A week in review and "Experiencing Vineman"

So let's see, where were we? Oh yes, Mon (last Mon, I know, I know, always behind on this thing).

Mon: Today we are to ride 1:15-1:30 with one 10 min hard interval. So we figure the headlands would be a good ride. We meet at Sports Basement on a particularly foggy evening but don't think much of it. Then as we are heading towards the bridge it gets worse and worse. We start crossing the bridge and the fog is so thick that my glasses we covered in drops, you could feel it in the air, it almost felt like it was raining. You could only see 10-15 feet in front of you. Then the wind started to blow, very hard. At one of the post out dents on the bridge I was literally blown over (luckily I got my foot out and caught myself). The weather did not improve as we got to the other side. We decided tonight it did not seem like a good idea to risk the windy, dark roads of the headlands, visibility was just too poor. So for safety sake we headed back to the SF side. We spent the next hour chasing the clearer parts of the Presidio and found a good hill (Arguello) to do repeats on. We definitely need to find more ride routes!

Tues: I joined up with the SF Tri club group at Kezar for track practice. The group was nice and the coach was very knowledgeable, I think I will try to join them each week before the race. Tonight's workout was mile repeats, 4 of them with just 90 secs jog in between. Of course the goal was to watch your pacing and try to stay as consistent as possible. We started with a 1 1/2 mile warm up then split into pace groups. I went with the group called "Jaguars" which was 8-8:30 mile pace. The "group" was just myself and a guy named Rene. So off we went on our mile repeats. We did a great job staying consistent. Mile 1 = 8:13 Mile 2 = 8:13 Mile 3 = 8:15 (then Rene left me to cool down and call his wife, so I did the last mile on my own) Mile 4 = 8:09 Then we did a mile cool down and I got some form advice from the coach, I need to keep my shoulders back, I slouch a bit. He sounds like my Mom!! But a great workout!

Wed: Training day off! Tony and I went to see Teddy Geiger at the Fillmore. The show was a lot of fun. A few too many screaming teenage girls, but Teddy rocked and we really enjoyed it!

Thurs: Took the spin class again and then did my weight circuit. Felt a little better this time, not so sore the next day. I know I have said this before, but I need to keep up on my weights!

Fri: Went swimming in the morning. First time since the "eye incident". I tried to work on some drills and stroke technique for 15 min. Then I just swam without stopping for 30 min. I can't count my laps that long it bores me. But I felt pretty good, I was glad I went. I didn't want my pracitice swim at Vineman to be my first time back in the water.

Sat: Today we met at 7:00am, piled all our stuff in the car, and headed up to Guerneville (near Santa Rosa) for day one of "Experiencing Vineman". The race director sent out info on free sessions to review the swim course, so that was stop one. We made our way to Johnson's Beach in Guerneville. It is a lovely spot with the Russian River, an area that has been dammed so there was very little current. At 10:00am we met up with Brad, one of the race announcers, a retired Pro triathlete and great guy. He lead us all in the water, explained what the course would be like on race day (location of buoys and kayaks) and set us on our way. We stopped about half way to the turn around for some more course advice and some stroke advice too. Then we gathered once more at the turn around spot for Brad's final piece of wisdom. I kept forgetting to start and stop my watch, so I don't know how long that half of the swim took. But on the way back we went straight, no stopping and it took me 20 min 20 sec. The way back is supposed to be a bit faster given the residual current, so I am hopeful I can do the 1.2 mile course in about 45 min. The whole thing was great, the water is nice, not too cold, and the river is not that deep. If you need to stop to fix your goggles or something, in most places you can stand up (well most people can, I couldn't stand when we stopped). We hadn't planned on a quick transition so we still had to unlock bikes and get them off the cars, check tires, pack our nutrition and fliuds, etc. We were almost ready to go when my tire went flat. Guess I was luck it happened there and not out on the course. But it took me a while to get it changed, the stem was kind of short so I had a hard time getting it pumped up. After much ado, we finally got going. We lucked out once again in that a nice man named John who was in our swim clinic and going to do the ride too, offered to be our guide. This will be his 3rd Vineman and he lives in the area so he knew the course very well. Off we went!!! Now John was much faster than all of us, even Bruce. So when we would get to tricky turn or spot he would stop and wait, we would gather up again, and then take off. Due to the rain and flooding this year, they had to change the end of the course. So instead of 56 miles, it is 57.5 miles. The furthest I had ridden before Sat was 50 miles. So I was excited and a little nervous about the whole ride. All in all I really enjoyed it. The course is beautiful as it winds through the vineyards of Sonoma County. We made one pit stop to get more water and go to the restroom. I felt like I didn't hydrate enough even though I drank 2 1/2 bottles and 1 70 oz camelpack on the ride. It was quite warm though. Luckily on race day there will be aid stations where we can trade empty bottles for full ones. I also didn't eat enough so this ride was a great learning experience for me. But finally 4 1/2 hours later we rolled into Windsor High School and the end of the ride. My shoulders and hands hurt the most, the rest of me was just exhausted. The thought of running now seems almost impossible. Luckily that wasn’t on the schedule for today. Instead we made our way back to the beach, then loaded the car to drive home, stopping at In and Out for a much deserved cheeseburger and fries!

Sun: Back up to Sonoma to tackle the 13.1 mile run of Vineman. Kara and I took off about 11:30 along the course. We started off a bit easy, testing out our legs after yesterday’s hard efforts. After about 30 min Kara’s IT band started hurting again so she decided to turn around. She was worried this may happen so I came prepared with my iPod to accompany me if she had to abandon me. So for the next 10 miles it was just me and my tunes running across the countryside by farms, vineyards, and houses. It is a nice course, rolling hills, but not too much shade. I had finished my whole camelpack by the end. After Kara turned around I started getting into my rhythm a bit and picked up the pace. I ended up finishing the course in 1:53 and feeling much more confident that I could finish this race! Glad I have tomorrow off from work so I can sleep in after all this exercising!