RACE REPORT

1^st 20-24 AG, 18^th Overall Female

The season opener has come and gone. I say that in both a good and bad way after the festivities of this past weekend. As most know, Wildflower is one of triathlon’s most challenging courses - chip sealed surface with large climbs on the bike and a combination of pavement and dirt trails with large hills on the run. Add a little wind, or should I say A LOT of wind, like we had this year, and you’re in for a pretty tough day.

Bittersweet is the word that completely sums up the feelings about my first race of the season. After battling extreme anxiety in the water since December, I was sure I was over it - until the swim in Lake San Antonio on Sunday. I got in the front pack early on and stayed there very comfortably until we made the turn to come back. We then hit the choppy waves from the strong headwind that had been picking up since the early morning. I started to get seasick, nauseous, nervous, and bam…complete panic attack. I floated on my back and did some side stroke for about 5 minutes while contemplating whether to go find a kayak, but I finally pulled it together and swam breast stroke all the way back in for the absolute worst swim of my life…to quit or to go on…that was the question!

Well, I didn’t have much to lose even though I was pretty sure my race was already over and I knew that having a disc wheel on my bike with the outrageously strong winds was going to be an utter disaster. But hey, I didn’t fly all the way from Boulder, CO to wimp out, so I got on my bike and went for it. Disaster is an understatement for what actually happened on the bike. I’m pretty sure I got into my aero bars about 4 times the entire race and each time I did, I almost tipped over sideways. Let’s just say that I was going faster up the hills than I was going down the hills…hmmm, that doesn’t seem right. To make it even more upsetting, the guys I was flying by going up were constantly asking, “Wow, you must be having a really rough time today with that wheel”. I mean seriously, is that necessary? I finally finished the bike about 15-20 minutes slower than anticipated, got passed by about 15 other girls and didn’t really feel like I worked much, but couldn’t do anything about it as I was unstable and nervous on the handlebars the entire time…grrrr.

The run finally came, whoooaaa! Even though winds are never fun to run in, they definitely don’t have nearly the impact like in the swim or on the bike. Running has always been my most favorite leg of the race and after doing lots of hill training, I felt ready to go after it. Although after finishing I was pretty sure I left a lot out there, I was very pleased with my run effort, especially after all the emotions and thoughts I had going through my mind from the first 4 hours of the race. Managed to pull off the third fastest run split of the amateur ladies which definitely put a smile on my face J

Overall – good day. A lot of disappointment, but every race cannot be perfect and I was able to learn a lot from it (which in my mind is the best part). I’m definitely looking forward to my next race so I can really test my fitness and push myself to those limits I think I’m capable of going!