Vineman Aquabike 7/24 . . .

Yeah I get it, it's been about a month since I did this race, but I must tell you how I did. And, how much fun I had. I think I had fun because I knew I did not have to run 26.2 miles after the 2.4 mile swim & 112 mile bike ride!!! Not that it wasn't nerve-wracking for me! And not to say that it wasn't difficult - only it was kinda nice to know that when I got off that bike - I was DONE, baby!

So, here is a little race report:

Got up nice & early, had a bit of coffee & a peanut butter sandwich with agave sweetener. Made sure I had all my gear ready & we headed down to the Russian River.

It was a kinda cold, muggy & misty morning. I get into transition and set up - the usual - except for the running gear!! Then it was time for the Porta-Potty line . . . more than once. I hate that freaking line. I would love my own private bathroom with aromatherapy candles & running water with nice-smelling soap! Right? I know, I would never come out - the race would start & I would be on the pot, sitting there reading Triathlete magazine!!

Anywho, the water temp was supposedly around 68 degrees & I had decided on a sleeveless wetsuit. My wave went at 6:55 a.m., and let me tell you . . . my wave went @ 6:55 a.m. The race organizers really were on the mark with their start times. We got in the water & off we went!! Everyone was hootin' & hollerin' about, "Yeah, let's go!" and, "Go get 'em!" and then the gun goes off & we start swimming. As you know, this involves hitting, kicking & gnashing of teeth. You are gonna get hit in the face!! Deal with it!!! Apparently, no one told the guy in front of me . . . baby! And, I did apologize.

The swim went well. I felt strong, I found a nice line & just swam. There were parts of the river that were shallow & people were walking. I stood up once to pee. I just can't pee & swim at the same time. I did start noticing my arms getting cold on the 2nd loop of the swim. But other than that I was good.

Out of the water, I ran into transition & I was absolutely freezing! Shaking, teeth chattering, frozen-to-the-bone COLD. I managed to get my wetsuit down to my ankles, but I had to get my arm warmers on 1st! Then off came the rest of my wetsuit. I was able to put all my gear into a bag & pass it off to my hubby, so I did that. On the bike, we were able to mount at the bottom of the hill. No way that was gonna happen for me without falling over. I was way too cold. So, I walked up the hill, got on & off I rode.

Not much to say about the bike. Nice scenery. Rolling hills. Roads that were not that great. A couple of hills - Chalk Hill - two times. And some rolling hills just for fun. It did start to warm up, but never got really hot. I did, at times, feel like getting off the bike & asking someone to give me a neck massage. That's normal, right?

I also felt like getting off my bike & putting on ten layers of chamois. My girlie bits just needed a break. But, I pressed on & finished strong. In fact, coming down the finish "chute" I was up out of my saddle because I was excited to be done & I wanted out of my saddle. There was a woman in front of me on her bike & my husband thought I was trying to beat her to the finish line. I did not even see her!!

The only issue I had with this Aquabike was we had to dismount 20 feet before the finish line and run across with the bike. After all, there was a full Ironman going on & others had to do the run! So it felt a bit "uneventful" crossing the finish line. On the other hand . . . I was done.

And that felt good. As a matter of fact, I felt good. Not too beat up. I even tried to do a bit of running back to the car . . . eh, not so much.

Overall, the race went well. The support along the course was fantastic & luckily the day was not terribly hot.

Overall, very happy to have this under my belt. Very happy to have my hubby there along the way to support me - and, of course, the support from friends & family back at home.

OH, let's not forget the best part of the day . . . the 32-oz. beer at the end!

CHEERS.

Much Peace & Love,
TracerX