THE Vineman Half Ironman Race Report!

Hip hip hoorah! The report! Before I get to it, I want to say I felt your vibes with me out on the course. It helped knowing I had (attempted) to post on race morning at the exact time of my swim start. When I felt myself straying with my brain, or sort of doubting myself, I scrolled through  my mental rolodex and thought  'Just think, bloggy peeps are rootin' for you!' So thank YOU!


And now my report. Ya ready? ....Hopefully you saw my primer post with pictures as well. So here we go:


Pre-race:

I was surprisingly not that nervous driving to the course and setting up my T1. It may have been b/c Maggs was only doing the swim/bike (no run due to her hip hurting). So she wasn't truly racing and that helped me feel more mellow about the race. Plus I was just so excited to get this race going and done. Seriously! I was ready to put together all the pieces of my training and race. T1 set up was fine, I felt very calm pre-swim and I was just ready to get the swim started and DONE (can ya tell swimming is not something I heart?)


Swim (1.2 mile):

I felt like I had a good swim. I never felt too tired, exhausted, or out of breath. I focused on my breathing and keeping an even pace. I thought especially with a wet suit, that I was going to do it in ~37-38 minutes. So I was surprised to look at my watch out of the water and see 41minutes. Oops! I guess I went out too slow-but this is a new distance for me and now I know. And I didn't let my time get to me. I really just moved on. Here's me exiting the swim:

Bike (56 miles):
I had a good T1 (2min). I handed off my wetsuit to Ironman Dude, slipped on my shoes/helmet, and was off. I also used Ironman Dude's powertap and wheel for the first time so I could gauge my power. I've only relied on my heart rate for all my rides and was excited to use both for the bike. And the powertap was great...til' it died on me at ~mile 10. I kept trying to re-set it, but it wasn't working, so I just relied on my HR. Oh, and my chain fell off too. So it took prob ~40 sec's for me to fix that. But no worries, I saw ~ten people with flats through out the course and was thankful it wasn't me.

The course itself was beautiful. really. And the weather was perfect. The clouds lifted at mile ~15 of the bike and it never felt hot. Racing wise, it was so fun to apply all my training rides into an actual race. It was great to feel comfortable and strong the entire ride. 

And now a racing first confession: I peed (more than once) on the bike! I just had to! I guess because it wasn't as hot as expected (only ~80 vs. possible ~98 degrees), but my body just didn't need the water. So the first time I did I thought 'Cool! I just peed on the bike! Can't wait to write about that!'  By the fourth time, I was a lil' concerned. Because I have NEVER felt that way on my rides or racing. (oh and this pee thing didn't stop)  

I came into the last ~1.5 mile of the ride and slipped my feet out of my shoes, so I could run barefoot into transition. I came in at ~2:55- a 19mph average overall. I felt great going into T2. I was stoked to have my legs conserved for the run.


Run (13.1 miles):
T2 was a good one for me (2 min) and I was off. Can't believe I can say that but it's true. And I felt good. Here's me at about mile one high fiving my lil' ones (I love my lil' A's matching pig tails!):

And thank GAWD I wore my Garmin. Because I felt like I was schleppin' along at the beginning, and my Garmin read ~7'30 pace. SLOW DOWN!! So I did. I slowed down to ~8' pace and still felt like I was schlepping. I told myself get to 8:15', but I just couldn't for the first ~2 miles. I finally got it down to 8:20 around the rolling hills and just settled into quick steps.

But guess what? I had to pee again. and again. and again. I honestly pee'd on myself four times through out the run. I was just a pee'n mess! I'm just bein' honest here. And I've NEVER had that happen. I don't know if again I prepped my body for a ~98 degree run, but it didn't need the liquids, and I didn't feel like waiting til there was a porta potty.

My overall strategy on the run was to get water and ice at each aid station. So I did and it worked. I chugged a sip of water and poured the ice down my tri top. Then I'd grab a piece of ice out of my top when I needed it. How sexy is that?? HA! But it worked!  I felt strong despite starting to slow down around mile 7. My pace became more like a 8:30-9' for miles 8-11. At mile 11, I tried to tell myself to pick it up a bit, but I was only going ~8:30-8:40 pace.Then at mile 12, I told myself to just go for it! So I tried, but it was reading only a 8:10 pace. I felt strong despite my pace and I was SOO stoked for that last mile. I turned the 2 last corners, where the majority of the spectators were and felt so happy to be near the end! 

I came down the last stretch and into the finishing shoot waving my arms in the air, giving high fives to 2 lil' kids, and really soaking up the energy! I couldn't see my family anywhere, but I was stoked for my race to be done! 

And I guess no one in my family actually saw me at the end or cross the finish line. Ha! How about that?  Apparently, everyone (my dad, Ironman Dude, the kidz, my mother in law, and friend) were all hanging out at the kid's jumpee, when they heard my name called at the finish line! Aw well, I'd rather that go 'wrong' than getting my goggles kicked off the swim, a flat on my bike, or bonk on my run. Here I am a few minutes post race, STOKED to be done!:

My total time was 5:34. You bettcha I'm happy with that. I came in under my expected 5:40-5:50 time and I was 18th in my age group (out of ~110 gals). I was just so relieved I felt strong and raced my race. It's the best I've ever felt during a race, and I now have that distance under my belt to build upon. 





And there ya have it. My first Half Ironman Triathlon experience. Thanks so much for taking the time to read it! And I love the running pic with my kids the most. To me, that picture best exudes what I wanted to gain from the experience. To race with passion and appreciate the ride along the way. Now...I wonder what race I should attempt next...;-)