Wildflower

All my training for this one moment:) Celebrating Cinco deMayo back at camp after a day of racing at Wildflower. Thanks to Brian McNitt for the video.

The Somewhat Quick and Dirty (Full report and images to come)
The Swim was refreshing, from the first stroke to the last. It was surprisingly choppy because of high winds and even I was initially taken aback despite being used to rough water. Didn't take much of an adjustment though and soon I was back into my zone. The wind continued to make it hell on the bike. It hit us at the start gave us a break in the middle then hit us again at the end of our ride. Not only did it slow us down but it also made a major descent on the ride dangerous. The wind would buffet riders and bikes became very unsteady. Bikes would get blown off position from the gusts. From what I heard from the spectators there were a lot of crashes. While I was out there, emergency vehicles passed me 4 times on the course. After the race I saw folks with road rash walking around!@#$*? My biggest worry wasn't me crashing but someone crashing in front of me. I was more than happy to get back in from the ride. Of course on the run there was barely any wind:) The hills protected us and it got warm. Run was tough and I pulled back the first 6 miles. In Wildflower 60% of the run is on single track and fire road. At mile 7 the course took us through camp right through our club's camp site where I was pleasantly surprised by a huge cheering section. Lots of love, photographs and even picked up a pacer for 50yds or so. It gave me a welcome boost and I was able to pick up the pace even more. By this time we were back on asphalt and I was able to motor along pretty quickly. Came to the finish line with just about 3 minutes under my time goal. Halfway through the run I thought I would miss it, gave up, ran faster without it hanging over me, got my boost from camp, ran even faster and made it, whew. Felt great after the race and returning back to the transition area to pack up and retrieve my bike I ran into Donald. He called out to me, didn't recognize him with his shades on. Talked for a bit, exchanged stories - nice guy. He was disappointed about his race but that's his story to tell. An excellent writer you'll enjoy the report.

Overall a great first event at Wildflower. The course and the weather seems to team up to make it a challenging event, at least in recent years. 3 years ago it rained. 2 years ago there was a heatwave. Last year it was normal, meaning the normal hot weather. This year it was windy. Hahaha bring it on. Soon as I crossed the finish line I was already planning my return for next year.

Sunday was spent cheering on the short course athletes. At the finish line I thought I heard the announcer say the name "Graham Cooper". Graham is the winner of last year's Western States 100 and a great triathlete. Maybe just my imagination.

Leave you with a post from a forum which I thought was particulary funny. It was forwarded by one of our coaches.
I've raced Wildflower 7 times since 1997. Heat, hills, etc, were nothing compared to the hell of Saturday. the swim chop (3 mins slower on average for most AG'ers) and the tornado that greeted us on the bike were the toughest hands down conditions I have ever seen in just about any race. granted I've struggled with a badly herniated disk and anemia since last year, but my bike split was 20 minutes slower than 2006. 

My plan was to take it easy the first 15, but just pedaling I was pushing 200-220 watts (42 year old lady here), which is very high for me. On the flat heading to Jolon Road , I was going 11 mph. It sucked big hairy donkey balls. I was 40 minutes off my time from last year (again, many injuries since, but still!, and a personal worse by over 25 minutes). 

The fact that Bjorn smoked that bike is a testament to what a great biker he is. 

Sue