Wildflower Triathlon Race Report

Wildflower's Lake San Antonio was lacking water sufficient for a swim (or even a puddle jump) this year (due to damn repair & drought), so the format of the race was changed to a swim in Harris Creek, 2 mile run, and then the traditional ride and run minus the long run downhill into the pit and back up.

No Swimming!

Karl testing out the water we found....prepping for our swim bet.

Pro Female Swim Start (Photo: Triathlete)

I fought for feet to the first buoy, got on some; they were slow feet, so I went around them and swam solo pulling some girls around the lake for most of the 1.2 miles. I came out of the water in 27:47. (Losing my swim bet to Karl who came out in 25 high...I am 0 for 3 so far this year - doh!)

After the swim we ran up this awesome 15% grade ramp. It actually wasn't that bad, but definitely makes you find your run legs fast.

I came out of the water in 10th and moved into 8th on the 2 mile run to transition. The run was a great sandy trail and I loved that we got to run in what used to be the lake.

Photo: Eric Larson / Tri Lounge

On the bike I moved into 6th before mile ten. My friend Jesse started five minutes behind me and when he passed me early in the race I tried my best to keep him in sight as long as possible. Other than that it was a solitary ride of doing work and trying to keep my mind from being too overly "squirrel" distracted. I came off the bike in 6th after 2:43.

The run at Wildflower is my favorite. I moved into 5th, and cut the distance to fourth down to 30 seconds, but in the end I ran out of real estate. I honestly missed the steep run down and back up out of the pit from miles 10-12. It's where I typically catch girls and I love that you can see your competition. My run time was 1:31, for 5th overall in 4:47.

Thanks Wildflower for putting on a fantastic race & paying pros ON race day!

I finished 5th here two years ago and was aiming for top 3. However, it was a great (hot!) day of racing hard with friends and I am happy. I'm excited to race this year - I had several seasons that included life drama and honestly it's really hard to race well when life is falling apart around you. I'm in a good place right now and I think it's reflected in racing. Next up is Escape from Alcatraz!

RACE DAY NUTRITION:

Race Morning - oatmeal, PowerBar, banana with peanut butter

Pre-Swim -  Latte PowerGel (2x Caffeine)

2-Mile Run to T1 - Vanilla PowerGel (No Caffeine)

56-Mile Bike - 5 no caffeine PowerGels mixed with water, Perform to drink (LOTS!), last 20 miles 2 Caffeine gels

11 Mile Run - 4 PowerGels (3 had caffeine)

A huge THANK YOU to my sponsors:

Zoot - fast shoes, flexible wetsuits, awesome training and racing apparel.
Microscope World - my other great job.
Profile Design - fast wheels, aero bars and hydration. I love the Aero HC system.
Powerbar - gels, hydration and recovery for ultimate performance.
Nytro - my local (but they sell all over the world!) bike shop with all things racing/training.
Extreme Endurance - helping me recover faster and race harder.
Rudy Project - great helmets and sunglasses, awesome colors!
Bont - best cycling shoes around.
Kenda Tires - great tires for fast racing and less punctures.