Recently in Wildflower Category

1). Do you know how many Hump Day Miscellany posts I dedicated to Wildflower? A lot. Boy was I obsessed - really obsessed.

2). I was mostly obsessed with my ability to do it - I did it.

3). My obsession then turned to humiliation - I barely did it.

4). I'm over it - I did it and that's a good thing and my triathlon performance can only go up from here. Thanks to everyone for your continuous support and encouragement. I needed it, I heard it and it worked.

5). Did you get the implications of #5 - I'm probably going to do Folsom in August but I haven't signed up just yet

6). I bought a wetsuit. I bought a wetsuit even though I promised myself I would stop spending money on triathlon for a little while. I love this wetsuit. And most important of all - I CAN GET IT OFF! So there goes 5 minutes of my T1 time - good riddance. I can also zip it up myself. Love it. You know you are in love when you spend money on something you really shouldn't spend money on. *slurp* - I ♥ triathlon.

7). Next up - The Dread Pirate Rackham rolls in to town on Friday for an overnight stop at Chez 21CM before she heads to the city to hang with her friends. We are going swimming Saturday and then running the Bay to Breakers Sunday

8). I'm in no shape to run a 12K but since when has that ever stopped me?

9). I blew off my 6 mile run this morning but I WILL get it done this evening. I must.

Wildflower - The Movie is about to undergo some expansion. If you have photos from WF that you would like to have included please email them to me.

I'd like to thank all of the people who provided images for this movie. I'd give you credit but honestly, I don't remember all of the sources who provided pictures (and no, I didn't necessarily ask permission) so I won't try to name some at the risk of leaving out others. If you see a picture that is yours and really wish I hadn't done that please let me know - I can edit this any time. On the flip side, there are surely many more photos that could have gone in to this and I would be happy to edit and extend it over time.

As I was making it, at first it seemed too long and then too short and it was never just right because there is no way to convey the experience of attending and competing in Wildflower with a large community other than to be there.

Wildflower 2008 - Be There!

I was trying to raise my arms over my head and look triumphant but I just look knackered - and I was.

Wildflower - The Movie! will be along shortly but I need some more photos. I picked from everything that I've found on-line via Kahuna and blogs that I read but if you have some good shots please send them my way!

Thanks.

I don't have a whole lot more to say about the race. Anyone who has been reading these Wildflower stories over the last couple days probably gets that the courses be they long course or short course are tough. The environment is tough. You take about 8500 athletes, cram them and their friends and families into a hot, dry dip between a bunch of big hills, provide them with next to nothing in terms of amenities and then send them off to swim in cold choppy water, bike over high hill and rolling dale and run up dusty, dirty trails under the blazing hot sun. It's awesome! If nothing else you know you are alive when you're done because what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and if you get to the end and you're not dead you have a great sense of vitality.

When I finally found my way out of Lake San Antonio I ran to my transition area which was not too too far from the swim out. I had still not conquered the art of getting my wet suit off and it took me quite a long time. I almost called over to some guys for assistance but I'm glad I didn't because I do believe they were DQing people for that. I finally got the damned thing off, dried my feet, put on my bike shoes and ran about a mile to the bike out area. Seriously - we were way far away from that. T1: 7:12 (!!!!!)

My ride was good. I had plenty of water and I drank some Gatorade endurance here and there. I had Nuun but never drank it (big mistake). I also had Cliff Bloks in my Bento Box and managed to eat 2 or 3 (which doesn't even come close to how many calories I needed).

I loved the ride, though. I thought Lynch Hill would kill me but it didn't. None of the other hills killed me, either. I just spun up and pounded down and had a great old time. When I got back to T2 in 2:06 (by my Garmin) I was happy. Not everyone would be happy with 25 miles in 2:06 but I thought it would take me longer because I'm not a really strong rider. So happy, happy, joy, joy - its time to run.

Of course I discovered that my running shoes were still tied. I guess I was nervous when I set up - doh! I didn't realize how bad off I was until I took off without my Gu that I had carefully decanted into a gel flask. I had grabbed a protein bar and downed a couple of Sports Legs caps, though. I ran toward the mats and noticed my HR was at 146 and I thought that was high to start a run so I stopped, still in the transition area, and drank water. I just wanted it to come down to 125. I waited. I was panting. I was hot. I kind of knew I was in trouble. Finally I crossed the mats - T2: 7:22 (!!!!) So about 15 minutes of my total time was just in transition. Total rookie maneuver - live and learn!

I started running but that didn't last long. It was hot and my heart rate kept jumping back up. I walked. I got to the mile1 aid station and drank water and got hosed down. I tried to eat some protein bar but I couldn't swallow it. My stomach started going south. I tried to run. I walked. I tried to run... and on it went until I pretty much gave it up and just walked. I was so sick by mile 3 I couldn't drink water any more. I just kept moving. Mile 4 - yeah! Mile 5 Hooray! Downhill soon! I got to the top of the hill and started running down. I ran, I walked, I just wanted to make sure I could run the chute. And then there it was - the chute! I ran and they called my name and I ran and I knew no one would be left in the stands for me because I took so long getting in. I was a little sad but what could anyone do? There were a lot of long drives to be taken.

Total stats (and I won't be 53 until 12/29 but USAT uses your age as of 12/31)

I was so happy to be done. I got my medal and my washcloth and went down by the water. I was going to get in but I didn't want to walk barefoot back to my stuff so I skipped it. Then I had to take my stuff and bike and face a steep set of stairs. This was my undoing. I got up the stairs and my heart rate was through the roof (at some point it went to 217) and I was so sick - so incredibly sick. I stopped, leaned over and put my head on my saddle and scared a lot of people. A really nice man stopped and asked if I was okay and I said "yes - I just need a minute". He offered to get me over to the medical tent but I demurred because it was too far to walk. A couple minutes and a few feet later I put my bike on a rack, put my bag on the ground, l and laid down with my head on my pack which scared some more people but I just needed to lie down.

I finally managed to get back to my tent and the campsite that had been packed the night before was empty. Someone had taken the stakes out of my tent, presumably as a nice gesture and it was. I decided I would just lie in the tent for a little bit until I felt strong enough to pack up the car. Not too long after that a stiff wind came up and blew the tent over, door side down - with me in it. WHOA! I had to jump up and save myself from being blown away! I scrambled out and quickly took the tent down and realized that I felt fine - I was ready to pack up and go.

Driving home I felt shamed and humiliated and hateful and loathsome of my participation in endurance sports. I was sure I would never try anything like Wildflower again. I'm all better now. It does take courage to attempt a triathlon of any distance and Wildflower is an especially demanding event. I signed up, showed up and I finished and of that I am really proud. I'm already looking for my next Oly and thinking about how I want to do Wildflower next year. I got the fevah baby and I need more cowbell. More triathlon cowbell.

Stay tuned for "Wildflower - the Movie" coming to a blog near you early next week.

My swim at Wildflower was wild - really wild. It was confusing and confounding and a whole lot longer than it should have been and I didn't understand why until Monday, long after the race was over.

I may have mentioned once or twice that I have the world's worst sense of direction and that I can get lost in a walk-in closet. I actually did get lost in a walk-in closet when I was a kid. It was a very large house and the closet had doors to several rooms but still. I was totally lost. Another thing I do is glance at directions or just not even bother with that, say to myself, "oh yeah, yeah - I know how to get there" and then head out, without any directions at all. I go entirely the wrong way and spend a lot of time turning around, scratching my head and making my trip take longer than it should. I do this repeatedly because I seem to forget about my little handicap with alarming regularity. Lucky for me, right before I started the swim Bold told me that on the way in all I had to do was site the big balloon arch and head that way. I was good to go.

Now, you may recall from my brief report of Sunday night that my goggles fogged up the second I put them on my face and hit the water and that I swam most of the course blind - really blind. I knew there were swimmers around me but I couldn't see the buoys. Turns out that wasn't just because of my fogged up goggles.

I started the race in the middle of the pack although it had been my intention to be to the right and toward the back. Much of our wave sort of coalesced around me after I picked my spot. The horn went off and I ran down the ramp like very one else and hit the water. I was smack dab in the middle of the washing machine but it was okay - except I couldn't see. I just kept swimming.

I swam and swam and swam and swam and wondered where was the damned buoy and then BONK - I hit a kayak. I looked up, squinted through the fog, located some splash and headed that way. I could sort of see a buoy by now. For those of you who have never done a triathlon we're not talking about those little things that mark a channel - these are huge, inflatable, bright orange buoys.

At this point I am totally disoriented - I have no idea where I am in the water relative to the course and then I hear a guy shouting 'RIGHT! RIGHT!" so I head right. I must have been near a buoy at that point and I actually think that after I headed right I ended up almost inside the perimeter but there was another boat so I swung wide and just kept swimming.

I swam and swam and swam and I still couldn't see and I guess I drew someone off with me because I was not alone. Then the colors of the caps started changing (again, for you non-triathletes they put each wave in the same colored cap). I was a blue cap and I found myself amid green and yellow and white and I realized that I was passing really slow swimmers from earlier waves and being passed by fast swimmers from a later wave. It didn't matter, though because I still couldn't get a bead on where I was. I just kept swimming.

And then - rising from the water like the promised land was a buoy - huzzah! I swam to that buoy and got right up close to it, swung around the corner and headed out like a bat out of hell. I was squinting and looking for the balloon arch and I couldn't see it and I thought 'WHERE THE HELL ARE THOSE BALLOONS???!!" and then BONK! I hit another boat. At that point I grabbed it and pulled my goggles up and saw that I was way, way off course. I was almost to the other boat launch - so close, in fact that I could smell the gas in the water.

"What the hell!!??? Why are you so far out??!!!!" I yelled at the poor kid. He smiled and said, "yeah - there aren't enough of us out here. Just head over there and join the other swimmers". Now I was so, so confused. Why were they way over there? And where were the damned balloons?? I zig zagged my way over there and I finally caught them and started heading in the right direction and then I saw the balloons. I was home free! I just kept swimming and headed for shore.

So what happened Monday? I looked at the course maps one more time. I had looked at these maps many, many, many times. Let me share:


See how the long course map is in the shape of a rectangle and the short course map is in the shape of a triangle? I had somehow gotten it into my head that the short course was just like the long course only they brought the buoys in closer. While I was swimming I was not only blind, I had the wrong shape of the route in my head. I was thinking the swim was long up the first side, straight out from shore, turn 90 degrees and go perpendicular for a short bit and then turn another 90 degrees and head straight back to shore, see the balloons and swim in. But no - that's not the way it was at all and hence, my swim looked like this:

Triathlon imitates life, once again. Lesson learned - before I take off I need to make sure I know where I'm going and that I can see. Not as amusing or adventuresome as just swimming along bumping into things until I get where I'm trying to go but way more efficient.
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Next up - The Wildflower movie and stories of the rest of the experience.

I met my goal - I finished and I didn't come in last and I didn't die although I probably should have taken a trip to the Red Cross tent after I crossed the line - but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

This is going to be a very abbreviated report - just about me. No stories of my meeting tri-bloggers (except for one) but fear not - those stories are coming.

Rookie mistake 1 - I forgot to take a pack to get my stuff to transition. I ended up borrowing the very large and long pack of a guy I met there and it prevented me from riding my bike to the start so I had to walk it - about a mile.

Rookie mistake 2 - when your goggles fog up at the start of the swim clear them - don't swim blind. It makes it really hard to stay on course - in fact, you won't.

Rookie mistake 3 - untie your running shoes and have them ready to go in transition - I forgot that part.

Rookie mistake 4 - get your stuff organized - all of it! No digging through packs and forgetting stuff allowed.

The Swim - I never did a chance to test drive the wet suit until the 5 minutes between wave starts. I about died when I got in that water and it seeped through the suit and baby it was COLD! I got out and found FeLady with whom I was toein' the line and she said that was okay - the water in there would warm up and keep me warm. It did. The horn went off and it was into the washing machine I went - with goggles that were totally fogged up and obscured my vision completely. I figured as long as I had bodies around me I'd be fine. Ha Ha. Let's just say I had 3 encounters with boats and I probably put an extra 400 - 500 meters on that swim. The good news is that I was comfortable in the water and didn't feel like I would die if I didn't get to shore soon. I just swam (Just keep swimming ... just keep swimming... (thanks Donna!)). The bad news is that it added a lot of time to my swim.

The Bike - the bike was good. I thought that first hill out of transition was going to be killer but it wasn't that bad and it was the steepest hill in the course. I was a little naive about how many other hills there were but I handled them just fine and I bombed down the downhill side. I thought the ride would take me 2:30 because of the hills but I got it done in 2:06 (according to my Garmin). I was happy.

The Run - bad... bad.bad.bad. In fact, it didn't really happen. I mostly took a 6 miles walk in blazing heat with a very upset stomach. My heart rate kept ratcheting up past 150 and I just could.not.run. I tried running downhill when there was one but the run was mostly uphill and I just couldn't pull it together. Even the last 3/4 of a mile which was the steep downhill we took up on the way out on the bike was only 1/2 run, 1/2 walked. I wanted to be sure I could run down the chute which I did. I did it!

It got my medal and my cold wet washcloth - ahhhhhh.... and thought about going to the medic tent but I didn't see the tent and I was too bubble headed to ask where it was. I was really ill at that point. I'm glad I skipped the tent though because if I had gone I wouldn't have been able to tell you the funny story of what happened after the race was over. So stay tuned ... more stories to come.

To all of the tri-bloggers I met - you are the best! My stories of meeting you are also to come.

Early Sunday Morning

My race doesn't go off until almost 11 so I have some time. No big time blogging party fun for me last night. Long story short - this is a big place and getting to the party proved to be more difficult than I thought. I was almost there but there was yet another hill to climb and more searching to do and I gave up. I was tired from all the running around I did yesterday and I have a race today! I will look for people at the swim start and hope I find them.

I'm off to the races!! Nervous but excited. My next update will include a broadbrush picture of my race and my best guess at my time.

Ta!

Late Saturday Update -

I think Roman was mistaken about Suster Madonna Buder. I will post the pic and you be the judge. I don't think it was her but it was a remarkably attractive woman who got to go out in the over 60 group. I did, however, see The Bachelor run by. Sadly I didn't have my camera out.

Conditions today were tough. I won't steal anyone's race thunder but there were some really good performances in spite of the considerable wind. I saw Jeff finish but he doesn't know that yet as I wasn't able to chase him down after he came in and I wasn't at my campsite when he came by to say good bye.

I'm nervous again. The water is supposed to be choppy and there is a current. I have not had the opportunity to test the wetsuit so I'll be jumping in and winging it which is pretty typical for me so I'm sure I'll figure it out.

I've met all of the members of team raceAthlete as well as Irongirl. I'm really pooped because the logistics of getting around here are difficult. I am going to try to go to the other camp some of the people are in and see if I can finally meet everyone.

Saturday update -
I found Bold, Triboomer, Greyhound. Roman, Kahuna, TriMama and it seems like a few more in the starting area today and said hello. (pardon the lack of links - I'm on battery) I gave Triboomer a few hugs from Shelly and he was happy to have them.

I also saw Sister Madonna Buder. I told her she was a huge inspiration to me and she was just as gracious and lovely as you can imagine. I will provide photographic proof when I get back.

The guys are probably in on the bike now. I'm about to head out and cheer them on for the run.

Word on the street is that the water is very choppy and the current is running strong. Now there's something to look forward to! I'm hoping to testdrive the wetsuit this afternoon.

Stay tuned for more updates!!

I'm Here! I got here last night. So far I have connected with Jeff but this place is huge and cell coverage is spotty. I also found Neoiprenewedgie who had the scoop on where some other folks are but so far I have not found them.

It is beautiful here and the atmosphere is very energized. The Long Course people are all getting prepared. I'm going to head down to the T1 area soon and hunt for tri-bloggers.

Stay tuned!!!