Vineman 70.3 race review

A friend asked me for info about Vineman 70.3, and suddenly I realized my email was ridiculously long. So here goes...

So, Vineman was pretty cool overall. Kind of weird, but one of the best parts was the drive out from AZ. I went up the east side of the Sierras, camped near Mammoth, and went up and over (through Yosemite). Driving through central CA is nothing special, but it was cool to drive through San Fran because I had never been there before. After San Fran, the traffic was HORRIBLE. If you race there, I would recommend driving up early, like Thursday.

Lodging is reasonable I think, but I ended up camping ($12 per day or something). If you want to camp, make a reservation!! If you want to stay anywhere close it will fill up. I counted on camping in the state park (awesome redwoods!), but they have like 8 camping spots... I ended up camping like 1/2-hour north, but it was cool because Luke McKenzie and company happened to stay in the same place. They were easy to pick out with their rides and official Scott enclosed trailer.

Overall, the venue is cool. Small, touristy towns, and vineyards everywhere! It is strange with two transition areas so far apart, and only two ways to get there. It made for a LONG day.

The Russian River is awesome. It's like a family getaway straight out of the 70's. One campground with tube rentals, beer, etc. right on the beach. The cool part about the swim is that it's fairly easy to swim straight-even easier than Tempe Town Lake. The crappy part is at the turnaround there is like a 50-meter section where it is too shallow to swim. Literally less than 2' deep. The RD said it was "swimmable", but I disagree. If nothing else it was a chance to stand up and catch your breath. T1 is uneventful, but expect rough ground and a long run with your bike. Run your bike up the first hill! Many people fell trying to pedal up the hill immediately after the mount.

The bike course is scenic if nothing else. Lots of narrow roads with no shoulders. Overhanging trees, vineyards galore, etc. Of course trees occasionally fall, but it happens I guess. My biggest complaint was the rough roads. Not as bad as Euclid in Tucson, but moderately bumpy almost the whole time. I lost my nutrition around 10 miles in. A couple moderate climbs in the early going, a tough climb at 40+ miles (a good 5-10 minute climb), then downhill to flat back to T2. T2 is very interesting because you just drop your shoes there the day before.

The run is a nice mix of road and trail (probably 80%/20%), and deceptively hilly. Some good rollers with some flat stretches between. Some shade, but mostly exposed to the sun. It would be very nice on a typical day in July, but not last year when it topped out around 95. The highlight was running through the vineyard at the turnaround. The run-through misters were greatly appreciated!

Post-race was typical for a longer race. Good food, and lots of support. The Trisports.com tent was awesome! Somewhat disorganized for awards because the ceremony goes on while so many people are still on the course. Then I had to wait for 1/2-hour or so to get on a shuttle back to my car at T1 (a half-hour ride). It definitely would be nice to have support out there to give you a ride back to your car.

Overall, it was a great experience for my first branded 70.3 event. If I lived close I would do it every year. Next year, I'll probably be picking a different destination race to try out something new.

Every mushroom cloud has a silver lining

So I decided to start my training for the Tucson Marathon. How do most marathon training plans start? One week of easy-ish running leading up to the first "long run". For stock beginner and intermediate training plans we're talking about a first long run of 8-10 miles. What does this mean? It means that you go through a week of training before your first real test. In fact, that first day of training is likely a rest day. What?! So you're telling me my first day of training is a day of rest? These days I come up with my own wacky plans...

So what do you do on your first day of marathon training? A long run. Yeah, that's right. Why beat around the bush and put off any real test for at least six days? A typical long run for me these days of 10-11 miles. Let's make it marathon training! The night before: a six-pack, too much fiber for dinner, and little sleep. So what happened? The last 6 miles felt literally like the last 6 marathon miles (if you've been there you know what I'm talking about). Zero energy. Everything hurts. Where is the next porta potty? Anyway, I made it through...BUT, suddenly pain in my left knee. Pain like I haven't felt since my last marathon training four years ago. OUCH!

I think my body was telling me something:
Do you know what you're in for?
Do you remember the LOOOOONG runs?
Do you remember having to run 5-6 days a week with aches and pains?
Running takes over your life. What about that?
Are you ready to sacrifice?
When you are in pain, will you force yourself to take a day off despite what's on the schedule?

So, I took several days off. Started jogging to try it out. Pain=turning around and walking 1/4-mile back home. That hurts the pride for sure.

Six days later a 2.5-mile run. No issues, so let's race! Labor day was the Saguaro National Park 8-miler on the east side of Tucson. A nice jog in the park. Well, except for that 800' incline between miles 3.5 and 5. I decided to go for it!

One mile in, I found myself way too close to Sam McGlone. I must have started too hard. 6:24. Oops! Yes, too hard. Knee pain around mile 3. It's nothing. All in your head. Made the climb to mile 5. On goal pace. Awesome! Then rolling hills. OUCH! My knee says "that's it". Crap, first DNF. Let me tell you, on an eight-mile loop, walking the last 3 miles takes a long time... Watching everyone pass. People saying "you're almost there". No, I'm not. I'm done for today. In fact I'm done for a while.

On the positive side, my brother in law raced and did awesome! First running race ever, and ran 8:30s on a very tough course! Pretty awesome. I'm excited for him and his Tucson Marathon.

Not sure what this means for my Tucson Marathon plans. Will have to take a couple weeks off running (knee feels fine cycling and swimming) and go from there. Two tris coming up in October, so it's healing time. Hopefully I'll be back up to speed soon. Maybe even in time to chase after my Boston dreams...