Wildflower 2008

The race was exactly a week ago from today, but I am still floating a bit from the Wildflower high.

Let me start by saying that I invoked the Powers of Everyone Who Donated and Supported Me during this race man, many times. So thank you all again for your help. It made a huge difference for me!

Wildflower is set at Lake San Antonio, about 1.5 hours south of Salinas. Everyone camps out in this gigantic camp ground. It's not exactly your average car camping. People are packed in there. Tents literally 1 or 2 feet from each other. It's all pretty jovial and everyone, for the most part, is great about it. They call it the "Woodstock of Triathlons." We luckily found a fairly flat spot with some shade near our teammate Todd and his girlfriend, Nicole. Another teammate Rebecca and her husband Nate also settled in with us.

We had cozy little spot, until two ginormous RVs wiggled their way into the spot next to us. I certainly don't mind RVs, but these folks popped open their giant bucket of Budwiser and cranked up the AC/DC for us to all enjoy. It was going to be a long weekend . . .

Camping issues aside, we had an amazing weekend. Chris, Todd, and Rebecca all did the long course on Saturday. This is a half-ironman race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run), and it ain't no joke. All three of them did amazingly well! Chris finished the race in just over 6 hours!!

I spent the day cheering on our teammates and trying to stay out of the sun.

Last year, it was in the upper 80's and the winds were strong. This year it was mid 70's and very little wind. We we very blessed on the weather front. Nonetheless, I spent a lot of time trying to stay hydrated and avoiding sunburn before my race.

After Chris finished his race, I instantly started to get nervous. All of my on-going fears started to surface. What if I oversleep? (not possible with AC/DC next door) What if I forget my goggles? (unlikely, since I already packed them in my bag) What if the new tire I just put on blows out? (improbable because Chris did most of the changing for me and we rode around to test it out the day before) etc., etc., etc. This is how I roll.

So 6:30am on race day rolls around. The RVs are up and at it bright and early. After breakfast and Rocking Like a Hurricane, I pack up my bag, load it on my back and head down towards the transition area along with 500 other TnTers. Just getting on my bike, I feel nervous and clumsy. I make it down to transition safely, get body marked and set things up. I have a long wait before my wave starts, so I hang out and watch teammates start in waves before me. It's a flurry of activity so I don't have too much time to psyche me self out. But I do tell myself that my goal is to do at least 6 minutes faster than I did last year, so I will finish in under 4 hours. I like to set the bar low. . . .

As the announcer counts down our swim wave, I finally feel a sense of calm. I can do this. I've done it before. What's the big deal? I navigate the start fairly well, mostly just hanging back to let people pass me. I feel as if most of the pink caps in my wave has passed me. I'm swimming more or less alone. Then I get the Swim Panic. I always get this and I know its ridiculous. But after about 10 minutes in open water, I start getting worried that I might drown. There's nothing to hold on to, and I can't touch the bottom. I have to keep swimming. That loony stage passes quickly and then I'm fine. My goggles were a mess and I couldn't see anything out of them. I felt like I was zig zagging everywhere. But I finish strong and run to transition, glancing down at my watch. 35 min. Shoot. That slower than last year. Oh well. .. .

I do fairly well in my transition and am off in about 5.5 minutes to the bike. The first part of the bike is a fairly steep 1 mile hill. Last year, I barely made it up the hill and went about 4.2 miles/hour. This year, I notice I am passing lots of folks and going about 5.5 miles/hr. I start to get concerned. I'm going out too strong. I need to save some for later. But then I notice this is happening on all of the hills, and I'm feeling fine! I have no problems drinking or eating while on my bike this year. I even cruise down the hills at 38 miles/hr, which is terrifyingly fast for me. When I roll back into transition, I noticed that I finished my bike 10 minute faster than last year! Woohoo. I'm in the clear for my under 4 hours, assuming the run goes well.

And it does. Last year, I walked most of it. This year, I ran most of it. I walked parts of the hills, mostly when no one I knew was looking (what can I say? external motivation is huge!). But then someone would cheer me on and I'd pick up the pace. It's only 6 miles, but it's pretty grueling. I did have to dig deep, thinking of all of the folks who supported me. I didn't want to lie down and cry like last year, but it wasn't exactly a delight. Lots of teammates cheered and ran with me along the way. Chris was waiting for me at the top of the "Pit of Despair."

The last mile is a treat. It's a downhill with a great view. I let my legs roll on down the hill to the finish. I crossed the line, looked down at my watch and saw 3:38! That's nearly 30 minutes faster than last year! Woohoo!

I made my way down to the lake and found my teammates soaking their tired legs. Rounds of hugs and hi-fives, as we shared our success. Chris and I then went to have a celebratory beer and steak sandwich in the sun. A great end to an amazing weekend!

And as an added bonus, the next day, I check my official times and learned that I actually did my swim in 31 minutes, shaving 4 minutes off my previous time. The bike was 13 minutes faster, and my run was 10 minutes faster. I also got my transition time down a bit. A complete success!

Now, a week later, I have to get back in to gear as Maui is quickly approaching . . .