Wildflower Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

Swim went fine. Went a little off course on the turnaround as it was not clear where the markers were. Lifeguard on a paddleboard straightened me out and I did not loose any time or miss a marker.

Planned on going out very easy as the bike course is tough, especially in the beginning. Did not want to come out of the water in full Ox Debt and have to try and climb that hill.

Swim went right as planned. Was very easy and felt comfortable coming out of the water. (Was OK with the slower swim time)

Had a problem getting my Singlet on. It rolled up on me a couple of times and I had to struggle a bit with it.

Probably lost about 20-30 seconds screwing around with it.

Wear my singlet under my suit. (Probably Under Rash Guard)

First hill really killed me. I was spent by the time I reached the top. Was able to recover and did pretty well on the rest of the course. (And Hills)

Do not have Aero Bars and so am able to pass a bunch of folks on climbs, but then get passed again on the downhill. (Can't go fast enough)

Burned up way too much energy on the bike. I cranked the hills and made up a lot of time. Bike time could (And Should) have been a lot worse than it was.

Need Aero Bars and a faster bike to do well here. Need more hill training if that could be possible. (I train the hills a lot)

T2 Went Fine. Was easily able to swap out my gear.

I brought along a water bottle full of water but quickly realized I cannot run with a bottle in my hand. (I chucked it)

The Run up the stairs past the boat ramp killed me.

Probably nothing different here. Time is not that great owing to the size of the Transition area and proximity of Run Exit to my spot.

Got off on the run and immediately went into total Ox Debt. Legs were trashed from mashing through the hills on the bike.

Run Course was very hot, dry and dusty.

Had a really tough time with the 1st 5k (Gallow Walked Mile 2-3). Second 5k (Which is more difficult in terms of hills) went much better.

Gallow Walking was a great recovery method to be sure. But there was probably a time to pick it up a lot sooner than I did. (Probably after the 1st Mile or so)

Keep Moving and stay loose on my feet.

The fatigue in my quads and Ox-Debt would have cleared up before the 1st mile was up. Instead, I ended up walk/running the 1st 5k.

Space Blanket, Good Food and lots of water and Gatorade. (Free Pasta Lunch)

Then 2 Mile walk back to my camp (With all of my gear) so that I could head home.


Fitness was not that great, especially on the bike. Need to work on bike form and conserving energy and muscles.

We will see how these lessons translate at Carpinteria in September.


This is a great race. Very competitive and difficult course, but still a great race. TriCal is an excellent Race Organizer. Tons of Volunteers really made this a great race too.

Will be back next year maybe to do the Long Course.