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

ALL EYES ON WILDFLOWER 2008

The time has finally come, I will be competing in Wildflower half-Ironman distance triathlon in two days, May 3rd, 2008. Now, being that this is a half-Ironman, it is among the most difficult halfs. Many of my friends and colleagues, who competed in the course, along with other full Ironman events, say that they would much rather do a full than the Wildflower half. I will put my body to a test and see if all this hard work will pay off. The race will take place in California's beautiful central coast, near Paso Robles in Lake San Antonio.

Swim
The 1.2 mile swim is probably the easiest portion of the course. Nice and calm lake swim. Nothing more to say.

Bike
The 56-mile bike ride is very difficult. Wildflower is notorious for having head-wind in virtually every direction. The course has almost 4500 feet of climbing and 80% of this effort is distributed in the last 10 miles of the ride. This wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't followed by a 13 mile hilly trail run.

Run
The 13-mile run course isn't going to be any easier. During the first 6 miles of the run, runners are expected to climb almost 1400 feet. The rest of the run also has plenty of rolling hills which amounts to another 1000 feet for a grand total of nearly 2400 feet of elevation gain during the 13 miles.

I don't have any set specific time range to finish the event. Instead, my body will be my guide. Being that this is my first Ironman, my goal is to finish the event. Depending on how I feel during, either I'll haul ass or take it easy. Nutrition will be the key for this race considering that the temperature may reach in excess of 90 degrees ... Good luck to me :)

For more information on Wildflower, please visit: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/Wildflower2008-main.htm

Full race report with pictures will follow early next week.... Stay tuned

New Website Coming Soon and Updates

Hi folks, sorry for the lack of updates. I've been working on a new website, discussion forum, and a blog, which should be up and active hopefully by the end of this month. I will post the active link as soon as it's presentable. It'll be very interactive and informative. Please visit this blog frequently or alternatively, leave me your email and I will email everyone as soon as it is launched. You can contact me by email at arkhag@gmail.com. In the meantime, if you'd like to support my cause and make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, please visit here.
Here is what I have been up to and my plans for the next couple of months....

1. I've been really busy with my running group, scheduling, training, etc. If you live in the LA area, I'd love you have you in my group. We have great runs. Please visit the Santa Monica Running Group and sign up. It's free!
2. I've been training a group for the upcoming San Diego Marathon. They are a great group of people. Very motivated and dedicated. Although, it's too late to join that training group, I am planning to start a Long Beach marathon training group. If you'd like to sign up for that one, send me an email with your interest. I'll start the training from the very beginning... So, it's for all levels. Email me with your interest and I'll put you in the group. arkhag@gmail.com
3. My own training... Saturdays and Sundays, I spend about 11 hours in total training. Weekdays, I usually train about 2-3 hours per day. So, this has been really keeping me busy.
   
4. My upcoming races. I am planning to compete in the upcoming:
1. Desert Triathlon on 4/20/2008
2. Wildflower Long Course on 5/2/2008
3. San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon 6/1/2008
4. More races than I have space for.
   
5. My Job!!!! I work 8 hours every day.
   

So folks, I apologize for the lack of updates, but they're coming. Please stay tuned or give me your email and I will update you periodically. If I can help you in any way achieving your fitness, health, weight loss, and life goals, please don't hesitate to ask. I am a firm believer in the "pay-it-forward" idea and Randy Pausch's "enabling other people's dreams". Please visit his website, watch all his videos. There are a lot to be learned from that man.