Dave Mount's first-ever Vineman 70.3 Race Report
Vineman 70.3 Race Report
Stats:
- Race Time: 5:36:36
- Swim: 30:32
- Bike: 3:03:09
- Run: 1:54:31
- 33 year old male
- First HIM-distance race (IM is a goal, have only done Olympic previously)
- FTP: 219
Overall, feel good about the race. It was my first HIM distance and longest endurance event I have done. I have some regrets about the bike (my VI was out of control at 1.15, will cover that more later), but swim and run felt good and I executed the race plan. The recovery week has been solid, and I am now trying to figure out where to go from here. IM is the goal, when is the question.
The morning:
I woke up at 4a after sleeping on a pull out bed in the ‘living room’ of our spot at the Holiday Inn Express in Windsor. Had the planned oatmeal, read the race plan, and got on the road just after 5a.
Arrived at transition by 5:30 for the 6:48 wave start. It was chaotic, really charged atmosphere with lots of fast, competitive folks all around. Pretty electric and exciting atmosphere. I had plenty of jitters, but got set up and in to the water for a warm up ~15min before start.
The swim:
Felt good – kept in control, and felt comfortable in the water. The Vineman course swim is in the Russian River, which is very shallow this year. There were a number of spots where everyone stood and waded or did ‘dolphin dives’ to get through.
Not much to comment on for the swim. Felt solid, performed on target pace, felt strong at exit.
T1:
Had a gel, put on sunglasses and helmet, put wetsuit in a bag (T1 and T2 were separated by 15mi), and got out on the bike.
Bike:
- Time: 3:03:09
- FTP: 219
- Avg Power: 169W (77% FTP)
- NP: 194W
- VI: 1.15 (Yikes…I know...!)
My bike had some issues. Particularly around the VI.
For background, I had a fall from my bike in June in an Olympic race in the same area (a few miles away from the vineman 70.3 bike course). I had a lot of road rash and some rib issues, but I think most of the damage was mental 
. 4 weeks later on the same/similar course, and bike safety was in my head big time.
I rode out on to the course tentatively, particularly on roads with tight shoulders, tight turns or a lot of downhill. I wanted to spend the first 20min @160, and did that, then tried to get up to 175. Riding conservatively, my HR actually came down pretty significantly in the first 15 miles of the race, getting down in to 120s. I had trouble pushing consistently at the 175 level – spent a lot of time above and a lot of time below.
My power chart looks like a friggin yoyo, with the biggest issue that I didn’t push hard down hills. I then compensated by pushing harder than planned on flats and uphills (to a certain extent).
Overall, the ride could have gone a lot faster. But I felt OK being conservative coming down the hills for now as I am not the best bike handler.
I know that with that VI, I wasted a lot of effort.
Handling concerns also came in to play as I refueled during the race. I was on track with nutrition (had a gel or powerbar on the :10 and :40 per plan), but needed to slow down pretty fully to get the food from the bento box and consume. I need to get better with balance and stability on the bike, and have been working on handling. This will keep improving over time.
With 2 young kids at home, getting out for long rides is a challenge and most of my riding happens on a trainer from 5-7a. This also contributes to the VI issue, as it is much easier to stay stable on the trainer. I would love any ideas about how to work on this given the ‘binding constraint’ of not a lot of time for outdoor riding at this point.
For those reading this report looking for insight on the Vineman bike course:
- Was a BEAUTIFUL ride. Check out http://viewtherace.com/california/ironman-vineman for videos of the entire course. Lots of vineyards and low traffic
- The roads on the first half of the ride are pretty beat up. Lots of little potholes, some rocks/gravel, little bumps of extra asphalt, etc
- The turn at mile 5 really is dramatic – you are warned to go slow 10x before the race, but it really seems like a 120 degree turn
- The 2 climbs were very manageable. Chalk Hill had been built up before the race, but felt short. There were also volunteers on the road on Chalk Hill encouraging folks to keep up the good work
Key areas to improve:
- VI. Clearly. Obviously. Need to get more consistent pedaling through hills, etc. Will come with more practice and confidence
- Aid station strategy. These were quick, and it was hard to get 2 bottles of perform while going through.
- General handling and balance – I think times will improve with better general stability on the bike. I have done some drills on balance/handling, but am thinking about getting rollers for indoor training (will this help significantly with balance?), and am wide open to suggestions on drills or thoughts on improving here.
Overall, I left the bike VERY excited to be done with it, and to have gotten through safely. Relief is probably the best word. I felt like my legs had more to give and that my HR was ready to step up for the run.
Run:
I left T2 legitimately excited about getting to the run. My target pace for the race was to run 8:35 miles, and that meant starting off at 9:05s. With adrenaline, I didn’t keep on the plan, and ran the first 3 miles at 8:17, 8:30 and 8:51. I then wanted to settle in at the 8:35s from miles 3-10. I averaged over 8:35s, but kept between 8:40-9:00 for these miles.
I refueled with perform for the first 4 miles, then my stomach started to feel too full (burping up sweet), so I took a couple of aid stations off. I got back to the aid stations for miles 7, 8, 10 & 11.
The toughest part of the run was the course – there seemed to be a lot of little, rolling hills that just kept popping up. They hurt!
The major pain point during the run was the feet. They felt like they were on fire. And under some strange pressure. I didn’t have blisters, but just felt like my feet were full of blood and pounding on them each step of the run was painful.
I was not able to summon as much strength as I had planned in the final 3 miles (miles 10-12 were all around/above 9min), but then got back to 8:38 in the last mile, kicking home.
In the finish chute I saw my wife cheering, then got to see her and our two kids just afterwards. Had feelings of relief, excitement, accomplishment, soreness…all rolled in to one.
This was my first HIM-distance event, and the goal is to progress to the IM distance. Before doing that, I know I need to get better balance, consistency and confidence on the bike, and I look forward to doing that. I think my first IM should be on a flat course – I feel like I know how to keep steady on the flats!
It was a terrific weekend, and a good first effort at this distance. I spent A LOT of time on these EN boards before putting the race plan together, and am grateful for all of the thoughts and input coming from the team’s collective experience.
Now on to the next! Thoughts on the best first Ironman?
Comments
Regarding the "feet on fire"...does this ever happen in your training? Sounds odd to be totally unexpected like that.
In any case, congrats and good luck with that ironman. I have 3 kids and not 2 but even with 2 I was unable to every work myself up to the IM distance. Weekends are busier than weekdays with the family!!
Thoughtful race, and post race analysis. The best way to get better at racing HIMs and shorter is … to race a lot.
Not so with Ironman, simply because of the entry costs ($) and recovery costs (mental and physical) So, yes, choosing each race takes on greeter meaning. All IMs are tough, silly because of the distance. IMO, the best way to pick one: figure out what works best in your life in terms of when you can most easily train, and how easy it might be to get to and from the race. EG, if you have young kids in sports in the fall, you don't want to spend Sept-Nov weekends training and racing at IM Florida or Arizona. Or maybe summer travel with the kids is important, so September races, requiring Big Training months in July and August, are out. Maybe combining a trip to Canada for the family along with the race might lead you to Whistler or Penticton (don't forget there are several good races without the M-Dot). Ignore what people say about how "hard" or "easy" a course is (they are all hard, each in their own way), or how "bad" or benign the weather usually is. Given the way we execute races in EN, you should be able to handle any environmental conditions race day throws your way.
I second what has already been said. I use to do 90+% ride on trainer. But this year I spent the last big push outside (the 5 hr ride I did on trainer w/o butt butter left me "damaged"... Also I knew I needed to improve my confidence on the road -particularly in the aerobars. Its amazing what just 1-2 rides a week Outside will do for your comfort level. Also, My neck reeeely needed the conditioning -I ride pretty aggressive drop and you don't realize how much you look down even when watching a laptop w/ spinnervals when on trainer. That has taken >month to get -mostly- better. Also core and shoulder ride specific strength just cant be simulated. All magnified for the IM distance training. I didn't notice these issues so much when training for 1/2IMs.
My first IM was IMAZ. Partially because I'm from Tucson and could have friends/family there but largely because of the lack of technical turns and the long sections of strait mild climb. Locking into aerobars and holding steady watts works well for those use to that king of trainer work (and drives some batty! LOL) There can be bad winds some years and absolutely no shade....but I'm from AZ its a dry heat!
I've done HITs Napa as my first 70.3 (second TRI ever) and its first year had some extreme hills with some sketchy descents. I was a pure trainer -trainer so it was a white knuckle event, did my IM 7 mo later-which was too soon having only 1 year of total training) but you are in much better starting condition then I was so it IS possible to choose one 6mo out....but really, I'd go a year out with 1-2 A/B HIM races strategically placed. I'd look at HITs for your HIMs as that is their most popular distance the IM can be a lonely experience and I wouldn't do that on a first event. -corporate or not (at least at IMAZ) there is nothing like charging down the shoot and hearing your name and "you are an Ironman" announced -and even after 10pm hundreds of screaming fans cheering you in. I like the smaller events but the finish is more falling to the ground at your wife's feet with a few volunteers asking 'you OK" LOL
Glad to read you report. I watched the videos from view the race, and talked to others....I'm still not aggressive down hill but your NP/AP is around what I'm shooting for -seeing your time makes me optimistic I'm on par. I will NOT be running 8's
Good luck in future indevers!
Great race. Wish we could have met up. But I hear you on the kids/family (I have a 4 and 8 year old). I get up early and ride also, but usually outside.
The bike course is difficult in that its always rolling, so you have to pay attention. its easy to get out of wack. I think you started early so you didn't have too much bike traffic. I had a ton of people out on the bike course so that made it even more difficult to not draft and keep a constant speed. The bike aid stations were a little sparse. They only have 5 or 6 people passing things out, its been better in past years but that was an issue for me also.
As for the hot feet. I had that too and I don't ever have that. I think it was just a combination of the day getting into the upper 80's/low 90's and being on the hot pavement for so long. The 2nd part of that course is in mostly sun and it was hot out there.
Great job!
Peter
Hi Dave, Great report. The full Vineman was the first IM race I did and I'm doing it again this weekend. I would suggest that you think about it for your first IM since it seems to be convenient for you.I've found that it's gotten better as it's gotten older and bigger. But as Al says, training for an IM is tough and it seems to me that it's a lot tougher than training for a HIM. I didn't start doing triathlons until my kids were old enough to leave home alone for a couple of hours. Then a couple of years later they were old enough when they started asking when we were going to go on my long rides again so they could watch TV more than we let them when we were home (my wife is a triathlete as well). So those days will come so enjoy your kids while you can. They grow up fast.
As for bike handling skills, other than what others have said above, just getting out on the bike and riding without thinking about a certain workout might help out with your goal just to focus on handling skills and not worry about what power band you're in or a certain interval you have to do. Now that your A race (I'm assuming) is over it's a perfect time to focus on that. Often when I'm riding in a non-workout ride I'll spot a rock or leaf or something in the road and try to have my front wheel go on one side and my back wheel on the other. It teaches me a feel for cornering and how much I can push the bike. (Usually at fairly slow speeds of course.) The other thing I do is just go climb hills just to fly down them and work on looking at the road ahead and letting the bike move under me, getting aero and having a blast. I do know about wrecks though too. I've ended up having plastic surgery after a wreck in Canada and it took me a while to get over that mentally. So all of that is in play for you. Given your recent experience, just getting through the ride in one piece is an accomplishment.
Thanks for all of this feedback, folks. I appreciate the thoughts, and am grateful to the team even more!
I particularly appreciate the comments/solidarity about the bike. I felt a MASSIVE sense of relief when I pulled in to T2, as the crash was clearly still in my head as I went through.
The perspective on the kids is also appreciated
I definitely have much to work on before the next 'A' race, and feel OK taking some time before then. Was happy and felt a good sense of accomplishment getting through this race - looking forward to the next one. Will spend some more time thinking through what that ought to be, taking in to account Al, David, Mark and others comments. 2015 Vineman full might be a good target.
Thanks again!
Matt - the 'feet on fire' was totally new. I think @Peter may be right to say that it was just a function of the heat and the road. My training runs are done in the morning and with a lot more shade. May have just been that.
@David - about the run course, I didnt find the grade so steep that there was 'slapping'. It was gradual enough, just more time on rollers (up or down) than I had expected.
Race well out there next week!
Congrats your race and a well done race report!
I don't really have any comments to add to those already given, other than you've obviously got some well-earned bike handling reservations that will just improve with time. I think I have a post in the wiki somewhere about braking, cornering and descending. Or you can search on the blog. Read those, practice those tips and just ride outside.
Again, congrats!