Michaels Issaquah Report

Issaquah Triathlon 2007 Race Report – Michael Horntvedt 6/2/2007

Everything was set up the night before. Tri-bag packed with shoes, helmet, wetsuit, all other pieces of necessary equipment and I even remembered my body glide and vaseline. Morning would come soon since I was getting up at 3:45. This would give me enough time to fix some breakfast – waffles with peanut butter and syrup, banana, two cups of coffee, and a doughnut on the way to the race.

Morning actually came later than expected. When setting the time on my alarm, I actually turned off the alarm. Fortunately, I rise at between 4:00 and 4:30 pretty regularly, so when I heard the birds, I knew something was wrong. I maintained my same breakfast plan including the doughnut on the way to the race. More on this later.

I arrived at the race nice and early and at the same time as Jason, Char, and Jess P. Set up was great. My transition was next to the swim entrance and the run exit and I was right on the isle leading to the bike exit/entrance. Things couldn’t get much better.

Jason and I ran a short little warm up for about 5 minutes and then the wet-suits were on and we were testing out the lake. I still floated. Check. The water was warm. Check.

In what seemed like about 5 seconds, the call for the men’s elite start wave was announced. I was getting very nervous looking around at all of the tall, lean, young, very athletic looking men in this group. We filed into the starting area and waded into the lake about thigh deep. A sudden loud “Ready, Set,” and the horn sounded…. We were off. This had to be the bumpiest, crawliest, over the top, elbow in the chin, foot in the chest race start I’ve endured yet. Fortunately things calmed to a standard after the first buoy. I was having a tough time sighting because of the mass of bodies and churning feet blocked my view and the occasional pumpkin head swim cap that matched the buoy color confused me. A couple of slow downs to confirm my position added some time, but not substantial. All was well until the last buoy and then all I could see was the sun. It was right in my face and very bright through my clear goggles. Spotting was impossible, so I trusted the froth of feet in front of me. I did my best trying to get a good bolt out of the water, but it was a bit weak given I couldn’t tell where the shoreline was and I stood up in too deep of water. There is nothing stellar about my swim time to report.

Swim - 9:26.8 (slower than I want to be)

I had my legs pretty well into transition. My breathing was labored since I was probably running a pretty high HR during the swim. I didn’t get full splits with HR but I did glance down and see 171 staring back at me. Transition took a little extra time because when I pulled my bike, two others came with it. I tried to get them reset, but was having a hard time balancing everything and my glasses were fogging. Just as I began to curse, a volunteer ran over and helped me out – Thank YOU!

T1 – 1:22.4

I ran down the grass, hopped on my bike, and hoped I didn’t fill my cleats with dirt and grass. Click, click. I was off in good form. I spun things out through the “No Passing” zone and onto the street. HR 170 to 172 for about the first 10 minutes. That was too high for the full distance. I backed off a bit and let myself settle in to a good rhythm at HR 165 to 168. Gurgles of doughnut and waffle started to develop in my stomach and I tried to burp only to find a gag and bile or liquid instead of air. This quasi-throw-up happened a few times on the ride. I held to my strategy that was to pick up the pace on the return trip. At the turn around I upped the intensity some and started to catch the two people who had passed me in the first half. Coming into the final few miles, there were more and more people slowing their pace, so I was able to move ahead a few spots. The ride was good, but I wish I could’ve gone a bit harder.

Bike – 38:21 (23.5 mph avg)

I had a smooth T2 and went sockless on the run hoping that it would save me a couple of seconds and I wouldn’t get blisters.

T2 – 1:12.2

he run felt rough at first, but I had a good cadence with the legs. My stomach still felt upset and I could feel the food/liquid sloshing around in my midsection. That is such a nasty feeling if you ask me. Definitely labored breathing for the first mile. I didn’t use my HR as a guide at all during the run. I figure it was going to be 3 miles of hard running. When I hit the concrete section, my stomach was starting to settle and my pace felt great. I had a long stride with quick turnover and everything was clicking. At the 400 yard marker, I picked up the pace again just in case someone behind me had a target on my back. I know that I gave that run everything I had and I think it paid off with my results.

Run – 18:04.1 (just a smidge over 6 minute mile)

Lessons Learned:

If the alarm doesn’t go off, change your eating plan to lighten things up
Do your intensity swim workouts like coach tells you
Wear tinted goggles
Go sockless for the short races
Use Vaseline on the heals of your shoes
Always save a little for the run – feels good to catch people
If coach tells you to race elite, do it
Send the race staff a thank you note afterward

This website is dedicated to the sport of triathlon, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Jill Fry is a triathlon coach and an athlete who competes in triathlons ranging from Sprint Distance to Ironman. Jill and many of her athletes and friends have also formed a team, Team JFT². Information on Jill's coaching services can be found under Coaching Services & Info. On this site you will also find a large number of personal race reports, as well as event reports, with many event-specific photos.