2012 Season 1st half and catching up

Totally flaked on this post, but I'll finish it anyways 2 months later.
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Last year put quite a beating on me, so I decided 2012 would include a bit of a break before the big push for IMNYC in August.  My girlfriend appreciates it, so we are both happy and it falls right while we were looking for an apartment together in SF, which is a harder task than you would think (thus the delays to blogging).  All the apartments we looked at had a line of people waiting.  Nearly two months of looking, and we finally found one!  The owner said she rented to us because Whitney was just "so nice, but persistent".  I think she just wanted us to stop calling her.  We'll get settled in and ready for the summer months.  Whit is happy because moving won't interrupt her summer vacation at all.  I'm sure that was the highest priority;)

Racing and training had finally all come together into May as well.  Wildflower became my early season A race as there was some disappointment in Oceanside with some mishaps and training blunders.  The ramp up and response to training was awesome over April and I could feel a good race coming on.  With a Double Mt. Diablo climb, highly place Presidio 10, hard raced Metro Tri, and amazing Lighthouse Ride, I had the confidence to go attack Wildflower Long Course.

The swim!

Finally some excitement can be had for a swim!  The past two years have brought nothing but disappointment for swimming in my races and Wildflower finally brought some joy to it.  Pushing out hard with the leaders, I had to slow a little to keep from freaking out, but then found a good rhythm, and a draft for a good portion of the race.  Exiting the water with a 30 for the first two digits was all I wanted and it finally happened.  A huge burst of energy helped me sprint up the boat ramp and out onto the bike. 

Swim time: 30:43 - 305th Overall

New helmet and all, I was pumped to be on the road with some slightly altered objectives for my bike.  The past few races, I've underperformed on the hills.  Trying to contain myself on climbs, I was going a little overboard and losing too much time.  Hitting the hills harder and leaving everything on the road was the objective, then relying on my training to have good run legs was the hope.  Wind blowing, but not as bad as last year, just the direction was worse as its angle, kept it a steady headwind out of the lake, until we made the turn off Jolon into the farmland.  Not sure how many people I managed to pick off, but it was a good race from how I was feeling.  Nasty Grade approaching, and it was HOT climbing.  Making sure things didn't fall apart, but also keeping some good pressure, all I could think about.  Climbing with and old friend who moved to LA, Ivan, was a lot of fun too.

Descending from the top of the course and into the rollers was still a task with winds picking back up.  Another top guy in my age group picked me off on Nasty, and I was hoping to reel him back in.  I knew he was a good runner, and I needed a gap to be able to have any hope of holding him off.  Stefan was also still ahead having an amazing bike.  Somehow his tiny little body puts out HUGE watts and I can't catch him.  Not knowing where I was in the race, but feeling good it was still time to push it into the Lake.

Through the gates, and down the hill, I find transition empty!  Such a great feeling being able to count the bikes in transition for who is in your age group.  A sweet P4 (naturally David Condon who is off the front and un-catchable), two others I don't recognize and Stefan's yellow Felt.  Rack the bike, shoes on and I'm off to see how my legs and heel are willing to cooperate. 

Bike time: 2:34:56 - 17th Overall - 302 Watts - Wahoo!!!!

Quickly out of the crowd I get to hear a friend Renee screaming for me.  "Stefan's got 2 minutes on you!".  Wow!  He crushed the bike, but I made up time on him in Kona, so lets see what I've got.  Feeling good along the lake and into the hills, everything feels good.  Heel holding up, not fatigued (as much as I can hope), and head ready for some damage.  All the sudden, this string bean comes blowing by on a hill that was in my age group.  I scream a bit of sarcasm and hate for the lightweight, but cheer him on for the good run.  Crap, 6th!  Time for some work.  I know I can't make up time without really hurting myself on the hills so some patience was in order.  Cresting the last big climb and into the steep trail descent at mile 6 and the legs fly! 

The run through the campgrounds was awesome.  So many people cheering and yelling, always a big push.  Climbing to the top of the pit and down I finally see Stefan climbing out.  He has some distance on me, but there is a chance.  Turnaround point and climbing out, Ritch Viola comes by and offers some encouragement as he is another lightweight, cruising up the hill and seeing the labor of me charging up.  All I can do is hope to keep the 20 yards between us as we run the final 2 miles home.  Thought of my Grandmother (funeral was the same day as Wildflower) filled my head and my energy tank and I know she was with me.  (Ritch is just a stud, making up 10 minutes on me from 2 waves back)  Coming up on the final mile downhill and I can crush it with strong legs left.  Absolutely pain in the quads from the pounding, but the legs can take it and the heel is holding up.  Finally in one of the turns I can see Stefan and he is not taking the hill as fast.  Flying to the bottom of the hill I take him, but slow to finish together.  I had the race, but Stefan has been a driving force in my training and sharing the finishing shoot was a treat.

Run Time: 1:33:21 55th Overall
Total: 4:43:44 5th AG-22nd Overall

So many emotions went into this race with recovering and managing my injuries, to my Grandmother passing and racing in her honor.  I wanted to be there for the family back East, but my father told me to stay and race.  Knowing she was watching was a godsend and I was happy to have the race of my life that day at Wildflower.

My reward!

Wildflower Triathlon Festival!

 While I raced in Oceanside a month ago, the real start of the tri season for everyone in NorCal is Wildflower.  So many people put this on their schedule due to its location, 2.5 hours from Bay Area, and atmosphere, "Woodstock of Triathlon!"  Fits pretty well with everyone in the Bay.

Great setup for the weekend

Down at Lake San Antonio Recreation Area, Tri-California puts on one of the best race experiences in the country with different distances, mountain bikes, kids races, and a music festival to keep everyone entertained.  A lot of preparation goes into this weekend for the participants as well since you almost have to camp (car camping), and bring everything you need for spending a few days and racing.

This was my third year, so I was probably a little over confident (new lesson learned later), but took Friday off work to have a chill day down at the lake and get my normal pre-race mini triathlon in.  Getting in late Thursday wasn't a problem, and had the campsite set up and ready for bed by 10:30.  At SF Tri we have an "Advance" team that goes down and sets up everyone's tents a few days early so we have a dedicated group campsite.  Dan, Faith and Paulo deserve some huge credit.

Friday and good weather seemed to be blessing us, but the wind was howling.  A group of us went for a quick run and then we walked (no driving allowed down the hill) to the Expo for a little swim warm-up and packet pickup.  The water was almost warm enough to be comfortable with no wetsuit.  I finally got the chance to try out my TYR Torque speed suit.  Very cool, but WAY different feeling in open water as I'm expecting the wetsuit lift.  Back to the campsite after the long hike back up from the lake and time for a short bike ride to make sure everything is working right and to keep loose.

Dinner time, some socializing as everyone gets into the park and time for bed.

Adam, Tim and Dan

Race morning!  Fire down some coffee, bagel with peanut butter and honey, final bike check, and off to transition.  Got in early enough to avoid the big backup and found my nice well marked spot.  I love that Tri-California gives you a designated spot on the bike racks.  Transition set up and time to do some "business".  Mulling around to find some friends from Scottsdale and others from the bay.

Dwight and Lewis from Tri-Scottsdale

Tim Dan and I go off for a little warm-up run and then down to race start.  Its such a scene here as the boat ramp forms a HUGE natural amphitheater for everyone to see what's going on and cheer.  Your nerves and excitement start up and when its your wave start, mass chaos ensues with the narrow water entry and sprint to the first buoy.  Trying to stay wide to the first buoy, I keep my shit together better than last year where I freaked out for the first time.  Felt so much better in the water and heading to the turnaround I had a nice rhythm in the water and cruising through the earlier waves with good sighting.  No real drafting opportunities, but a huge 4 minute improvement over last year and a minute faster than Oceanside!  Swim time 31:23. (32nd AG) Much better than when I freaked out in the water last year.

Courtesy of Loren Geller

Through T1 smooth and onto the bike.

Heading up out of the lake, I try to control my effort with my Power Tap.  Such a great purchase.  Got passed by a lot of people charging the hill, I'd see many of them later:)  No reason to try to crush a hill right out of the water, besides, my coach preaches consistent effort, no matter the terrain.  My goal was to hit 300 watts average for the ride, which meant trying to hold 320-340 watts on flats and climbs.

The temperature was perfect, but the winds were not.  20 MPH head winds coming out of the park, with the worst just before our major turn onto Jolon Rd.  Speed down to 15 mph for the last two miles.  Some draft packs started forming ahead of me and just on que, the Referee bike!  Never so glad to hear the motorcycle roll by and the packs disintegrate and I go cruising by. (Ref's were doing their job, you can see a huge amount of penalties in the results)  Making the turn onto Jolon and now time for some wicked cross winds.  My new deep rim Williams 85 mm wheels were holding the line fairly well, so no worries in that aspect, but when I take an arm out of aero to try to get a drink or food, not feeling so good.  Definitely lead to some inadequate fueling on the bike.  (might opt for an aero bottle with straw next time in winds)  The ridiculous part of the ride started when a military convoy and 18 wheeler rolled by the other direction.

Having to hold on for dear life as we get hit with 50-60 MPH wind blasts off the trucks while dealing with 20 MPH cross winds was INSANE!  I didn't see an 18 wheeler coming later, and when the wind blast hit me I screamed like a little girl while I tried to regain control of my bike.  The guy in front of my looked back and we both let out some calming expletives and laughed it off so we wouldn't think too much about how dangerous the conditions were today.  There were reports of a cyclist running a rear disk that was picked up off the ground!  He was airlifted out and I'm not sure what the injuries were, but I did see someone with an obvious broken collar bone.  Crazy day in the wind.

Getting near Bradley and turning into the hills, finally out of the wind (no real tail-wind all day).  Approaching Nasty Grade and I had made up nearly all the time on my buddy Dan (fast swimmer).  Got to within 100 yards as we started climbing and held it all the way up.  I thought I'd get him on the down-hill and then flats if need be, but after cresting Nasty, he took off down and I never got close on the bike again.  Nasty Grade isn't that bad as long as you take a smooth effort into it.  Its protected from the wind, so it heats up a bit, but that about the worst.  Coming down off Nasty is another story.  There is an ambulance stationed there, and with the winds, very dangerous.  Flying down into head, and cross winds as the road turns, I'm still pedaling and not much chance to let gravity do the trick.  I've gotten up to 50 MPH on this downhill before, but not today in these conditions.  Capped out at 44.5, boooo! Bike time: 2:43:32 (14th AG) Slightly better than 2010, with harder conditions. Averaged 295 watts!

Finishing up the bike with two more climbs, yes, two more after Nasty.  Nobody really remembers them, but if you go after Nasty Grade too hard, they can destroy your race.  Back into the park, keeping under control and down to the lake and T2.

3,700 feet elevation gain

Our of transition and along the lake, my legs felt great, what didn't was the extra weight I was carrying as I discover I ate too much, the day before and not too well.  My dinner was and other meals were good, but sitting around the camp site, all those sweets people brought were too appealing and chocolate covered pretzels and other things didn't quite make it through me.  You can actually see a bit of a belly on my in the race pics.  Fortunately I could hold a good pace, even with the brutal bike we just went through.  Passing quite a few people I catch my buddy Dan whose day was nearly over due to a back spasm.  He we smart and pulled back the pace (had some good times with the college kids testing a new hydration system), and I'm proud he finished, even in a lot of pain. You can tell why this race is called "Woodstock of Triathlon".  

Getting to the top of the two steep climbs before the sweet downhill at mile 6 and time to let the legs loose.  This is the first time my legs have felt good enough to take a downhill like this at Wildflower.  Feeling good I could carry the momentum back into the park and into the campgrounds where Golden Gate and SF Tri clubs where cheering everyone on.  So happy to see everyone and I end up charging through, catching the next group in the 30-34 division.  Heading to the out and back section, my quads start to cramp up and I have to pull back on the effort on the hill before descending to the turnaround.  I thought my race day might be over, but the cramps subside while I cruise the mile downhill and start the uphill climb.  This is the most brutal part of the day.  Tired and exhausted, with the temperature rising.  One of the guys running with at the top of the hill says "So this is where the shit show starts huh?"  And he is exactly correct.  A lot of people end up walking this hill after the long day, but I had some time to make up.  Once you get up the hill, there is one more little climb left then a mile downhill to the finish.  There is no reason to hold back so charging the hill I went.  Cresting the hill, my legs could still open up for the long downhill I was dreading with my quads on fire.  Nothing left to lose and I lean downhill and start into my old X-country mode and let it fly. 

1,280 feet elevation gain

Coming into the finishing chute I knew I could have had a better day with a few better decisions, but Wildflower is such a fun event.  This was the first time I enjoyed the finish with a huge smile on my face even while pushing hard to the finish.  Happy with my progress in different parts of the race, and knowing what I screwed up on, its a lesson race.  I met a few of my goals, so I'll take it. Run time: 1:34:01 (15th AG) Slight improvement in time from last year.

Finish Time: 4:53:37 - 46th overall, 11th AG, 4 minutes 7 AG places better than last year!

Tri-Cal does some really cool stuff now, upping their game with free finish video's from their You Tube feed.  Here's mine at about 2:30 into the video.  The one thing I need to do is figure out what the imbalance in my running is that's causing me to be stiff on one side of my body and flail on the other?

Time for one more big week of training , a nice taper (EVIL!) then out to Texas for Ironman.  Feeling good, and a bit nervous.