On May 3, I completed the Olympic distance of the Wildflower Triathlon. It felt really good to cross the finish line after all the training I've done. I finished in 2 hours 54 minutes. Here is the breakdown:
| Interval | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Swim | 29:10 | 31:18 min/mi |
| T1 | 03:20 | |
| Bike | 01:27:21 | 17.07 mi/hr |
| T2 | 01:57 | |
| Run | 52:28 | 08:27 min/mi |
The official results are up too.
Tina and I drove down with Tomas, a coworker and Team in Training teammate, to Lake San Antonio on Friday afternoon. We wanted to get our campsite set up before dark. It was raining lightly on Friday, but it cleared up by the time the long course event started on Saturday morning. Team in Training had its own section of the campground-- there were hundreds of TNT people competing in the two events that weekend.
We had a pasta dinner on both Friday and Saturday night. Representatives from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society told us how much money we raised: a few million dollars just for this one event! After 29 years, Team in Training is on track to raise its one billionth dollar by the end of this year. That's an incredible amount of money to go to cancer research and cancer patients.
On Saturday morning, Tina started a long search for a Starbucks where she could get internet access to do work while I went down to watch the long course event. Near the transition area, there was a large expo with food and vendors. Music played all day while announcers told us how the race was unfolding. I cheered on my teammates as they came out of the water and got on their bikes. Once I had seen most of them, I hiked a mile uphill back to the campsite for lunch. I ate, took a nap, and then watched the run portion of the race since it came right through the campground. By that time, Tina had returned after many hours of driving, and we hiked back down to the finish line in time to see my mentor, Ellen, finish the race. We had another pasta dinner, and I went to bed early (with earplugs) while the long course folks partied.
On Sunday morning, I woke up early to get ready for my race. After some group photos, we climbed on our bikes and rode down to the start/transition/finish area. Using a permanent pen, they wrote my number on both arms, both hands, and both legs. I thought this was a little excessive since they had already given us numbered stickers for our bike helmets and a paper bib number for the run. While I was being marked up, John Tannaci walked by. We chatted for a bit, and I learned that he planned to swim in the 63 degree water without a wetsuit. Yikes!
I set up my very small transition area, applied my body glide, put on my wetsuit, ate a packet of Gu, and made my way to the starting line. The first wave, collegiate men, started at 9 am, collegiate women started at 9:05, men 17-24 started at 9:10, and my wave, men 25-29 started at 9:15. Once the 9:10 wave started, we were allowed to take a few minutes in the water to get warmed up. We regrouped at the starting line, and I decided to stand a few rows back from the front.
The announcer counted us down, and my wave charged into the water. As you can see in the photo above, the entry into the water isn't very wide. The mass of men entering the water meant that I barely had to paddle to move with the group because the current was so strong. I'd heard stories of triathlon starts with people being swum over, kicked, and elbowed, but my start went smoothly. After a couple hundred meters, I was able to settle into my rhythm. I veered off course a couple of times during the swim, but overall it went well.
The transition to the bike was good, and by the time I got on my bike, I noticed I had passed a couple of collegiate women (remember they started 10 minutes ahead of me). I felt good on the bike and mostly continued to pass people. A few kilometers in, I came up on a kid trying to reach something under his seat while he was riding. I heard something metal hit the ground, and I figured he had dropped one of the CO2 cartridges used to inflate a tire. He stood up to look back and his seat fell off! Pretty tough to go the remaining 30 km without a bike seat. Luckily, nothing bad happened to me on the ride. I ate my Shot Bloks, drank my water (they handed out full bottles on the course!), and paced myself until I got back to the transition area.
I felt strong going into the run. The first mile (of six) is pretty flat. Miles 2 through 5 were uphill, and I really felt it. I didn't walk, but I was running pretty slowly by the time I got to the top of the hill. I tried to drink water at the aid stations, but my stomach wasn't interested. The last mile was steep downhill and I barely had anything left. A girl tried to pass me in the last 100m, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I dug deep and sprinted into the finish. It felt so good to be done!
Thanks to Tina and my teammates for taking pictures:
During the race, one of the things that impressed me was all of the cheering I got because I was wearing a Team in Training jersey. Supporters were all over the course yelling, "Go Team!". It made me feel really good and gave me an extra boost. It felt even better to hear Tina cheering for me. :)
After the race, we struggled back uphill to the campsite where we packed up and started the long trip home. With only one road out of the campground and tens of thousands of people trying to leave, the traffic was horrible. It took an hour to go just a couple of miles.
The weekend was a bit too much of a production for my taste though: the long drive, camping the night before the big race, the hike in and out of the transition area, and the traffic on the way out. I plan to do more triathlons in the future but probably not Wildflower again.
In all, it was a great experience, and I'm really proud of all the training I did leading up to the event. Finishing in under 3 hours was great too!
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