Wouldn't it be cool...: Wildflower Triathlon Race Report

A picture worth a trillion-billion-thousand words.

I have to make this recap a little different from others. Mostly to protect the innocent.

I'm not going to lie. I was bitterly disappointed at the time (not the actual "time" though I was disappointed in that, too). The time (5:06) tells some of the story. But not all... by a long shot. I knew going in that a fast time and a high place might be beyond me. What I got from myself, though, was totally different from what I expected:

Here's what I expected:

A solid swim.

A very strong ride.

A run that might involve a major amount of walking and some major complaining from my plantar fascia.

Here's what I got:

A perfect swim!

I have to ride my bike now? Huh?

Not a peep from the plantar fascia.

The result is that I came out of the swim on eventual 3rd place finisher, Erika Csomor's heels and I was ecstatic. I mounted the bike quickly and was able to jump ahead of two other women who had come out of the swim at the same time as us. My first hill climb on the bike was solid. I settled into aero after that and started to push the pace... and then, nothing happened. I felt as if I was riding into a major head wind... uphill... into a snow storm... dragging an anchor. I tried making minor tweaks to my position, getting a little farther forward in the saddle... that was not good for the girls. I tried focusing on the sexy male age grouper in front of me and matching his pedal stroke. And then another guy would pass me.... and then another female pro would pass me. Hmmm... By the time I had climbed Nasty Grade at mile 41, I faced the grim reality that I was literally "off the back" and wondered if I would have the ability to even start the run (feet were to numb to tell if it hurt).

Then I arrived in transition. I thought about all the people watching. All the work that Dixie Bousman at TriCalifornia had done to find housing for me (and who is probably prepping for ankle surgery courtesy of a slip in the rain on Friday). My friends and family who had wished me good luck and might be following the race on the web. And I couldn't quit. So, I grabbed a drink from the aid station in transition, reset my watch (as if to reset the race), and headed out on the run with a smile.

And so glad I did! The people at the aid stations were fantastic. The fans in the camping area were the best yet. As I approached the OSU camp site... I hear a spirited, high-pitched voice yell out "Is that Sunny?" And I got the biggest cheer (thank you Stacey). Even that final uphill wasn't so bad. And sprinting into the finish line was truely satisfactory (the crying and dismay over my actual time for the bike leg would come later and pass within 34 hours... just before I got back to Oregon.. but sadly after worrying a few friends and my parents... sorry... I'll call soon).

Important race analysis: I think I overtrained the bike (trying to make up for the training hours I lost from not being able to run). I played a few head games with myself while training in the last few weeks... And I wasn't in a good "race place". Also, I was just having one of those proverbial "off-days". Unfortunate that it had to come on such a big day... but as the conscience in my ear said (whose voice sounds remarkably like Tribabe's) "It's one race... only way to go from here is up". True that. Next stop: Duck Bill Thrill in two weeks.

The rest of the week-end went something like this:

I caught up with friends (Angie Naeth, Tim Carlson... next year I'm going for that run record), an old roommate (Davin the PTG — Positive Thought Guru — and Kirk), and new coolness (Rachel Sears and Julie Moss... you were major bright spots this week-end).

Also....