Week 38: Aquabike

In preparation for Ironman, a few of us thought it would be good to do (not race) Aquabike - to help us test out our ability to ride the full distance without stopping too much as we sometimes do in training. Aquabike is a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike race on the same course as Vineman. I had the privilege of riding with my teammates who were racing their first Ironman distance race and the pleasure of getting off the bike and being done (as opposed to doing a marathon).

Jess, Mike D, Mike Hazel, Ryan, Becky, Dave, and I stayed in a villa for the weekend that Jess found online. It just happened to be right at the corner where the bike and run course intersect. The property was AMAZING and the location couldn't have been more perfect. We stocked up on lots of food and beer so that we could throw ourselves a delicious BBQ dinner on Friday night. The beer was for Saturday night.

Our alarms went off at 4 am on Saturday...it's pretty typical that the thought, "Why am I doing this?" lingered in my mind at that hour. But my question is always answered during the race. We all quietly ate our breakfasts, packed our gear in the cars and headed to Guernville where the race would start.

The swim would have been perfect if my new attire had worked out better. I had this great idea that if I wore a sports bra under my bathing suit, it would make it easier to change in transition. Unfortunately, I didn't wear a super tight fitting sports bra and as soon as I started swimming, it created a water bubble that dragged on my chest. Frustrating, but I'm glad I didn't try this out on race day. It was 2 loops up and down the Russian River. At points, the river was so shallow, you could stand up and walk. My swim time was 1:21, not bad considering I had that water bubble issue. In transistion, I was able to practice my race day change: swimsuit/sports bra into a cycling shorts and jersey. Worked out just fine.

The bike ride was beautiful! Russian River, vineyards, lots of rollers, only one steep climb (that you do twice). Since our rental house was 57 miles into the ride, we decided to use our driveway as our "special needs" station. Since poor Dave broke his wrist and has folded on his season, he volunteered to be our support guy. This station was a point of contention amonst our group the night before since it's illegal to recieve "outside" help. I had to remind myself that I wasn't racing so a penalty really wouldn't matter. It was just another training day. We took our chances and none of us was spotted by the race officials getting sprayed with sunscreen and picking up our bottles out of a cooler. Jess caught up to me around mile 85, so we rode the rest together. With the last 5 miles to go being flat and me feeling like I still had a lot in me, I couldn't resist hammering it to the finish line. I had this false idea that I could finish the ride in sub 7 hours, but it turns out that was my roll time...oops. Jess held on and we were able to cross the finish line together.

Next on the days agenda was food, shower, and cheering on the teammates competing in Vineman!

Condition: Ready to Race!

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