Wildflower

I finally pulled the trigger a month or so ago and decided to register for Wildflower, I had heard so much about how much fun this race was I had to do it for myself, and I was not disappointed.  So my sister Christine and I decided to drive out to the race from Boulder, since it meant bringing all our triathlon gear and camping gear to get the full Wildflower experience.  She was going to do the Olympic race Sunday and I was to do the 1/2 Iron distance Saturday.  So Thursday the road trip began, loaded with all our gear we headed out of Boulder set for California.  We made it to Vegas that night and found a sweet hotel "Near the Las Vegas Strip" for $32, not bad.

A little run around Vegas in the morning and we were off again, we needed to get to the race site before 4 PM for me to make the pro meeting and packet pickup.  Arriving at the race site the venue was beautiful, we picked up all the necessary passes at the gate and headed over to pick up my packet and attend the pro meeting.  The pros were treated as VIPs throughout this race so we were able to drive directly to the site, attend breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, and get a campsite or cabin.  What great treatment, this race was turning out to be one of the best I had ever attended.  We headed over for dinner after the pro meeting which was great, but I was getting a little worried that I still had nothing unpacked.
After dinner we went over to check out our campsite, the place was completely packed with cars and tents on every inch of the campground.  Our site was still empty though and it look like a fairly nice one, running water and electric at the site, hardly roughing it.  We unpacked, setup camp, and went for a short ride.  I think I was ready now and could relax around the camp fire...finally.

Race morning came, but not really that early as we had a 8AM start and I was still on CST.  I made breakfast, got a few final things set, and biked down to the start with my gear.  At transition I got my place set and readied for the start.  The men's pro wave had around 35 guys in it with top competitors from around the world, it was to be another great race.  The water temp was 63 degrees so the race was wetsuit legal for everyone, we had time for a little warmup.  I tried to start in front as usual but only managed second row, no worry I could swim there. 

There was a countdown and the gun went off.  The cool water felt good as I fought my way to the front in the first 200 meters or so.  Before we even arrived at the first turn there were two guys off the front and I was swimming with another couple guys.  The rest of the swim was uneventful, I held third place.  The two off the front were Dustin Mclarty and Clayton Fettell they were over 1:30 ahead by the end of the swim.  I could see them but not keep pace. 

I held third place the entire swim and lead the chase group out of the water.

T1 went well I put on my new LG helmet which was the first time, it is a great fit and very comfortable, I think I could wear it as a normal helmet not just for races.  The bike course headed south around the entire lake, starting uphill.  Near the gate exiting the park at mile 2 or so I went to put on my sunglasses that I had just bought a week ago and dropped them right on the ground.  500 meters of so down the road I yelled to the CAL Poly volunteers at that aid station that I lost my glasses back there number 69!  I was not turning around, but hopped for the best.   After a few miles a couple of the guys passed me and I had to make sure I was following the stagger rule for this race every time I was passed.  The bike course at Wildflower I knew was hard with the hills, but throw in the head and cross winds as the day was bringing and it was really tough.  I was there to race my own race and I knew where my power was to be held at not to over exert myself for the hilly trail run yet to come.  The bike course was littered with camera crews, motorcycles, and officials.  The big nasty was just that very big and very nasty at mile 41.  Once you thought you were at the top the energizer bunny was drumming  and you were ready to come down, only to find around the next bend was more big nasty hills.  The end of the bike was down hill to transition, I had fallen to 12th place or so, I needed to make up some time on the run now.  I felt pretty good for the run as I held my power at 313 watts average for the 56 mile bike.

T2 went well I was quick and got my Zoots on and hit the trail.  The run course at Wildflower is really nice with 60% trails, but there are a lot of hills.  As I found out they were quite steep as well and slowed my run to a snails pace heading up.  I ran with Joe Umphenour for the first 7 miles, he passed me heading down hill and I passed him going up.  We were passed by only one other racer.  At mile 7 there was a long uphill and I pulled ahead of Joe for good.  Each aid station was filled with CAL Poly volunteers cheering me on, plus the various groups of people throughout the entire run course it was great to have all the support.  I could not really tell where I was in the race until mile 10 where there was an out and back, I could see the leaders and the two guys in front of me I needed to catch before the end of the race.  They were only 30 seconds and a minute in front, the rest of the group was not within distance for me to catch.  I managed to pull each in during the next 2 miles up some long hills.  The last mile of the run was down a huge hill and I could not let off as there was one guy still behind me by 20-30 seconds.  That last hill hurt pounding downhill the whole way.  Heading into the finish line chute I felt good again, tired yes, but good.

I ended up 11th overall just out of the prize money, but 10th place was over 1:30 in front of me.  They had these great strawberries at the end....mmmmm.

Overall a great race, great course, and one of the best managed/run races I have ever been too, I will definitely be back again next year.  Thanks TriCalifornia for putting on such a fantastic race.  Oh and I even went back that afternoon to the aid station that I lost my sunglasses at and the great CAL Poly volunteers had them waiting for me, incredible.

Thanks Christine for all the support and company to and from the race.

Swim - 00:22:51 00:01:10 pace 3rd   
T1 - 00:01:17   
Bike 02:26:48 22.80 avg 17th   
T2 - 00:01:34   
Run - 01:24:41    00:06:27 pace 18th
Total - 04:17:11    11th

Sunday Christine and I swapped places and it was her day to race and I got to pull race support.  Her wave was not until 10:10AM, so it was a late start as well.  I slept in the tent much better that night, had some nice camp coffee and headed down for her start and breakfast.  She blew the competition out of the water and took 1st overall women in the Olympic race by 2 minutes.  Nice job Christine, way to come back after injury and show them all what is possible.

And the drive back to Boulder began soon after, next year I think I will fly...