Issaquah Sprint Race Report

The first race of the season is out of the way.  It was not without its hiccups.  I brought WAY too much stuff.  Thankfully transition wasn't too crowded and no one seemed to mind.   Well, I was the only girl at my rack so maybe they guys minded, but they didn't say anything.  I had a goal of finishing in 1:45.00.  I had a super secret goal (I'm not the only one to have a goal and a super secret goal, am I?) of finishing under 1:30.00.  I didn't really think this was possible.

Pre race
I woke up at 4:30. Took a shower, had some coffee and a protein shake.  I also paid some bills.  Not sure why, but I felt like it needed to be done.....at 5am....race day.  Got dressed, put my bike on the car and took off.  Only 10 minutes later than planned.
I found Erika a few minutes after I got there.  Her bike was racked across the aisle from mine.  We figured out where bike out/bike in and run out/run in were, and headed down to the beach.  Erika went in the first wave.  She is braver (and faster) than me.  So I cheered her on and waited for my wave to start.

Swim 440 yards
The swim was 440 yards.  Super short.  The water wasn't as cold as I expected.  Somewhere in the low/mid 60's.  I started in the front.  I had a good swim but 440 yards isn't really enough distance for the group to get spread out.  There were 3 or 4 of us who were swimming on top of each other the whole way.  I definitely kicked a couple people.  I hate doing that.  Always feel like I should stop and apologize.  I didn't, but I felt like I should.  Other than that, I had a good swim.  I came out of the water in 7:23.  My swim time was 8:47 because there was an insanely long run from the lake back to T1. I hate that.

Time:8:47
Age Group rank 4/37

T1
I was able to get my wetsuit off pretty quickly.  It usually takes me forever.  I was pretty slow here.  This is where the first race of the season cobwebs show.  My stuff was unorganized.  I couldn't figure out what to do first.  Couldn't decide if I should wear a jacket, or socks.  I ended up without a jacket (thankfully) and I wore socks. Totally forgot my sunglasses. Not that it was sunny, but it's nice to wear them to keep bugs out of your eyes.

Time 3:13
AG rank 22/37 (ouch)

Bike 15 miles
I was nervous going into the bike.  Worried about a crack in my frame and I had no idea what to expect on the course.  I was pleasantly surprised.  There were 2 little hills but it was mostly flat.  The hills weren't steep but they were kind of long.  Not bad.  I was really freaked out on the downhills, thinking my bike might spontaneously combust if I hit a bump.  It didn't, but I put on the brakes way more often than I should have.  This cost me some time.  There were a few spots that were really narrow and it was hard to pass people.  On that note, I got passed a ton on the bike.  I think the entire men 40-45 AG and 20-29 AG passed me.  AND a 14 year old.  That won hurt.  He looked like he was 5ft tall and weighed 90 pounds.  All in all, I was happy with my bike. I know that this is an area that needs work and there is an opportunity to gain a lot of time here.

Time 46:44
Pace 19.3 mph
AG rank 18/37

T2
Pretty uneventful.  Had the same issues as in T1.  Just didn't have a good plan. Got my race number, put oh my running shoes and took off.

Time 1:20
AG rank 14/37

Run 5k
Talk about being unfamiliar with a course.  I had no idea the run was a trail run.  It was really dirt and grass, but I was expecting pavement.  I was not a fan.  It was wet and I'm not the most graceful runner.  I thought for sure I would fall or twist my ankle.  The trail was narrow at parts and people were running both ways.  Not easy to pass people without getting in someones way.  I stopped around mile 1 because I had something in my shoe.  I took off my shoe to get it out but nothing was in there.  When I got home and took my socks off, I found a leaf in there :).  That said, this was a really fast run for me.

Time 26:37 
Pace 8:35/mile
AG rank 15/37

Overall
There is definitely room for improvement but I'm really happy with my results.

Time 1:26.41
AG rank 13/37