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 Swim
Comments: Water temp was great, very little contact throughout, felt very comfortable. Took almost a minute off my 2009 time and hit my target of ~35 minutes. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Really good swim.  Transition 1
Comments: This was a good transition...took a while mostly because of the tough run up the boat ramp on rough concrete from the swim exit. I was a bit more deliberate getting my socks on than normal and I was wearing different shoes than usual which were slower to strap on. 611 of 1014 o/a - 19 of 45 AG What would you do differently?: Have more sunscreen spray left in the can...  Bike
Comments: Probably my worst performance on the bike ever (other than the year I broke a spoke at Malibu). Lower back tightened up at 12 miles, so I opted not to push it for the rest of the ride. Needed to pee and wanted to stretch my back, so I took a break at 26.5 miles. While at the aid station, I spent about a minute helping a woman who was freaked out about a slow leak in back tire. Felt better after the break and actually did well on the climbs. But the neuroma in my right foot got bad around mile 40 and I was dealing with that the rest of the way. On top of all that, my Garmin 910xt was stuck in swim-to-bike transition mode...it was basically just a glorified stopwatch the rest of the day. What would you do differently?: No one thing. Just a bad day on the bike...a couple minor, chronic injury issues...long (6 minute) pit stop...and temps spiking into the mid-80s right when I was getting to the well-known "Nasty Grade" at mile 41. Just decided to be present in the ride and set myself up fo have a better run than in 2009. Transition 2
Comments: Had to take right shoe off because I could tell I had a pebble in it. Forgot to grab the handheld bottle I brought. 576 of 1014 o/a - 21 of 45 AG What would you do differently?: Remember the bottle...  Run
Comments: Determined to run the big climb on the trail section of the course and wanted to run the long climb out of "The Pit" around mile 10. Managed the first, but after a stop at a portapotty at mile 6 that was an absolute oven, I realized I was very dehydrated. Ran to about mile 9...did a 1 minute walk break at the top of a climb there. Ran from the turnaround at the bottom of The Pit a short distance up to mile 10, then started doing 2 minute walk breaks, based on feel (heart rate spikes, mostly). Neuroma got back again throughout this section, whether I was running or walking. Ran...and ran pretty fast...on the big Lynch Hill descent the last mile. What would you do differently?: Not forget the handheld bottle I brought. Otherwise, this was a good run and I handled the 88F temps as well as could be expected. I was one of very, very, few people running any of the climb out of The Pit. Post race
Warm down: Tried to eat and rehydrate. Could tell that I was in danger of passing out when I went to pack my gear, so I took that process REALLY slowly. What limited your ability to perform faster: Right foot neuroma. 88 degree heat. Event comments: As they used to call it: "The One and Only." After a drought-related cancellation last year, the race is back under its "Wildflower Experience" branding...now has a 10 mile trail run, 5K fun run and stand-up paddleboard races added. The Long Course and the overall "Woodstock of Triathlon" vibe remain unchanged and both are worth the effort to do. Profile Album Last updated: 2018-01-09 12:00 AM
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United States
Wildflower Experience
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 535/1014
Age Group = M 55-59
Age Group Rank = 19/45
Coming off running Boston on 4/16, I felt fully recovered heading into this race, but probably not fully trained up on the bike, due to both injury rehab and focusing on marathon prep.
Drove up to the race venue midday on Friday for check-in. I'd done the race once before--in 2009--and was quickly reminded how challenging it is to get around the venue, with transition and the expo one mile down from parking and campgrounds. Walked down to get my packet and buy a souvenir t-shirt, but took shuttle back up to my car in the short-term lot.
Spent some time finding a suitable campsite. Got set up and took my bike out for a checkout ride, then hooked up briefly with a friend from my running club. Had a light dinner and went to bed in my new tent at 9.
Got up before dawn and started to get ready. Around 6:45--after re-charging my phone in my car--I got on my bike and rode down the hill to transition.
I was in the 2nd-to-last wave. Forecast called for highs in the mid-80s, so the late start did me no favors. At 7:55, walked down the long rough concrete boat ramp for the hour long wait to my start.
Other than the bike ride to transition and some light hip stretches, not a thing.00