Do ~ Experience ~ Learn ~ Grow

The Napa Valley Vintage 1/2 Ironman, Saturday May 5 was definately the hardest race I have ever completed so far. The distance of a 1/2 Ironman is: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike followed by a 13.2 mile run. My swim leg was 47 minutes, my bike leg was 3 hours and 30 minutes and my run leg was 1 hour and 59 minutes. Leaving me with a total overall finish time of 6 hours and 20 minutes. At the finish line I felt like a survivor!
13 Mistakes & Challenges

1) I had never swam in my new wetsuit before the race, it seemed a bit short and was causing uncomfortable pressure on my shoulders during the swim
2) I did not do my 5 minute warm up before the swim start

3) It took me the entire 1st loop of the swim to get into a breathing rhythm

4) I did not do an open water swim before this race so I hadn’t practiced sighting and ended up getting off course and got redirected by a course monitor in a kayak

5) I put my watch and timing chip on the outside of my wetsuit

6) Struggling to get my wetsuit off with my watch and timing chip folded inside cost me several extra minutes in T1, not to mention the added frustration

7) I did not ride my bike before I racked it to check that everything worked properly

8) I had trouble shifting some of my gears and heard metal rubbing the entire bike

9) Swimming in water that was so rough it actually had white caps

10) Enduring 30-37 MHP winds with up to 50 MPH wind gusts on the bike course

11) A course that was so full of hills the only flat terrain was the 3 bridges we had to cross

12) A bike course with roads so full of potholes, sink holes, cracks, bumps, also speed bumps (no kidding) and bad road patches that were so jarring that I felt like I ended up with whiplash and a few missing teeth!

13) No music devices allowed in the race so I had to listen to myself gasping for air the entire 6 hours and 20 minutes!

13 Successes & Rewards

1) The temperature was in the 70’s which was great for me, I wasn’t too cold at the start of the swim and I wasn’t too hot at the end of the run

2) I survived the swim & had lots of opportunity to learn more about open water

3) I could actually feel the increase performance ability of my new bike

4) I passed a lot of people going up hills

5) I reached a new Max speed on my bike of 38.6 MPH

6) I followed my nutrition & hydration plan on the bike

7) I survived the bike & had 3:30 hours of opportunity to work on some of my fear issues on the bike, like going downhill fast, sharp corners, bad roads

8) I actually utilized Lactate Threshold data to stay with in targeted Heart Rate Zone’s, yea me for using science & technology!

9) I pushed myself with tired legs to achieve a new PR on the run

10) I survived the run & learned that my brain power when focused on the right things could tell my tired legs what to do

11) I had great fellowship with great people which led to great laughs and great memories

12) I achieved a new PR on the run for my fastest ½ Marathon time ever

13) I placed 25th over all amongst 92 females & placed 3rd in my Age group

Thirteen Thank You’s

1) To Roger for teaching me how to take my bike apart and pack it into the airline travel case

2) To Jessi for giving me wisdom regarding a nutrition plan for the race & for being my security blanket pre and post race

3) To Kevin for believing in me and encouraging me to go do this race and for supporting me in such amazing ways from afar

4) To Roger for making all the travel arrangements, which were a headache because they changed a million times

5) To Sam for scoring us all a good hotel deal

6) To Jessi for sharing a bed with me so I didn’t have to explain to Kevin why I slept with Sam

7) To Tia for being support crew for the team single handedly, for taking so many amazing pictures and for cheering her heart out all day

8) To Rachael and Margo for all their good thoughts and laborous hours spent trying to follow the race and keep updated on how I was doing

9) To Sam for helping me put my bike together and taking it back apart on his own while I was still finishing the run

10) To Kim for calling to wish me a good race

11) To my nice guy buddy Dave for Text messaging me good luck, even though I don't know how to do Text messaging?

12) To my Tri Fusion Teammates for all the cheers and encouragment along the race course

13) To my husband Kevin for his “perfect timing” in calling me within 1 minute of my finish to see how I did!

Overall I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to get an endurance distance triathlon under my belt before my Ironman race on June 24th. This experience provided me with ample opportunity to work on many of the fears and issues I have regarding the 3 disiplines of Triathlon and therefore increasing my confidence in many areas that will be critical to my success in this sport!