Wildflower Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I started off in the middle of the pack, and went with the flow. I felt very relaxed, more so than usual, probably because I was putting zero pressure on myself to perform. I had forgotten my goggles, so I was wearing Tracy's. They were great until they started to fog up, at which point I could barely see anything. Instead of trying to see where I was going, I just followed the people around me. I felt ok, and didn't push the pace at all.

Not forget my goggles.

In keeping with my relaxed approach to this race, I took my time in transition.

Nothing, given the circumstances.

Immediately I felt sluggish, and I knew I needed to stick with my plan. I was really glad I had taken my bike computer off to avoid obsessing over my speed. I took it easy up Beach hill, and on all of the rolling hills on Interlake. On Jolon I just settled into a nice easy rhythm. I could tell I was going slow, because way more people than usual were passing me. I could really tell on Nasty grade - last year I passed tons of people, this year only a few. I really wasn't feeling good by the time I got back into the park, and was relieved to be done with the bike. I briefly considered throwing in the towel at that point, but I wasn't feeling truly awful yet (and I'm really stubborn) so I decided to continue.

Know when I'm pushing myself too far.

The fact that I didn't have enough energy to run with my bike in transition should have served as a big red flag warning me not to continue. However, after a leisurely transition, I went out on the run.

Turn in my timing chip and go drink some water.

Given my illness and the heat, I knew I would struggle on the run. I just didn't realize how bad it would get.

I started off jogging very lightly, at a pace I thought I could maintain indefinitely. I felt a little better after a pit stop, and I made sure to down both water and gatorade at the first few aid stations. I walked most of the uphills, but felt ok running the downhills and relatively level stretches. As planned, I walked up the hill at mile 4. Last year I had taken pride in running every step, but knew that wasn't possible this time, so I had to settle for just moving forward.

By mile 6, I was suffering big time. I could no longer run for stretches longer than a few hundred feet, even on the downhills, and my pace was getting slower. (I did manage to high five the naked guy!) At mile 9 I shuffled down the pit, which seemed even more endless than I remembered, and at the turnaround I immediately started walking. At the top I had planned to start running, but after a short attempt I found myself walking again.

I had thought I was keeping up well on hydration. I got sprayed with water and took a cup each of gatorade and water at most aid stations, and never felt like the heat was getting to me. However, after about 11.5 miles, I found myself walking slowly on an endless stretch of shadeless road. Soon I realized that even the slowest walking pace was unmanageable. I started to feel lightheaded, and I sat down on the side of the road, I put my head between my knees, thinking I was going to throw up. A few people came by and asked if I was ok, and I said "not really". A couple people offered me water and gatorade, and one woman had me lay back while she held my feet in the air. Obviously this created quite a spectacle, and an official truck pulled up. In the truck was a doctor. He quickly concluded that I was dehydrated, and advised that I call it a day. At that point I knew he was right. There wasn't a chance in hell I was going to be capable of walking the remaining mile and a half. I took a ride with a ranger to the med tent.

Not put myself in the potentially dangerous situation of being severely dehydrated.

It was busy in the med tent and I was looking ok compared to a lot of the people in there, so they didn't order me onto a cot or anything (not that there was a free one). At that point I felt ok enough to walk around a little, and I found Tracy, who had been worried. I went back to the med tent and sat around for a bit, drinking fluids. Then Tracy and I went and got more fluids (free coconut water!) and some food. In the hour following my "finish" I drank a bottle of gatorade, a bottle of water, 3 boxes of coconut water, and some more water. After that I was able to make it up the hill and back to camp.


Being sick. I really should have just enjoyed a weekend of camping and spectating.


I still had a lot of fun camping with my crew, cheering them on, and watching my sister finish her 4th Wildflower olympic. And after 5 years I finally saw the naked mile. Oh my!!

I can't say enough nice things about the people who helped me on the side of the road - the competitors, volunteers, doctor, and ranger. They were just awesome.

Having finished this course twice before (and especially having had a decent race last year) really made my DNF easier to deal with. It still sucks, but I guess if you do a lot of races, it's bound to happen at some point. I really brought it upon myself by deciding to race while sick. Lesson learned! Now I'm looking forward, planning (after a short rest) to dive back into training for my ultimate goal - IMCdA in 7 weeks.