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Wild Flower Long Course
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Wild Flower Long Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman
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 Swim
Comments: Best swim ever in a half ironman! All the drills and working on technique paid off :-) I started out a bit nervous. I haven't done an OWS since January and for some reason I felt a tiny bit of fear that I used to feel on a much larger scale when I first started doing open water swims. I just tried to stay calm and take it easy. Eventually, I got into the groove and found my rythm. For the rest of the swim I tried to focus on my form and keeping consistent pace. My sighting was pretty good for most of the swim. The fact that I am comfortable with bilateral breathing now definitely helped. I only screwed up at the very end when I headed for the starting gate instead of the finishing, which was a bit smaller and less noticeable from the water. I corrected my course after I finally saw the actual swim finish, but I think this mistake cost me at least a minute of my swim time. What would you do differently?: Pay attention to what swim finish looks like before starting the swim.  Transition 1
Comments: Pretty good transition.  Bike
Comments: I started out really well and passed a lot of folks on the first big uphill. Then there were some rolling hills, another uphill (where I managed to drop my chain) and a long descent (where I managed to almost loose my saddle bag, so I had to stop to reattache the velcrow). I stayed strong on the uphills and stayed in aero on the rolling hills/pseudo-flats. I wasn't really good at steep descents. I am too much of a chicken - not only were my hands on the breaks but I also used them... A lot people who I passed on the uphill passed me right back on the descent. That's bad news especially given that I am supposed to be a roadie now and posess some bike handling skills. I hit 28 miles at about 1:33. If I could have hit the same split on the second half I would have broken 5:30 for my total time. Then came the Nasty Grade hill at mile 42. And it was nasty indeed. The kind of nasty when you want to stand up on your bike periodically. (And it takes a steep grade for me to stand up - normally I prefer to maintain my pedaling rythm by sitting in the saddle the whole way up the hill). Unfortunately, my tri bike is not ideal for standing up. My knees hit the elbow pads if I try to do that, so I just had to mash it all the way up. Then there was another steep downhill and some more smaller hills to the finish. I was happy when this ride was over! What would you do differently?: Not drop my chain, get a better saddle bag - that would have saved me a couple minutes. Also - not be such a chicken on the descents. Transition 2
Comments: Good transition  Run
Comments: I felt very strong off the bike. Perhaps, if I rode any harder than I did, I would not have been able to put in such a run performance... I just ran as fast as I could and passed tons of people thoughout the whole run. I was great on the uphills, but even better on the downhills (my usual strength). I only got passed by one guy. I slowed down just a bit in the last 2 miles (once we hit the pavement again), but I didn't totally fade and was able to finish really strong. Post race
Warm down: I stretched for a long time and asked for some ice from the medical tent for my calfs since the right one was injured last week. I don't think it was necessary but it felt good. I ate a bunch of oranges and bananas and drank lots of water while I waited for the rest of our group to finish. Event comments: Wild Flower is certainly my favorite of all the triathlons I've done so far! It's the one and only - so hard and so much fun! Last updated: 2009-05-04 12:00 AM
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 2009-05-05 1:33 AM |
Veteran  301  Seattle |  Subject: Wild Flower Long Course |
| 2009-05-05 8:59 AM in reply to: #2130408 |
Expert 622 Conifer, Colorado | Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course Fantastic race/report. You are on your way to a very fast Ironman. Congrats on the top 10 finish! |
| 2009-05-05 1:44 PM in reply to: #2130408 |
Expert 892 | Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course Wow... that's one fast run! Congrats on a great race. |
| 2009-05-05 1:51 PM in reply to: #2130408 |
| Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course Holy cow, a 1:42 on that course??? I bet you wer passing everyone... in fact, you probably passed me! Well done! |
| 2009-05-05 2:09 PM in reply to: #2130408 |
Official BT Coach 2210 Englewood, CO | Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course Great race Lillia! You smoked it. Way to finish top 10! That was my first half every, also before IMCD, way back when. You beat my time I had there. You stud. |
| 2009-05-06 9:17 AM in reply to: #2130408 |
Master 1920 Ann Arbor, MI | Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course I second Dills comment- you are a STUD! And a hot stud, too  I love the puppy part- I HAVE to stop and pet every puppy I see the day before a race, it is extra-super good luck!! You are going to kill it at CDa! And congrats on the bike AND swim improvements- and, you're all back to your speedy self on the run! |
| 2009-05-06 6:55 PM in reply to: #2130408 |
Master 2235 Pacific Northwest | Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course Wonderful job, Lilia!! Wow, top 10. Have you considered going pro?? You will do great at CDA! |
| 2009-05-06 9:51 PM in reply to: #2130408 |
Champion 5781 Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Wild Flower Long Course Holy cow! 1:42...that's amazing. I definitely had to be one of the many people you passed on the run. |
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United States
Tri California
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 442/
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 10/96
4 of us (my friends Rebecca, Daniel, Rob and myself) drove down to Lake San Antonio, CA from Seattle, WA. The drive took about 16 hours, we broke it up over 2 days. We got to the camp site Friday around 4pm, set up camp and headed over to the expo where we picked up our packets and enjoyed some pasta dinner.
It was raining the whole day Friday and we were really worried that it would rain on race day. None of us brought any rain gear. We were convinced it doesn't rain in California, especially on race day :-)
After I packed my race bag, I got out for one final spin on my bike around the camp site to make sure everything felt just right and I saw a little boxer puppy on my way. His name was Kona and he was only 5 months old. He looked just like Ramone did at his age - beautiful fawn with white socks. I had to stop and meet him of course and exchange a few kisses. That meant the race was going to be just fine the next day :-)
We all woke up at 6am. I had a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, chilled starbucks coffee and some OJ, then rode my bike to the start with Rebecca. The boys were already there since their race started earlier.
The usual routine to set up transition, then put on sun screen and body glide, go to the bathroom one last time and get suited up. I drank 1.5 x 20 oz bottles of gatorade through the course of the morning and consumed a Gu about 15 minutes before the start. At that point I was pretty full and was worried that I over-ate again like I did at Lake Stevens... But oh well, the wave before us started their swim and we were allowed to do a little warmup in the water.