Wildflower

We all drove down to Lake San Antonio near King City on Friday to compete in the annual Wildflower Triathlon.  Mrs V. raised over $3,300 for the  Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training and has been training for this thing for the better part of this year. 

Talk about people…  The campgrounds around Lake San Antonio were at overflow capacity with the influx of thousands of spectators and competitors for the weekend competition.  The Youngs drove down early on Friday and scored us a great campsite, which was fortunate as we watched a lot of latecomers search for vacant spots late into Friday evening.

 
Carol gets some last-minute tire changing lessons (left) and we chow down on a very cold morning before our race (right). 

On our way to the starting line (left) and standing in alongside the final straight on the running leg (right).

 
Team in Training before the race (left) and getting numbered in the transition area (right).

The half-ironman course started at 8:00am on the Saturday morning, the professional men were up first.  Absolutely amazing athletes, the winner (an Aussie) completed the course in a few seconds over four hours.  That’s 1.25 miles of swimming, 56 miles on the bike and a half-marathon (13 miles).  Really a sight to behold…

The mountain bike triathlon started at 9:45am, I was first up with the 18-29 year-old men.  Carol next and then The Fundraiser in the 10:00am wave (25-29 year-old women).  A lot of adrenaline standing around at the starting gates!  I managed to secure a spot at the front of my pack, which I was thankful for as even being out in front I still managed to get kicked in the face a few times during the swim.  I was pretty pumped on my swim and came out of the water in the top 15 of my pack, and my choice to not wear a wetsuit made for a quick transition to my bike, after which I was third in my group.  Our Team in Training member also had a good swim, completing the leg in under 10 minutes, which was the goal she’d set for herself.

The professional men begin their 1.25 mile swim (top) and make their way into the cycling transition (bottom).

Getting suited-up before the swim (left), me at the starting line on the very right (middle) and swimmers warming up before their start (right).

Spot the Team in Training wetsuit as it makes its way into the water (left) and Carol in the swim-to-bike transition (right). 

By the time we both made it to the run leg we were pretty tuckered-out.  We both pushed pretty hard during the bike legs and had some fun on the single-track downhill sections.  The final paved downhill of the course was a real hoot, neither of us have speedometers on our bikes but I’d have to say we were topping 40 miles per hour, I needed another big chain ring on my crankset, I couldn’t pedal any faster!  I clocked 1:12:53 for 20th spot in my class and 178th out of the more than 800 competitors.  The instigator of this whole experience was pumped with 1:18:42, 12th in her class at 294th overall.  We’re both very proud of Carol for all her training and hard work, no walking over the finish line for my mother-in-law!  There were professional photographers all over the course, which was really great because it enabled us to get some of their action shots from the race.

Our resident Team in Training member on the bike (left), having a cooling drink afterwards (middle) and crossing the finish line (right).

 
Me on the pavement toward the end of the big leg (left and middle) and feeling it through the run (right).

 
Carol looking strong on the bike (left), leading the pack behind her on the run (middle) and thankful for the finish line (right). 

Mum and daughter at the finish line (left) and the finishing strait (right).

Stretching in the empty transition area (left) and the three triathletes pre-race (right).