Monte Rio Vineman Olympic Triathlon Race Report

Oh hey, hi there, what's up?  It's been almost three weeks of radio silence since I was leaving to go do Vineman Olympic Triathlon.  I am sure you ten readers were wondering if the Russian River was the place of my ultimate demise.  But alas I have returned from the deep and back to the world of blogdom.
In reality I've been working and traveling and working more.  I've worked 14 hour days for most of the past two weeks and I've traveled the state from San Francisco to Santa Barbara to Napa.  I got home last Friday night after 7 days on the road to turn around and head back out on Monday.  I am now home for all of 3 days and this weekend MFR's sister and brother-in-law are in town for some wine tasting and Nascar (first time for everything) fun.  So back out to wine country I go.  I have fit in a few workouts here and there but I am excited to get back into a more organized and based in San Francisco routine come Monday.

From Napa to SB and back.

Although I am very tired, I can't complain.  Those are some pretty awesome cities to spend time in and I love my job and my industry.  Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to work long days and blog at the same time but luckily that's over and I am back. I know you're all fist pumping right now with excitement.

Anywho we'll get into stats and what's next soon enough.  For now a race report for Vineman Olympic.  We drove out to Monte Rio on Saturday afternoon without a plan of attack at all.  It was 90 degrees and we stopped in Santa Rosa to try the Russian River Brewing Company but the wait for a table or bar was over an hour so we continued on.   For future reference, Monte Rio is in fact in the middle-of-nowhere-wine-country.  It's right on the Russian River and only like 10 miles from the beach but I think the population is less then 1000.  There is no cell service and there is a sign when you drive into town that says, "congratulations you did it, we're going digital."  That pretty much sums up everything you need to know about Monte Rio.

Almost by accident we found the transition area/packet pickup.  Everything was pretty well organized and we got our packets.  I noticed that I didn't have a timing chip and when I asked I was told that you don't pick up your timing chip until tomorrow morning when you're boarding the shuttle bus. Pardon?  Sneaky sneaky Vineman.  You've got to give it to them though.  One way to guarantee people don't drive morning of and congest the small area with parking?  Don't give them a timing chip unless they take the shuttle.   Well played.  We got our bikes down from the car and decided we might as well set up  our entire transition areas so I ended up leaving my tri bag, bike, shoes etc.... all there overnight so I didn't have to worry about forgetting anything or fitting it on the shuttle.  It actually worked out pretty well.

We walked down to the river to check out the swim area and the ridiculously long ramp (worse then WF) we had to run back up to transition.  Definitely wish we could have floated the river that day but alas we were tubeless.  We asked around for thoughts on where to camp and some of the volunteers listed some campsites they thought might be close.  Then we got back to the car and realized there was no cell service so names of campsites didn't really help us.  Hmmmm....now what?  The next three hours consisted of us driving round and round in circles to spots that had service, calling hotels for vacancy, driving to the beach, actually looking at hotel rooms and deciding if they were worth $200 a night, deciding if we would be arrested if we camped on the beach and randomly coming across campsites that were either full or didn't have tent camping etc..  Finally we decided to go to the Country Store (no joke) and buy some stuff for breakfast the next morning and just sleep in the car by the shuttle area.  I would like to point out that during this process, MFR and I did not get into one fight nor did I have a single type A panic attack.  Winning!

While checking out at the country store we asked the local cashier if she knew of any camping spots that would still have space (it was probably close to 7pm at this point).  She directed us to a huge campground right across the road and next to the shuttle area.  What? We thought that was only for RV's? Nope, turns out if you go past the "RV Only" sign there is a huge tent camping area right on the river.  Whoops.  So we got a spot, set up our tent very quickly and drove to the one restaurant/diner in town for dinner.  They were out of pasta so we settled for chicken strips (which had to be sent back because they were not cooked all the way - nothing like salmonela poisoning to start off your race morning) and a burger.  Made our way back to the campsite and forced a quick campfire before we finally retired around 10:30pm.  Oh and we forgot our pillows too so had to sleep on rolled up sweatshirts.  Needless to say when the alarm went off at 5am I was sore, tired and very cranky.

We got to the shuttle around 6am and after getting the coveted timing chip we boarded a shuttle that left around 6:15.  MFR was starting at 7am and I was starting at 7:05 so I was little stressed about timing.  We rushed through transition, throwing on our wetsuits and sunscreen etc... We headed down to the water around 6:55am and I jumped in line for a porta potty (barefoot by the way - new low - just call me B. Spears).  While in line I saw MFR sprinting back up to transition and he yelled out "forgot my earplugs."  He made it back maybe 60 seconds before the gun went off.  Reminder - do not follow any of these instructions when doing a triathlon.  I waded into the river with the other 36 women and off we went.

Clearly not my group.

 Swim - (34:51, 14th in AG out of 37))
The water felt great and was really warm.  I had a brand new wetsuit on (finally after wearing my free TNT one from 2006 for all these years) which performed well.  The gun went off and we headed upstream.  I got a little clamored for the first 200 meters or so and I did my best to stay right in line with the buoys and kick off anyone drafting over me.  It was a straight out and back swim with people on either side of the buoys so there were a few times I almost ran into swimmers coming the opposite direction but I can dodge pretty well in the water.  It definitely felt like it took awhile to get to the turnaround buoy considering we were swimming upstream but the current wasn't actually that strong.  After WF I had been kind of defeated about my swim so when I got to the turnaround, I was surprised to see so many purple caps behind me and surprised how good I felt.  I kept it up the whole way back and I ran out of the water feeling great.

T1 - (5:37, 25th in AG)
I ran up the extremely long hill barefoot on gravel....no bueno!  You could hear everyone around going, "ouch, seriously?"  Once I got into transition I mentally fell apart.  Do I need bike gloves? Yes.  Why can't I get them on?  Man that swim felt great.  Which way do I go out again?  I suck at transitioning.  What else is new?  Leslie later texted me asking if I took a nap in T1:).

Bike - (1:25:54 , 23rd in AG)
You guys this bike course was so awesome.  I can't say enough good things about it.  It was so beautiful and just enough rollers to keep you guessing but nothing too intense as far as climbing.  Once out of transition, you looped up into the forest and although the road wasn't the best condition, we were in shade and had views of overgrown greenery everywhere and a creek along side you.  It felt like being back in Oregon.  At about mile 15 we dropped back onto the main highway and made our way to the beach (also beautiful and scenic) for a few miles along the ocean cliffs, then a turnaround for a straight shot back to transition.  I felt good and tried to keep pushing the entire time.  I lost focus a few times with the surroundings and realized that I could be going harder.  I am used to longer races so it's weird for me go hard on the bike the whole time.  I felt strong the whole ride though did feel like more people were passing me then in WF.  I had two Gu's and drank Nuun Cherry Limeade and water.  Right when the heat was starting to get a little unbearable, I rode back into transition.

T2 - (2:37, 26th in AG)
I tried to rack my bike and hurry as much as I could because I knew how slow T1 had been.  I thought I had done a decent job but clearly in comparison to my AGers not so much.  I threw on my shoes, picky bar wristband grabbed my hat and race belt and one last sip of Nuun.  I ran out of transition thinking, "I can't believe how great I felt on the swim and bike, this is so fun.  Crap now I have to run, F it's hot!"

Run (55:18, 23rd in AG)
That damn run.  It always gets you.  I went from feeling giddy and excited to fu** why is this so hard in about 2 min.  The run was an out and back and luckily most of it was in the shade but it was getting really warm out.  The first mile I felt okay but could feel my body slowly starting to hurt and feel pain.  I just kept thinking, it's just a 10K....you can definitely get through a 10K, just keep pushing. I stopped at two aid stations and sipped water.  At about mile 2.5 I passed a woman and heard her say in a very snarky voice, "ughh, of course you would pass me AGAIN!"  I didn't think she was talking to me until I realized I was the only person close to her.  I looked back and said "are you talking to me?"  "Yes you passed me on the bike too." Awkward silence, "ohhh.ummm sorry."

WTF?  Okay so whats your point?  You don't want to get passed, then run faster.  And she wasn't even in my age group so who cares?  Believe I always know when I pass people in my age group and I specifically noticed that she wasn't in mine when I passed her.  I shook it off and continued to the turnaround.  The 3 miles back were rough but the fact that I had felt so good on the swim and bike carried me through.  I dug deep because I didn't want to ruin a great race with the last two miles of the run.  When I finally saw transition coming into site I pushed and ignored that heat was getting brutal.  All of a sudden, I realized we had to actually circle transition and climb one more steep hill right before the finish line.  I hate when they do that.  I slugged up and crossed the finish feeling like I had left it all out there.

Overall: 3:04:17 (20/37 AG, 225/397 overall)

Had I known that I was going to be so close to 3 hours I probably would have pushed a little harder on the bike and maybe in transition but I felt pretty good about that time considering my goal was 3:20.  I really enjoyed this race and the course.  Afterwards they had full breakfast for everyone: pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon.  It was amaze.  MFR had a rough race and pulled something in his calf on the run so he had to go to the medical tent.  I was stuffing my face with pancakes being a very attentive wife and then we sat in the sun and stretched.  I told him about the crazy lady on the run as we started to walk back to the shuttles. I kid you not, two seconds later I feel a tap on my shoulder.  Crazy lady!

This is what followed:
CL:"Ummm do you mind me asking what your time was?"
Me, "I actuallly don't know, I didn't wear a watch but I am assuming a little over 3 hours."
CL: In her uber-annoyed snarky voice, "no you came in before me and I got 2:58 so clearly you did better than that."
Me: "Well you started at least 5 min after me so that's why."
CL: "No I didn't, what's your number.....pause, pause, pause....oh wait you're right."
She walked away.

What the hell?  Who does that?  MFR just looked at me in disbelief.  I don't know why she decided to make it a personal competition with me or why she doesn't know how age groups or race waves work but if I see her at another race, game on bitch!  I picture it in my head as seeing her in transition and leaning in ever so slightly to whisper (in my best Don Cheadle voice), "and remember, you brought this on yourself." A girl can dream.

I am back to the good ole days where the swim is my best event and a consistent bike makes for a good run.  All in all everything improved and it was a great race and great day.  Excited to focus on the run for the next two months but I am hoping to get in a swim and bike at least once a week.  Cute medal and shirt (not pictured) but the shirt already has a hole so pretty poor quality.

Speaking of poor quality - my horrible photo skills

Of course I didn't take any other pictures but here are some great ones if you want to get a feel for the race and course.

Real Random Updates 101

I am doing Vineman Olympic triathlon tomorrow and I have no idea what to expect.  It's out in the middle of nowhere wine country (the best kind of country) in Monte Rio.  Did you know there was a Monte Rio in CA? Me neither.  It seems a little unorganized because it's the first year.  We've gotten a lot of the "last minute race update" emails.  We are leaving in a few hours to head out and pick up our packets and drop off our bikes and we don't even know where we're staying so it should be a total sh** show.  Also they don't have a published bike course elevation chart etc... so I have no idea what my goal should be.  3:20?  Sure lets go with that.  3:20.  My swim should be faster then WF and so should my run.  So stay tuned for what I am sure will be interesting race report.  

I've sucked at blogging lately because work has been insanity.  Busiest time of the year until after June 11th so I'll get back to more then just race reports after that point.  A few unrelated quick updates I've missed.

I received this little four pack from Nuun.  Besides Strawberry Lemonade, I've never tried any of these flavors so it's a good excuse to expand my palate.  So far I've tried Fruit Punch and I am on board.  It's no Cherry Limeade but it's pretty dang good and fueled my PR last weekend.  I'll keep you posted on Grape and Tropical.  

Also I found out I am on Team Watermelon with some awesome women for HTC and runner #3.  I am excited for a new leg and to be in Van 1 after 3 years in Van 2.  I am also runner 5 in Cascade Lakes and just waiting on the assignment for Ragnar LV Ultra - gulp.

In non-running news, I went to church last week.  Okay technically it was a yoga class but it was in Grace Cathedral.  I'd heard some guys on the cable car talking about how they do yoga every Tuesday in the cathedral and how amazing it was so I decided to give it a try.  Helps that it's 3 blocks from my house.  Hands down one of the top 10 coolest things I've done in this city so far. It's packed so you have to get there early but the instructor is great and the cathedral is gorgeous. It's suggested to donate $10 to the church but they don't turn anyone way. Definitely recommend it if you live or are even visiting SF on a Tuesday.

Yoga on the Labyrinth 

Other than working out we've been continuing our concert tour of the bay area.  I am pretty sure we've gone to more concerts in the past six months than the previous six years combined.  I knocked two items off my bucket list: attending a multi-day music festival and seeing Zac Brown Band live.  Yes I have another bucket list that doesn't just list races...I know I am shocked too.  

We went to Bottlerock in Napa a few weeks ago and saw Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Michael Franti & Spearhead and Kacey Musgraves to name a few.  It was an incredible weekend.  Non-stop bouncing from stage to stage and the great food and wines from Napa didn't hurt either. 

Zac Brown Band

 Jackson Brown by day, Kings of Leon by night

Finally I've been eating my way through the city (I also have a restaurant bucket list - I like lists) and although I could write about food for days, there is one place in particular that needs to be called out.  Brenda's French Soul Food.  Everything on their brunch menu is worth trying - creole eggs benedict - hello!  For starters we had the beignets flight: plain, granny smith apple, chocolate and crawfish.  Died and gone to heaven. 

Fried Southern Donuts

Next I want to go back for Sunday Supper.  Must go now because my mouth is watering and I need to find food ASAP.

Wildflower Oly 5/5/13 (Heat vs. Wind)

You can blame the lateness of this report on the fact that I don't know how to get my pictures off my camera since I usually only take pics with my phone.  I need to get better about taking pictures period but baby steps with this whole blog thing.  I am not going to do a full race review of the set-up, expo, camping etc... because I am sure anyone who knows about WF gets the gist.  It's the Woodstock of triathlons and it's amazing (see naked run and beer bong aid station).  If you're a triathlete, this race needs to be on your list, period!  It's hot and miserable and the hardest course imaginable but in the end you'll be so glad you did it.

We drove down after work on Friday night and got into the park around 10pm.  Somehow we magically found the SF tri club area (cell phones don't usually get a signal) and MFR wandered around with a headlamp to different camp fires until he found his buddy who was saving us some ground space for our tent.  We parked, set-up, met everyone and were in bed within an hour or so.  Important to point out that I was wearing a tanktop when I went to bed at 11pm that night (we'll circle back to this).  At 7am the next morning the sun was already scorching right into our mini-two-person tent so we were up.

Wildflower Housing

We had breakfast (aka instant coffee and bagel/pb) and walked the mile down to the lake to pick up our packets and watch the halfers swim and transition to the bike.  We got to see Leslie head out on the bike and then we tried to find shade.  This is always the trick with WF, what do you do the day before the race?  Since you're camping you have limited indoor options but starting a race with a crispy sunburn is never a good idea.  We opted to watch the pros transition to the run, sit by the stage and listen some music and stalk coincidentally sit right next to Lauren Fleshman, which scored us some Picky Bars and swag. Then we headed to the finish line to watch her husband,  Jesse "Threepeat" Thomas Win The Day!

Waiting on JT!

Jesse giving some fan love

Aviators!

Those are the only pictures I took all weekend.  It's not my strong suit but I'll work on it.  After JT fanmania, we climbed  back up to the campgrounds and set up chairs and the hammock (yep MFR has a camping hammock) in a shaded area right before Mile 8 Marker and cheered on everyone.  I cheered super loud for anyone wearing Portland gear, SF gear, TNT gear and SoCal gear...so pretty much everyone.  They all looked hot and freaking miserable so they need the extra push.  I still can't believe I ever did long course.  The only exception was when Leslie came by smiling and looked great.

After hours of cheering we got ready for the morning, watched the naked run (I actually have a pic or two of that as well but it's not that kind of blog) and had an awesome dinner of jambalaya. It was right when it started to get dark that we realized just how much the temperature was dropping.  I ended up with multiple long sleeve shirts and a huge sweatshirt on and I was still cold.  Big change from the night before.

We woke up at 6am and everyone starting panicking about the wind and temperature (easily 20 degrees colder then Sat. when we woke up).  What are you gonna do?  No matter what, everyone is dealing with the same conditions come race day.  Temp wise it was actually perfect for a triathlon but people just weren't prepared gear wise (arm warmers etc...) and the wind was the real concern.  We all ate, checked our bikes and rode down Lynch to transition.

I set up transition quickly and put my wetsuit on because I was cold.  I still had 2 hours until my wave started.  My panic didn't start until walking down the boat ramp to the lake.  You could see the buoys blowing all over the place and it looked really choppy.  I watched all the waves go off including MFRs and then even got to watch him run out of the water.  My wave started an hour after his so at least I had someone to cheer for.

Swim: 40:02 (slowest Oly swim I've ever done)
At 10:20am it was finally my turn.  Our group "warmed up" for the allotted 5 min and then they called us back out of the water.  It was way warmer in the water then it was on shore.  The horn went off and we were all running in.  I stayed towards the back and tried to avoid getting clamored.  It sort of worked but I still had a few kicks to the head etc...  It was actually great swimming out to the first buoy and I felt really good.  Then we turned right and all hell broke lose.

It was so freaking choppy.  Swells were rocking me all over the place and started to make me feel naseous.  Every time I tried to sight, a wave would come over my head and I'd swallow a bunch of water.  I tried to stay right in line with the buoys but they were blowing all over the place and people were getting pulled out left and right.  That's when the mental part kicked in, I started questioning if we/I should even be out there.  Cue the dramatic music...Is this safe?  Am I going to die out here?  Of course it seems so much worse when you're in it then it actually is.  My breath shortened and I kept trying to tred water to calm myself down.  That's when I realized that people who were backstroking (which was quite a few b/c of the chop) were passing me.  I had a little talk with myself. "Alright you have two choices.  You either pull out of this swim and feel like a failure for the rest of the day/month/year/life or you slow your breathing, put your head down and do the best you can to move forward. But you can't just sit here."  I opted for no. 2 and even though it felt like I was out there for hours and barely moving, I somehow made it to the turnaround. It was little better on the way back.  Still choppy but not as much of a straight headwind.  I climbed out of the water and walk/jogged my way up to transition.

T1 5:34 min
I felt like I had won the battle just by completing the swim.  I am a slow transitioner and this was no exception.  I was trying to hurry but was still catching my breath.  There were quite a few bikes still racked in my area (age group) which told me that others were probably having similar swims.  That gave me a little mental boost and I grabbed my bike and ran out.

Bike: 1:49:24
Getting up Lynch actually felt really good.  I just settled in and passed tons of people.  I knew it was going to be windy once we got out of the park so I had a Gu right when I crested Lynch and kept sipping on Nuun.  Overall the bike felt good for me.  This is usually my weakest event but I pushed it the entire time.  It was windy but that gave you a little tailwind on the way out.  The worst part was the turnaround.  With the tailwind I cruised into the turnaround on a slight uphill at about 19-20mph.  Once you circled the cones and it became a slight downhill the headwind hit and I was going 6 mph. Just let that sink in.  6mph...downhill and I was pushing.  KILL ME NOW!  The next couple miles were rough but once we got close to the park, I felt that given the circumstances I was having a pretty good ride.  I had another Gu around mile 20, tried not to get knocked off by the side winds, descended Lynch and into transition.

Totally faking the smile

T2: 4 min
I dismounted, ran all the way across transition and found my space easily enough.  At some point during my bike I realized I forgot to take my running hat out of my bag and lay it out.  Crap!  I debated just running without it but decided I wanted something to pull my foul lake hair out of my face.  So I had to dig for that for awhile and finally found it.  Stumbled into my shoes and grabbed my race belt and jogged out of there.

A little darker than yesterdays photos

Run:  58:35
Once you leave transition, you run straight into a staircase.  There is no easing into anything at WF.  My legs felt heavy but I just took it easy and chugged along for the first couple miles.  I walked the really steep hills and just tried to keep my pace steady the rest of the time.  I never felt great but I never felt bad, which for me is a win.  The weather was finally a positive factor since it was perfect running temperature.  Way different then the 85 degree run from long course I remember (not so fondly).  I definitely passed more people then previous triathlon running legs.  I probably could have pushed it a little more on the run but as I cruised through the campground and down Lynch, I felt good about my performance (except maybe the swim).  I ran through the finishers chute, grabbed lots of food and MFR was waiting for me right outside the gate.

All in all it was challenging, humbling and fun day!  I felt good with my race and MFR killed it.  I don't know who had it worse, the halfers with the heat or the Olys with the wind/rain crap but neither were ideal.  There is no such thing as perfect race conditions at Wildflower.  You have to earn it.  It was a good race to reignite my passion for the sport of triathlon and I am excited to experience a few more this year.  It's weird stepping back to the shorter distances but I've seen my bike and run improve already so I must being doing something right.  I did feel a little sick post race but a stop at In-N-Out quickly cured that.

Overall: 3:37:35 (my goal was 3:40)

I always love their medals.