started my run. I decided to do 9 min running and 1 min walking. Mentally, It was great for me since I did not have to think about the 13 miles ahead but rather the 9 minutes until I could take my walk break. At about mile 2 I saw Brian coming towards me on his way in from the run. Seeing him added a pep to my step as we yelled our “I love you’s” (super cheesy, I know). I had a wonderful time on the run chatting with everyone that ran next to me. It was great seeing the girls out on the run with their smiling faces. At about mile 10 I began to really hurt. I realized that I was paying the price for skipping some of my long run workouts. I forced myself to keep running and finally made it to the finish. It was wonderful seeing everyone yelling and screaming for me. I was happy with my run time considering my lack of training but I know I really need to improve before Big K.

Finish 06:40:40.6
Overall, I had an amazing experience. The course was challenging but beautiful. It was wonderful having all of my friends at the finish to celebrate in each others accomplishments. I am especially proud of Stephanie, Katie, Linda, Annie and Chris who all finished their first half Ironman!!! You guys are amazing! And of course my fellow irongirl Emily who kicked my butt in the run and finished the race in 6:25! Awesome job Em! I love these races. The training can be tough at times and sometimes I cannot imagine getting out of bed before the sun comes up, but there is nothing I would rather be doing in my life right now. There is such a wonderful sense of accomplishment that no one can take away, not only finishing these races but tough workouts as well. Every day I reap the rewards of my hard work. Besides the sense of accomplishment, I also have such amazing friends to experience it with!