Wildflower Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon

Had been working on swim at Masters, so was eager to see how it paid off. Felt good on the swim, never really tired out. Was able to get into rhythm and find some feet. Was hoping that my time would be a little faster, but overall, stroke felt good, and stayed on course. Course felt a little long coming back in, Garmin agrees, but you never know with swim courses. Tried to remember to enjoy the swim, since it was relatively cool, knowing that the rest of the day would be really hot.

Nothing

Interesting T1A. This was a swim to run transition. 2 mile run to bikes. Very steep boat ramp to get out of T1A. Just walked up, got into shoes and remembered this was going to be a very long, hot day.

Course was very hard. Unrelenting rollers for first part, a stretch of flat that has horrible pavement that made me yearn for more climbing, then more climbing on the back half. Nasty Grade has the rep, but its really the unrelenting climbing of the whole course as a whole that gets you. I felt good on Nasty Grade and the second half of the ride. Did I mention that there is a lot of climbing on this course? I did feel like the training I have been doing paid off as I felt stronger as the day went on. Did have an issue with my saddle coming loose. I rode my road bike with clip ons, and had moved saddle forward. Apparently, didn't get saddle tightened enough. Found bike support just before Nasty Grade. Glad I did since coming off the climb is a wicked fast descent, so good to have a solid saddle under me.

I have to figure out the bike situation before CdA. Do I go with clips, or just ride my roadie in a road position. My toes were bothering me some on the ride, I think result of moving saddle, since that hasn't been a problem before.

I'm not sure what I was doing for 2:23. Wasn't moving that swiftly, it was hot and I was tired, but didn't seem like that long. I did stop to get some water and Gatorade before leaving.

Who would have thought that I would feel this good about a 2:15 HM? Felt strong almost the entire run. Just tried to keep moving at a sustainable pace. Passed a lot of runners on the hills as I was able to keep running the first 5.5 miles. At that point, there was a very long, steep hill that I was forced to walk some of, also had a brief moment of cramping there too. But was able to work through it, walk the aid stations to get plenty of water in and on me. Had to walk one or two more hills on the backside, but overall, was very happy about how I felt and was able to keep going. Never felt like I was just done.

Drank a ton of water and Gatorade. Tried to cool down. It was hot.


Felt like this was a strong race for me. Very hilly course, very hot, and windy. Not a course that I am going to go fast on. But, I felt like the endurance was there. Got stronger on the bike as the day went on. Felt like I was able to pace the run right. Felt strong. As mentioned, need to figure out the bike situation.


Awesome race, awesome experience. One of the few races that matches the energy and experience of an Ironman. Camping adds a level of difficulty, but my wife had a great time with it. Be prepared for the climbing, and the heat.