Vineman 2001 ... AKA ... R.I.P. VINEMAN

First a Bit of Prelude ... I have been wanting to write this for a period of time but it now seems incredibly appropriate considering that Vineman has been laid to rest after 27 years. Vineman has been a part of my life every year, in some way, shape or form, since 1997 when I first raced it as an athlete. In order, my involvement has been: Athlete (then I moved to Santa Rosa in 2003) organizing & coaching, and most recently the last 7 years coaching and announcing.

Back to my race report ;-) ... I chose Vineman in 2001 because I always felt at home racing there, and I needed that feeling to get my long course racing back on track. I was having great success at short distance but "Ironman" racing was proving to be a bit of mystery with mixed results from very good to poor, and most recently very poor. (As 20 years has passed I have come to realize that short distance racing really was my sweet spot, but long distance racing was attractive because of the different challenges it always presented me). One thing to note is Vineman 2001 was rewarding before the gun even went because of the athletes I was coaching (and training with) for the event and the fact we would get to spend some time in NorCal visiting my sister. I should add that I chose to seek out some different coaching guidance that took me out of my comfort zone and I knew three days before the race that I was moving very well. I'll skip the rest of the pre-race "stuff" and get straight to race day ...

The Swim: In typical Vineman fashion we started under a blanket of marine layer and low 70 degree water emperature. As usual I would lose the best swimmers in the first couple hundred meters and then be leading the next line for a large portion of the swim. After the final turn on lap two I realized I was in no mans land with only one other athlete as company. Cruising into shore I saw 58:?? on the clock, felt like I had dealt out very little energy and was pleased with that!

Into T1 ... wetsuit off, threw a bike jersey on, and likely arm warmers, to combat the chill of an early NorCal morning (NOTE: I had spent my summer training in the heat and humidity of Fayetteville, AR. so to me it was quite chilly)

FOR HISTORY SAKE: I swam in what would currently be a dinosaur of a QR wetsuit and TYR Race Tech Goggles

The Bike:  I started the bike with one other athlete (Henry Sacre of San Diego) ... as we headed down River Rd. I was passed (rapidly) by Jeff Mitchell  (who now is one of my friends here in Santa Rosa). By the time we hit Westside Rd. at mile 6 Jeff is long gone and I would have to be content in watching Sacre ride away while I deal with my own sleepy legs. For the most part the bike was a lonely affair ... I passed 1 athlete and was not passed by anyone until about mile 75 on Kinley Rd. It also was about mile 65 when it started to heat up and with that my cycling started to really come around and I was feeling quite positive about the rest of. the day.

As I rolled into T2 at Windsor high School I had ZERO idea where I was in the race but I actually felt reasonably refreshed and quite motivated.

-Bike Time: 5:38:?? that included both transitions
-Nutrition: 2 x 800 calorie bottles of Carbo Pro, water, Meta Salt every 30min, Sour Patch Kids
-FOR HISTORY SAKE: Litespeed Tachyon 650c wheel / round tube titnaium bike, crappy spinergy wheels and crappier over inflated Tufo tires, Timex watch (no computer, Garmin etc.)

The Run: Running out of T2 my legs felt unbelievably good when a mile into the run my sister tells me to stay focused because some
guys ahead didn't look very good. (I don't think she wanted to tell me a was barely in the top 20 ;-). When I got to a short out and back at 1.5 miles I got the wonderful news that I was in 16th place ... sweeeet, NOT! But, the good part is my legs felt incredible and I had to keep backing off because it felt too quick ... 14:30 through 2 miles ... that felt easy, but could I hold it? I kept rolling along through Lap 1 (of 2) and periodically would pass someone and move up another spot. Then I hear the express train of Peter Kotland coming up to me at mile 10 where I tried to run his <6:30 pace for for a few minutes .... MISTAKE ... at that point I thought Peter was running to the win!

Making my way into WHS to finish lap 1 I still felt very good, and Kotland was still rolling ... at the turn around Mr Sacre comes back into the picture up ahead and the news is we are 5th and 6th. Heading down Windsor Rd. at the beginning of Lap 2, 6th becomes 5th as Kotland is laying on the ground with double hamstring cramps. (oddly enough my wife, who I did not even knew existed at that point in time, says she was standing there as Kotland was at near death ;-)  I am now running with Sacre but at every aid station he drops back with his girlfriend who is following him on a bike and handing him cola (and other stuff) while on two wheels ... this continued from mile 14 to mile 20 where I finally had enough and went nuts on both of them (I really wish I remember what I said :-) At that exact moment my frustration and anger sling-shotted me up the road and by mile 22 I was clear of the "the couple", making another pass and trying to hold off the twinges in my hamstring going up every hill on Starr Rd. In the last two miles it was clear road ahead and I wasn't going to get across to David Glover who would win the race but was never on my radar.

I rolled across the line 2nd ... fastest run of the day 3:11:?? and 9:50:?? on the clock.

At that time (and even now) the placing did not matter ... the feeling at the finish line did, (witness the photos) how I executed the race did, how my athletes succeeded did, and getting my mojo back for sure did!! It was good to be home.

As I write this now I can't say that I ever thought Vineman would not be a part of the triathlon landscape. Though the race, it's people, and it's culture have now passed on ... "The Legend of Vineman" will always live!