Wildflower is a notoriously hard triathlon. The course is located in the middle of no where outside of Paso Robles, California at Lake San Antonio, which is approximately four hours south of San Francisco.
I have a love/hate relationship with Wildflower. Wildflower 2005 was my first Olympic distance triathlon, which was a wonderful experience. The race is the largest I have ever participated in and the festival atmosphere of the event makes it legendary.
WF not only challenges ones body, but also the mind, as the terrain is treacherous. Last year I made the jump from the Olympic Course to the Long Course - a Half Ironman distance course - a challenging decision, as the long course always breaks me down. But, I am not one to shy away from a challenge, so I continually find myself signing up again for the next year.
An added element to WF - if you want to stay at the lake, you have to camp. So, Wildflower turns into a social gathering of triathletes like none other. Unless of course, you are like me, and you prefer not to camp for races. I like camping, but not for triathlon.
My mom found a local bed and breakfast in Paso Robles for me five years ago and staying there has become as much a part of WF weekend for me as the race. The innkeepers are like family, and I look forward to seeing them each year. They have been through much with me, and its always exciting to see them. This year was no exception as we discovered that they were a wealth of knowledge for our upcoming Italian adventures. I look forward to the day when I am able to enjoy a stay with Diane and Jim that doesn't involve rushing around getting ready to race!
The drive down on Friday was a bit of an adventure, as it was POURING down rain. WF is notoriously hot and we started to wonder if we were going to have a cool Wildflower. (Answer: No, and Chris has the sunburn to prove it, which is highly entertaining as the only place he didn't burn on his arms was where his race number was written and now he have a lovely 375 emblazoned in his skin.)
After registering, we spent a few moments visiting with one of Chris' good friends from high school who was racing the Olympic distance event (he came in FIFTH OVERALL!!!) and found fellow IM France participant Jake. We also discovered that two contestants from the current season of Biggest Loser were racing the long course event, which thrilled me to no end, as Biggest Loser has been one of my favorite television shows this season. I find the television program inspirational and I was hopeful to see cousins Blaine and Dane.
After enjoying a pre-race meal of pasta with Jake in Paso, we headed back to the B&B to try to get some quality sleep before the race. I have had difficulty sleeping the night before my past few events, so I was thrilled to sleep well and feel rested before the event. We awoke VERY early and headed out to the lake.
It's organized chaos out there on race day, which is part of the allure. We headed down to transition and readied ourselves for our race. Chris and Jake's heat was early, over an hour before mine. I saw them off and then headed back to transition to get ready myself. I aged up this year and complained with everyone else about what a late start we were getting - the unwanted result of such a large event.
Finally our appointed start time neared and fellow GGTCer Tina and I headed down to the start. I had not been in water since the swim at Oceanside and I was hopeful for a good swim, as Oceanside had been a good one, even without training. Alas, it was not to be. The race started strongly, but for some reason my sighting was off kilter and I was all over the course. It took me three minutes longer to do the swim course this year over last year. I reminded myself that this event was a "training day" and to push through.
The bike started off strong and I felt good and strong as I neared the infamous "Nasty Grade," a long hill that pops up at about mile 41 of the 56 mile bike course. I powered through Nasty Grade, the false summit and the hill that awaits thereafter. The final 10 miles after Nasty Grade went slowly and I started to grow frustrated with my trudging along. I found out why I felt so slow at about mile 54 when a man yelled out, "Way to power through, even with a flat!" What? Did I have a flat? How could I have a flat? I didn't feel like I had a flat! Sure enough, I looked down and saw my rear tire was flat. Two miles from the finish line? Not changing it! I don't know how long I had that flat, but my time was about 15 minutes slower than I wanted to be. Again, good training, as riding with a flat is hard work.
The run is my least favorite part of triathlon - simply because I am not a fast runner. People often ask me why I do triathlon if I don't like running. It's not that I don't like it, I just grow frustrated with my slow pace. It's only when I spend great amounts of time running that I am able to increase the pace, and training for an IM does not allow that level of dedication to running. So, I trudge along.
WF is the only triathlon I have gotten sick participating in. Last year at about mile 1 of the run I started to feel nauseous and I started throwing up at mile 3. This year, I managed to hold it off the nausea until about mile 5 and didn't get sick until mile 9 (an improvement!). Feeling ill makes it nearly impossible to run, so the run course was a long one. Chris and Jake had been waiting for hours before I finally crossed the finish line, but they were in good spirits, having been distracted by beer.
After the race I spotted Dane and Blaine from Biggest Loser as they posed for photos with fans and reveled in their finishes. I would expect to see flashes of the race on the show's finale next week. They look good!
Even though I was frustrated with my time and having gotten sick, I consider every race an accomplishment. I enjoy having my health and a hobby which allows to surround myself with such wonderful people. It appears I am not the only one who feels this way, as I just watched the coverage of the 2008 Ironman Championship and you could see the same emotion on so many faces as the participants cross the finish line... an inspiration for the next 7 weeks.
I knew when I agreed to do an Ironman France that it was not a good idea. I was burnt out, over extended and knew that 2009 was going to be a big year, as my training partner was applying for law school and would be working at least, if not more, than me.
