Thoughts on Vineman

With two weeks to go before my A race up at the Vineman, I am feeling ready to go. Here are a few thoughts as I drive myself crazy during the taper:

-I think that I am almost looking forward to the vacation/getaway more than the race! On Thursday the 30th, we’ll have a beautiful drive up Highway 1 to Monterey. In Monterey, we’ll check out the Aquarium, Cannery Row, and the beautiful scenery. On Friday, we’ll scoot up to Windsor for check-in and bike course scout before dinner with Rob and Kerri. Saturday will be the race day. I am already looking forward to the post-race dinner at a local steakhouse my brother picked out. Maybe some vino too! On Sunday, we’ll head down to San Francisco to check out the city and have lunch with friends before driving home. It’s going to be a great couple days with a race in the middle. As with my two trips to Coeur D’Alene, much of the fun in this is seeing a beautiful part of the country, enjoying time with friends, and celebrating our ability to do something so crazy.

-My training has gone very well. I have put in more time on the bike this year and much more hill climbing in order to become a stronger cyclist. My intent was not only to improve my bike split, but to come off the bike with stronger, fresher legs for the marathon. For each discipline, here’s how I am feeling and what I am expecting:

-Swim. I feel like I am swimming about as well as I did last year before CdA when I swam a 1:04. The swim in CdA is cold, slow, and jam-packed. At the Vinman, I’ll be treated to a warm, calm, fast swim in the Russian River. I’d like to think I’ll beat last year’s time by a few minutes.

-Bike. I should definitely be faster than last year’s 5:54 at CdA. I am a stronger cyclist this year and the course at Vineman should be faster. I’d lve to cycle under 5:45.

-Run. I am in similar running shape as I was last year when I faded to a 4:22 marathon. My hope is that I will have some more endurance this year and be able to run 4:15 or so.

In total, these goals would put me about 11:10 including transition time. That would be about a 20 minute improvement over last year’s excellent effort, so I feel almost greedy thinking about that. It’s worth remembering that I’ll need to be humble, smart, and strong to achieve that kind of result.

-My remaining concerns are nutrition (pre-race and race day), bike mechanics, and ample rest. I have a good nutrition plan leading up to the race, but I am still tinkering with my race day plan due to some concerns about heat. I am looking forward to taking my bike in for a tune up soon. And I need to start increasing my sleep. I’d love to start getting almost 9 hours a night in the last 2 weeks.

That’s just a brief update on where I am at. I have one medium long ride to do tomorrow (2 weeks out) and then a few shorter rides and runs. I’ll keep swimming right up until the race. I’ll be sure to update before the race about my plans for race day and how to follow my progress.