Napa Half-Iron Race Writeup

Napa Half-Iron/70.3 Race Report
5/2/2009
Results (I raced as a clydesdale) The Lead Up

So having done a couple of sprint triathlons last summer, I decided I'd like to try the half-iron distance. When the Napa Vintage Half opened up for registration in the fall of '08, I was the first to sign up.

Training

I didn't follow a specific training plan, though I wish that I had. I had grandiose training plans for the 9 months leading up to the half, but those plans were foiled by 3 separate instances of back strain starting in late October. While I could ride my bike with minimal pain, running was out of the question. It was late January before I could run with some semblance of normalcy, though I was apprehensive to push it too hard. By mid-February I was able to do hour runs at a slow pace (don't let me kid you, my normal pace is slow), so things were looking better...

Swimming

This is pretty pathetic, but I didn't actually start getting any swims in until about 6 weeks prior to the race. I kept thinking that the local high school pool was going to open up in February, and I found out that it wouldn't be open until May. This of course allowed me to procrastinate in finding another location to swim. I went to California Family Fitness, but their rates were outrageous and the sales girl was down right demeaning when I told her I didn't want to commit to a sign up without talking to my wife. My buddy suggested the YMCA, which ended up being a great solution. The price is certainly right, the clientèle is eclectic, and the pool reminds me of the pool from the training scenes in Rocky 3 (a definite selling point). The first few swims were painful, and I was beginning to wonder if I really had the wherewithal to actually cover the 1.2 miles, but after a few weeks, I felt better and realized that I could cover the distance at an albeit slow pace.

Biking

After getting a bike to commute to work last year, I really have grown to enjoy cycling; thus making bike training truly fun. We bought a spin bike in October of last year, so I was getting a decent amount of spins in at home; as well as going out for weekly rides with various training partners. I probably should've taken some of the bike time and reallocated it to running; but as I didn't follow a training plan, it became awfully easy to convince myself to go for a ride rather than a run.

Running

The running has improved over time, though still a far cry from the running I was doing 10 years ago. In training I had some decent 10 milers that I was doing at about an 8.5/min pace. I've had a bit of foot pain, but nothing too severe...

Weight

So when we moved to Sacramento in February of 2008 I was tipping the scales at about 260. I had put on a bunch of weight after working 55 hours a week behind a computer and eating 3 solid meals a day. My workouts went from 6 days a week to 2 times every month, and thus the weight started to pile on. When I started commuting to work by bicycle last year, I ended up losing a good 20 pounds. After focusing on eating better (not necessarily eating less) I lost another 10. Once I signed up for this half-iron I decided to try and get down to 205ish...I didn't get quite that far, but I am between 210 and 215 at this point. Definitely feeling a lot better, staying in the Clydesdale class, and still enjoying the odd (and oftentimes even) bowl of ice cream.

Night Before the Race

So as it goes with procrastination, I found myself getting things together at about 10 PM. I had a fear that I would forget something, so I checked things about a gazillion times. I had been monitoring the weather for the past 10 days, and basically it boiled down to a 30% chance of rain, so I ended up packing some plastic bags and my cold weather gear as well. I went to bed at about 12:15, though I tossed and turned for awhile. I made a conscious effort to not look at the clock as I knew I would have in the back of my mind, “I only got 3 hours of sleep last night...” The alarm went off at 4 and I was up and moving.

Pre-Race

So it was a pretty uneventful ride out to Lake Berryessa. I had come out a couple of times to ride the bike course, and was amazed by the beauty of the landscape (it takes a lot for me to be amazed by the beauty); of course at 4:45 the sun isn't out, so I had to rely on my memory. I got to the course at about 6:00am (the race started at 8) and got my bike and transition area set up. The sky was starting to light up at this time, and it was primarily just overcast with no rain. Everyone was talking about how great it would be if this weather would hold up; I nodded my head in agreement and would look up at the sky with a very serious look on my face. I was one of the first 30 or so people there, so I had my pick of the litter in transition spots, and it also gave me some free time to check out the transition area. At around 6:40, I started getting some butterflies in my stomach and realized I should probably use the port-a-potties before they were made gnarly by all the other over-hydrated and pre-race-jittered-butterfly-stomach triathletes. I feel I should pause to mention how far the port-a-potty industry has come with their flagship product. It has been several years since I've had to sit in a port-a-potty, and I have to say that this experience was far better than my last; toilet seat covers, covered toilet paper, leg space, and hand sanitizer were a few of the amenities that made the experience that much better. After the port-a-potty, I checked in and got my race numbers and did a bit of stretching. It is always fun to people-watch and listen to the general banter in the transition area; this along with looking at the $10k bikes that people bring in make the pre-race rituals quite fun. At 7:45 there was a pre-race briefing...shortly after that I hopped in the water to get a few strokes in for warm up, and then it was time to rock and roll.

The Swim

So they started the swim in 3 self-seeded groups (hardcore folks 1^st, medium core 2^nd, just out here to have fun 3^rd). I went with the second group, and was somewhat excited for the swim as I just recently got a new wetsuit. I'm fairly comfortable in the water as I swam competitively growing up, but I seem to have some phobia about open water swimming. For some reason I get scared of things that I can or can't see; if I can see the bottom or a fish, I feel a little nervous. If I can't see anything, then I get nervous that there is a shark or alligator that will come out of the depths beyond my area of vision and get me. I also feel uncomfortable looking at the bottom of boats, buoys, or other stuff when it is underwater. While these fears are likely irrational and unsubstantiated, they do keep my mind preoccupied for most of the swim, thus making the swim go by a little faster. During this swim I was able to hang with the pack, draft off some people, and feel (not necessarily go) ultra-ridiculously fast in my buoyant wetsuit. It was a triangular course and according to the preliminary results it appears I finished it in just over 28 minutes.

Transition 1

So I made the decision a while ago that I wasn't going to push the transitions at a crazy pace on the half-iron distance. I figured I would take the time to wipe my feet off rather than spend 3 hours on the bike with rocks in my shoes. The first transition time was exacerbated by the 200 yard run to get to it, the downpour that had started when we were on the swim, and the numerous plastic bags I had put my stuff into but couldn't keep straight. I sat down on my towel (which was starting to get wet), wiped off my feet, got my socks, bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses (even though it was raining) on. I made my way out of the transition area and was on my way for the bike ride in the rain. Total time was 4 minutes 15 seconds.

The Bike

So the bike is my favorite leg of the race, and while I certainly would prefer a dry course (the roads were soaked), I still found it quite enjoyable. The course went North for 5 miles, and then U-Turned South on the start of a large 40+ mile circle. This course was dang hilly, and I felt that I was either going 9 miles an hour or 29 miles an hour for extended portions. The constant rain made the downhills and some of the turns a little sketchy, so I was reluctant to push it as hard as I had on the training rides. After the first 15 or so miles, I got into a bit of a groove and started to reel people in and pass them. While I find great satisfaction in seeing someone 300 yards ahead, cranking on the pedals, and passing them, I knew that many of them would find the same satisfaction passing me on the run; you have to make time during your strong points. There were several multiple mile sections of the course which had very poor pavement, but I didn't see any crashes and only a few people with flats. The last 5 miles were somewhat brutal on the hills, and I saw my great pace slowly sinking to a not so great pace. I had set my watch timer to chime every 15 minutes to remind myself to eat and drink (I have a tendency to forget this and to subsequently bonk), so I was able to finish the ride without a bonk or threat thereof. While the temperature wasn't exactly warm and I was completely soaked, I did stay in my uni-suit and was never too cold. Overall, the ride went about as good as I hoped, and I ended up finishing it in 2 hours 53 minutes and 42 seconds...not the fastest, but considering the hills and the rain, I was satisfied.

Transition 2

So for some reason they had the dismount like 50 yards from the transition area, so I ended up taking off my shoes and running in my soaked socks to my transition area. My towel was totally soaked, but fortunately I put my shoes and spare socks into a plastic bag so they were dry. I wiped my feet from all the road grime that I had accumulated in the rain, sat on my soaking wet towel (I was already soaked myself) and put my nice dry shoes and socks on. I put my knee straps on (patellar tendonitis) and was off and running (likely an overstatement). This all took about 4 minutes 17 seconds.

The Run

So unfortunately the landscape didn't change while I was in the transition area and the run course was just as hilly as the bike course, with virtually no flats. It was a 3.275 double out and back, so it broke down to roughly 4 5Ks. I intentionally wasn't pushing the pace (my pace that is, not the overall race pace) as I haven't done these distances in training. The dryness of my shoes lasted about 6 minutes before I could feel the water start seeping in. About 2 miles into the run I finally decided to take a break to relieve myself on the side of the road...I'd pretty much needed to since the swim, but kept figuring the feeling would go away; it didn't. I did the first 3.275 in about 28 minutes which I was content with, and figured if I could pull that off for the remaining legs I'd be lovin life. The return trip was just about as good with another 28 minute pace. It was around this time that I wasn't feeling quite as good (I had neglected to bring my Clif Bloks – my nutritional drug of choice and what I had used in training) so I started to eat the various snacks they offered. At about the 9 or 10 mile mark I did my first partial walk up a hill. I was somewhat ashamed, but it was just so daggone easy to rationalize. I was glad to see the turnaround tent in the distance and I ran all the way to it. For the last 3.275 I did a couple more up hill walks, but I ran the last mile and a half as everyone was cheering and very encouraging. A couple of other Clydesdales (the 200+ pound group that I compete in) said that I had a chance for a top 3 finish if I keep it up, so I picked up the pace a little bit to the finish line. I was really happy to see Gretchen and the kids at the finish line. For the last 50 yards I stuck my chest out and was glad to have completed my first half-iron/70.3 distance. The total time for the run ended up being 2 hours 7 minutes and 37 seconds.

Aftermath

So after crossing the finish line I got my medal and gave them my chip back. Gretchen and the kids were right there, and so I got my picture taken with Kaiya (Abby was too busy playing in the mud). I ended up taking Kaiya with me to pack everything up and get some dry clothes on. They had some snacks and lunch for us, and we had a good time cheering on the other competitors. These events are such a great thing as everyone is so nice and positive, and everyone is happy for one another (it was never that way when I played hockey). Kaiya and I drove home, and she ended up falling asleep, but only after asking me an inordinate number of questions about skunks and why they smell. Once home I hung up everything to dry out, limped into the house, and iced the side of my right foot. I've got a few sprint tris coming up, but then I've signed up for another half-ironman in August...man I hope it doesn't rain.

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