Race Report: 2023 Napa Valley Triathlon

19 Aug 2023 fitness

Summary

What: 2023 Napa Valley Triathlon
When: Saturday, April 8, 2023
Where: Napa Valley, CA
Distance: Swim ~~1.2M~~ 0.6M, Bike 56M, Run 13.1M
Strava activities: Swim, T1, Bike, T2, Run
Finish time: 5:47:04

Discussion

Back in April, David and I raced the Alpha Win Napa Valley 70.3. The race kicked my butt: the swim was freezing cold, the bike was super hilly (>4000ft of climbing over 56 miles), and the run was HOT. That said, it was still a ton of fun, and I’m happy I did it.

Some notes:

This was David’s first official triathlon! He did great.
I popped my front tire the night before the race. Luckily, we hadn’t left yet so it was easy enough to grab a(nother) spare tube and replace it. I’m really happy it didn’t happen on the course!
The water was freezing cold, so the organizers cut the swim in half, from 1.2M to 0.6M. It was still really hard. I definitely didn’t train enough. I felt dizzy in T1. Oof.
The bike was very hilly. 10 climbs in total. I absolutely torched my legs.
- I forgot to take my bike rack off - definitely didn’t help
My nutrition was better than during the Lake George 70.3. I drank a decent amount and ate a croissant on the bike, all while wearing Invisalign retainers, lol.

Some pictures:

My nutrition for the race - better but not perfect

Popped a tire the night before the race - oof

If you don't flex for the photo, does it even count?

Hot and tired. Panting like dog. Just gotta make it to the finish line.

Finally made it! That was fun but I'm happy to be done.

David and me after the race. "Everything hurts and I'm dying."

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