Wildflower 1999

Wildflower 1999
1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run

Results

I am disappointed with my results, but the good news is that I did improve my time from last year.

Event	Time	Time Last Year	Place In Age Group (248 total)
Swim	27:55	28:12	35
Bike	3:04:46	3:11:03	147
Run	2:07:21	2:11:27	177

5:47:21
Place 580 out of 1500 competitors overall.
Place 141 out of 248 competitors in my age group.

I blew up on the run again this year, same exact place as last year. Although last year I was feeling good until I hit 'the hill' (mile 4), this year I was not feeling strong initially off the bike. No energy. After thinking about it for a week, I think my nutrition on the bike was not enough. I typically eat a lot and feel bloated while running. This year I think I errored on the other side.

Pre-Race

I arrived at Lake San Antonio on Wednesday evening and found a good camp site. Last year we got stuck in an overflow campground which was minimal facilities. This was much better. We actually had running water this year.

I relaxed and read for the next two days. Besides running about 2/3 of the course on Thursday, I mostly relaxed and read.

On Thursday I had to go to the front gate and pay for our camping site. I arrived at the gate just as Stan and Jerry arrived. They swim at ORCA where I do my swim workouts. I ate dinner with them on Thursday evening. The camp grounds really filled up on Thursday. I would say all the available spots were taken by noon. Golden Gate Triathlon Club was camping in our area and really packed them in. It was a nice group and I enjoyed having them as neighbors.

Larry and Jane arrived on Friday evening. We settled down and relaxed some before the big race. Larry was racing the Olympic Distance on Sunday. Collette came down with the flu and couldn't make it.

Up at 5am, two packs of oatmeal, some bananas, lots of water and we were off. Parking by the lake (at the bottom of a huge hill) fills up quickly. We got a good spot and I proceeded to setup my transition area.

Swim

280 people in my age group on the boat ramp. Our start time was 8:15am. The wave before us went out and there was a huge current pulling our wave out. The draft was impressive. My goggles leaked most of the first half of the race. I have since thrown them in the trash and bought a new pair. I shouldn't complain about two years of excessive use. I had to role onto my back a few times to get the water out. I found someone to draft off of most of the way. I decide who to get behind when I am swimming next to the same person for a long period of time. I fall in behind them and save my strength for the rest of the day. I've improved my drafting skills over the past two year of racing. I'm not sure what my swim time was this year. There was no one there to time me. With 1500 people coming out of the water it is almost impossible to find anyone anyway. I also left my watch on the sidelines. I have found I can get frustrated when my watch tells me I am going too slow. This is the first race I didn't use it and I am happy I didn't.

This year I left shoes at the swim exit for the long run to the bike. That parking lot is very rough. I had to climb over some spectators to get my shoes. Being all wet helped get people out of the way.

Bike

The start of the bike is a small windy road along the water. It is about 1/2 mile then you head up Beach Hill which is quite a climb. About 400 yards into the bike, I was coming to a corner and hit my breaks only to skid. The skid didn't slow me down a bit. Hit them again and another skid. By that time it was too late. I had two choices. Try to force the turn and try not to slide out. or go straight up an embankment and try to stop like a runaway truck. It was an easy decision as road rash was not an option. A bouncy ride up the embankment and click out of my pedals about 20 feet up. No damage! Just had to walk my bike back down and jump on and keep going. Around the corner and start up the Beach Hill. About 2 miles straight up. If you've ever been the Orange Mining Company restraint. It is that hill twice as long. Nice way to start the day. I was feeling good during the ride. I decided to build my speed and get faster as the day progressed. The bike doesn't really start until Nasty Hill at mile 43. I was just finishing my first full bottle of gatorade and ready to take my second out of the rack when it fell off my bike. Looking at it later, the weld on the bike carrier actually broke. I took water from the rest of the aid stations.

Ben, Stan and Jerry's young friend said I passed him at mile 25 on the bike, but I didn't see him. I also never saw Keith until after the race. Stan and Jerry started the swim behind me, so I never saw them.

Once you reach the metal bridge you can almost fell Nasty Hill approaching. By that time it was getting hot and the climb was a long building hill. It seem to go forever. Once you get over that the rest of the course is rolling hills with one giant down hill. The first half of the bike is flat compared to everything after mile 43. I finished the bike and started out on the run. Even though I was hot on Nasty Hill I was cool by the time I reach the bike finish. I decided to run in my Cool Max long sleeve shirt. This would only last for about 3 miles when the trail turned away from the lake.

Run

I was ready for this run. I have been building volume and working hard on my running. I ran the tough parts of the course (mile 4 fire road), three days before just to make sure I was familiar with the course. I didn't taper for this race because my big race of the year is July 31 (The Full Vineman). I didn't go out and kill myself this week either. At mile 3 I had to stop and take off my shirt. I just tied it around my waist. I was not feeling all that well either. I reached the Fire Road hill where I reached the limit of my mental abilities last year. I ended up run/walking the rest of the way. This year I was bound and determined to run through it and finish strong. About 100 yards into The Hill, both hamstrings cramped at the same time and brought me to a stand still. Ouch. I stretched and walked a little and then was able to run. I got a little bit further and both my quads cramped at the same time. Ouch Ouch. With 8 miles left to go, I was not doing well. This was a big disappointment after all the hard work. I was running, but slowly and trying to avoid cramping again.

At mile 6, I saw some spectators with Golden Gate Triathlon club and asked them to take my shirt back to camp. I met up with my shirt later that evening. At mile 9 I was familiar with the cramps enough and could run around the places where they would freeze up. I was able to run the rest of the way to the finish. A very disappointing run. Better time than last year, but not by as much as I wanted.

Post Race

I recovered and hung out with Larry, Jane, and Elle. I got a chance to chat with Chad who was running the Olympic distance the next day.

The next day I was hanging out waiting for Larry to finish the swim and got a chance to chat with Paula Newby-Fraser. She autographed the Scott Tinley book I bought and I bought her book for Collette. She wrote a really cool not to Collette in her book. I asked her about cramping and some tablet I notice she carries in the Hawaii Ironman videos. She said they were just salt tablets called Thermatabs and if I just would have take two of those with a glass of water, my cramping would have gone away. She also said I should have been drinking the sports drink (Powerbar Perform) instead of water. Where was she yesterday?! I bought some Thermatabs and plan to carry them with me at The Full Vineman. I have to say I have always been awed by her ability to win 8 Ironmans. Especially since she did it when there were only 18 that were ever raced. Almost half! I am even more impressed at how patient and nice she was with me asking stupid questions.

Overall, Wildflower is the hardest course I have done and it is the best organized. I can't think of a better more challenging race. If you are going to do the half-Ironman at Wildflower, make sure you do a lot of hills in training. It will be worse than you expect.

I'm already thinking about next year.