Summary

NAME	CITY	STATE	ZIP	COUNTRY
HORNTVEDT, MICHAEL	BELLEVUE	WA	98008	USA
OVERALL BIB FINTIME AGE SEX 305 1445 5:34:35 41 M
SWIM TRANS1 BIKE TRANS2 RUN CLASSRANK SEXRANK SWIMRANK SWIMMPK BIKERANK BIKEMPH RUNRANK RUNMPM 0:39:47 0:02:50 3:01:49 0:01:30 1:48:39 45 285 945 0:20:36 358 18.4 280 0:08:17

 

Trip

Spring has sprung and on May 5^th, 2007 I raced in my first ever long course triathlon. It was the Wildflower long course at Lake San Antonio in NotReallyAnywhere California. This race was really a blip in the whole scheme of things over the weekend since it was only 70.3 miles of our 2000 miles of weekend travel. Our trip started out on Wednesday morning with Jason Popp calling to coordinate when he’d be over to pick me and my pile of gear up for our journey out of town. We would pick up Char from work on the way out. After a few obstacles getting out of town, we found ourselves cruising along I-5 in good spirits reviewing our packing lists hoping we prepared as well as needed. Our Wednesday travels ended in Ashland Oregon at about 11:30 pm. Before going to bed, we agreed to meet up at 6:00 the morning, run for an hour, get cleaned up, eat some breakfast, and then get back on the road.

 

Thursday morning at about 35 degrees AM, we changed our plan to include an early cup-o-coffee, breakfast, and get on the road so we could secure a good campsite at the Lake. We continued south stopping infrequently, but stopping frequently at Starbucks to purchase a decaf soy-something, a cookie, or salad/sandwich. We rolled into the campground at around 4:00 PM to find that there were many people already set up in campsites. Many of the set-ups were for teams like Team in Training, Disney Team, and LA TriClub. We found an optimal spot for our set up adjacent to a couple of dumpsters, near the toilets, across from the medical tent personnel campsite, and next to a couple of fast looking triathletes. Really…what was optimal was the two trees by which we would hang our blue tarp over the tent site. After unpacking most of our stuff, setting up the tents, and chatting with our neighbors, we went out for a quick run to get a good look at the course. We neglected to examine the course layout, but figured we’d find the marked trail pretty easily and just get a sample. Not knowing exactly where the Expo would be, we figured we run there too. The area was definitely hilly, but our assessment was that we could handle most anything this course could dish out. We ran down a very long, very steep roadway to get to the Expo. The transition area was enormous and empty. We wandered around a little looking for future food stops, strategizing about packet pickup, and looking in awe and anticipation at the transition area. We went back to the site, cooked up an ad-hoc meal, showered and went to bed. Jason and Char decided that sleeping in the back of the Denali would be better than sleeping in their tent. There was only one truck and only space for two, so I stayed in my tent. The night wasn’t too noisy, but there was enough distraction and discomfort that I slept intermittently.

 

Friday morning started at about 4:30 AM for me. I crawled out of the tent and wandered over to the restroom. I cooked up some coffee and read through the 2006 Wildflower pamphlet that we got at the race entrance. After Jason and Char woke up and we were all fed and fully juiced on coffee, we loaded the bikes onto the truck and went out to see the bike course. Our assessment of the course was that it would be hilly and we’d be spending a good amount of time in the little ring. We unloaded the bikes at about mile 48 to ride for about an hour. We found that this beautiful course offered great views accompanied by unforgiving chip seal and some wind. Back at the campsite, we bumped into our neighbors who were headed down to the lake for a swim. We grabbed our suits and wallets so that we could join them on the swim after we picked up our packets. I drew the number 1445 and a hot pink swim cap. I was slated to start swimming 55 minutes after the first wave. We slipped into our suits and dove into the lake. As usual, the initial zipper leakage was a bit frigid, but things warmed up by the time we reached the first buoy. The water was pretty choppy since there was a good wind blowing from the north with a pretty long fetch. This was good practice to learn that breathing in the chop would not be a problem. 

 

We finished our swim in about 30 minutes and went back to the campsite to clean up and start setting up our transition bags. Keeping to race tradition, we had the pasta dinner and listened to the pros introduce themselves. Bed time came and we were all a bit tired and anxious for the morning’s adventure. I crawled into my tent and inserted my earplugs only to find that they were ineffective at blocking out the noise emanating from the college party campsite across from us. Their party continued strong until about 1:00 AM. I was up to pee and then back to bed. A cloudless sky left the morning temperatures on the chilly side, so I struggled to get to sleep. In and out of cat napping, I was pulled out of a dream when Char rustled my tent – “Michael…5:00 AM, time to get up.” I slowly and reluctantly pulled myself out of bed hoping for a great cup of coffee.

 

 

Race Morning –

Jason had cooked up the coffee, so that was the first thing down my throat. Breakfast consisted of two cups of coffee, eggs on toast, a banana, two servings of instant oatmeal, and about 4 8-oz cups of water.

We were about 1.5 miles away from transition, but since it was all downhill, we figured we’d just coast down. I put on my bike shoes and my transition bag and started coasting. At the bottom of the first hill we had to dismount and walk our bikes across a dirt path (about 800 yards) to the point where we could mount up again. I shouldered my bike and proceeded along. When I first saw the transition site, I was shocked that so many people could fit into one space. It was packed and people were still streaming down the hill in hoards. After a little wandering around I found my space, had a little nervous chat with the guys around me, and then went in search of a body marking person. I ran into Jason at one of the exits to the swim start area. We both had our water and some form of nutrition to consume while waiting for our wave. I had a PowerBar vanilla gel with sodium. I sipped on the water and finished off the gel about 30 minutes before my wave start. Still sipping on water up to 10 minutes prior, I figured I could pee in my suit if needed. Good call. 

 

Swim

My wave was up next and we got our 5 minutes of pre-race dunk, pee, and positioning. I set up toward the back to the outside. We were off. I found that I was swimming over people and having people swim over me. This cluster went on pretty steady and slow to the first buoy. I swung wide and found some open water. A few bumps here and there, but not bad. The water was very choppy now with some good swells coming in at an angle from behind. At the third orange buoy I felt that it must be time to turn, so I did. I was broadsided by two swimmers who obviously missed the turn. I stopped, looked around, and saw that I was turning far too early. Oops. Back into my stroke I found a nice pattern stretching long and just trying to keep things easy. On the return trip I was swimming into the chop and found that I couldn’t site on the shore. So, I would trust swimmers nearby as my guide and then stop to look probably 4 times on the return.

I was out of the water in 39:47. Almost 5 minutes slower than I had expected, but I was able to run out of the water and up the ramp and into transition. T1 – 2:50. HRavg – 165, HRmax - 198

 

Bike

After a smooth transition I mounted my trusty Fuji, clicked in the left foot, click, click, slip, click. I couldn’t click in my right foot. My cleat was full of dirt from the walk down. Solution. Spray water on the cleat while rounding a corner and jockeying through the other cyclists. Success. I clicked in and downed a couple of shots of water. The first section of the bike route was extremely bumpy and littered with peoples discarded water bottles. Very frustrating to have so many obstacles. It wasn’t too far into the ride before the first substantial hill. I dropped into my easiest gear and tried to maintain my heart rate below lactate threshold (LT). Success. I got out onto the course and found that the wind had picked up quite a bit. This meant that I’d be focused on staying aero for the first 20 miles to minimize the head wind affect. Several hills laid in wait along with the head wind, but staying aero really helped. I was picking people off at a pretty regular rate and that felt good. My heart rate was in check at around 155 and I was refueling and hydrating on schedule. 

 

At about the 20 mile mark, we turned sharply to the right and got the benefit of a side/tail wind. This was also the same point when I reached back to my rear bottles to get a new bottle of CarboPro mix and found that my back cage was empty. My two rear bottles had jettisoned at the beginning of the race through the bumpy area. Panic struck me for a moment and then I remembered that I put a bag of clif blocks in my bento box. I downed two immediately and then began to strategize on how I’d refuel for the remaining 36 miles. I figured I’d finish off my clif blocks, grab a bottle of Gatorade at the next stop and then get some PowerBar Gels when they were available. The next stop came fairly soon and I grabbed the Gatorade (orange flavor). I took a couple of sips and decided that water might be a better choice. About 7 miles later I was blessed with an aid station equipped with gels. I called out for a bunch and a great volunteer ran hard to scoop up handfuls and lead me for the hand off. I got six gels and three waters without stopping. I packed five into my shirt pockets and sucked one down right away. Feeling complete again, I pushed it up a notch. I felt lactate build-up in my legs (burning sensation accompanied by swollen legs) even though I was riding with my HR below my lactate balance point (163). 

 

The winds were still blowing pretty hard with some intense gusts and they’d hit us from various angles because of the topography. At about mile 40 we hit the bottom of the toughest climb on the bike course. It was about 8% for 2 miles. I stuck with my strategy to hold back on the hill with my HR at around 165. Slow cranking, but I did what was needed. Some screaming downhill grades followed the last three hills on the course. All in all, I felt good about the bike leg. 3:01:49 (18.4 mph). T2 – 1:30 HRavg – 155, HRmax - 169

 

 

Run

I had no idea what this run course was going to offer up over the next 13.1 miles. I know that I started out the first 3 miles running with legs like logs. I could especially feel my hamstrings tightening with every step. Looking at the run profile, there was only one substantial hill to deal with on the course. Little did I know that my definition of substantial would change after riding the bike course. The first four “little” hills were tough and each step cause my hamstrings to tighten more and my left achilles tendon to hurt. At about mile 4 I found myself stopped on the side of the trail stretching out my right hamstring. I was drinking my water with CarboPro, but I wasn’t taking in additional sodium. I decided I need the sodium from my other bottles. I damn near ralphed when I took my first drink. I had put CarboPro, ½ Nuun, and a Thermolyte in my bottle. It smelled like rotten milk and had foamed up from the Nuun. Oh well. I needed the sodium, so I bucked up and drank it down. I walked up long sections of the steep hills as many people ran by. Ego was taking a hit, but I figured I’d keep moving forward and take in the two bottles of supplement that had my Thermolyte until I could run again. Mile 5 greeted us with a surprise found at no other course - naked support crew handing out high fives and yells of support. At about mile 6 I started trotting along with improved pace. My legs were gradually improving though I could still feel the threat of cramping on my right leg. Things were really picking up for me between miles 7 and 10. I ran on the edge of my muscle’s ability to avoid the onset of cramps. I couldn’t elevate my HR over about 155 without feeling my muscles start to seize. Lynch Road was our last long downhill into the finish chute and I used every mental ability I had remaining to keep running down that hill and stay focused on relaxing my legs. Running down that chute was one of the greatest feelings ever. I heard my name over the speakers, raised my hands in victory, and crossed the line happy with my accomplishment.

1:48:39 (8:17 min/mile) HRavg – 155, HRmax – error (shows 235)

 

 

Final Time – 5:34:35

 

Lessons Learned

• Check out the entire race course before the race
• Know the buoy count on the swim course
• Never walk in your bike shoes just before the race
• Duct tape your water bottles to the holder
• Get your bicycle tuned before a race
• Carry extra nutrition and salt
• Use the salt tabs or sodium supplements
• Keep moving forward, but in the event of a cramp, stretch
• Never, never, put thermolytes into your water
• Pouring water over your head feels great, but it gives you squishy foot sounds when you run
• Its ok to compete with other people if that’s what you need to keep moving
• Know that you’re pushing your own limits
• Take money with you to transition
• Include a change of socks and shirt in your transition bag
• Stand in the lake after the race
• Get a massage
• Buy new sunscreen every year
• Always use more sunscreen than you think you need
• Appreciate the support crew – they’re essential to our success