Wildflower Triathlon Race Report
While I had a good time spending the weekend with friends, competitors, snakes, dirt, dogs, and broken toilets, I believe when I do it again I will be staying in a hotel.
Wildflower became a 'lessons learned" experience for me. Even now, as I sit on this cushy seat I have to make sure I'm in just the right position so the chafing in a place I've never chafed doesn't get aggravated. So first lesson, Always put bodyglide down there... Which brings me to my second lesson, Don't ride a new bike. Now keep in mind I rode my new tri bike 3 times before racing but what I left out is that the 3 times equaled something like 40 miles. So you see where this is going. I won't bother talking about my forgetful swim of 38 min. And no, I didn't go that slow just so that the pretty ladies could catch up with me... they would anyway. So back to the bike. At about mile 25, I noticed a clinking noise and couldn't figure out what was going on. I find out right about the time I took a drink as when I put the bottle back in the rear bottle cage, it slipped a bit. I stopped, tightened the bolts as tight as I could with my fingers and was off. At mile 30, the noise came back and I got off trying to figure out what to do. Five minutes later, I was back on my bike sans rear bottle cage which I had masterfully hidden in the tall grasses just past the big 30 mile sign. I would later learn that they come pick up the sign and so had to run up and down the road trying to find my brand new bottle cage. Thank you Son and Xavier for the help :)
Onto the run. I got off the bike and spent my transition praying that I my chafing wouldn't bother me on the run. Once I started the run, I felt ok and proceeded to try and pass everybody that was in my age group. Around mile 4 Tom, another Pac Bikes athlete, zoomed by me and I decided to try and keep up with him. I decided this would be a good strategy as I remembered Chris Lieto being passed by Macca during IM Kona a couple years back and being amazed at his determination. What I forgot is that he didn't keep that up for very long and ended up finishing a bit slower than he would have liked. From mile 6 to 13, it's mostly a blur in which I remember running by the GGTC cheering section and trying to muster a smile but also giving a sign that said I'm done. After that I remember seeing Dahlz, another PacBikes athlete, and hearing that I was almost at the top. What I didn't know is that I had to go down the other side and then back up. My only goal by the end was to get to the medical tent as my head felt like it was going to explode and the great nauseous feeling that occured everytime I put something in me. The highlight of my race had to be finishing, going straight to the med tent, and having the lovely Serena tend to my needs for an hour or so. Being offered an IV has never sounded so sexy. Afterwards, I started to feel better and Pablo and I went out to scour the campsites for young single women and free beer. Of which, we got the latter :)
Overall, I look forward to bettering my 5:37 PR at Wildflower. This was my first official half IM distance so I'll hopefully better it by at least 30 min. at Vineman.
Wildflower became a 'lessons learned" experience for me. Even now, as I sit on this cushy seat I have to make sure I'm in just the right position so the chafing in a place I've never chafed doesn't get aggravated. So first lesson, Always put bodyglide down there... Which brings me to my second lesson, Don't ride a new bike. Now keep in mind I rode my new tri bike 3 times before racing but what I left out is that the 3 times equaled something like 40 miles. So you see where this is going. I won't bother talking about my forgetful swim of 38 min. And no, I didn't go that slow just so that the pretty ladies could catch up with me... they would anyway. So back to the bike. At about mile 25, I noticed a clinking noise and couldn't figure out what was going on. I find out right about the time I took a drink as when I put the bottle back in the rear bottle cage, it slipped a bit. I stopped, tightened the bolts as tight as I could with my fingers and was off. At mile 30, the noise came back and I got off trying to figure out what to do. Five minutes later, I was back on my bike sans rear bottle cage which I had masterfully hidden in the tall grasses just past the big 30 mile sign. I would later learn that they come pick up the sign and so had to run up and down the road trying to find my brand new bottle cage. Thank you Son and Xavier for the help :)
Onto the run. I got off the bike and spent my transition praying that I my chafing wouldn't bother me on the run. Once I started the run, I felt ok and proceeded to try and pass everybody that was in my age group. Around mile 4 Tom, another Pac Bikes athlete, zoomed by me and I decided to try and keep up with him. I decided this would be a good strategy as I remembered Chris Lieto being passed by Macca during IM Kona a couple years back and being amazed at his determination. What I forgot is that he didn't keep that up for very long and ended up finishing a bit slower than he would have liked. From mile 6 to 13, it's mostly a blur in which I remember running by the GGTC cheering section and trying to muster a smile but also giving a sign that said I'm done. After that I remember seeing Dahlz, another PacBikes athlete, and hearing that I was almost at the top. What I didn't know is that I had to go down the other side and then back up. My only goal by the end was to get to the medical tent as my head felt like it was going to explode and the great nauseous feeling that occured everytime I put something in me. The highlight of my race had to be finishing, going straight to the med tent, and having the lovely Serena tend to my needs for an hour or so. Being offered an IV has never sounded so sexy. Afterwards, I started to feel better and Pablo and I went out to scour the campsites for young single women and free beer. Of which, we got the latter :)
Overall, I look forward to bettering my 5:37 PR at Wildflower. This was my first official half IM distance so I'll hopefully better it by at least 30 min. at Vineman.
