Preminitions at Full Vineman

This is a picture of the two bracelets that they give you on the run at Full Vineman for completing your first two loops. They will be two of the most prized items in my Umeke bowl as I build for the Hawaii Ironman. After what happened on the bike, it was very hard for me to get out of T2 to finish that race.

It was 3:45 AM and my hotel phone rang in an effort to take me out of my dream state and get me ready to race an Ironman. The dream I was having was odd as usual and had all the signs of a big race coming. My dad and I were in a math class that was being taught by Dave Scott (yes strange I know) and I was upset because I had to get to the race and my bike still had my training wheels on them. I was trying to get them to see the importance of getting the race wheels put on as the race was going to start shortly. Dave just wanted to talk about logarithms and my dad kept asking me how much the Zipps cost. Thank god that phone rang because I was over the dream!

When I got up I felt really awake which is a very good sign for me. I started cooking my oatmeal in my in room coffee maker while shoving down the whole wheat bread. Everything was ready to go so I wasn't in a rush by any means. I had turned the TV on as a distraction. Biography had a segment on Cameron Diaz. Interesting...but not really.

I sat there eating my oatmeal looking at my bike. I was rubbing my tires examining for anything that looked odd. I had "flat" on the brain the entire week building to the race. It had started when Amanda Lavato was telling me about her crappy incident at Lake Placid. She was stuck on the side of the road for a long time with a flat. And then Monica had sent me an e-mail that ended with "Good mechanical luck." I never think about flats as I have never got one in a race and I am always prepared to fix one.

This race felt different. It would be the only Ironman I would be doing for some time that I would have the chance to win outright. Being in shape, the only thing I figured could take me down would be a bike issue. So of course that was what I was obsessing on.

Once I got down to the race start I decided that I would go to the bike mechanic and buy one extra Co2. I was going to be riding with a Camel Back to see if I liked using it in an Ironman so I would have the space for extra stuff. I put the extra Co2 in the zipper pouch. "Insurance" I thought.

I brought my bike to T1 carrying it over the dirt so I wouldn't get anything in my tire. After I got my bike racked I felt all my pre race nerves dissolve. I chatted with some of the race favorites and Amy who is one of the race directors. She had told me that Dave (Her brother and another of the race directors) was going to be in a kayak for the swim giving updates. That would be pretty fun for spectators as you don't get to see that much of the swim.

After my pre race dump (the most important part of my day!) I got into the water to warm up for the swim. David Glover and I were next to each other in the water talking about the day ahead of us. The water was really nice but the fog was coming in so seeing the buoys was becoming harder. The swim is an out and back done twice so it wasn't going to be too hard to stay on course.

When the gun went off I felt great. I got on some feet and just stayed there. After a while the swim started to feel really slow so I looked up to see if there was anyone I could bridge up to but there was no one. I moved out of the draft to feel how much energy it would take to swim faster. It wasn't worth it so I moved back onto the feet. I felt bad because I kept tapping his feet. Too bad it didn't make him swim faster as it felt really slow to me. No worries though as the goal was to win the race.

When I got out of the water the time was 56 min. I was stoked that a swim that felt that easy and slow was a 56. I got out of the water feeling as if I hadn't done anything yet! I was excited to get rolling on the bike.

T1 was pretty smooth. I took longer than most but I wasn't in any kind of rush. I saw Amy standing there and gave her a quick hello and took off. The bike starts going up a short large hill and I couldn't remember if I had put my bike into a low gear. Of course I didn't so it was grind grind grind to get up.

I was told I was about 3 min down from the front. I was in really god position and knew all I had to do was ride steady. Gordo had told me on one of our really long rides how "easy" the first hour should feel. I kept it right there and just enjoyed the AM. It is a bit hard though because I like to race and push hard and with Ironman you don't' really feel like you are doing that (unless you are a top dog like Stadler). I think the slower pace sometimes causes me to doubt at how well I am riding. But I stuck to the plan and rode the way Gordo told me to.

Everything was going well and I had passed a few people. I knew that I probably wouldn't pass many more a I was already towards the front. If anything Bob Shebest and David Glover would most likely catch up to me. Although I was in really good bike shape that I may just hold them off with my swim time....

I passed the point on the bike where Peter Kotland flatted last year. He was hyped up to win the race in 06 and then ended up on the side of the road with bike issues. Flying past that point made the "flat tire mentality" came back in my head. I saw lots of glass on sections of the road and started getting concerned that I would flat. But then I remembered that I had my trusty Continental tires on and they have NEVER failed me. Why did I say that?? JINX! Moments later my disc blew and I thought "Oh Fuck!"

I pulled over and tried to stay calm. I looked at the wheel and then began to fix it. Everything I had failed me. I even had the foam repair with me so I wasn't too freaked out when the it blew again. I got the foam out and stuck the crack pipe in it. That was a HUGE mistake! The crack pipe started the foam and it went everywhere. I didn't realize that the pipe would fire it. I tried to get the pipe on the tire nozzle as fast as I could. I think some foam went in so I spun the wheel and then got out my last Co2 to try and inflate. Once ready to use it I cracked it but the pipe was clogged with foam and none of the Co2 went in. I was now screwed as I had nothing left.

I looked around and saw this guy that looked like he might be in the Hell's Angels. I asked him if he had a cell phone and would call someone for me. He did and called my mother who would most likely still be near transition. I told her what was going on and that she needed to find Amy or Dave and have them send me tech support ASAP. She was on the case.

In the mean time I watched as rider after rider went by. I was getting more and more upset as each one went by. I was ultimately looking for Bob Shebest. I knew he wasn't the greatest swimmer but could ride and run really well. If I could just get back on the bike either when he rolled by or 5-10 min after I would still have a chance at this. He eventually came by with no sign of tech support in sight and I slowly started to realize this race was over for me.

A guy that wasn't in the race did ride up to me and I begged him for his back wheel as he had a tri bike. He had 650's on the back so it wouldn't have worked. That was when I started to realize that I was going to have to finish this race in the back of the pack on my own. That wasn't what I signed up to do and I was not happy about it. Tech support finally showed up about an hour later and had me back on the bike. I had no idea that it would take that long and wasn't really eating properly. I drank a bottle of Accelearde but that was about it.

When I started riding my legs felt like crap. They had basically shut down so I tried to get them back in the game. Eventually I started riding harder. I wanted to get myself back up in the race and figured my only chance was to ride hard. When I passed the High School they said I was about 45-50 min back now. That was hard to hear. God, even writing about this now is boring me......lets cut to the chase.

I rode in, having one more issue on the bike that almost made me throw my Kestrel in the bushes but found I a way to keep my cool. For the last 15 miles of the bike my head was 100% out of it. I wanted off the bike and to call it a day. I got into T2 and realized how upset I truly was. I racked the bike and just sat down. I saw Jessica standing there and she wasn't too sure what to say. I could tell that she REALLY wanted me to run. Amy walked over to me and we talked for a while. She was really encouraging and ultimately made me think to put my running shoes on. I asked her where the leaders were and she told me that David would be coming through for his first loop soon. I asked if it was legal for me to run with him and she said yes. I decided that I would ask him if he wanted company on the run. When he came by he said yes and we took off.

I didn't say anything to my parents or Jessica. I just ran. David and I chatted most of the first loop. The pace felt really easy for me. I had to let him run off on the way back as I my stomach felt like it was going to explode. I took care of business but not in a timely manor. I really didn't care that much anymore. After my dump I started running again and eventually caught back up to David. On the second loop I ran off ahead of him and then held tight for loop three.

It was really hot out and that third loop was mentally tough for me as there was nobody to race. I just felt good that I was getting this done. I had always said that I would not DNF a race unless my health was in risk. I never realized how hard that would be. I am so thankful that I did get out there and run as it proved to me that I am in shape for Ironman and that I don't quit.

I look forward to racing Vineman next year as it will most likely be my only Ironman. I really want to take a year to focus on the 1/2 distance and I also really want to win this race. The Vineman triathlons have been my early learning ground. I did my first 1/2 here and Vineman last year was my second IM but my first that went well. It is a great venue and I look forward to doing the 1/2 and full next year!

Thanks for a great time even with the flat. And a HUGE thanks to my parents and Jessica who were out there all day and did so much to keep me going on crummy circumstances. Hawaii here we come!

cheers,

bdc