To start, I have to say that my experience at the 2011 Wildflower Triathlon was hands down my all time favorite race!! This was by far the most fun I have ever had racing!! However, there was MAJOR drama out there for me on the race course this year. Here is how it all went down.....duh, duh, duh....
I thought I would start with this awesome photo of me crossing the finish line. I absolutely cranked it out on the run, and outsprinted a ton of guys in the final 1km to make up some ground. Looks like my race went flawless, and I was flying......right??
Charging across the finish line
I had an excellent taper week leading into the race. Got in a few open water swims and hopped on the tri bike a few times. I drove down to Lake San Antonio with my good friend Scott, and 4 of his friends which were all alot of fun. It was great to go to a race with a group of people, as I usually end up travelling and racing alone since I moved to California. Having friends around really helps to take the edge off of racing :)We got down to the race site and had plenty of time to set up our camp and get our race packages. Everything was set, and I actually was not nervous at all. For one of the first times, I felt rested, confident, and race ready.
The morning of the race initially went smoothly. We were up around 6:45, ate my standard race breakfast, and began making the 25min trek down to the race start. I needed help with my rear disc wheel, which is impossible to pump by yourself. Luckily (or NOT!) Specialized had a booth set up at the race expo, and they were able to help me top up my tire pressures before the race. I made my way down to the transition, and this is where things started to get a bit sketchy... There was another athlete in MY assigned spot, and he refused to move his stuff after I asked him politely to move. I was a little pissed, but did not want to lose focus and simply let it slide.
I was all set up, ate a last gel and some electrolyte drink. Got my wetsuit on, and had about 5 min till my wave started. I knew from previous years that the swim start was quite aggressive due to the narrow swim start. However, with the help of super swimmer and best friend Lisa, my swim is much improved and I placed myself just behind the front line of guys to get a strong start. We had a 5 second count down, and then..... I dove into the water, and it was simply the most aggressive 100m I have ever swam. There was kicking to my entire body, got punched in the face, 1 guy swam over me, and then it happened. Another guy immediately swam over top of me, and grabbed the chest of my wetsuit in the process. He actually grabbed so hard that the entire upper left portion of my wetsuit was literally ripped off, leaving me to swim the reamaining 1400m with a severely damaged wetsuit. DRAMA! It was filling up with water a bit, and I could definitely feel some increased drag. I wasnt sure how to handle the situation, and thought it would be too difficult to take off the suit in the water. I also contemplated simply ripping the arm/left panal off the wetsuit, but didnt want to lose it in case it could be repaired later?? I decided there was really no option but to just put my head down and swim my ass off. I was at Wildflower, I had already had my first 2 races of the season cancelled, and was not to going to go down in this race without a fight.
The aftermath of my wetsuit - not repairable :(
My swim felt pretty strong, all things considered. I still had some difficulty sighting on the back half of the swim. The swim buoys are not well marked, and there were people all over the place, making it difficult to plan an appropriate line to swim in. I am sure I swam a bit extra. I exited the water in 22:47, which is not what I was hoping for, but still allowed me to be right in the mix of things :)
T1 went smooth, and before I knew it I was running fast to the mount line. Time to make up some ground!
Running my bike to the mount line - attempt #1 - if you look close, you can actually see the rear is completely flat :(
I hoped on my bike, and immediately it felt like the back wheel was grinding. I took a few more pedal strokes, and knew something major was wrong. I stopped, got off, and sure enough the rear tire was flat.
F@ck! My CO2 device would not work on the short valve stem, and I stood for a brief second to think about the given situation. No outside assistance?? Hmm? I knew that I needed to do everything in my power to get back into this race. I NEEDED to complete a race before the Hawaii 70.3 next month if I have any chance of doing well, so....I back tracked thru the transition, ran bare foot up the dirt hill with my bike on my back, and headed into the sport expo where the Specialized tent was located. I was not concerned with a DQ at this point, as I knew my race was already over. However, I needed the training, and really wanted to complete the race.
I was frantic for assistance. I dont want to bad mouth anyone, but the guy working the Specialized tent seemed to not know what he was doing!? I just assumed that since he is a professional bike mechanic, assisting the pro athletes, he would know what he was doing. WRONG. After not knowing where any of his tools were, placing a tube with a wrong valve length, and not being able to use the pump, 20 minutes had passed. Oh well. The tire did get fixed, and I simply tore back down the hill, back thru transition, got to the mount line, and got onto my bike :)
Finally on my bike after a successful bike mount on attempt #2 :)
As I got to the mount line, I decided to start my watch so I could get an accurate bike split for myself. I dont usually time myself, but this was a unique situation. I also quickly regrouped and made a new race plan. It was simple, I was going to go for broke the rest of the race and see how fast I could go, even if it meant blowing up in the process.
From that point on, my race was actually really awesome! I felt super on the bike! The little rest after the swim, and the adrenaline made for a great 40km. I simply rode past everyone this race. I was never passed, and I simply got stronger as I kept passing people. I seem to do much better racing from behind, and the momentum I was gaining felt amazing. I knew I had a good one under my belt. I dismounted my bike in a time of 1hour 9min 30sec, about 6 minutes faster than my time from 2008. YAY!!
I got off my bike, and was unsure if I had gone too hard or not. Whatever, at this point, the damage was done and I was just going to see how the run played out. T2 again was really smooth, and I was already thru transition and onto the run course before I could think.
2km into the run
There was again some confusion for me on the run course. On the course maps, the run is marked every mile for a total of 6 miles. On the actual race course, as I would find out, they marked every 1km. I was thinking that I was moving swiftly thru the run and couldn't believe at "mile 5" that I was almost done. WRONG! That was 5km, and I was only half done. I wasn't too phased however, as I was still feeling great. But that is poor planning on the part of the race organizers.
Running strong half way thru the run
I was still gaining some serious momentum during the later stages of the run :) I did not get passed once, and this is a first. All those mile repeats and early season run races felt like they were paying off! I also have to comment on the volunteers and spectators. They all really love my tattoos and sculpted facial hair, which makes for alot of fan fair. This was also really motivating and everyone was totally cheering me on, and yelling out flattering comments.
The difficult portion of the run comes at 6-9km with some pretty challenging hills. I just kept running thru the field and was just loving this race!
At 9km you are at the top of Lynch hill, which means that there is 1km down hill to the finish. There is a large gathering of spectators in this area, and alot of things going on here. There were a group of girls holding beer out, trying to get the athletes to drink it. If you remember, one of my goals was to drink beer after the race. I thought, my race was pretty much over from the start in terms of the result, and I was having a really fun time out there. So, why not chug a beer?? I did actually win a beer mile last year, so, what could it hurt, right. I grabbed the beer to the delight of the crowd, downed it, and started my descent to the finish.
I still found myself passing numerous athletes, and really was feeling strong this late in the race. Maybe the carbs from the beer?? I had 2 athletes try to stay with me when I passed them. But I really found my running legs and sprinted the last km. Down the finishing shoot, I looked over my shoulder, and I had dropped them all :)
Sprinting to the line - belly full of beer :)
My final run time was 42:57, which I was pleased with considering how hard I rode on the bike, and how incredibly hot it was outside - 80degrees. My final finish time of 2:33 was good enough for 25th place.
I must admit that this is not how I had hoped this race would go for me. I was hoping to better my result and time from 2008, where I clocked in under 2:20 and finished in 7th place. My secret goal was a top 5 finish. However, I was not really upset at all. I was over the top happy with how I handled myself during the race. I never panicked, and utilized all the resources I had around me to have a successful race. I was able to finish despit 2 major equipment issues, and had an absolute blast. The spectators really helped me along the way, and kept a smile on my face all day.
Wildflower 2011 was just an exceptional personal learning experience, and I will take away alot from this race!
Now, for a week of recovery, and then 1 month to go until Hawaii. Now that all the bugs are hopefully worked out, I am ready to rock the Half Iron :)
Stephen
