Here's a little report by Beth on her experience at the Wildflower Triathlon on May 3rd. It has to be one of the largest triathlons (if not the largest) in the world. Beth's 5yr age group in the Olympic Distance race had 230 women!! She finished a very awesome 8th place, which I am really proud of. If you're good at searching results you can see the details here - http://wf09.bazumedia.com/event/WILDFLWR2009
There’s something to be said about gathering all of your tri geek friends in the middle of nowhere and setting up camp as you prepare to race one of the toughest courses in the region. This was a new concept for me….camping before a race? What!?! Are you crazy? What if I don’t sleep? My nutrition the day before will be all wrong. Cold nights and cold showers? Thousands (and I mean thousands, literally) of triathletes all freaking out together the night before and day of the race? No thanks.
Let’s just say I was going in to this with hesitation. I actually booked a hotel for both nights in case I decided to back out of the camping situation and then of course, ‘pulled a Beth’ by forgetting to cancel my reservation (much to Dana’s disappointment). Oops! But to my surprise, Wildflower turned out to be the most fun and most organized race I have ever done. I had such a good time that I didn’t want to leave Sunday afternoon after I finished a grueling olympic distance tri that beat up my legs and left me feeling like I never trained a day this year.
First of all, the Orange County Triathlon Club knows how to do Wildflower right. Stan and his wife, Nancy, arrive at the lake a full 4 days before the weekend to reserve what I think is the prime camping location. We had lake views and were situated right along the running trail, as well as 2 minutes from the boat shuttle which takes you and your bike and gear to the race start. Yes, I took a boat to the start of my race – where else do you get to do that? The club also had a pot luck dinner for everyone Friday night which made me very happy. I couldn’t have possibly survived all weekend on PB & J’s.
Most of my friends raced the half-ironman on Saturday (crazy people). So I had a great time just chillin and watching people suffer. I thought this would make me more anxious about my race on Sunday, but it didn’t. I had so much fun hanging out enjoying the perfect weather. I think I was comforted knowing that my race was half the distance of their race. I was, however, extremely jealous that evening when they were finished and were all enjoying multiple beers as stories were exchanged from their loooong day.
Before I knew it, it was time to turn in to my tent and try to sleep a decent amount before I would be diving in to the lake the next morning. I didn’t sleep quite as well as the previous night. The sounds of people drinking & laughing around a camp fire about 10 feet from my tent was not the quiet nature sounds I had hoped for, but surprisingly, I wasn’t annoyed. I knew that I would have done the exact same thing if I had raced that day.
I got up the next day, made my usual oatmeal and hot tea, rode the boat across the lake, set up transition, and waited for my wave to start. Race morning went so smoothly. The race, however, did not feel so smooth, but when I was out there grinding up the hills on my bike I tried to stay present in the moment and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I ended up finishing with a great result – 8th place in my age group. Overall, I was happy with my performance, but more importantly I was so grateful for such a wonderful weekend spent away from the city and smog, and doing what I love to do.
Let’s just say I was going in to this with hesitation. I actually booked a hotel for both nights in case I decided to back out of the camping situation and then of course, ‘pulled a Beth’ by forgetting to cancel my reservation (much to Dana’s disappointment). Oops! But to my surprise, Wildflower turned out to be the most fun and most organized race I have ever done. I had such a good time that I didn’t want to leave Sunday afternoon after I finished a grueling olympic distance tri that beat up my legs and left me feeling like I never trained a day this year.
First of all, the Orange County Triathlon Club knows how to do Wildflower right. Stan and his wife, Nancy, arrive at the lake a full 4 days before the weekend to reserve what I think is the prime camping location. We had lake views and were situated right along the running trail, as well as 2 minutes from the boat shuttle which takes you and your bike and gear to the race start. Yes, I took a boat to the start of my race – where else do you get to do that? The club also had a pot luck dinner for everyone Friday night which made me very happy. I couldn’t have possibly survived all weekend on PB & J’s.
Most of my friends raced the half-ironman on Saturday (crazy people). So I had a great time just chillin and watching people suffer. I thought this would make me more anxious about my race on Sunday, but it didn’t. I had so much fun hanging out enjoying the perfect weather. I think I was comforted knowing that my race was half the distance of their race. I was, however, extremely jealous that evening when they were finished and were all enjoying multiple beers as stories were exchanged from their loooong day.
Before I knew it, it was time to turn in to my tent and try to sleep a decent amount before I would be diving in to the lake the next morning. I didn’t sleep quite as well as the previous night. The sounds of people drinking & laughing around a camp fire about 10 feet from my tent was not the quiet nature sounds I had hoped for, but surprisingly, I wasn’t annoyed. I knew that I would have done the exact same thing if I had raced that day.
I got up the next day, made my usual oatmeal and hot tea, rode the boat across the lake, set up transition, and waited for my wave to start. Race morning went so smoothly. The race, however, did not feel so smooth, but when I was out there grinding up the hills on my bike I tried to stay present in the moment and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I ended up finishing with a great result – 8th place in my age group. Overall, I was happy with my performance, but more importantly I was so grateful for such a wonderful weekend spent away from the city and smog, and doing what I love to do.
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