Napa Valley Vintage Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman


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Napa, California
United States
Enviro-Sports Productions
59F / 15C
Precipitation
Total Time = 6h 35m 25s
Overall Rank = 172/237
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 35/39
Pre-race routine:

I spent the night before at the Fairfield Inn in Fairfield (go figure). Fellow racer Rory and his wife at same place. Good night sleep; asleep by 10:30pm. Up at 5:00am. Breakfast: pre-made eggs, cheddar and chicken heated in tupperware; water, 1/2 banana, 1/2 bagel on way to Lake Berryessa. About 1 hour drive. Not raining during drive. This is my 2nd completed half Ironman (Big Kahuna '06); 3rd attempt. I was very happy to get to the finish line this year after injury forced me out of Big Kahuna '08 last year. I started triathlons in 2005.
Event warmup:

Set up my transition area. Not raining yet. Forecast is for showers by late morning. I brought several garbage bags and towels to try to deal with the rain. I will find out soon into the ride that it was pretty useless. Feeling good in anticipation of the swim start. I wore full wetsuit. Warmed up with 5 minute jog and 7 minute swim. I have found in training that it takes me almost 10 minutes of swimming before I settle into smooth breathing and rythym.
Swim
  • 26m 5s
  • 2112 yards
  • 01m 14s / 100 yards
Comments:

I went out with the lead wave as I'd prefer to be in the middle to back of the fastest swimmers than in the front of a slower wave. Swimmers spaced out nicely before 1st of 3 buoys. I found a nice wake to draft in. I settled in around the 1st buoy. Felt good, smooth through 2nd buoy. No one close to draft off. Around 3rd buoy, I felt good and noticed that I was in low 20's - chance for PR (33:07 at Big Kahuna '06). I picked up the pace. Then went full out for the final 200 yards. I shattered my PR but unfortunately I'm confident that the course was significantly short of 1.2mi. That's lame that it wasn't full distance. I never found out actual distance. Race organizers won't respond. I figure is was more like 1.0mi. (I find this a disturbing pattern with both Napa Valley and Big Kahuna organizers)
What would you do differently?:

In hindsight, I may have expended a bit too much in the swim - breaking a cardinal rule of a tri. As they say "A PR on the swim or bike? Prove it on the run." More to come on that...
Transition 1
  • 05m 32s
Comments:

Raining hard during T1. I had very tough time putting on my fingered Descente gloves. I enjoyed having the fingered gloves for the ride, but it cost me 1-2 full minutes.
What would you do differently?:

No change. It was miserable conditions so I was glad to have the warmer gloves.
Bike
  • 3h 21m 32s
  • 56 miles
  • 16.67 mile/hr
Comments:

My ride was pretty steady but slick rainy conditions prevented aggressiveness and cold/rain/wind took a lot out of me. I thought 3:15:00 would be fair time; I did 3:21:00. This was the most difficult ride I've ever done - similar to 72 miles around Lake Tahoe.
What would you do differently?:

Again, the weather and injury leading up to race lead me to just aim on finishing. I should have trained more in hills.
Transition 2
  • 07m 58s
Comments:

T2 was unlike any other race I've done. Everyone was soaking wet from the ride. I wasn't thinking about a fast T2. I just wanted get changed and start the run since the run was the beginning of the end of this nasty race day. I was trying to let my HR settle down after the bike.
What would you do differently?:

I clearly did not drink enough water/Accelerade since my thighs started cramping a little after mile 25 of bike and all the run.
Run
  • 2h 34m 18s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 47s  min/mile
Comments:

To put it simply, my run was miserable and challenging. Due to calf injury, I hadn't run in over 4 weeks. Both thighs cramped throughout the entire 13.1, then L calf cramped at mile 8 of run. I ran the first few miles, but then I was forced to walk/run the rest of the way.
What would you do differently?:

I struggled and I worked my heart out just to finish the run. It was pure guts. I did the best I could on this day. In general, I should have trained more in hills.
Post race
Warm down:

After finishing, I found Maeve and we waited to greet Rory at the finish line. I ran the final 25 yards with him across the finish line. I was proud to do this race together with him.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The biggest factor was my calf injury 4 weeks prior to race while running. The weather didn't make things any easier.

Event comments:

The bike was sparse with volunteers and drink/food. Run was well served with volunteers and food/drink at turnaround point. Overall, my goal was to finish and I did that. Given the sub-optimal weather conditions, this was race that I can look back on to draw strength from the experience. My time was really poor but I'm proud that I completed it!




Last updated: 2009-04-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:26:05 | 2112 yards | 01m 14s / 100yards
Age Group: 20/39
Overall: 78/237
Performance: Good
Suit: Full wetsuit
Course: 1 lap in counterclockwise triangular course.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Good
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:32
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
03:21:32 | 56 miles | 16.67 mile/hr
Age Group: 33/39
Overall: 141/237
Performance: Average
Unfortunately it appears that the constant rain on my Garmin 305 caused my HR data not to record. I was probably in high 150s.
Wind: Headwind
Course: Rory and I rode the course 4 weeks prior in sunny conditions. It's rather beautiful. However, on this race day, it was miserable. One thing that's constant is there is very little flat terrain. Tough ride. It ranges from rolling hills to full on climbing, totalling about 7,000 elevation gain. There is a 2 mile climb b/w mile 17-19 and then 2 more significant climbs b/w miles 40-50.
Road: Potholes Wet Cadence: 86
Turns: Average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 07:58
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
02:34:18 | 13.1 miles | 11m 47s  min/mile
Age Group: 37/39
Overall: 214/237
Performance: Bad
Again, HR monitor wasn't working so I just took it off for the run. HR was probably in high 160s. I was clearly laboring from start to finish of the run.
Course: Just like the bike course, the run course was hilly, hilly, hilly. Almost no flat sections. 3 laps (out and back) with food/drink station at the turnaround point. I enjoyed the peanut butter filled pretzels. Water at the half-lap point.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 3