Barb's Race/Vineman

     Barb's Race is the only all female half distance triathlon in the world. It started in 2001 and is named after Barb Recchia. Barb was a volunteer at Vineman every year since the race began. In 1999, she was diagnosed with cancer. To read more about her special story, here is the link.http://www.vineman.com/Barb_s_Race.htm This year it was limited to 450 participants. The other cool thing about Barb's Race is that it takes place on the same day as Vineman - a full distance triathlon. My husband decided to do Vineman and I chose to race Barb's as I needed to get practice in on my new bike. I am training for Ironman Florida in November.
      The races take place in Guerneville, California. It is in wine country next to the Redwood Forests and the Russian River. It is breathtaking. We left early Thursday morning and drove to Reno. When we arrived in Reno, we found out that there was a mudslide that closed I-80. We stopped at a diner/casino off the side of the road and waited the 4 hours til I-80 was reopened.  We finally left Reno around 10:30 at night and drove the rest of the way.
        We pulled into Guerneville at 2 am. So tired, we took our bikes in and went straight to bed.
In the morning, we discovered our surroundings.  We were staying at Creekside Inn. It is a beautiful place with either cabins nestled in the tall redwood trees or a bed and breakfast at the main house. We were staying at the bed and breakfast. They had very reasonable prices and were extremely hospitable and accommodating. It was only a mile away from the race start which was fantastic. After a delicious breakfast Friday morning, we went swimming in the Russian River. The water was very warm and very shallow. It doesn't get much deeper than 6 feet and is 1 foot in others.
          After our swim, we rode our bikes for about 20 minutes, just to make sure everything was in working order and felt good-(our bodies, not the bikes j/k). After that, we went and checked in. We picked up our packets, walked around the venues, picked up some last minutes necessity items, dropped off our running gear a T2, and decided to drive the course.
           The bike course winds through vineyards and forests, charming towns, and countryside. Golden Eagles fly overhead and it is beautiful. We had read race reports so we thought we knew what to look for. The course is a very technical course with lots of winding roads, hills,and some crappy roads, just for fun. Chalk hill is the famous hill of the race. It's pretty steep, like parts of American Fork Canyon, but it is only 3/4 of a mile. After driving the course, we thought we were ready.
            We had dinner (Panda Express for me, Subway for my husband- and some pb choc Hagen-Daaz to top it off) and went back to Creekside. After going through all our gear, nutrition, race plans, etc. we went to bed.
             Race Day: I woke up at 4:15 to get ready and go with Michael. His race started at 6:30 and mine wasn't til 8:30. We had oatmeal and an egg/potato dish for breakfast and rode our bikes down to the race. It was quite convenient as it is such a small town and no parking. I helped Michael and I got a sweet spot in T1 (no one in my race was there yet). I heard someone ride by and say "da** overachievers". I laughed thinking "I'm only here because I don't want to ride down here by myself " and to support my husband. :)
             The Swim: It is pretty cold in the morning- usually 55 degrees. The river was warmer than the temperature outside and it felt nice to get in. The swim went well, it was a little long and I was super surprised at how many people walked the entire swim. I had to walk the turnaround so that I didn't get stepped on and because it is that shallow. I couldn't even follow through on a stroke. It felt great and I finished the 1.3 miles in 44 min. I was ok with that.
              The Bike: I loved the bike. First, I LOVE my KESTREl. It was awesome!!!! I felt like I was cruising. I found things that I really like to eat on my bike: tropical coconut water mixed with carbo pro, NOW bars with chia seeds and all natural ingredients, go squeeze applesauce,chocolate raspberry roctane gu, and beef jerkey rounds-the kind you can get at gas stations. They were awesome!! Everything sat really well too. I also grabbed a pb sandwich from a volunteer without getting off my bike-first time for me-I almost ran her over but.. I'm awesome! The bike course was a lot harder than I originally anticipated because of all the technical aspects and my Cobb seat still needs to be broken in. Yes it does! I finished the 56 miles in my goal time of 3:32 and my legs felt fantastic! Can I give another about out to my Kestrel!! Awesome!!
               T2- took forever! It is seriously like a .3 mile run from where you dismount your bike to your rack. I could have run but... I figured I had a 13.1 mile run ahead of me and I seriously had to pee- so I didn't.  Stopped at the port-a-potties and I was ready to run.
                The Run:  it is an out and back 2xs. The first mile is tricky because it is just slightly downhill so you tend to start out faster than you should. I settled in and tried to maintain my 10:30 pace for the first half of the half. The run goes through neighborhoods but there aren't any sidewalks/curbs. After the first mile, you have rolling hills. Super fun! I felt really good but I had to keep slowing myself down. It is all about pacing right? On the course, they had peaches and nectarines that were divine. I am all about yummy fruit! After the first out and back, I was wishing it was over. You basically go to the finish line and have to turn around and go back out. Not so happy! The spectators were awesome as was the support on the run. Mile 6 -9 my legs started to feel a little tired, but that was to be expected. The hills were taking their toll - more so the downhills. Mile 9.5, my foot started to cramp up. Boo! I realized this was somewhat my fault as I had skipped many a run workout in July. Something I will be changing immediately. I took plenty of metasalt etc. so I just need to run more and run faster! I continued to cramp and had to walk on and off for the rest of the race. At one point, I found a ledge that overlooked a creek. I got up on the ledge to stretch out my foot and calf, and a man yelled to me, "not worth it. you can totally finish this race." I thought it was hilarious! I finished my run slower than planned and laughed because I remember being told at a half or full distance, there will be plenty of times you will want to quit. I could have quit but there was nowhere else to go but back to the finish line to wait for my husband. So... on I ran! I will say that I wore my Injinji toe socks with my Nike luna racers and this is the first half marathon I have run without getting runners toe. I thought that was awesome! Thank you Injinji! Next time I will run with the Injinji compression socks or CEP sleeves.        After the race, they had lots of food and drinks, plenty of fresh fruit, soup, etc. However, by the end of the night, they ran out of a lot. I felt really bad for the last people coming in from Vineman. Also,they charged for massages which in my opinion, should be free after racing either distances. Overall, I thought the race was very well put on and I loved it! I would definitely want to do it again and possibly even Vineman. It was a wonderful day!