Well, I got my first half-Iron of the season under my belt and came home Napa Valley Vintage Half Iron Champ! The website was right when they said "the course would be as challenging as it was beautiful".
Race temps started out in the upper 50's and would work their way to the mid-70's as the race progressed. That is hot for us Pacific Northwest folk this time of year.
Swim- 25:32 (about 5 minutes fast for everyone, so I equate this to about a true 30:30 minute 1.2mi swim) Still a PR and I did not feel nearly as tired getting out of the water (so increased swim volume is paying off). But I was in 38th place coming out so I had a lot of ground to make up. First place finished 6 minutes ahead of me.....
t1- 2:03 (5th fastest)- had to run up boat ramp then about two hundred meters to our transition area which was on gravel! Grabbed one of my GU flasks and stuffed in my nifty little side pocket.
Bike- 2:34:37 (1st!)- Course difficulty: DIFFICULT. Up and down, up and down the whole time on curvy and roughly paved roads. Pre-race Coach and I game planned that I would push hard on the bike and not worry about saving anything for the run. Well being in 38th place to start all I had to do was make a point to pass up every rider in sight. By mile 14 I was told I was in 10th place. By mile 40 I had passed my second "Powerbar- Team Elite" rider (both who would finish 2nd & 3rd overall), and had moved into 3rd place. The last 16 miles I must have made up a lot of time on 1st and 2nd place because they were just starting the run when I made the last turn into the transition area.
t2- :45 (1st!)- In and out, very smooth. Grabbed my other GU flask and was off
Run- 1:24:45 (1st)- I could see first and second place about a minute ahead. I knew I could catch them but by mile 1 they still seemed to be just as far away. And after mile 2 I had some bad cramps in both quads. I had to stop completely and stretch them out (lost about a minute there). I actually thought for a second my body would not allow me to finish this race. I took a shot of GU and jogged gingerly to mile marker 3 and that is when I got my legs back. I moved into second place surging up a hill around mile 4. And at mile 6 I snuck up on 1st place. He did not look back but knew I was there and stuck his hand out for me to slap. He told me the "race was mine" and he would be a few minutes behind me. I was a little suprised by his gesture. But accepted the invitation to first and took it home the last 7 miles. Even though I had a good lead the last miles were still painful as I wanted a solid run split and did not want anybody sneaking up on me. I could see the Powerbar athletes running strong on the out-and-backs. I got cheers and cheered on in return all three of my fellow Team Zoot GU teammates (Susan Moote, John Felts and Ben Lazzereth). All three of them had very solid races as well.
Final Time- 4:27:45 with a short swim but very tough bike and run course.
I have to give a huge thanks to my Coach, Mark Kendall. He was racing but it was an IM simulator for him, and when he found out I was going to win the race, he pulled himself from the run course after the first lap just to see me bring home the victory. The Zoot apparel treated me very well, I really really love those side pockets on the top and the shorts (beats the heck out of trying to reach all the way behind my back)! And the GU fueled me all day. I used the Gel flask mount on the bike which was very convenient. All in all I took in 12 packets of GU (8 on bike, 4 on run) to help get me through the race.
Also thanks to all my Speedshot Racing teammates who I made the trip down to Napa with. Thanks for feeding me Karen and Bob. Thanks for letting me use your cell phone minutes, Julie. And thanks for making me laugh at you the whole time, Jeff!
Bike- 2:34:37 (1st!)- Course difficulty: DIFFICULT. Up and down, up and down the whole time on curvy and roughly paved roads. Pre-race Coach and I game planned that I would push hard on the bike and not worry about saving anything for the run. Well being in 38th place to start all I had to do was make a point to pass up every rider in sight. By mile 14 I was told I was in 10th place. By mile 40 I had passed my second "Powerbar- Team Elite" rider (both who would finish 2nd & 3rd overall), and had moved into 3rd place. The last 16 miles I must have made up a lot of time on 1st and 2nd place because they were just starting the run when I made the last turn into the transition area.
t2- :45 (1st!)- In and out, very smooth. Grabbed my other GU flask and was off
Run- 1:24:45 (1st)- I could see first and second place about a minute ahead. I knew I could catch them but by mile 1 they still seemed to be just as far away. And after mile 2 I had some bad cramps in both quads. I had to stop completely and stretch them out (lost about a minute there). I actually thought for a second my body would not allow me to finish this race. I took a shot of GU and jogged gingerly to mile marker 3 and that is when I got my legs back. I moved into second place surging up a hill around mile 4. And at mile 6 I snuck up on 1st place. He did not look back but knew I was there and stuck his hand out for me to slap. He told me the "race was mine" and he would be a few minutes behind me. I was a little suprised by his gesture. But accepted the invitation to first and took it home the last 7 miles. Even though I had a good lead the last miles were still painful as I wanted a solid run split and did not want anybody sneaking up on me. I could see the Powerbar athletes running strong on the out-and-backs. I got cheers and cheered on in return all three of my fellow Team Zoot GU teammates (Susan Moote, John Felts and Ben Lazzereth). All three of them had very solid races as well.
Final Time- 4:27:45 with a short swim but very tough bike and run course.
I have to give a huge thanks to my Coach, Mark Kendall. He was racing but it was an IM simulator for him, and when he found out I was going to win the race, he pulled himself from the run course after the first lap just to see me bring home the victory. The Zoot apparel treated me very well, I really really love those side pockets on the top and the shorts (beats the heck out of trying to reach all the way behind my back)! And the GU fueled me all day. I used the Gel flask mount on the bike which was very convenient. All in all I took in 12 packets of GU (8 on bike, 4 on run) to help get me through the race.
Also thanks to all my Speedshot Racing teammates who I made the trip down to Napa with. Thanks for feeding me Karen and Bob. Thanks for letting me use your cell phone minutes, Julie. And thanks for making me laugh at you the whole time, Jeff!
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