Wildflower Practice Weekend

This past weekend, I went with my Team in Training chapter plus many other chapters to practice the Wildflower Triathlon route. This is the triathlon I'm training for, so it was great to see the entire course ahead of time. (I had a previous post about the course before I had first-hand knowledge.) The organizers had arranged lifeguards for the swim and aid stations for the bike and run. We camped by Lake San Antonio just like we will for the actual event. It was an excellent dry run.

On Saturday, we woke up early to do the swim. The water was about 61F. We had our wetsuits on, and mine did a good job of keeping my body warm. My face hurt from the cold though. Once I got used to the cold, I finished the swim easily. Here is the group swimming.

After the swim, we got on our bikes and did the full bike course. It was much hillier and hotter than I expected. I was really glad to see it beforehand because I would not bring enough food and water to the real event otherwise.

The Olympic distance course is an out-and-back with very little shade. It took me about 1.5 hours and I went through 3 water bottles. Normally, I drink about one bottle per hour, so this was a lot of water for me to drink.


View Larger Map

On the bike, I also tried Shot Bloks for the first time. They are a like gels or Gu but in gummy form. I put them in my Bento Box where I could easily access one at a time. I really liked them. It was nice to be able to eat a little at a time. With a packet of Gu, you have to eat the whole thing at once or else it will goop all over the place.

We spent the rest of Saturday hanging out around camp, drinking beer, and playing cornhole.

On Sunday, we did the full run. Like the bike, it was much hillier than I expected. It made me push back my goal pace for the event to 8 or 8.5 min/mile from 7 or 7.5 min/mile. The last mile is a steep downhill that made my knees hurt.


View Larger Map