Napa Valley Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This was my first competitive open water swim (OWS); and my second OWS of any kind since last summer's practice sessions. The appearance of overwhelming anxiety and light-panic did not disappoint through the first 200m.

The water was a little take-your-breath-away-type cold; and I ended up getting stuck in the front of the wave (though to the outside). Made the usual rookie mistake of starting too fast, and expending too much energy before making it to the first buoy. Had to even backstroke it for a few seconds to pull myself together.

This was also when the winds started picking up (weather.com says winds bewteen 8-9am were between 13-16mph) creating some light-to-medium chop that began: a) slowing many swimmers down (including myself) and b) pushing alot of swimmers off course. While it wasn't fun, it wasn't the worst I had seen.

The day before, my buddy Ed and I had unsuccessfully attempted to pre-swim the course the day before in even "rougher" conditions: 1-2 ft. swells with 10-ft separation, whitecaps, and 20mph headwinds. Basically a first-time OWS competitor's nightmare (more details in my 5-5-07 blog entry).

Back to the race, the "washing machine" wasn't as nerve-wracking as I had built it up to be, though it was no walk in the park. While I wasn't "swum over" by anybody, I did constantly find myself swimming onto or between other swimmers--making contact--and losing my rhythm. And losing rhythm is an energy-sapper.

After rounding the first buoy, I forced myself to block out all the externals, and "swim my race" and concentrate or form and breathing. While my sighting was below average, I managed to stay on course fairly well and not overswim the distances. Before I knew it, had rounded the final buoy and was headed towards the boat ramp (thank God!, and this was only an 800m swim).

Practice more OWS, esp. sighting, bilateral breathing (which I don't normally do). Practice more anaerobic swimming (to simulate race start).

Found Ed, my buddy who started the same wave as me, at the T1 ahead of me (damn him! LOL). He was sitting (sin!) getting his wetsuit off and getting ready to mount up.

My QR Quickjohn suit (being sleeveless and having no material below the thighs) came off almost instantly. And my other gear (socks and shoes) slipped right on. (Note: my sunglasses were in my Bento Box for putting on later). So, we exited T1 together.

Our rack space was about 120m from the mounting line, and there were a fair number of competitors walking their bikes to the line ahead of us and in our path. Since I was still "recovering" from my swim escapade, I decided to do the same.


Learn to run with shoes clipped to the pedals.

This is where I made up most of my time. I simply found gears I could spin at a relatively high cadence, and just hammered away (almost recklessly sacrificing my run--but I knew I could just hang on for the run--at least for 4 miles).

I would conservatively say I passed just close to 100 riders (not bragging--just an observation; and hey, this was a beginner's race with lots of mountain bikes and stuff so not that huge of an achievement), and was not passed on the bike myself. I felt in control the entire time. My secret weapon? Good cycling fitness, and pre-riding the course the day before in even stronger wind conditions. This meant I knew what the terrain was up ahead, the necessary gearing, and could power up the rolling hills knowing a recovery was just over the crest. I cannot overstate what an advantage pre-riding the course was.


Nothing. Maybe practicing descents in the aero position over rough roads.

T2 was pretty fast. Rack bike, helmet off, cyling shoes off, running shoes & visor on. Go.

Nothing.

"Hills kills". Is that a saying? If not, it should be. Basically, if you weren't accustomed to running hills, then you were not a happy camper. Fortunately, I've practiced a good deal of hill running and it paid huge dividends. While my legs were pretty dead from hammering on the bike, I was able to pretty quickly get my form back. And while the hills definitely physically took their toll, it just didn't have the same psychological impact I knew it was taking on other runners.

I made up some time on the run course, and passed a fair number of runners on the course. Ran up to a guy in a Team Javelin uni on the homestretch (last 1.5 miles or so), said "how's it goin'?" and it turned out to be fellow BT'er, Snaps10 (Daniel T.). Small world. We started chatting a bit, probably too much (wasting precious energy), but it was like running into an old friend. We ran together almost to the finishing line.

Even more bricks in training. Even more hills in training.

Running around looking for the wife and kids. A little stretching.


Poor OWS skills (esp. coping with winds and chop) and inexperience.


For a first time, or just a good time, this Napa Valley Sprint is just the ticket. It's pretty low key, and everyone is nice and friendly.