Vineman 70.3: Perspective and a bit of Frustration

Vineman is the closest thing I have to a hometown race. The race takes place one valley west in Sonoma County and the views, weather and terrain are all very similar to Napa. However, I heard we have better Cabernets in Napa County but that is besides the point.

I went to Windsor on Saturday afternoon for the pro meeting and to drop off my run gear in T2. I was feeling calm and not too nervous. After the meeting I headed back to the car, texted my homestay to say I was on my way and dug in my bags for my keys. They did not seem to be in there??? I took everything out, rummaged through the bag and found nothing. I turned around and searched by my shoes and in the auditorium for my keys. Nothing! Full on freak out mode commenced. Apparently, I had a bit more stress and anxiety than I thought I did. I called Andy, who was on his way to coach hockey, and basically flipped my lid to him on the phone. The keys were gone. They were not on the ground by the car or inside from what I could see when I peaked in the windows. My mind raced about getting prepared for the race, eating my dinner, relaxing and doing my series of rituals that keep me calm before the early AM start. I got off the phone with Andy (he was probably happy about that because I was being difficult) and searched my backpack one last time. Would you believe I found them in the side pocket I was sure I checked five times?!?!? I got to my homestay and was easily able to do all my preparations I was so concerned about before a very early dinner.

Out of the water in 3rd. Looking pissed and determined.
Photo courtesy of Endurapix.

Riding amongst the vines.
Photo courtesy of Endurapix.

 Instead of the play by play for the race I will give you the main bullet points:

*I had a mediocre swim start, get caught up with others, escaped and then swam all by myself the whole time. I felt good once I got going. I was only one minute behind Meredith and Laura which ticked me off a little bit. I would have hoped to lose less time---or none at all. Moving on...

*I don't like to see drafting by any of my fellow competitors on the bike. It makes me angry. I tried not to let this affect my race. I had never seen someone sitting up and riding DIRECTLY on a wheel like I did at the race.

*When you race some of the best in the sport you can often lose perspective on whether you are having a good race. I had times of frustration because I was convinced I was way behind. I rode my fastest split on the course.

*It was hotter on the run but I felt much better than last year. I pushed the pace in the middle when I got passed. This made the last couple of miles painful but that is racing.

*I finished with my best time on the course. However, I was still pissed off about the wheel sucker. What do you do? Yell at them? Call them out on twitter? Name them on your blog? Confront them after the race? Tell the official post race? None of this changes what happened. Does it help for the future?

Thoughts on this???

Photo courtesy of Endurapix.

On twitter Kelly Dunleavy O'Mara mentioned that professional triathletes seem to be lacking "chutzpah" at times. Maybe I did in this situation. Perhaps by saying nothing I am allowing the problem to persist. Or should I accept that people will probably always push the limits of the rules? That's kind of depressing...