Vineman 70.3 Spectator Report

Long time, no see! Yes, yes, I have literally been too busy to blog for all these days. I’m taking a few moments out of my work afternoon to put this up before I delay any longer.

After my long run Saturday morning (yay for long runs!), I headed north to Santa Rosa to meet up with Kate and Kim, who were both racing at Vineman. We ran around like crazy day-before-race people, picking up Kate’s bike, driving the run course, checking them in at the expo, dropping off their run gear, and then driving the bike course. I also met up with Rob at the expo! We tried to make driving the bike course fun.

We finished the night off with dinner poolside after Kim’s friend Abby arrived. Ah, it’s a rough life.

Our morning dawned very dark and early, as Kate was going off in the first amateur wave after the pros, at 6:38 am.

I found Rob again, modeling for the cameras.

Once the race was started, I hung out with Macca until Kate finished her swim. Hey, it counts if he was standing only 2 people away, right?

I will let Kate report on her own race, but I was very happy to cheer for her all day. Once she headed off on the bike, looking DARN cute

I drove over to Windsor High School to park and begin my own ride for a few hours. There were some eucalyptus groves.

And lots and lots of grapes.

I rode backwards on part of the race course so I got to see Kim rocking it on the bike. I made it back in time to pack up my stuff, change and see Kate roll in on the bike and head out on the run. I knew she’d be a while to the finish so I went to see what the expo had for food. Mmmmmmm, grilled turkey leg.

I spent a lot of time in the sun. I cheered Rob in to the finish.

And this guy.

And Kate!

After some serious decompressing time, and a mango smoothie, and a plate full of food, and picking up all her gear, Kate was ready to head back to the casa, where she had the perfect post-race activity in mind.

As I said, it’s a rough life.

Kim finished and made it back with Abby just after us.

We finished off the day with dinner at a lovely restaurant in downtown Healdsburg.

On Monday morning, we had to split up the gang, ship bikes, and head for home. Kate came back with me for an extra day before she flew out of San Jose and went home after several weeks in California. We hope to see her again soon!

Unfortunately, my weekend ended on a sad note, with news of the tragic death of a lifelong family friend. We’re all still quite stunned, I think. I will always remember Jan’s laugh and smile and enthusiasm for life.