Vineman T1 setup, swim, and T1

We arrived at the race site, pulled the bikes off the car. I pulled the tireless wheel off the back of my bike and got this disc out of the car. Yet it wouldn’t go on my bike! It didn’t appear to be hitting anything, and it had been on before, but neither Lisa nor I nor the nice guy who tried to help us could get it in place! I felt a bit of panic… 112 miles on a bike with only a front wheel might be too tough for me! I took the bike down to TA1 area, where NorCal bikes was able to get it on for me. Turns out it is just a bit wide, so you have to sort of spread the frame to get it to fit in.

That hurdle conquered, I got all permanent markered up(#282) and my bike racked. I set up my transition area (a bit different from AZ in that all our stuff was kept at our bikes like sprint tris), and then waited in line for one of the ONLY 10!!??!?! portapotties at the start. By the time I was done there it was only about 10 min to the start, so 20 minutes to my wave. I pulled on my wetsuit, trying to hurry without trying to hurry since that makes it hard to get them on. Finally on, I had Holly and then Lisa help me get it zipped with about 5 minutes to my wave start (oddly it was almost exactly like the nightmare I had about this race…). Into the water, I got to the start and adjusted my goggles and the horn sounded and we were off! For one of the most full-contact swims I’ve ever had.

I had a decent starting spot, as the waves really weren’t huge. But the river was also really not wide. I got a foot or elbow or two to the ribs, and someone managed to kick my funny bone! Nothing awful, but just constant contact. Oh, I also got my butt grabbed a few times. I felt like I was moving ok though. At the turn around, I checked my watch. 25 minutes?? Huh… that surprised me. I didn’t think I was moving slower than in AZ, and I knew my spotting was better. But around the bouy, and back down river. The trip back took about 20 minutes, so I guess that “not even noticible” current was stronger than they thought! I hit about the same times for lap 2, and felt comfy. A few times my legs did the jiggly thing, but then I’d kick a few times and they were ok. About a quarter of the way back down the river the final time, a lady kept swerving everywhere! And was faster than me by enough that it meant she kept cutting me off. I noticed her when she kicked me in the face! “OWW!” Yup, that was out loud. She actually stopped and appologized it was such a hard wack. I just kept swimming… just now with a taste of blood filling my mouth. It was a hint of the day to come.

But my keeping swimming worked, and I exited the water 2.4 miles later in 1:24. Compared to all the training and swim time for AZ and the 1:37 there, I was thrilled! That was awesome, and a big part was just being comfortable pushing it a little more.

Ran up the bank and into TA1. Easily found my bike, wetsuit off with a bit of a struggle, and bike stuff on. Joked with Holly who was right over the fence as sunscreen to face and neck, food into pockets. Found out no other family members had shown yet, handed Holly all my swim gear, grabbed my sexy bike off the rack, and 5:45 saw me running off for the climb out of TA1.