The Wildflower long course( half ironman distance) triathlon is probably one of my favorite triathlon. Unlike most other big triathlons, WF has a very low key feel. It is hosted about 30 min west of Paso Robbles at Lake San Antonio. The vast majority of the competitors camp the night before and I think that calms most of the field down before the race.
Other than the low key factor, the course is a great race course. The Swim is lake swim in questionable quality water but a pretty easy navigation. The bike is hilly at the beginning and end and rolling in the middle. The run is really hilly and partially on trails for the first 7 miles before flatting out a bit and then running you down a big hill and making you U-turn and go up it and then bombing down a steep hill to the finish. Basically, it’s a hard course and compounded by generally really hot. It’s my kinda course.
The 1.2 mile swim went OK. I got out to a descent start and after a little jostling everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a set of feet to draft so I spent the entire time swimming by myself swerving in and out of slower swimmers from earlier waves. As I exited the water, I heard the announcer counting down the next wave so I knew I swam just under 30 min. Not bad but a little slower than I had hoped.
After a decent transition, I headed out on the 56 mile bike. The only bad part about the WF bike course is the road quality. If you have anything loose on your bike, it is going to bounce off and into the abyss. The first 20k goes over some big hills and is constantly rolling. I took my time and held back knowing I had a long day ahead. About 20 k into the bike, I found another competitor and we went back and forth through the rollers and helped to make the flat part fly by. You make a turn and start the gradual climb to the base of the big hill on the course nasty grade. Through here my pacing partner disappeared. Just before the crest of nasty grade, I caught one of training partners Chad and knew I was having a solid bike ride. Just before entering the park, about 5 miles to go, my pacing partner from early in the bike caught me and put a little bit of time of my heading into transition.
I didn’t get my bike split and it’s still not posted, but as I entered transition, I didn’t see too many bikes on the rack so I knew I was in the mix. While the weather was ideal for Wildflower standards, a good 15 degrees cooler than normal, it was starting to heat-up. As I exited transition, I caught my bike pacing partner. I told him good bike and promptly ran away from him. I stayed really calm and in control for the first 10k. It has steep hills that kill me if I push too hard. After surviving that part, the trail nears the park entrance and flattens out. This is where it’s time to run hard. I began pushing and every time I wanted to ease up I thought about California 70.3 where I had the second the second fastest amateur run, beat by 2 seconds. As I started the long downhill, I saw Tim Hola running up, first in my age-group, and started looking for others. I found one more just before the turn and hoped I could chase him down before the finish. I pushed super hard and caught him near the top of the hill at the 12 mile marker. FYI the mile markers at WF have little to do with the actual distances. The bad news was, I had to push like mad as I crested the top and ran the long steep hill to the finish. I ran for my life and held him off.
I finished in 4 hrs 32 min and change. I ran 1hr 23 min and 54 seconds. Thank fully, I was a minute faster than my girlfriend Emily who anchored the winning mixed relay team. I finished 2nd in my age-group and the 10th amateur. I have no complaints and think my race went well. My legs where completely shot so I knew I gave it everything I had. Fortunately, one of my training partners was at the Complex tent, so I let the computer fire my legs for a cool down as I relaxed in the shade. Definitely, the way to go.
I am still a long way away from Kona and my form seems to be coming around. Next stop is Auburn in a few weeks. Another epic course that I have been wanting to race for years.
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