Vineman 70.3 – July 14th 2013
Sonoma, CA
Swim: 33:54 ( 1:46 )
Bike: 2:29:22 ( 22.5 mph )
Run: 1:33:07 ( 7:07 per mile avg)
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Total: 4:41:13 ( 22nd AG / 110th OA )
Pre-Race:
A little info about myself: I’m 32 years old, weigh 155 lbs, my FTPw is 260watts, and my VO2max is 69.2. The past two years I have finished vineman 70.3 in 4 hours and 41 minutes. For 2013 my goals were a 30 min swim, a 2:30 bike, and a 1:30 run. Throw in ~ 5 minutes in transition and I was aiming for a 4:35 finish time.
5:30AM 3 Eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, toast and coffee. ( 600 cal )
5:30AM 3 Eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, toast and coffee. ( 600 cal )
7:30AM Bannana + water
8:30AM Race Start
Swim (1.2mi):
I’m not a strong swimmer so usually I just try and survive the swim and try not to fall too far behind. This time was a little slower than usual but I managed to finish top 25% of my age-group.
Swim Total: 33:54
T1: 2:33
Bike (56mi):
I have been biking A LOT since this time last year. One because its fun, and two because I thought it would be a prime way to save some time and get closer to my 4:35 dream. For 2013 I wanted to try and hold a constant 215-225 watts over the race; A full 20 watts more than last year. Hopefully this should give me a nice bike split and leave enough gas left in the tank to run a 1:30 half marathon.
I’m not a strong swimmer so usually I just try and survive the swim and try not to fall too far behind. This time was a little slower than usual but I managed to finish top 25% of my age-group.
Swim Total: 33:54
T1: 2:33
Bike (56mi):
I have been biking A LOT since this time last year. One because its fun, and two because I thought it would be a prime way to save some time and get closer to my 4:35 dream. For 2013 I wanted to try and hold a constant 215-225 watts over the race; A full 20 watts more than last year. Hopefully this should give me a nice bike split and leave enough gas left in the tank to run a 1:30 half marathon.
Bike Nutrition:
0-30min: H2O
30min: Honey Stinger Waffle (160 cal)
50min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal)
1hr10min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal)
1hr30min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
1hr50min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
2hr10min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
0-30min: H2O
30min: Honey Stinger Waffle (160 cal)
50min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal)
1hr10min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks(66 cal)
1hr30min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
1hr50min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
2hr10min: 2 Cliff Shot Blocks( 66 cal)
I drank 3x 22 oz bottles of water during the bike but I think this turned out to be too much water for the 63-67 degree weather because the last 2/3 of the bike course I really had to pee to the point where I was literally dreaming of the bathroom in the transition area, and every bump I went over on the bike was killing me. Yes this happened in 2011 too.
Bike Total: 2:29:22
T2: 2:17
Run (13.1mi):
There was no real strategy involved in the run other than i tried not to go out too fast, and i tried to keep it under 7 min miles for as long as i could. Going out slow helped because i had zero cramping during the run. The only discomfort was that i felt "tight" as the race went on, and around mile 10 my knees started hurting. The biggest hiccup I faced was that I stopped to visit the restroom at mile marker 1 and had to wait and entire 53 seconds for the guy to get out of there.
Run Nutrition:
Mile 3: ½ Peach
Mile 6: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 8: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 11: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 3: ½ Peach
Mile 6: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 8: ½ cup Gatorade
Mile 11: ½ cup Gatorade
Misc: Drank ½ cup of water at every aid station & poured ½ cup of water on my head.
Run Total: 1:33:07
Race Total: 4:41:13
Lessons Learned. Apparently 4:41 is my magic number. 3 years in a row with the same time. The main difference was that i felt great during this one. I tried not to stress out too much before the race and i had wonderful support from the frechettes, my parents, and alicia. So both of those helped. I can also say that im in the best shape of my life. woohoo. Next year if i actually go to masters swimming, and don't waste a minute in the john i should be able to reach my goal of 4:35. It wouldn't hurt to start earlier in the day either, but im not one for excuses.