Swim
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
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
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
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
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
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United States
Enviro-Sports Productions
59F / 15C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 172/237
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 35/39
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.
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.