Wildflower. What an absolute classic.
To those not versed in triathlon lore: Wildflower has been
run by Terry Davis and family for the last 33 years. It's a rugged,
beautiful course set on the shores of Lake San Antonio. Triathlon's
version of Woodstock, it's essentially a bush party with a triathlon
thrown in, and the atmosphere is far more festive than most Tris.
After flip-flopping for months on whether or not to do
Wildflower this year, I bit the bullet and spent two days driving down
with my Dad through Washington and Oregon. It's been a while since the
two of us had a proper road trip, and I came away with a ton of great
memories to add to a collection that's already pretty full.
Sandwiched within that road trip, however, was the worst
triathlon performance I've ever put down. Ever. From the moment I got
to Lake San Antonio and settled in to one of the homes provided for the
elite competitors at Oak Shores, it was lesson after lesson about what
separates someone like myself (who's done pretty well as an amateur and a
couple of smaller races with an "elite" field), from the true
professionals.
While the offseason has gone very well, I knew that I still
had a lot of work to do to be competitive in a true pro field.
However, after some very reasoned arguments were put forward by those
close to me, I decided to go to gain experience and take some excellent
notes, while fitting as much training as possible around work and other
commitments. Even so, there was a part of me that dreamed that an outstanding
performance was possible; Saturday woke me up. That's the way I think it should be, though: If you want to call
yourself a Pro athlete, then you need to step up and do the work
necessary to compete as a pro. I hadn't yet. Fair is fair.
That said, I started out well. In fact, I had my strongest
swim yet. This is thanks to swimming in an incredible lane at the
Waters Wellness swim sessions over the winter and spring, building on
the work I did with Laura Medcalf over the past couple of years, and I
was really happy to see it pay off in a high-level race. However, a
tactical mistake left me chasing one pack while pulling another, and the
swim speed had its cost, which was amplified by the 2-mile run from the
swim exit to the first transition (a recent adjustment to the race
brought on by the California drought).
I'd looked to make an impact on the bike, but today wasn't
the day for it. Again, racing in a deep pro pack takes a much higher
level of physical, mental and technical readiness----a level I still
need to work towards, as I'm not there yet. I posted one of the slowest
bike splits-----relative to the course---- I've ever ridden.
However, there were positives to take out of a
disappointing ride: 1)Wildflower is an incredible, fun course. 2) I
actually got practice riding with others, and at following USA
Triathlon's stagger rule, which I had never raced under before. I
definitely need more practice, as my body wasn't trained for the effort
variations that such riding requires, but it was good experience for
sure. Also positive: I didn't fall off my bike, which my Dad,
girlfriend, brother, and every friend I had following the race were
thinking had happened when I got to T2 far behind my usual schedule.
The run is something I'm trying to never think about ever
again. Which is a shame, because it's a beautiful,
challenging-as-can-be course that I enjoyed immensely, performance
notwithstanding. As it happened, the course absolutely flogged me. I
won't get into specifics, but this was frustrating for me; my run has
come a long way over the offseason, but errors made elsewhere in the
race obscured those improvements. You reap what you sow though, and if I
want a good run harvest that means taking good care to plant the proper
seeds on swim and bike. Lesson learned.
One outstanding positive to take away from the run: I got
chicked. And chicked. And chicked again. And yes, this is a positive
(though the goal is to never be in that situation ever again). I seldom
go to races where I'm not going to compete, and so I never get to see
the female racers go at it except on the occasional turnaround. Here,
though, I was passed first by Rachel McBride, then Heather Jackson, and
finally eventual winner Liz Lyles. It was something to see, as all of
them were so focused and ferocious. The fight for the womens podium
wound up being a tooth-and-nail battle that was decided only in the
final few kilometers, with the victory achieved in the closing meters.
And while I'll pass on viewing it again from the angle I did, seeing
such impressive female competitors up close was a great lesson and a
huge inspiration.
And I can't say enough good things about the volunteers! I
think Cal Polytechnic were the main supplier, but at every aid station
there were super enthusiastic volunteers from seemingly every background
imaginable, splashing the racers (and each other) with water and
stocking us up with all manner of life-saving food and drink, as well as
shouts of encouragement that followed us up over the next ridge.
It's been a long time since I've had to struggle to the
line simply to finish, but it's definitely an experience worth going
through every now and then. Challenges are challenges, after all, there
to be met and overcome. Isn't that why we do this Tri thing in the first
place?
I finally hit the finish line, nestled in the lower level of the Expo area. Wildflower being Wildflower, there was too much fun going on to get too down about things. I found and congratulated some friends on excellent finishes (Nathan Killam was 8th in the men's field and Jen Annett 9th female overall), ate my weight in fruit (the race is worth doing just for the strawberries), and went and found my dad. As he does, he put what was a very disappointing race into perspective.
"Nate," he said, "I'm just happy to know you hadn't fallen off your bike."
Can't argue with that. I shut the race out for the time being and we spent a fantastic couple of days traveling home.
So that was Wildflower. A tome full of hard lessons bookended
by four days of travel through the Northwestern United States. Life is
good. I'm already at the drawing board looking at the refinements that
need to be made in each area of triathlon and life to perform better
the next time I take on this terrific course. Hopefully that will be
next year, as I'm already chomping at the bit for another shot. But that's triathlon, and that's life. So until we meet again, Wildflower! Thanks for an amazing race weekend.
