Vineman 70.3

July 18, 2010

Windsor, CA

The Vineman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon will be held on July 18, 2010 in Sonoma County, California (about one hour north of San Francisco). The point-to-point race begins at Johnsons Beach in Guerneville and takes entrants past hundreds of vineyards and dozens of wineries before it finishes up in at Windsor High School (just north of Santa Rosa). Along the way athletes will enjoy a tour of Sonoma County's beautiful wine country, passing through four different grape growing regions: the Russian River Region, the Dry Creek Valley, the Alexander Valley, and Chalk Hill.

Top pros racing this year - Craig Alexander Chris Legh, Terenzo Bozzone. For the Women: Linsey Corbin and bay area pro Tyler Stewart.

• official site - vineman.com
• link to 2008 athlete guide pdf
• Registration: http://www.vineman.com/ironman/register_race01.htm Registration will open on November 1, 2009

2009 Pro Winners

Top 5 men

1. Gambles, Joe 3:49:18.4 * course record
2. Thompson, Simon 3:53:38.7
3. Griffin, Leon 3:57:01.0
4. Dahlz, John 3:59:45.3
5. Lavelle, Brian 4:00:25.0

Top 5 Women

1. Taylor, Pip 4:20:04.5
2. Stewart, Tyler 4:21:34.6
3. Griesbauer, Dede 4:23:29.8
4. Corbin, Linsey 4:24:37.5
5. Couch, Kelly 4:25:23.5

Swim

The swim course is a one loop rectangle swim course. With a deep water wave start from Johnsons Beach in Guerneville. Parts of the river are very shallow around 3 feet deep and you are able to stand, those areas include under the bridge and at the turn around buoys.

• average water temperature on race day is 72 F / 22 C
• fresh water
• deep water start
• average depth 3 to 9 feet

Bike

The bike course is 56 miles taking you through the rolling hills of napa valley. You will pass countless vineyards and enjoy a very scenic view. There are only 2 major hills the biggest at mile 44 known as chalk hill, the hill is about a mile in length and ranges between 8%-10% grade.

at mile 5 you will make a hard right turn on Sunset Ave. More than 90 degrees and it goes into a tight downhill turn. Be cautious and slow down.

Aid Stations: 3 aid stations located approximately mile maker 18, 29, and 40. Each aid station will have 2 restrooms. Aid stations provide:

• Gatorade Sport Drink
• Water
• PowerBar Gels

Craig Alexander Bike Set up for the Vineman bike course

Run

1 loop run course 13.1 miles.

Aid Stations: 6 stations, located approximately every mile and
can be accessed in each direction, serving:

• Gatorade Sport Drink
• water
• PowerBar Gels
• PowerBar
• Pepsi Cola
• Fig newtons
• Bananas
• cookies

Comments (1)

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Dan Foehner said:

My Vineman Race Report Training build up – very solid volume over last few months. 20+ hour weeks since May (7-10k swimming, 150 – 250 miles biking, 30 – 35 run miles per week). I tapered slightly during race week and still managed to get in 12 hours that week. Swim – I was very rushed at the beginning of the race. There was lots of traffic getting down to the start even though I arrived early. It also wasn’t organized well as they had body marking at the top of the hill rather than down by T1. I made a decision to skip bodymarking when I first arrived so I could set up T1. After setting up T1, I would then go back up the hill for body marking. Big mistake #1!! It was a zoo when I got back up there and while waiting in line I heard them announce the wave before me start. Shit---8 minutes until my wave and I’m at the top of the hill getting marked, wetsuit and goggles still in hand. I race down to the water in a panic and get into my wetsuit only 2-3 minutes before the gun goes off. I’m not relaxed during the first 100m and swallow lots of water trying to get position and find my rhythm. Or maybe it was due to the 2 red bulls that I just had before the race. I started having flashbacks of my anxieties swimming in a pack. After 300m, I finally settle down and start drafting off and on. I finished in 34:39 (last year 36:55). Bike – I felt strong for the first 5 miles along river road. Just before the first turn, I noticed my bars had dropped down about an inch. I decided before the race not to bring any allen wrenches. Big mistake #2!! I hoped they wouldn’t move anymore; unfortunately, every few miles they would shift down further and I would have to pull them back up. Over time, they continued to loosen and I started to slow down since I was afraid of them dropping completely. I pull over at the first aid station at mile 19 and ask if anybody has tools and NOTHING. I start rolling again hoping I can make it to the next aid station without a catastrophe. I pull over and ask several people for tools and finally get some from this german dude and tighten everything up. I’m starting to stress about having lost 3+ minutes already, but I roll on and try to focus. I pass many of the same people again and then my first CO2 cartridge comes out. I decide not to stop since I have a 2nd one but I had to screw it in better since it was already loose. I start hammering hard again until I reach chalk hill when my seat dips forward a few inches. Fortunately, there is a cyclist on the side of the road who has tools and I stop on chalk hill to tighten the seat. About 2 miles past chalk hill, my left aero bar slides out about 2 inches—fortunately I am able to slow down and hand tighten it and with about 5 miles until T2, I try not to stress too much when my last CO2 cartridge falls out. Shit—hope I don’t get a flat in these last few miles. I finish the bike split in 2:38 (same time as last year) which frustrates me, but I'm still very happy with my Look bike which is a rocket! Run – Fortunately, my legs feel very fresh in T2 and my nutrition has worked out well until now. I realize that I need to have a strong run to beat my time from last year. With the cool overcast skies, I decided to push a bit harder on the run. First mile: 6:32. Hmm—maybe that’s too fast so I wind it down to about 6:50. The nice thing about being in the early wave is that I get to pass all the male pros, then female pros, then top age groupers from the earlier waves. I get to La Crema and get on the dirt loop and notch it down to about 6:35ish pace. At most triathlons, I start to fall apart during the second half of the run but miles 7 – 10, I was still feeling good about running 6:50 miles; however miles 11 and 12 were tough. I dropped to about 7:15 pace for those miles and was starting to get pounded by the hills. At mile 12, the course is downhill and flat with lots of spectators so I start to open it up to a 6:30 pace for the last mile which I was certainly red lining, but I really wanted to break 4:50. I finish in 4:51 which is 2 seconds faster than my personal best and 6 minutes faster than Vineman last year. Lessons Learned 1) I only had gels during the race and felt much better than when I would eat bars during the bike, so skip bars and stick with gels. 2) No matter what issues you experience during the race, keep thinking positive. 3) Pack tools, prepare for the worst. 4) Plan to arrive at the race extra early to account for traffic, logistics, etc. 5) Consider having only 1 red bull before the race.

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