I am Vineman!

Daren here. Alive and, well, my legs are too tired to kick. I finished just under my goal of 6:30. In fact, according to my Garmin Forerunner 301, I finished in 6:29:59 – one second under! But it was actually several minutes. I just forgot to hit “stop” after crossing the finish line. The only thing on my mind at the time was making sure I didn't lose the cookies I ate on the run (they had Oreos at every Aid Station!).

That run was the toughest thing I have ever done. As you know from Leslie’s post (she was too busy tracking my progress across Northern California to post again), I had a good swim (for me). I got into my rhythm and swam at my pace the whole way and finished 3 minutes under my goal. I also had a great ride. I averaged 17.8 mph and finished in 3:10, 20 minutes under my goal of 3:30. I was shocked.

Then came the run. Either I pushed too hard on the bike or just underestimated the pure torture of running a half-marathon in searing mid-day heat after a 1.2-mile swim and 56-mile ride! It was brutal. My legs were tired for sure but the worst part was the heat and my feet. It was about 90 degrees and 88 percent humidity! And my feet felt bruised and bloodied. I kept expecting to see red stuff oozing out, but never did. I do have a few small blisters, but nothing major. I guess it was just the constant pounding of my 200+ lbs. over 13.1 miles!

So, my run was a little slower than expected and ate up the 20 minutes I had gained on the bike. In the end it evened out and I still finished under my goal.

Now we are sitting at Imagery Winery tasting some great California wines. Of course, that was my other goal for Vineman :)

[At left: that's me with my sister-in-law, Betty, my official photographer!)

More later...

Daren