Wildflower '07 Race Report

I guess the focus of this race report is to highlight the lessons I have learned. The biggest lesson learned, and the most expensive, was during Wildflower '06, my very first triathlon. Do not stand and crank on your pedals until you're certain your bike is in gear. OUCH! Lesson learned.

Coming into Wildflower '07 I really just wanted to have fun and cross the finish line in one piece.

It was such a gorgeous day. Thankfully we made it to the lake Friday afternoon this year and were able to pick up our packets the day before the race. This made for a much more relaxed race morning.

THE SWIM

It didn't take long to learn my second triathlon lesson: Have faith in your swim. Now last year we started in the water, waist deep. I guess because the water levels were so much higher? Well somehow last year I avoided the washing machine and was able to find my own space. Last year I had a great swim.

I wanted to avoid the washing machine again, so I let everyone else go first. This was a big mistake. The swim start is so narrow, and I got stuck behind a bunch of swimmers slower than myself. I ended up treading water and doing the breaststroke, waiting to get my own space. It was so frustrating. Now I have never been a particularly fast swimmer. But I am a good swimmer (I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor for 10 years). I am at the very least a middle of the packer, certainly NOT a back of the packer. My swim was actually 2 minutes slower than last year. Argh....

T1

I was feeling a little spun after the swim. And I had some trouble getting my wetsuit off, mostly my left leg. What I didn't realize at the time was the suit was caught on my timing chip. Now this leads up to my next lesson learned: Be aware of your timing chip when taking off your wetsuit. Yes, my timing chip came off with my wetsuit, although I didn't realize this until midway through the bike. So the only split time I received was my crappy swim.

BIKE

I was very cautious on the bike. This race is very fast and competitive. There's also a lot of newbies and kids in this event. Lots of opportunities for mishap. I really just wanted to focus on the beauty surrounding me, and have a nice safe ride. I really didn't push myself. I discovered my missing timing chip, and dealt with some disappointment there. I had memory flashes from last year going down the hills, especially the downhill after the first loop: It's fast and the ground is very loose, tricky enough while riding two handed. It was tripping me out thinking about how scary it was for me last year riding one-handed. I kept thinking about how crazy I was to do that.

T2

I remembered to look for my timing chip, but was unable to locate it.

RUN

It's a very fast course. One mile out, then back. Once again I just tried to focus on enjoying myself. I thanked the volunteers, encouraged the other racers and waved at the photographers. I held enough back to sprint down the finishing chute and was happy to pass about 4 other competitors, without noticing whether or not they were in my age group. They didn't call out my name in the chute due to the lost chip.

I'm not really proud of my performance here, and I've been struggling with what to write. I only shaved off 4 minutes from my prior year's race with a broken arm. I did enjoy myself though and that's what I really needed to do. I finished 17th out of 40 finishers in my age group. I really believe next year will be my year. I want to actually compete. I think I could get into the top ten if I were to really try. And try I will.

I would love to do the Olympic course in the future, but with the timing of this race it's highly unlikely. Unless I change careers.