First Race of 2015: HITS Napa Valley Half

I'm really excited about racing this season with the Red Performance Multisport team!  I've already had some fun days out on the course making new friends and seeing new places... now it's time to catch up on race reports! 

After starting the year off with a Hawaiian vacation (which led to every Friday being Aloha Friday!) and a team triathlon training camp (which resulted in some great new friends and great motivation to work hard), it seemed fitting to kick off the race season with a half iron distance triathlon... in early April... 

Here is recap of my (somewhat) recent adventure in wine country!  
(next race report coming soon: Wildflower Olympic !)

HITS Napa Valley Half Race Report

Lake Berryessa, CA - HITS Napa Valley Half, April 11, 2015 (Most photo credits go to Larry)

One month ago... I raced the HITS Napa Valley half iron distance triathlon and volunteered at the sprint / olympic race.  I had an incredible time racing and helping out at this excellent series!  Racing was fun, but some of the greatest highlights of the weekend for me included: having Larry there for early morning support (so awesome!), being able to cheer for my pal, Amanda, as she and her husband raced Sunday, and meeting a social media friend, Cathryn, in person for the first time!  Such amazing, sporty gals with wonderful families!

Chilly morning, but all smiles!

 

If you haven't raced a HITS event yet, I highly recommend them!  Such a cool series with a low key, grassroots vibe.  The event organizing team is excellent, and they go out of their way to provide a wonderful racing experience for all athletes.

The short edition of the race report: the race went ok!  It was a really interesting day across a really hilly course with a dramatic swing in temperature (45F at swim start/finish and close to maybe 80F on the run?).  It was really fun to get out there, shake off the cobwebs, and run back into race mode at an event with a supportive, community vibe.

Keep reading for a much longer, ridiculously detailed race report! 

 

 

Waving to the camera (look over left shoulder of the gal in wetsuit with red back!)

Swim  37:19

Before the swim start, I found my #1 supporter, Larry, and got all my gear (somewhat) set up.  While wrestling my wetsuit on outside transition, I was really excited that I ran into Cathryn and her family!  It was so great to meet them, and it was fun to hang out for a little while we waited for the swim start!

I was eagerly awaiting the swim because it was a mass start!  This was actually the first time I experienced one of these, because all other events either had rolling starts (aka, organized mass start) or wave starts.  The mass start was fun, except I was not in the best spot when it was go time... (see photo above)

After entering the water, I swam the first 20m or so with my head out of the water to find some space and to stay on a straight path toward the first buoy.  Once I had some space to swim, I put my head down and started swimming at a consistent pace.  I looked for someone to draft off, but no one near me was swimming straight toward that first buoy, so I harnessed my inner Dory and just kept swimming! (- Finding Nemo)

The course was sort of a triangle, and I managed to sight properly and swim a pretty tight line toward the first three buoys.  After rounding the final buoy, I decided to push myself a little harder because my pace felt really comfortable up to this point.  Unfortunately, it was somewhat difficult to sight the swim exit from this buoy and the curvy shoreline was not helping... so I proceeded to kick it into a higher swim gear... in the wrong direction!  Luckily, I looked up to sight after some dude swam diagonally across my line.  I seriously thought to myself... wow, he's totally swimming the wrong way!?!  Then I paused to look for the swim exit...and realized I was the one swimming off course! Oops!!  Thank you, random swimmer dude, for redirecting me!   

Note to self: be sure to sight more frequently, especially when excited!

Upon exiting the water, I climbed the steep hill up to T1 and saw Larry cheering, which was awesome!  The water was relatively chilly (mid-high 50s, maybe?) and my feet were numb by the end of the swim, so I decided to walk up half the wall toward transition (genuinely worried about tripping over my big cold feet).  So nice of the race organizers to lay down some carpet to keep our frozen feet happy!

Positive swim note:  I was surprised to feel like I could have kept swimming that pace for another loop!  This is a positive sign for another full-distance attempt!    

T1

The HITS transition area was incredible - so much space, everyone had a seat, and the racks had bins to keep extra gear out of the way!  By far the most organized, athlete-friendly transition area I have ever seen! 

The swim exit ramp was definitely steeper than it appears here!

 

Bike  3:35

This course was interesting, with some long climbs to test your endurance as well as many fun, rolling hills.  The scenery was beautiful and definitely different from most of the typical Napa vineyard landscapes you experience on your wine tasting visits.  I drove the course the day before the race, and it appeared to be a lot hillier and more remote than I expected.  I knew this part of the race was going to be an adventure - and a potentially lonely one as there were a small number of competitors heading out there.
 

My goal for the bike ride was to be consistent and stay within the heart rate (HR) zones Coach Jim set for me.  Mission accomplished on this one (for the most part)!  

I did not do as well with my nutrition... I managed to drink about a bottle of scratch labs an hour (which was good for me) and ate a bunch of somewhat random stuff (2 picky bars, 2 gels, snack bag of pretzels, pack of shot blocks, & packet of maple almond butter).  I thought I forgot my second bar, so I went for the emergency almond butter packet in my bento box instead.  I will not make this substitution in the future, for sure!  That almond butter ended up mostly all over me / my face / my gear, and then sat like a nutty rock in my belly.  Not the best choice, but at least I properly field tested this fuel source in race mode now!  Overall, this wasn't terrible in terms of calorie intake, but I may cut back on the variety next time!  

Bundled up for the ride!

I also had 2 quick stops on the bike relating to nutrition.  One was around mile 15 to unlock the cap on a water bottle handed to me by volunteer (rockstar volunteer manning aid station solo at a turnaround that got really busy as I rode through & my bottle opening skills on the fly are not great).  The second quick pit-stop  was around mile 45 (bladder couldn't handle the cold temps and bumpy road anymore).

I also realized that I need to get a little tougher in terms of temperature tolerance.  It was pretty chilly out (somewhere around 45F at the start?) but not freezing, however, my fingers and feet were numb for almost the entire ride.    

Note to self: always come prepared with full finger gloves at early season races or races in locations where it may randomly snow (a ridiculous, but legitimate, concern from a previous race)!

Overall, I rode at a reasonable pace where I wasn't flying up any of the hills by any means, but I made it through the bike feeling like I could run hard for a few miles, which was good progress!

Positive bike note: I consistently rode up all the hills feeling pretty good physically and mentally.  I definitely feel stronger than I was last year at this time in the season!  Thanks, Coach Jim!  

Run course had lake views and bridge crossing!

T2

Overall transition was fairly uneventful & I was finally warming up!  I took another pit stop (which added a bunch of time here) and then headed out on the run!

Run  2:13 

I ran out of T2 feeling strong!  I was well inside my target HR zone and was running a quick pace (for me) until the hill around mile marker 1... where pace dropped, but my HR was still within the goal zone.  At this point I also realized I made a complete knucklehead mistake... and my water bottle was filled with water**... not Scratch labs mix!?!  I am an idiot.  I know how well I do without salt... but thought that maybe I'll be fine after loading up on the bike... and knowing they have aid stations every 1.5 mile...  

First mistake: not adding mix to my run bottle.  Second mistake (almost worse): attempting to drink their electrolyte drink which may have been HEED?  More like heave...  (no offense Hammer - the drink just disagreed with my belly every time I've had it).  It was bad, and of course I drank some at 2 aid stations... and then my stomach revolted (around mile 4-5ish).  My legs were starting to feel tired from the day of hills, but they were still moving pretty well.  Unfortunately, my gut was also moving...and I was forced to slow down dramatically (actually to a complete stop a few times).  I did manage to eat a Honey Stinger gel every 20min, and was able to add a few pretzels, water, and even a little coke after the halfway turnaround. 

Note to self: always take a sip out of each bottle before the race starts...to make sure there is sports drink in there!!!

Entrance/Exit for run course

 

I ran up as much and as many of the hills as I could with the stomach issues and tired legs.  I can handle puking on a course, but this type of issue would require a costume change if things got really bad, and I guess that's where I draw the line. (Yes, it was that bad!)  I did feel better after a few walking breaks, but there was no way to really push the pace on the second half of the run as I had hoped to.  By this time of the day, it was getting pretty warm out (in the 80s?), so my new ice-cold sponge friends (from aid station) were also helping make everything feel better!

Positive Run Note: I can force myself through a long run while having serious gut issues, if I have to (and still consume gels and water).  This was also the hilliest half marathon I have ever attempted on roads!    

Volunteering and Cheering at Sunday's Race:

 
The next morning, I happily woke up early and returned to the venue to volunteer for the sprint and olympic distance races.  I was super excited to cheer for my friends, Amanda and Matt, who were racing their first tri!!!  It was great catching up with them while carbo-loading earlier in the week, and I was thrilled to be there supporting their first tri!  It always makes me really happy to play it forward whenever I can!  They are great athletes, and I knew this was going to be an excellent day for them!

Sunrise over transition at the oly/sprint races

 

I planned on volunteering for just a few hours at the start, but ended up staying for most of the race, as I was having a good time helping out with everything from body marking to monitoring the bike mount/dismount line for the entire race. 

My body-marking skills do need a little work... sorry to the one dude who's number I messed up!  Don't worry - mine got messed up at the next race as payback!  This was a really fun job, and I was happy to be able to help a lot of first time racers in transition.  I joked around with one athlete when he was surprised we weren't marking ages on calves.  I told him that he will just have to beat everyone... and he did!  Awesome!  I also got a few smiley requests, and drew a star and even a fun little fish for my friend!   

It was great to be there to see my friends race through transition and have such huge smiles at the end of the race!  Many congrats to the triathletes, Amanda and Matt, for diving head first into this new sport!  I look forward to racing, training, and carbo-loading with you both!
 

Sunday transition area

 

  

Fond Memories!

Overall, this was a great weekend I'll always remember!  I'll definitely draw upon these positive memories for motivation at my upcoming races!  Thank you to everyone who cheered for me on and off the course, especially Larry.  Thank you, Coach Jim, for all the great training, support, and encouragement always.  Thank you Cathryn and Amanda for the inspiration to be a strong, sporty gal like you! 

Other random HITS event / venue notes:

This area is beautiful, but somewhat tough to get to (at least 45 minutes to 1 hour on winding back roads to the next city with lodging in any direction).  The road surface was a bit rough in spots, so if you ride up here, be sure to tighten all bike bolts!  I was really impressed with the event organization and helpful volunteers.  HITS knows what they are doing, and they definitely make everyone feel welcome at their events!

Always bet on RED

This is a really late race report from Ironman 70.3 Silverman that took place October 5th, 2014...

Henderson sunset

Yes, there is something wrong with me... I packed my best RED outfits and hopped on a plane to Vegas (baby Vegas)... to do a triathlon?


Someone decided Ironman Silverman 70.3 would be a fun team event, so I signed up and got excited to race with everyone from Red Performance Multisport (RPM)!  I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to visit family  and get my race on too.


The weekend was full of firsts for me:

• first time traveling with TSA pre check (which is totally worth it if the lines are open?)
• first time flying with my bike and the excitement that accompanies that adventure
• first time racing with my coach there doing his coaching thing (& not racing himself)
• first "ironman branded" 70.3
• first time racing a former student (who crushed me of course!) 
• first time I felt so sick during the race I was almost in tears  :(
  

Bike parts all in their places after the flight!

Bike case rented from Sports Basement.

Here are my favorite stories about these firsts and the entire event weekend!
 

Livin' large: bike cases come out on the regular carousel in Vegas (baby Vegas)!

Assembled! Mug says it all!

One you get the hang of it, disassembling some of your bike to fit it into a travel case is not a big deal.  I made some comical mistakes (to be expected - who needs straight handlebars?!?) and showed off some new wrestling moves to remove the pedals after the race, but I managed to do it all!  I cannot take complete credit though - I did have a little help on both ends:  Larry advised on the packing and Coach Jim checked my assembly work.  Many thanks for all the tips!  I rented a Thule box from Sports Basement for a week ($45 - decent deal!) and they gave me a few accessories to help with the packing too.  Unfortunately it flies as oversize luggage, but I was on Southwest, so the fees were much more reasonable than other airlines.  (You can get some really cool cases that pack your bike in normal sized bags - check out the armored hen house, for example).

Race turtle helping with gear bags

1st Branded Half: more than half the hoopla as a full branded race
Yes this was my first "ironman 70.3" race.  I have raced the 70.3 distance, but never one run by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) (ie, Ironman the company).  The branded 70.3 had a lot of the same hoopla you would find at a full distance IM event - similar check in, gear bags (1 for morning clothes, 1 for bike gear, 1 for run gear), people with m-dot tattoos... After helping them sort out the swim cap color for my wave*, I quickly exited the athlete village according to my usual plan at these types of events.  I knew I would spend plenty of time here for gear check and racing over the next few days, so spending time with family sounded a lot better than hanging out at the race village.

so many bags... the post-race mess

These WTC folks do know how to organize a race, and they have everything worked out from check in to the post race massage.  Having been through a few other events like this was a huge help in terms of pre-race & race-day anxiety.  I will be the first to admit I have been intimidated by the entire check in / pre-race shenanigans that goes on at these events.  This was the first time I genuinely felt comfortable through all the check ins, gear drop (at 2 separate transitions), and pre-race prep.  It was also the first time I looked calm enough that a few fellow athletes asked me a few questions, and I helped settle some nerves about their first 70.3!  

nice view from T1

This race confirmed that my coach was totally right (of course!) to have me do a bunch of shorter races leading up to my 2014 goal race, IM CdA.  The more of these you do, the more confident and comfortable you become.  Seriously - take a look at the pros at these events - cool as cucumbers through all the pre-race stuff.  These long tris are not the most beginner friendly experiences, so I highly recommend checking one out as a spectator or volunteer prior to racing if you can.  Most people racing are really cool and will help you if you need anything - always ask if you need advice or help!  It is awesome to have a race buddy / coach there for support too if possible.  Sometimes you need someone to remind you to ignore the loud mouths around you (don't worry about their IM conquest stories, flashy gear & general douche-baggery) and that you belong there as much as they do!  This is where mantras help too - they can be used through the entire process not just during the race!

  (*thought I was about to have another accidental registered bandit race when I was handed a blank light blue cap & all the "official" signs had my wave wearing a different color cap?).

all smiles having the correct cap!

team cheers from my cap!

If your belly is unhappy before a race...racing will not make you feel better
The week leading up to the race, I was having some GI issues, that I hoped would leave my system by Sunday.  No such luck, so race day was somewhat of a pain in the a$$ (literally).
I knew the day was going to be rough when I had already made multiple trips to the restroom, and I hadn't left the house yet.  I still needed to drive to the finish line parking area, walk to find a shuttle, ride a bus for 45minutes to T1, walk about 1/4 mile down a hill in the dark, get my body marking on, get my bike gear setup, wrangle my wetsuit on, ...and then propel myself 70.3 miles in the desert.  A handful of Tums later... and off I went!!!

distant view of T1 from where the shuttle dropped us off...glad I remembered the head lamp for a change!

I managed to get all the way to the start without any GI issues (even had a banana on the bus).  I was thrilled! Felt good after hanging out with my coach and started the murky Lake Mead swim no problem... The first sign of discomfort came about 3/4 way through the swim... Oh no, here we go... What is the proper race etiquette for getting sick during the swim?  Luckily as I slowed down the belly felt better because I seriously didn't know what to do.  I know what to do if you vomit while scuba diving but I wasn't sure it was helpful for swimming in a crowd?

view from T1 toward the bike course

Next up the bike...where things went from ok... to UH OH somewhere around mile 25.  I started out riding fine and according to the race plan.  I was eating and drinking and riding in a controlled effort up to mile 15 where the aid station was... missing...then it came up a few mikes later... and I was back on track. Then I dropped my chain once, got yelled at by some DB (who was riding close to another dude who made sure clarified that he was not the one yelling - pretty funny), and started not feeling so hot (although by this time it certainly was hot out).  I kept eating & drinking as planned and was maintaining a decent pace, until I started feeling really sick at the turn around where I was supposed to pick up the pace.  That rumble in my gut I felt during the swim was back with a vengeance, and I could no longer eat or drink anything without feeling like I was going to decorate the course with my stomach contents.  The tums I packed were not helping either.  The rest of me actually felt pretty good, but I was now faced with one of the 2 things I know that bring my body to a screeching halt no matter what I am doing: stomach issues (other is a migraine headache).  Although I have plenty experience throwing up during sporting events, I knew I probably didn't have the bike handling skills to do this while riding.  I also really didn't want to end up alone in the desert puking my guts out in the hot sun.  I somehow got myself to the mile 40 aid station in a hunched over haze and decided I needed an intervention.  No way was I quitting, but I was almost in tears because I felt so horribly.

So, I did what any triathlete would do... and stuffed my face with bananas, drenched myself with water, drank my gu brew, and got back out there.  I saw a teammate at that aid station which helped me tremendously, too!   

A few more hills and I made it to T2... I still couldn't eat anything but managed to drink a little more GU Brew.  How the heck was I going to run?!?  The run was a hilly 3 lap course where you headed downhill from T2 about a mile, then uphill for 2.5ish, then back down toward T2 to repeat two more times.  

I ran really conservatively (ie, snail pace) at first.  My focus was to fuel up and hydrate as much as I could especially on lap 1, because I knew I had drained all my fuel on that ride.  I made some friends as usual - a chem post doc from Texas kept me going as we chatted a little about science to kept our minds off our guts for a while!  One of my transition setup friends also recognized me, and I ran with her a while which was great too!  Any and all cheers were most welcome and running with other athletes definitely keeps you moving forward during any race!  Thanks, ladies! 

I also made quite a few people laugh as they saw me grab several cups at a time and made jokes about the buffet I was helping myself to (coke, ice (for hat/clothes) water, pretzels/ banana).  Buffets are a Vegas treat of course!  After 2 laps I was actually able to run faster, so after all this  insanity, I actually ran my fastest on lap 3.  Better late than never!  Good evidence that proper fueling is certainly the 4th, and possibly the most important, discipline in triathlon!

Other awesome run memories included shouting at a former LMC student that he was doing great (and schooling me on triathlon of course!), high fiving a teammate each lap, cheering for a fellow Blazeman Warrior out there rocking the #179, and giving high fives/updates to my coach who was out there in the crazy hot sun cheering for us!  I also was honored to Blazeman roll across that finish line after such a tough day!  After the race it was great to talk science with a UC Davis grad student in the food tent (yay science!) and chat with/cheer for teammates and their families too.  

a sparkly medal... only in Vegas!

My RED team is awesome
One thing that blew me away from this entire experience was how great my team is.  I don't know many people from Red Performance Multisport (RPM) since I live in Nor Cal and many of them are in SoCal, but everyone I have met through races or social media has been great.  Such a supportive group and I have been really happy all year to be part of a team of such excellent people!  Here are a few things that stood out as being really awesome at Silverman:
No one judged you based on speed or ability or how many of these events you have done or not done before - or if your bike accidentally flew out of the truck & landed in the fast lane on the way to the race (true story).  This bunch of really friendly athletes just showed up to race together, hang out, cheer each other on, and congratulate each other no matter how fast, slow or sick you were.  Really good people who were all happy to be part of the same team.  One athlete (Robert) and I kept crossing paths on the run and the high fives were a huge morale boost!  The family member fans who cheered for us were fantastic (awesome cheers, Julia!!!)!  Thanks so much!!!  I can't wait to race with this group again - always a really positive experience with the RPM crowd!

The coaches were fully supportive all weekend too.  I try to come to as many RPM events as I can because I genuinely appreciate the team experience they are trying to build.  In an individual sport like triathlon it is hard to get a true team going and Coach Jim and Coach Bob are on to something really good here.  Plus they really know what they are doing as coaches - I highly recommend them both!

race morning view from T1

I definitely want to give a shout out to my coach (Coach Jim) for being such a good ambassador for the sport.  He is a pro triathlete (so being a professional is his job), but not all pros have the same dedication to the sport.  Coach Jim did everything from cooking us a pre-race dinner for our Saturday meeting to pumping up my tires and checking my (self assembled) bike on race day.  Seriously - how many pros do you know who would go to transition, in the dark, when they were not racing, and pump up their athlete's tires?!?  I offered to do it myself, but he insisted!  He also was out there on the same run course corner in the blazing hot sun the entire time we were racing.  Getting high fives, race tips, and smiles made a huge difference, especially in the rough condition I was in at that point.  After all the exceptional support I received, I felt really bad I didn't perform better out there on the course.  At least my last lap on the run course was decent and made coach smile! :)
Overall being part of the team for the weekend was truly awesome! Thanks so much RPM!


 


Since every race is a learning opportunity... Here are my top

Lessons From the Race

* Traveling with a bike is totally do-able.  Not the most convenient way to travel but with practice I am sure this gets easier.

* Have a backup to your backup nutrition plan for when your gut revolts.  This may seem excessive until you need it.  Tums won't help. Bananas are your friend.  (learned that one previously - also highlighted as survival technique on the excellent podcast Jim and the Other Guy)
 
* Ice in your sports bra keeps your core body temp down as everything else heats up.  This really works - and lots of us were doing this.  Ice in your shorts / hat / random garments - all good.
 
* Smile regardless of how the day is going - it will make you and those around you feel better!
 
* Have something to keep you going when your race plan derails - sometimes you may need to adjust your goal, and that is ok!  There are always more races...
 
* Thank everyone who helped you along the way and gave you the opportunity to have a race day.  Thanks to my family for the race weekend support and for being understanding when I wanted to head to Vegas with my favorite spandex outfit (my RPM race kit of course!).

Lake Mead a little low on water