Prologue:

 

The morning before the race, I woke up resigned to the fact that I would not be doing this event. Evidently, the Issaquah Tri fills up very fast and/or I’m a flake. Probably a little of both. In any event, I got shut out. The day before, however, at Idylwood Park, Jill offered up her spot (or that of someone similarly situated). Huge Thanks! I really appreciated the chance to race. A quick email exchange later and I was in the race. Sort of.

 

The day of, I got up around 4:45 and, in retrospect, took my sweet time getting ready. It would appear that I’m something of a diva. Usual pre-race meal: Oatmeal and coffee. All told, I got into Issaquah around 6:15. This may have been poor planning, as I needed to finish the registration transfer, set up transition, warm up, hit the port-a-john, get into the wetsuit, and otherwise not act like a total rookie. I actually parked across town and biked in. This may have saved some time, but riding in my sweats was not a good choice. They got caught in the gears a couple times and I heard a small snap, but I didn’t have time to really look into it. We’ll get into this later.

 

So I got to the registration area and looked for Jill so we could complete the transfer. She’s not there. At this point, the elites were lining up to begin. Starting to get worried. I tell the registration person I was going to need to transfer. She responded with a flat “no.” Huh? What? Seriously? Three years of law school and the best rebuttal I could muster was, “but… I’m wearing spandex.” Nope, had to be done yesterday. I appealed to the race director. She gave a little ground. They wouldn’t do a transfer, but I could “race as the person who was giving up their slot.” That’s a little weird. Further, I was told they didn’t have extra swim caps, so I’d actually have to start with the women. Again, pretty weird… and also scary! I recalled getting manhandled by the “pink caps” in Canada at the swim start (I’ve had a phobia of mass starts with females since). At the last second, I got a hold of Jill. She had done the transfer the night before. Second huge thank you.  I got to race under my own name. ::Sigh of relief.::

 

I sprinted over to transition, threw on my wetsuit, and ran toward the water. I barely broke stride in diving in as my age group started…

 

The Swim:

 

Incredibly good! Nearly contact free and downright comfortable. I think the hard sets of 100 the day before at Idylwood played a big role in that. I was able to go out hard, put some distance into most of the pack, and then settle into a more relaxed pace. 

 

Honestly, I enjoy going out with my age group. In my own experience, going out with the elites is a mixed bag. You probably save some time not breaking through prior waves, but give it back up due to the churning and general aggression associated with the elites. One day I might man up and try again, but we’ll see….

 

T1:

I skipped socks. This was a big step for me.

 

 

The Bike:

 

Above, I alluded to a little snap I heard on my bike right before the race. Apparently, this was “a something.” The braze-on mount on my frame had snapped off and lodged itself in my big ring. At some point during the mile of cone riding, I realize this.

 

Judgment call: Get off the bike and inspect or GO (and see what happens later). As you get to know me, you’ll learn that there is barely a decision to be made at this juncture. Of course I ignored it. The bike was rideable, but I couldn’t use my big ring. No big deal on the uphills, but going downhill, my cadence was upwards of 150. I can’t help but laugh because this race is becoming downright silly. I’m starting to wonder what the issue is going to be on the run. 

 

All in all, it was a decent bike. I managed to reel a few people in, mostly on the uphills. Coming back into town, I figured that I’d take a little gel. Background on this: On long rides, I usually carry HoneyStinger gel. It’s very quick energy for about a half hour. This is good in a severe bonk situation. By analogy, I assumed that it would be equally helpful to have a strong run leg. Unfortunately, level of intensity was a difference that happened to make a difference. In a high heart rate sprint tri, my body was not interested in gel. It literally went down to my gut and sat there. Not cool. Not cool at all.

 

Coming in, I had the opposite shoe experience as David. I slipped out of my shoes way before I should have and peddled in bare feet for what felt like forever. Mercifully, transition eventually came.

 

 

T2:

 

Still no socks. As I say, go big or go home.

 

 

The Run:

 

This HoneyStinger gel was clearly not happy. It seems like I’m pulling 15 minute miles and feel disgusting. Non-zero chance of puke here. In anticipation, I wonder whether to be a good sport and aim for the bushes or wait until someone who looks like their in my AG tries to pass me. The evil thought passes. 

To my amazement, I’m actually chasing people down. Most are very friendly and tell me I’m looking good. I speak in grunts. Inside, I’m feeling somewhat guilty about the earlier premeditation. Still, however, my foot turnover feels sluggish and there’s no rhythm. This, for the most part, does not pass, with the only exception being on the short stretch of road. There is no future for me as a trail runner.

 

For awhile, I amuse myself with thoughts of how bizarre this race has been. It makes me smile and take my mind off of my awkward stride and unhappy stomach. Eventually the finish line materializes. I blow a kiss to my mom and finish out. Good stuff.

 

 

 

Overall, I had a blast. Sometimes it takes a series of race mishaps to remind me not to take myself too seriously. That said, hopefully all the season’s mistakes were made last Sunday. This stuff would be less funny and cute in the context of an A race. In spite of everything, I was very happy with how I raced. More importantly, lunch at Julia’s was a blast and I enjoyed meeting everyone. Most certainly hope to do it again soon! 

 

Oh, and the bike issue. Well, this was good and bad news situation. The bad news is that my bike is basically not rideable. It was only by grace that the derailleur didn’t fall off my bike during the tri. It looks like it will be spinning class for me for a week or two. The good news is that this was a “warrantable frame failure.” The good people at FELT have offered to make the fix. Ideally this will entail a new [carbon] frame. J

 

54th Overall