Race Day.....A Wildflower state of mind

So, finally. After 3 months of hard training, Lola and I jumped in the car and drove to lake San Antonio for racing weekend. Wildflower is known as the "Woodstock of triathlons" because all the 8,000 participants set up their tents in the beautiful San Antonio Reservoir. It's a massive camping experience.

We got there Friday afternoon, set up our tent along with the TNT folks, had dinner and chatted with the folks that were doing the half ironman next morning. We all went to bed (sleepeing bags) at around 9:30 pm. Next day we woke up late, at around 8:30. For some reason, and according to the coaches, your have to make sure to have a good night sleep two days before the event. The night before the event is not as important.

After breakfast (one egg, oatmeal, peanut butter sandwich and orange juice), we went down to the race area to pick up my packet for the race. There were tons of people and I actually started feeling pretty anxious about racing the next day. At around 1 pm we decided to go back to the camp, making sure I stopped every 20 minutes to pee because of the insane amount of water and electrolytes I was taking........

 We spend the afternoon chatting with other TNT members and at 6:30 we all gathered for our pre-race dinner. Triathletes from TNT chapters all over the USA gathered there. We ate and insane amount of pasta and chicken. A couple of people that have had some form of Leukemia or Lymphoma thanked all of us for our efforts and wished us good luck on the big day. It was actually a pretty nice event. Before we went to bed something curious happened. Suddenly, naked college guys and girls showed up running through our camp....yes, naked female triathletes running all over the place, yes fully naked.......It's a tradition at Wildflower that has been going on for several years I heard. Awesome, what can I say. I am going back next year, for sure. Off to bed with my belly full of carbs, my mind full of boobs and completely rested after a couple of days without training.

Race day

We woke up 7:00 am and had the same breakfast as the day before. I had this same stuff during my trainings so it was guaranteed I wouldn't run into any stomach issues during the race.

All TNT members gathered at around 7:45 and went down in our bikes......there was the Wildflower course, intimidating, challenging, brutally beautiful, ready to test me.....

We got to our transition area to set up all our stuff.  This is where you actually come after the swimming and after biking to change for your next sport. As a result everything needs to be in pristine order so you don't make mistakes. For example, if you get on your bike with a hat instead of a helmet you can be penalized or even disqualified. When you get out of the water you are pretty tired and confused so is quite easy to make mistakes. Probably my sister Erika would be the best person in the world to set up a triathlete's transition area. With her German-neatness and order, everything would be ordered at exactly the same distance and in exactly the same order any athlete would need it. In my case, it was pretty neat, but never as if she would have done it....

Swimming

My start time was 10:05 so at around 9:35 I started to get into the wetsuit....yes, a full body wetsuit that makes me look like a third-world version of a German sausage. I headed up for the race start area where the rest of the TNT folks were. After the wave right before us took off, we were allowed to swim for a couple of minutes. This is important because this is when you let water into your wetsuit (yes, it was quite cold) and "feel" the rythm of your swimming stroke.

Three minutes later and with the crowd cheering Go Team!, bang! the shotgun and we all ran towards the water. TNT gets its own starting time (normally people race with their own group ages), so we were not that many people. This was quite nice since you don't have 10 persons swimming around, thus, no kicks nor accidental punches in the TNT wave.

The swim was 1.5 kms, the water was a bit rough because the day was quite windy. As a result I drank two good mouthfuls of water...tasty, clear water that of Lake San Antonio. Have you ever gone swimming with a wetsuit? Its awesome! You really, really float and are able to rotate a lot easier. Is a much less effortless experience. The course was pretty simple, you swim 750 mts and then turn around a buoy and come back.

I felt pretty damn good on the swim, just concentrating in maintaning a stable rythm, not to fast, not to slow, just about right. My goal was to finish the swimming part without stopping for rest and to do it in ~30 minutes.

As I approached shore on my way back I could hear the people cheering up. When I finally touched the ground with my hands I got up and started running up the hill (like all Wildflower....a freaking hill) and removing the upper part of my wetsuit. This was quite an exciting moment with all the people around you, cheering you up. 1 minute later I was in my transition area, put on my cycling shoes, helmet, sunglasses and got on the bike.

Biking

Well, what can I say about biking at Wildflower. Still struggling to catch your breath from the swimming, here it comes, the steepest hill in all the course. It is brutal, brutal, brutal. You can see on the picture below how you need to climb ~100 mts in less than 1 km. It's the very first upward hill on the green graph. You feel like your heart is going to come out of your chest. 

Fortunately, at the top of the hill a bunch of folks from TNT were waiting, cheering us up. As we were leaving the National Park to go out to the road, all the spectators were shouting and encouraging us to keep on going. Needless to say, that if you are wearing the purple Team in Training shirt you get special attention. I probably heard the words "Go team!" 300 times, no kidding.

For the next 13 kms the ride is quite pleasant, some hills, but nothing too steep nor too long, and right after that there is a long, nice downhill where I reached my max speed during the race, 56.6 km/hr. It was an awesome experience to see people of all ages really pushing themselves so hard on that really hard and hot course. By the way, your age is written on your calf muscle, so you know exactly how old is the guy that looks like your dad and is riding way faster than you are........makes you wonder how much more you still need to go.

TNT Coach Cindy had advised us to really pace ourselves during the first half of the race (that is the swim and the first 20 kms on the bike). "If you feel strong when you reach the first half, you can really start pushing your body on the way back". Awesome. I felt pretty damn good when I reached the u-turn point (yes, all those nice downhills were to become uphills, see double red arrow in chart). My body was hydratated and had eaten very well along the way, so I decided to really push hard on the way back. My watch showed 1:30 mins, unless something went really wrong I would be able to beat my 4 hrs objective for the whole race.

As I entered the park I could hear the cheering, happy crowds motivating the participants. I ran into some TNT folks again and they were specially loud and cheerful whenever a purple shirt approached them.

As I was descending the final hill I realized that the result of the extra effort paid off. I had managed to cut 5 minutes from the 58 minutes it took me to complete the first half of the biking course. By the time I got to the transition area I was still feeling strong........but Wildflower had a couple of surprises for me.

Running

OK, so here is where the difference between a first timer and an experimented triathlete comes......Got off the bike, put on running shoes, cap, and started running. After leaving the transition I saw Lola and she actually ran with me for about 1 minute. We chatted about the bike, and she gave me a big kiss. I probably tasted horrible since I had been puring water and Gatorade over my head to cool down during the bike ride.

At this point all the adrenaline of the transition and seeing Lola kept me going for a couple of minutes. However, as the inclination started increasing I really, really started feeling the pain on my calf muscles (Chicken Legs, after all). My legs felt tense and I could barely run (see red circle in chart). After 13 minutes that I could barely run (no walking thought, no walking) and countless glasses of water poured over my head at the aid stations my legs finally loosen up. You can see it on the graph how my pace really starts improving even tough the hill got steeper and steeper.

The transition from the bike to the run proved really difficult. You feel that your legs are like butter, because they simply don't hold you. However, you also feel your muscles really, really tense, so running becomes especially challenging. You can see how here how hard this course is, the run is quite steep and by 1:00 pm the temperature had reached 28 degrees Celsius. 

At the very top of the last hill I ran into Bill, Claire and Matt (another TNT group!). All three of them ran next to me asking me how I was doing and letting me know that the uphill battle was almost over. When I got to the top, I really accelerated my pace and gave everything that I had left. As I was approaching the finish line the pain dissapeared and I started running as fast as I could (you can see a slight uptick in my pace in the graph) and made sure to cross the finish line with a big smile.

I hugged Lola and actually started to cry. After smoking for 15 years and never had competed in an endurance event before, this was a big deal for me. In those moments I let go all those hours swimming, biking and running and all the expectations I had of myself. I was able to accomplish all my objectives: finish under 4 hours and never stop to rest nor walk during the course. My official time was 3 hrs 40 min, 1 hr 38 mins hrs more than the first place.

I would have never been able to finish a triathlon if it wasn't for my dear friends at TNT. I had a team of coaches, mentors and friends supporting and advising me. These folks are here on a voluntary basis and sacrifice their own training and time for all of us raising money for LLS. I cannot thank them enough for a life-changing experience. You did it. You got me hooked. In fact, I am signed up as mentor for next season. I will help my mentees raise money during Summer while at the same time I will be training hard because word is out there I'll be a prisoner and will have to escape from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco......

I trained for and raced Wildflower in memory of my mother, who unfortunately passed away from cancer back in 2003. In those mornings where I had to wake up and go biking and running, my mom's memory proved really inspiring.

I want to share with you part of a nice article that Timothy Carlson, a journalist that struggled to compete at Wildflower long course, wrote in this year handbook:

"....when I finished the swim, I yelled with joy! Now I get to ride up Nasty Grade and run the great winding course through the hills and flowers. With the exception of the Boston Marathon, no race anywhere had the joyous support of big happy crowds" "To my mind, Wildflower is the most beautiful and challenging long course triathlon test in the world, a race with a big heart for brave hearts......I am amply rewarded and satisfied that I earned a spot among the ranks of Wildflower finishers. Wildflower is truly “The One and Only”.

This blog started as Chicken Legs. However, after all the training, I think we can now call it Turkey Legs....

Go team,

Adolfo

Swimming the week before the event

Usually the swim routine consists of a lot of splits, drills and kicking. Yesterday was actually pretty nice, just get into the pool and swim for 45 minutes. No kicking or drilling, just get in there and swim.

I gave it a try to train with the new Garmin 405 watch that I bought and as pleased as I am with the running and biking performance, I cannot say the same about the swimming. Being fair, is not designed for water activities. Anyway,it's a cool thing to see your swimming routine in Google maps.

I forgot to turn it off, I obviously didn't swim all the way to my house.

Bike ride

This was an awesome, cool, Sunday morning bike ride!! Take a look at the elevation, the legs DO feel this climbs. Getting ready for Wildflower!

April 21--Quick update--

I haven´t blogged in a long time....sorry. I have been really busy with the fundraising. I managed to reach my quota of $2,900!!!!

So here is an outlook at my morning cycling routine through beautiful, hilly, sometimes chaotic Berkeley. I think this is probably one of the best places in the world to train for a cycling event. Take a look at the altitude gains, my legs are finally getting used to climb, rigth on time for Wildflower....only one week away.

Weekend March 27-28.....the Wildflower course

This weekend the team went camping to the Wildflower course, so we actually got to see and feel the course.

On Saturday we woke up early and drove to the lake for the swimming session. I arrived late (as usual), but managed to get on the water and complete the 1.5 kms in 30 mins sharp. Not bad given that I had breakfast 15 minutes before and I started cramping when jumped in the cold water.

Swimming done. Now ahead of me I had a 40 kms bike ride in Wildflower brutal hills......okay, the "brutal" is a bit exaggerated but the ride was quite steep (altough nothing compared to my training facilities, Berkeley´s North Hills). My guess is that I completed the circuit in about 1 hour and 30 mins. I don't know for sure because I spent 25 very nice minutes talking to the folks in the aid station......

Yes, i felt the pain on the afternoon. I was tired as hell and my body ache a bit in some private and not-so-private areas.....I had a great nap and enjoyed the sketches prepared by the San Francisco and East Bay team. We also got to hear from some of the people that have had leukemia or lymphoma and that are training for a triathlon. Wow. These folks are one of a kind.

After the sketches we gathered around the fire, one of the guys cooked some oysters that he brought and we all had a couple of beers. By 10:30 pm I was in my sleeping bag. Needless to say, I slept like a baby

Sunday morning we packed our stuff and went for a 10 km run, which I did in 50 minutes. Now, after the run, my body did start really complaining. It didn't matter because I have done the race track and will be ready to destroy it on May 1st.

My training ground.....

The Berkeley Death Ride....

The proof......

so you see this is serious...

Saturday, March 13, 2010--First Open Water Swim

So, there I go to Shadow Cliffs, Pleasanton for our first open water swim! We also get our new wetsuits. Coach Cindy has recommended that we wear two -or three- swimming caps because it is going to be very cold......my God, I am used to swim in the nice calm and warm waters of the Mexican Pacific ocean....

So, I get on my wetsuit....I look like a skinny sausage (I promise to upload a picture later) and start walking towards the lake/pond.

When my feet touch the water I cannot beleive how cold it is. As I go in my whole body starts getting really cold......until the water reached my waist....oh yes, a little pee works wonder! (actuallt, everybody does that, so don't think I am some kind of nasty human being)

Now comes the moment of truth...open your suit at the neck and let the water actually flow through your chest and back.....my god, it feels awful, awful, awful. As a reference, a hot tub temperature is around 40 degrees celcius, a regular swimming pool is heated at around 28. The water at Shadow Cliffs was around 16-20 degrees.

By this moment I cannot feel my feet and my hands are absolutely numb. We get the instructions from the coach and start swimming. I feel some anxiety because I cannot see anything underwater, the water is completely opaque. Also,the coldness of the water makes me feel confused, like I didn't know where I was.

After a couple of minutes I actually started feeling much better, got warmer and actually enjoyed the training. Cold water has this effect on a person's body. At the beginning you really hate it, but after you get use to it, it becomes quite an enjoyable experience.

After finishing the swim workout and taking off the suit we went for a quick 20 minute run. While changing in the bathroom I was talking to one of the coaches and he told me that the water was incredibly cold, more so than the San Francisco Bay! (the guy has done the Escape from Alcatraz Tri a couple of times)

The run was quick and easy. However, I didn't put a jacket or sweatshirt after finishing and on the wya home I started feeling some discomfort on my throat.....yes I am getting old. I actually missed Sunday training because I got a cold after swimming in a cold pond.

Monday, March 08, 2010--rest

Today, thankfully is rest day. After yesterday's brutal climb and Saturday's not-so-nice swim and run my body feels a bit "tense" -to say the least- My right butt hurts more than my left one (that tricky bike....), my neck is as stiff as a pencil and my legs (chicken, of course) tremble when walking up the stairs.

Couple of donations today. Thanks to tios Sergio & Chiquis and to Jana.

Sunday, March 7, 2010--Captain's ride

Wake up at 7:20 after Lola's birthday party and Saturday's hard workout. Drive again to Orinda for Sunday bike ride.

We went to the Redwood Regional Park, which is on top of Oakland hills and has one of the most beautiful views of the Bay Area. The ride was quite steep at the beginning, but totally worth it. Here is the total mileage and inclination. Make sure you click on "view elevation" link so you can see how steep this ride was.



This route is the most beautiful bike ride I have ever done. You ride along huge redwood trees so dense that block the sunlight (yes, it is cold) in a quite narrow road with beautiful views of Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco.

Saturday, March 6, 2010--Swim and Run

Wake up at 6:45, grab quick breakfast and drive to Orinda for Saturday workout. Saturdays are always tough because you are carrying the work from all week plus is the day the workout is tougher.

The pool was not as warm as the TNT coaches made us believe, but anyhow, couple of swims and you start getting warm. The swam around 1500 meters, some at level 3 effort (mild) and some at level 8 (can u pick up my lungs please?).

After the swim we went for a 5 mile run. Five miles is not that bad, except when two of those miles are quite steep......bu the time I finished, my two powerful chicken legs were trembling like crazy....and on Sunday I had to go biking.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Wake up at 7:00 am on a Sunday... you have to be kidding me. Another 20 minutes, please... I have Matias (my cat) on the head, Lola (my wife) completely asleep , the bed is really warm and outside... its raining. "Cycling probably is cancelled on rainy days, I thought"... I got off bed had a quick breakfast, put on my super Peter Pan tights and drove to Tilden Regional Park http://www.ebparks.org/parks/tilden

View Larger Map

The TNT group met in the parking lot at the very top of Skyline Blvd on the beautiful Berkeley/Oakland hills It was indeed raining and quite cold. After some inicial instructions we went on and started biking towards Berkeley. During the first 25 minutes the inclination was quite moderate, with almost no palpable discomfort in the legs.

After Skyline Blvd makes a sharp turn to the right, things started getting a bit more complicated with the inclination increasing constantly until it comes to a quite uncomfortable point. However, this only last for 10-15 minutes. Once we get to the intersection with Highway 24 we make a u-turn and enjoy the lovely downhill run.

One hour after our departure from the parking lot we come back with our bodies completely wet and cold, but very happy of having conquered the always challenging Berkeley hills!

First group training (that I attend)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

I thought: "I learned to swim in Acapulco, just like "el mismisimo Santo" (yes, that is a very local Mexican joke), my technique is perfect, I am such an accomplished swimmer". Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. At the first "hey Adolfo, you really open your legs wide open when you breathe (no adult jokes here, please)" I realized my technique was not as pristine as I had thought and that in the pool I probably looked more like an overweight chicken than a triathlete....

Now, one thing I want to ask is, why do architects in Northern California think outdoor pools are a good idea? This is not LA or San Diego where warm weather is the rule. In the mornings and at night it's always cold in the Bay Area. This means you always freeze your ass off when you get out of the pool. If anybody knows the answer, please let me know.

Out of the pool and on to the running. Before we went for the 3? mile run, we had the pleasure of meeting a lovely kid who had leukemia but was now fully recovered. Her mom told us her story and everything they went through. You kind of feel bad about complaining on cold water and wind when you hear these stories.

So, off we go for our run. Very similar to the Wildflower course according to the coach. It was a very, very nice experience to run beside so many people cheering you up. The picture you see up here is me trying to catch up with coach Cindy.

After ~3 miles of going up and down the workout ended. I must say I felt pretty damn good of having done all that before 11:00 am on a Saturday!