Vineman

--Good morning! All smiles at the start and no warmup...just how I like it =)

Well, my first half ironman is in the bag and, just like I expected, it was a long day! I really did have a good time and got in some good training. I wanted to get some experience with the distance and I did. I do like many things about doing longer distance races but there is still nothing like Xterra...Xterra is hands down the most enjoyable and interesting type of racing in my mind. Xterra is incredibly hard, which I like and it is everything but boring. There were certainly times yesterday when it was just boring. The course is really beautiful so the scenery kept it pretty interesting but it is still not the most exciting type of racing.
I am slightly curious what I could do time wise if I actually trained for the distance and raced it instead of just cruising it for fun (I finished in 4:35 yesterday...yes that's pretty slow but I did spend 3 minutes in 2 seperate bathrooms (I timed it out of curiousity)! I was doing it for fun remember...bathrooms stops were mandatory =) ). The biggest problem I had on the day was with my lower back and hips, which comes from not riding my time trial bike more then 3 times in the last year (the 3 times happen in the week before the race). About 30 miles into the ride my back and hips were killing me (I pretty much spent the next 26 miles stretching my back and getting out of the saddle any chance I got). I thought this might happen b/c I am not used to the position on my time trial bike and the position forces you to use muscles differently. So, let's just say I am pretty sore this morning!

--Finally off that bike and man do I have to go to the bathroom!

I wasn't sure how I would hold up on the run so I cruised about 8 miles of it and then ran a bit harder for the remainder since I knew I just had to run 5 miles to the finish.


So, mission accomplished this weekend...I finished the distance and I kept a smile on my face throughout the day. I am not sure when I will do another one. I still want to do an ironman at some point but there will certainly be plenty of preparation done before that adventure.



After the race Jess and I cruised around the area and eventually ended up in Calistoga where we got some grub! Then we made the long drive back home and I crashed hard! Overall, it was a great weekend and Jess and I had plenty of fun!
Now, it is time to get back to some hard prep for my upcoming Xterra races...giddy up!