We had a good drive up the coast on Friday afternoon. There was some rain in the forecast, and Carey and I were looking at it two different ways: I was pleased when the forecast started to show the rain moving through Friday evening and leaving it dry for the race on Saturday morning; she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of rain while we were sleeping in a tent on Friday night!
On our way through Santa Barbara, Solvang, SLO, and Paso Robles, we drove through a few showers, and I, forever optimistic, announced that we had definitely just seen the worst bits of the rain. Luckily, I was right, and by the time we reached the lake we just had a few drops to deal with. We had camp set up quickly, and the dinner we packed went down quickly and easily. As the campground was filled with athletes taking on the Long Course the next day, it was nice and quiet early in the night, and I had a good night’s sleep.
I was up early and had a good breakfast, stretch, and last minute prep. After getting down to transition, I felt good and ready to go. I was carefully monitoring my hydration, as I am making a new effort to find the right balance and not over-hydrate (that was a nice way of saying that I have been peein
g too much in my races lately…).Things were going well all the way until I came out of the water from my warm up. A fellow competitor told me that my wetsuit zipper had come undone. With less than a minute to go before my start, I tried to yank it up as well as I could, but the zipper wasn’t quite closing at the top. Uggh, looks like I’d be swimming the 1.2 miles with a small parachute attached to my back! I tucked it in as best I could and took off.
My swimming stroke felt good, and the water was still and cool. The wetsuit felt loose and I could feel the water flowing across my shoulders from the slightly open flap. I gave the
zipper a few tugs along the way, but just did the best I could with what I had. My 31 minute swim time felt good considering the equipment malfunction. Luckily, I won’t be racing any more cold water races this year and can retire this wetsuit.After my adventure of a T1 in Oceanside, I was determined to do things well in Wildflower, and things went smoothly. I was off on the bike in just over 3 minutes, and the beginning stretch over to Beach Hill went quickly. I find that this climb, so soon after the swim, is almost tougher than the infamous Nasty Grade at mile 42. And it was. This is how the race commentators described T1 and the beginning of the bike:
The way this course works: You exit the water, and run up a long boat ramp. It is not uncommon to spend 3 minutes in transition, running up that boat ramp, then up a couple of flights of stairs to the parking lot, where the transition area is situated. So, if you weren't gassed during the swim, there's an opportunity to go anaerobic before you mount the bike. Then, after about a mile of nervous riding on a twisty, hilly, narrow service road at the lake's edge, you climb for a mile or more. This is called Beach Hill, and it's about 9 percent at it's steepest, and it's almost always at its steepest.
After Beach Hill, the course takes us up and around Lake San Antonio with some rolling hills. Through this section, I felt OK but not great. I was lacking power in my legs and, while still cruising along, didn’t feel like I could hammer the pace. This was also because I knew what was coming after the long descent to Nacimiento Lake Drive: The Nasty Grade.
Nasty Grade is a long (5 miles) climb averaging about 7% that just eats at you all the way up. And it doesn’t relent – after turning on to Interlake Road, it gets steeper before diving into some fun descents. My climbing was just OK and I balanced some time out of the saddle with some seated climbing. I was relieved to crest the top of the hill, look around at the remarkable views, and begin the long, curvy descent. I finished the ride as well as I could in just over 3:00. I felt, again, OK with my legs. Despite dropping 1 gel pack on the course, I felt good nutritionally and my new hydration efforts were working.
While the bike course at Wildflower is considered tough, the run course defies description – it is incredibly brutal. It begins with a rolling jog along the lake. Even this “flat” section dives up and down. After two miles of this, the real fun begins as we climb and descend th
e ridges and valleys around the lake. A couple of the trail climbs are viciously steep, and after reaching the top, you are rewarded with a steep descent on a loose, dusty trail. My quads hurt just typing that and thinking about it again.After the tough stretch to mile 7, the course returns to the campgrounds, which is fun, as there are thousands of spectators cheering. I tried to soak up some energy, for there was one more climb out of “the pit” before the long descent down Lynch hill to the finish line. Through this stretch, I was able to keep moving at a steady, but unspectacular pace.
As I descended towards the finish, I was all alone and would have the finish chute to myself, just like last year. So, I started to enjoy myself, and when I saw Carey cheering along the side, I went over and gave her a sweaty, stinky hug and kiss – tough luck for her! The announcers enjoyed this, and proclaimed “hugging and kissing his way down to the finish, John Fischer!” I enjoyed this announcement – a perfect statement that my happiness was evident. I crossed the finish line in 5:31, with a run time of 1:54. Both of these are one minute slower than last year’s effort.
In all, I didn’t have a great day, but I have a lot to be proud of. I toughed out a decent swim despite my wetsuit issues, I had a solid bike split on a day when even the professionals slowed down a bit, and I made it to the finish line with obvious happiness. Wildflower truly is an event unlike any other: the festival and party atmosphere is as energizing as the brutal course is debilitating. Both have to be experienced to be believed.
After the race, Carey and I enjoyed the beautiful area of California, and, as I predicted in my pre-race planning, we had an incredible time regardless of how my race went.
Last year, I went immediately into my final build for my ironman race in Coeur d’Alene in mid-June. This year, I have some extra time to go through an extended build before the Vineman race on August 1st. I am scheming about how to best use this time and looking forward to the challenges ahead.
