Last year Wildflower was my first Olympic Triathlon EVER... of course leave it to me to pick one of the most difficult triathlons in the nation as my first. Although it hit me where it hurts last year I couldn't resist taking the beating once again. I had high hopes for this race when I signed up, but unfortunately I've been plagued by a whirlwind of injuries so I figured I'd just try to go out there and have a good time (I did get the all clear from the Physical Therapist beforehand).
Everything about this race is so much fun...I love the camping, the lake, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the Cal Poly volunteers (best source of entertainment), course support, and yes I even have a love for the agonizing hills, the heat, and the cold showers. This event should be on EVERYONE's race calendar to do at least once, even if you decide to relay it or do the short mountain bike course.
I headed down with friends on Friday morning to get ourselves set up, settled in, and to jump into the refreshing Lake San Antonio. I only had one open water swim session prior to the event and my shoulders don't tend to agree with my wetsuit early on in the season. The rest of Friday consisted of packet pick-up where I once again was labeled powder blue (sadly I will leave powder blue behind if I do this event next year). Then we did some shopping, relaxed, I went searching for a few friends, ate, stretched and slept.
Saturday morning is race day for all the Long Course males and females. Since we got up a bit late we raced to eat breakfast and run down the hill to try and catch the pros as they jumped in the water. 2000 meters and 21 minutes later they were out of the water and off on the bike. Since 56 miles takes a while to finish, even for pro-athletes, we waited around to see the age groupers jump in the water one by one. I had a few friends competing in different age groups so I tried to catch all of them on the bike transition as they headed out. Once all the waves were off we headed back to camp and parked ourselves at mile 7 of the run. Here we enjoyed the entertainment of Cal Poly volunteers as they danced with their super soakers and sang along at the top of their longs to the tune of Ingrid Michaelson's "Maybe." To add to this already hilarious image, our Cal Poly aid station entertainers wore their most fashionable bathing suit attire all decked out in neon colors with matching sombreros. I tried to stay and watch all my friends come by, but the heat got the best of me so it was off to nap and try and regain some energy for the next morning. The day was almost over, but not until I got a 20 minute shake out ride and 10 minute run in, congratulated my studly friends and carbo loaded for the next day.
The kids next to us decided it was time we wake up at 6a.m. so since our lovely alarm clock would not shut up we started the a.m. B routine breakfast, bowel movements, bikes and backpacks. Time to set-up transition and begin the morning butt kicking...
My wave doesn't start until 10:10 so I spent a good half hour sweating my butt off in my wetsuit before my wave was off. The guys were already in the water so I tried to cheer them on as they came out and headed off on the bike.
The Swim: I tried for this not to look like drowning 101, I was successful at first, but getting toward the final bouys the water got a bit choppy and my arms got a bit sore, but I kept coaching myself: "1,2,3,4, sight." I got out of the water finishing the swim in about 30 minutes.
T1: I am proud to report I was top 5 in my age group for T1... I grabbed my bike and ran out
The Bike: Lynch hill felt like nothing which was amazing which felt like a sign of a good ride. I headed out trying not to hold back on the downhills. I was doing awesome on my way out taking my time on the uphills and racing down the downhills, but then came the turn around. All of a sudden my body went south a bit. I popped a Gu in hopes it would pep me up. My legs felt sore and heavy, my arms even felt sore. I kept pushing through as best I could, but it just wasn't what I'd hoped for. I am happy to say I broke even, but I will be taking revenge on the bike course even if it isn't for a few years.
T2: 1:41 minutes I got through transition...fast, but could be faster
The Run: I was super excited about this. I started off sore and uneasy about my achilles and my knees. My only goal for this race was no more breakage. After the first couple steps I could feel my heel, but it was not bad so I thought I was just adjusting to the impact, and luckily I was right. I started to feel great! Yes, it was hot, but I did not feel nearly as awful as I did the year before and I had a smile on the face my whole way. I cheered on people around me and I took it slow and easy. I told myself that if I had to walk I would and in some spots I did, but I made rules. I was only allowed to walk for 30 seconds at the most at a time and I had to run for over 60 seconds in order to be able to walk again. I found that I would actually pass all the people who had just passed me even if I stopped to walk for a bit. I finished with a time that was 3 minutes faster from the year before.
I WAS SO EXCITED that everything felt great going down Lynch hill and that it was almost over. As I approached the finish I looked at the clock and saw I was going to manage to be 1 minute faster than last year. I never thought I'd be so excited over a minute. Especially since it isn't a PR overall, just a PR for Wildflower. This did give me a confidence boost toward Vineman which I really needed, especially since I've been so depressed over my training after my achilles issues and needing to take a break from training.
Congrats to all my FOMO racing friends...other friends...and to MEGA MEG (who took 1st place overall)!
Everything about this race is so much fun...I love the camping, the lake, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the Cal Poly volunteers (best source of entertainment), course support, and yes I even have a love for the agonizing hills, the heat, and the cold showers. This event should be on EVERYONE's race calendar to do at least once, even if you decide to relay it or do the short mountain bike course.
I headed down with friends on Friday morning to get ourselves set up, settled in, and to jump into the refreshing Lake San Antonio. I only had one open water swim session prior to the event and my shoulders don't tend to agree with my wetsuit early on in the season. The rest of Friday consisted of packet pick-up where I once again was labeled powder blue (sadly I will leave powder blue behind if I do this event next year). Then we did some shopping, relaxed, I went searching for a few friends, ate, stretched and slept.
Saturday morning is race day for all the Long Course males and females. Since we got up a bit late we raced to eat breakfast and run down the hill to try and catch the pros as they jumped in the water. 2000 meters and 21 minutes later they were out of the water and off on the bike. Since 56 miles takes a while to finish, even for pro-athletes, we waited around to see the age groupers jump in the water one by one. I had a few friends competing in different age groups so I tried to catch all of them on the bike transition as they headed out. Once all the waves were off we headed back to camp and parked ourselves at mile 7 of the run. Here we enjoyed the entertainment of Cal Poly volunteers as they danced with their super soakers and sang along at the top of their longs to the tune of Ingrid Michaelson's "Maybe." To add to this already hilarious image, our Cal Poly aid station entertainers wore their most fashionable bathing suit attire all decked out in neon colors with matching sombreros. I tried to stay and watch all my friends come by, but the heat got the best of me so it was off to nap and try and regain some energy for the next morning. The day was almost over, but not until I got a 20 minute shake out ride and 10 minute run in, congratulated my studly friends and carbo loaded for the next day.
The kids next to us decided it was time we wake up at 6a.m. so since our lovely alarm clock would not shut up we started the a.m. B routine breakfast, bowel movements, bikes and backpacks. Time to set-up transition and begin the morning butt kicking...
My wave doesn't start until 10:10 so I spent a good half hour sweating my butt off in my wetsuit before my wave was off. The guys were already in the water so I tried to cheer them on as they came out and headed off on the bike.
The Swim: I tried for this not to look like drowning 101, I was successful at first, but getting toward the final bouys the water got a bit choppy and my arms got a bit sore, but I kept coaching myself: "1,2,3,4, sight." I got out of the water finishing the swim in about 30 minutes.
T1: I am proud to report I was top 5 in my age group for T1... I grabbed my bike and ran out
The Bike: Lynch hill felt like nothing which was amazing which felt like a sign of a good ride. I headed out trying not to hold back on the downhills. I was doing awesome on my way out taking my time on the uphills and racing down the downhills, but then came the turn around. All of a sudden my body went south a bit. I popped a Gu in hopes it would pep me up. My legs felt sore and heavy, my arms even felt sore. I kept pushing through as best I could, but it just wasn't what I'd hoped for. I am happy to say I broke even, but I will be taking revenge on the bike course even if it isn't for a few years.
T2: 1:41 minutes I got through transition...fast, but could be faster
The Run: I was super excited about this. I started off sore and uneasy about my achilles and my knees. My only goal for this race was no more breakage. After the first couple steps I could feel my heel, but it was not bad so I thought I was just adjusting to the impact, and luckily I was right. I started to feel great! Yes, it was hot, but I did not feel nearly as awful as I did the year before and I had a smile on the face my whole way. I cheered on people around me and I took it slow and easy. I told myself that if I had to walk I would and in some spots I did, but I made rules. I was only allowed to walk for 30 seconds at the most at a time and I had to run for over 60 seconds in order to be able to walk again. I found that I would actually pass all the people who had just passed me even if I stopped to walk for a bit. I finished with a time that was 3 minutes faster from the year before.
I WAS SO EXCITED that everything felt great going down Lynch hill and that it was almost over. As I approached the finish I looked at the clock and saw I was going to manage to be 1 minute faster than last year. I never thought I'd be so excited over a minute. Especially since it isn't a PR overall, just a PR for Wildflower. This did give me a confidence boost toward Vineman which I really needed, especially since I've been so depressed over my training after my achilles issues and needing to take a break from training.
Congrats to all my FOMO racing friends...other friends...and to MEGA MEG (who took 1st place overall)!
