Where to begin? Well, this was by far the longest & biggest race I've ever done. Swim 1.2 Miles, Road Bike 56 Miles & Run 13.1 Miles. There were 293 male finishers in my 35-39 division with close to 1900 total race finishers. Registration for this race opens up early in the year & sells out by February, so it didn't seem like much of a reality when I signed up way back when. Then, about a week out from the race, it seems that all of a sudden I have a big event on my hands. I had been doing less training &, in fact, had been taking it easy, not sticking to my training regimine and just doing what I felt like doing ever since my dismal performance on June 23rd at Xterra Tahoe City. So, I decided I'd "just do" this Ironman 70.3 for fun & experience. With that attitude in mind, coach suggested I just race in Heart Rate Zone 3 then go all out in the last 3 miles of the run & I was good with that. With so many racers, the officials used 17 different starting waves to get this thing underway. The first wave started at 6:30 am & the last wave started at 8:38 am. Even my own age group was broken down into different waves & I was in the 38-39 year olds wave. Guess what my time slot was? 8:38, the final wave. I would later find out that the wave start times rotate from year-to-year so it was just coincidence that we were to start last.Since I never was able to make it down to the race venue prior to race weekend to pre-swim, ride or run the courses, I drove down to Guerneville a day early to do some recon & try to figure out what I'd gotten myself into. The swim would be in the Russian River. It was relatively narrow & shallow. Hmmm, because there wasn't much room, I could see why there needed to be so many start waves. Next I drove the bike course. It was a gorgeous road course that was literally a tour of Sonoma wineries. Of note the road was very curvy & bumpy. The County definitely needs to do some maintenance, but in my mind that was offset by the lack of traffic, so I made a note to make sure my tires were pumped up to avoid a "pinch flat" when hitting the pot holes. Prior to my drive of the course I had surmised it would take me 2hr 45min to race the 56 mile bike course. I timed my drive. It took me 1hr 54 min, & needless to say that had me second guessing my 2:45 bike estimate. Next I drove the run course & it was just an "out & back" course of 13.1 miles. 13.1 miles, gosh that seemed like a long way to be running & in only a few days. Attitude! I was just going to "do this" race, remember, so all would be fine, no pressure, ok better.
Race Registration: While picking up my race numbers & packet with all the rest of the hundreds of athletes, in the distance, I happened to spot a couple racers of note to me. My two biggest Xterra nemeses would be racing in Vineman. Butterflies! These guys have placed JUST ahead of me in all my Xterras this season & are ranked 3rd & 4th above me at 5th. Oh my. OK though, no worries right, I'm "just doing" this race.
The morning of the race I woke up early, so I had some time to think. That can be good & bad for me. Usually not so good, but I hatched a new race strategy. I would not take it easy for the whole race. My last-minute stategy was: -Swim: start easy, go hard in the middle then go easy at the end. -Bike: same as swim, easy/hard/easy. For the -Run: start easy, then go hard, harder & hardest to the finish. The idea of trying this gave me something to focus on & it would be a fun learning experience. My only hesitation was if I'd be able to actually "race" the whole way to the finish without having to stop or rest.
Pre-Race Prep: While setting up my transitions amongst all the racers I was noticing the
bicycles. Wow! & I mean WOW! There were some cool bikes. More like alien spacecraft. My bike is just a simple little "10 speed" style road bike that I bolted some aero bars to. I also had my CamelBak, which is great for holding hydration, but really designed for mountain biking. I didn't see anyone else with one, that's for sure. I asked a transition neighbor to take my picture & he cheerfully did. He kinda looked me & my set up over & I got the feeling he was thinking: "Does this guy know what he's got himself into?" 
For some reason I look huge in the red/grey top I was wearing during warmups & I've got 4 applications of sun screen on for that Hollywood sheen. Yes!! I'm ready!The 1.2 Mile Swim (34min 58sec) The swim started from the dam at Johnson's Beach in Guerneville CA & went up the Russian River. I spotted a bridge downriver so I'd take it easy to there then "turn it up". Once I started going harder the river became really shallow. My hands were digging into the gravelly bottom so I stood up. Immediately an official voice shouted: "You can't do that!" I missed the prerace meeting, so I figured I'd better not risk a penalty & just swam with a kinda hobbled stroke through the shallows. It didn't seem that long & I was at the turn around point. Soon there was more shallow swimming & I was catching the waves of swimmers that started before me. They were standing up & walking & so were some in my wave.
It was really shallow & was scraping my hand so I managed to stand up & say: "You can't do that," then plunged ahead with my swimming. Naturally, there was no official here to tell them they had to swim. Though it takes more effort, swimming is faster than walking in water, so I wasn't that concerned too much about other racers getting an edge on me by walking. There wasn't any noticeable current, but swimming downriver was much faster. Before I knew it I sighted up & saw the swim exit just ahead. Whoa, time to go easy, so I did. The transition area was HUGE & our section was way up in the very front so it was a long run to get to my 
bike "Lil' Red." I had a good transition & happened to notice that all the bikes in my immediate area were still there, which tells me I had a good swim & was ahead of the racer who took my pic before the start.The 56 Mile Point to Point Bike (2hr 33min 26sec): I'm off on a long bike ride now from Guerneville to Windsor. Remember my strategy was to take it easy in the begging of the bike. Well, that's easier said than done. For an Xterra length event I usually go as hard as I can for the 2 - 3 hours it takes to get to the finish line. So I found myself really having to concentrate on holding back during my "easy" first part of the bike ride. I felt like I was on a race horse that wants to run but I had to hold it back so there was some "kick" left for the finish. About 10 minutes of that was all I could stand, so I started to pick up the pace. There's a sharp downhill corner that goes under the highway & an ambulance was carting off a racer who stacked their bike there. A little reminder to be careful, especially as the road was not a closed course & was open to auto traffic. It was time to go harder & I constantly found myself going a little too hard. I was passing so many slower people from the waves that started ahead of me, that it is easy to be lulled into thinking that I'm really fast. It felt like most my breathing inhales were only to exhale with, "On your left" in order to make a clean passes. I was struggling mentally to keep to my pace, but in general I was doing it. After riding past winery after winery (really cool),
the road narrows & ahead there was a huge white tour bus with riders stacked up behind it. A vision of my Xterra Nemesis #1 flashed through my head. He is a phenomenal bike racer & I was surprised he had not passed me by now. However, I knew that I could not let this bus slow me down. As I approached it there was no room on the right at all, it was a certain crash off the road to attempt a typical right side pass around a vehicle. I peaked around the left side just like I would if I was driving a car & stood up on the pedals punched it as hard as I could.
I flew around the bus & never looked back. That was scarey but worth it as I only lost a couple seconds. Apparently I had one racer follow me around & he thanked me for leading the charge before I dropped him. I was really riding well & feeling good, but the huge brief effort around the bus seemed to catch up with me because I was finally feeling like I did not have to hold back but had to push hard to maintain my pacing strategy. There is a hill named "Chalk Hill" at about mile 45. It's the biggest hill on course but not really that big. Anyway that's where I was going to begin shutting it down & come into transition easy. Hey, but guess who comes by me during the hill? Yup, Nemesis #1. Being that he's a pro cyclist, I was actually surprised it took him that long & at first I instincually was keeping pace with him, but I came to my senses & decided to stick to game plan. There were some downhills after Chalk Hill that I put some effort into to get some good speed going, but other than that I just took it easy all the way to the Run transition & I had a supurb transition to the Run.The 13.1 Mile Out & Back Run (1hr 48min 56sec):
After running out of the Ironman Pavillion Compound I went for a salt cap that I keep handy in my waist belt. These are essential to keep from cramping, & especailly in the heat that was building on the course due to starting in the last wave. I knew I would need them. I grab & I search & I grab & look & search, all the while trying to run. No caps. I don't believe it. A minute passes & I go through the search routine again & no cap. Not willing to accept reality I search again to no avail. Uh oh, better take easy strides to make sure no cramps even begin trying to sneak in. Easy is ok for now, but my strategy is to be going full blast towards the last miles & that's where I know the cramps can take me out. So for now I just figure I'll keep going & deal with the end of the race, well, at the end of the race. Again, I'm passing people from all the waves ahead of me so I feel like I'm flying, but I have to keep an eye on my heart rate monitor & not get too comfortable or, in other words keep going harder & harder. At about mile 4, I'm looking dead ahead of me & I spot a salt cap sitting in the middle of the road. It was not a mirage. I was tempted to pick it up & take it, but I passed it by. I started second guessing my decision & almost ran back for it, but didn't want to slow down. As I drew further & further away from the tiny little cap I wished I took it. Anyway the heat was climbing & I sure was glad there was aid on the course. I was able to get water along the way & keep on running. Before I knew it I was at the La Crema Winery where we were to run around it & then head back the way we came. Geez that's over 6 miles & the miles seemed to be just clicking along. At the top of one of the hills I was able to see far ahead & to my amazement, through all the runners I spotted what I thought could be Nemesis #1; tough to tell but it could be. Further along I thought it wasn't but I decided it would be a good target to catch & in any event that would keep me going at a good pace. As I kept increasing my effort I was kinda keeping an eye out for the little salt cap in the road. Someone was watching out for me because there it was at mile 9. I swooped down & picked it up. No dirt or footprints on it, so I blew on it a few times real hard & down the hatch. This gave me the confidence to be able to stick to my plan which would have me sprinting by the end of the race. At mile 10 I determined I was indeed coming up on Nemesis #1 & I just kept trying to slowly accelerate. I was definitely reeling him in. At the 12.5 mile mark I passed him as we entered the Race Finish Compound, but there's still a pretty long way to go to get to the finish line. I just kept going harder & harder & when I saw the finish I poured it all on, looked back once to see nothing & crossed the finish line exhausted!
The 70.3 Mile Course (5hr 01min 34sec):
I covered the 70.3 Miles of the entire course in 5hr 01min 34sec. I finished 45th of 293 finishers in my 35-39 division; the slowest of which completed the course in 13hr 47min 44sec. Overall I placed 239th of 1823 finishers. I ended up beating Nemesis #1 by 15sec & Nemesis #2 by a little over a minute. It's funny to me how we came in so close to eachother after racing for 5 hours. Some technical gear talk. It's a known fact that using an aerodynamic triathlon specific bicycle like the black one in the picture above will shave 2 minutes off 56 mile bike couse. Had I been riding something like that, I may never have even seen Nemesis #1. I really am stoked! I was able to race the whole distance, place well for my goals & after the fact I don't have any acute pains or injuries to speak of. Don't get me wrong I was exhausted & sore & I still am a bit sore 4 days later. But hey, I like this distance. I plan to have at least one of these 70.3s on my schedule for 2008 & maybe I'll get a proper bicycle!
A rocky river crossing & up a "baby head" section; I rode the river but had to walk up the steep rocks on the other side Nothing like using a $4000+ walking stick (my bike). Then just flying along & loving the forest surroundings when out of the blue some nut tries to pass me on a rooty blind corner around a tree. As we lock handlebars, I'm like "that's brilliant." It was blind luck that we didn't go down. Whew!
