This past Sunday, July 17th I endured one of the most physically and mentally challenging events in my life thus far. My friend Ashley and I competed in the Vineman 70.3 Half Ironman. This race was serious business...Ashley and I had the bright idea to sign up for this event over a year ago, thinking we had plenty of time to train. Little did we know that life, school, student teaching, subbing, and coaching would hinder our training process. However, we made the commitment and buckled down a few months prior to the race. We did our most serious/intense training only 4 weeks prior to the race...definitely NOT enough time to train!
The Vineman 70.3 takes place in and around Sonoma California. It is a 1.2 mile swim upstream and back downstream in the Russian River, a bike and run through the rolling hills of the Sonoma Vineyard. I have to mention these "rolling hills" were NO JOKE. First let me take you to the days prior to race day.
On Friday, July 15th Ashley, Charley (Ashley's pup) and I left Whittier at 6:30am on our journey towards Sonoma. We picked up Ashley's boyfriend, Brian in Santa Barbara on our way. With all of our stops, it took us nearly 12 hours to reach Santa Rosa. Friday night we stayed in Santa Rosa with Ashley's parents' best friend, Joanne. She was so kind to open her home to us and feed us a healthy, yummy breakfast in the morning.
On Saturday, after breakfast we all (Ashley, Brian, Charley, Ashley's parents and Joanne) went for a nice walk around a nearby lake. We picked fresh blackberries and tried to relax before heading to race check-in. We arrived at Windsor High School to check in, get our race packets and explore the expo...wow, this was overwhelming. There were some serious competitors in this race as well as Pro-Triathletes. This is where I began to have a bit of a breakdown. We were tracking the water temperature the previous week and it was sitting between 74-76 degrees...however, at race check in it was 71 degrees!!! I forgot my wetsuit at home and got REALLY nervous about swimming without a wetsuit. Ash and I immediately jumped into my car and drove to the swim site to take a dip. After standing in the cool water for a few minutes, my nerves calmed a bit and I was able to get a grip. It wasn't THAT cold after all...but we were going to be swim UPstream against a small current! After our quick dip, we went back to the hotel to gather ourselves for an early dinner and bed.
Sunday + Race Day! Several of Ashley's friends were in town to either race or cheer us on...so we all woke up at 4:30AM!! We woke up feeling nervous and excited all at once. By the time we got our coffee and tiny breakfast, parked and walked to the first transition area...I had FIVE minutes to get ready for my swim. As I stretched and waded into the Russian River, I quickly noticed I was the ONLY one without a wetsuit. So I did a quick swim warm up and headed to the in water start area. Everyone was treading water, before I knew it they counted down and we were off! I swam steady in the murky water, tried to avoid being swum over and grabbed. I kept a steady pace and finished my swim in about 32 minutes, just 2 minutes over my original goal...which I had made assuming I'd be wearing a wetsuit! Once in the transition area, I took my time to change into bike shorts and stretch. Then I was off on my bike for the next few hours. Our bike was through the beautiful, rolling hills of wine country. It was overcast and even rained a little. The toughest part of the bike came at the 45th mile, when I had to ride up a 383-foot hill climb over a mile and half! Ashley's friend Liz rode by just before and gave me some encouraging words to get through the climb...I made it and it was mostly downhill the rest of the ride. I was able to reach speeds of 34-36mph!! Once I reached the last 5 miles, I got a burst of energy and booked it to the run transition. Again, spent some time changing into more comfortable running shorts, going pee and reapplying sunscreen! At about the 3rd mile of the run, a gentleman ran up next to me...and in true "Erin fashion" we of course became friends. Steve ran the next 10 miles with me, we pushed each other through each mile water station and counted down our miles together. The last 3 miles were brutal...they seemed to take longer than the first 10!! Steve and I worked through the pain and rounded the final corner. I sprinted to the finish line, seeing Dash on my way!! (Side note: Dash informed me the night before that he was coming up, I couldn't believe it...he drove a quarter of the way Saturday night, then woke up early and made it there to wait for me at the finish!!). It took my last bit of energy to reach the finish line, as my hamstring was cramping. I crossed and nearly fell over...then this overwhelming amount of emotion rushed over me and I started to tear up a little. I completed my first half ironman (hardly trained) in 6 hours and 55 minutes, just under my original goal time of 7 hours or less. I completed the swim in 32 minutes (30 min original goal), bike in 3 hours and 33 minutes (3:30 original goal), and the run in 2 hours 27 minutes (2-2:30 original goal)!
It has now been 4 days since this incredible accomplishment and my body is starting to finally feel normal. I'm already beginning to look for another race (not such a big one) this summer! I feel I will begin lightly training (to stay in "tri shape") by next week. I know, I might be a little crazy. It is truly a "high" to complete such a race...there are no real words to truly describe the feeling. :) I'll post more photos soon...
It has now been 4 days since this incredible accomplishment and my body is starting to finally feel normal. I'm already beginning to look for another race (not such a big one) this summer! I feel I will begin lightly training (to stay in "tri shape") by next week. I know, I might be a little crazy. It is truly a "high" to complete such a race...there are no real words to truly describe the feeling. :) I'll post more photos soon...
