2008 Wildflower Long Course Race Report

Wildflower 2008 was definitely a very interesting event. A golden gem of triathlons, as some put it, draws competitors from all over the world. All the big names were there, including Chris McCormack, who by the way, ended up winning the event, and coincidentally, was racked only a few bikes away from me. Here I am, a beginner Ironman athlete, transitioning by a distance of only a few feet from a world champ. You don't get to see this in any other sport. The Wildflower Long Course featured a distance of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and a 13 mile run.

Swim
The swim portion was fairly straight forward. No waves, no "sharks", and a semi-clean water. Swimming, being my weakest sport, went well. While there were a lot of people for my wave start, I didn't feel cluttered, maybe because I became aggressive at first and claimed my territory right away. It wasn't that bad.

Bike
Onto the bike... This was a different story. Obviously, Wildflower has one of the toughest bike courses in any half-ironman distance triathlon, but this just wasn't my day. The bike leg was horrible. No matter how hard I pedaled, I wasn't going and people who were not supposed to pass me, were zooming by me like it was nothing. Very disappointed, nevertheless, a learning experience.

Run
Onto the run.... Tough run course, no doubt... but I felt very strong during the run. As soon as getting off that disappointing bike ride, I started jogging out of the transition area. Upon passing the sensors, my legs didn't feel like they just came from a 56 mile bike ride. As a matter of fact, they felt fresh... I absolutely enjoyed the run. With putting out only about 60-70% effort, I was able to run the hilly 13 miles in about 1:53. I could've kicked it up a notch or two, but realizing that I wasn't going to meet my initial goal of finishing the event in 5:30, I decided to enjoy and savor the moment.

General Thoughts
It seems like all the training up to this point had paid off. I felt very strong during the event (even though I bombed the bike portion). I was only mildly tired afterwards and felt like I could've probably stretched the event an extra few hours.

Wildflower 2008 Long Course had many military members participating, in which many of the athletes were veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very touching to see them right before the swim and throughout the event with missing limbs, blind, and with many other disabilities. But again, I realized that these people are the reason that I am able to stand in front of Lake San Antonio, with my wetsuit on, alongside thousands of other athletes, living in peace and not being in an imminent danger of being shot at. To take this one step further, these brave Heros are about to embark on the most difficult half-ironman distance triathlon and not let their handicap stand in the way. One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people, "Stop Whining" Arnold Schwarzenegger, is as prominent as ever.

I would like to thank everyone who supported me and continue to do so in all my athletic endeavors. A special thanks goes out to my wonderful coaches (Paul, Rad, & Brad), my special lady Cynthia, mom, dad, brother, grandparents, teammates, mentors, everyone who donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and of course Tom Venuto and Fitness Renaissance, LLC.

Some Pictures:

Glad to have it Over

Struggling up a Hill

Me, my buds Carlos (aka running machine), Jake (aka all around cool guy)

No, I don't normally smile when I run.
I knew they were going to snap a photo.

FINISH

Desert Triathlon Report

Desert Triathlon, which took place on April 20, 2008, featured two distances, sprint and olympic. The sprint option offered a swim of 400 meters, bike 10 miles, and a 3 mile run, while the international distance featured a 3/4 mile swim, 24 mile bike and 6 mile run. I completed the international distance. There is really nothing exciting about this course, other than it's dirty water incredibly fast and flat bike course, and a two-loop easy and flat run around Lake Kahuilla. Now, my experience in this event was a whole different story.

Before I dive into the different segments, a bit of prologue. Friday night, after having dinner with my girlfriend and her boss, I contracted food poisoning, stayed up all night on Friday throwing up. Saturday all day, I did not eat anything, and overall, was extremely dehydrated. I was contemplating on whether I should really do the race or just walk away. Then, I remembered Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Stop Whining" attitude and that's exactly what I did. So, come Sunday morning, I felt a little better. Went to the start line, picked up my packet, racked my bike, put on my wetsuit, and went down to start line.

Swim

The bell rang, I ran in the water along with hundreds of my fellow participants. The first five minutes, felt really strong and was surprisingly fast. Then, my hamstring started cramping, followed by my other hamstring, arms, sides, even neck. It was horrible!!! My rhythm went down the drain, I didn't even care where I was going. The lifeguard stopped me twice to tell me I was going the wrong way. That was really embarrassing! From that moment on, I knew that this race was not going to be easy. Long story short, I finally was able to finish the swim, got out of the water and was still cramped. Walked to the transition area, changed into my cycling gear and was ready to start pedaling.

Bike

Surprisingly, as soon as I got on the bike, the cramping went away. There is not much to say about the bike, other than it was a really fast and flat course. There was absolutely no wind, no hills, nothing that would prevent one from going as fast as they can possibly go.

Run

Again, nothing exciting about the run. After running a healthy 4 miles, I started cramping again. Luckily, the onset was slow and I was able to finish the race before I cramped up again completely. I did have to slow down a bit at the end.

After the event, Cynthia and I went to Denny's. This was interesting because the service we received at this Denny's restaurant was unlike any other. These people really seemed to care... I have yet to see service this good, not just in other Denny's restaurants, but also everywhere else. Our next highlight was when we stopped for snacks & gas (no, not the fact that it cost me almost $60 to fill up my Toyota Camry). Upon going to the register and using my credit card, the teller requested to see an ID.... no big deal, I showed her driver's license. Then, she commented, "Sir, do you have a second form of ID? This doesn't look like you." Reason being, I had a triple-chin on my photograph. When I re-took my driver's license photo, I weight around 210-220 lbs and I ended up showing her a photo of my Bank of America debit card, in which my weight was around 190 lbs. So, I guess, that extra 20-30 pounds was the deciding factor for the teller that I, in fact, wasn't trying to pull a fast one. In all seriousness, she really did make my day... most people would get upset when asked to present a second ID, but I took her comments as a compliment. This goes hand-in-hand with not only thinking positive, but also "being" positive to reach your goals, whatever they may be. Anyways, our last stop was at the outlet stores and back home for a nice evening of movies and popcorn.

Enjoy some pictures: My t-shirt reads, "Stereotypes are a real Time Saver

Me + Bike = Love

Jesus is my Health Insurance

Me and the Lady ... She loves this picture. Something tells me that
I'll get this framed as a gift for my birthday.

Calm and Ready.... Not!!

5:42 AM