Below is a race report I had written for the Hammer Nutrition Endurance magazine in 2009. This year I decided to go back to Wildflower 4 weeks before the event......With little bike training but plenty of running my goal is to have a great time and soak up the atmosphere! 49 years old the last year of racing this age group!! Life is an adventure and I just love doing triathlons! Thanks to my husband for the birthday gift of an entry fee paid.
Wildflower 2009
Author : Suzy Degazon
It is the first weekend in May and for
the last 27 years thousands of triathletes
have made their way to California's Lake
San Antonio to experience the thrill of
Wildflower. I was one of the thousands
this year and had opted to compete in
the long course which consisted of a 1.2
mile lake swim, a 56 mile hilly bike, and
a 13.1 mile run.
My husband Al had signed me up for
the event at Christmas and it was to
be part of my birthday treat. I was
also moving into a new age group - the
45-49 competitive grouping. As usual
something always happens before an
event and a cat I had been looking after
outside decided to become a mommy cat
the day before we were due to leave on
our 5 hour car ride! After taking care
of food and bedding, we set off later
than we had planned and managed to
get lost only once along the way. After
backtracking and asking for directions at
the Bee Rock store we were soon on our
way.
The weekend forecast called for rain and
when we arrived at Monterey County
park there was light drizzle. We showed
our camping pass to the attendant and
set out looking for a spot to call our
own. We ended up not too far from the
entrance up a muddy fire trail. Asking
the campers next to us if it was alright to
set up camp near them I heard a familiar
voice and turned to see Brendon Halpin
who worked last summer at Hammer
Nutrition's headquarters. It was a nice
surprise to see him there with a group of
Montana triathletes!
While Al was busy setting up camp in
the little bit of daylight that was left,
I made sure my Cannondale bike was
ready to roll for tomorrow's 56 mile ride.
I changed to good racing wheels, putting
on new Serfas tires, checked that my
SC600 cycling monitor was picking up
speed, and then Al took it for a ride to
check that the gearing was not slipping.
The only thing left to do was pick up my
race packet and everything would be set.
The packet pick-up was at the transition
area, which was at the base of a
steep hill called Lynch Hill. The race
organizers had a shuttle, which I caught
after showing my ID and USAT card, to
transport athletes back and forth. I was
given a purple swim cap, timing chip,
and race number. I quickly bought a pair
of socks, as I had left mine at home, and
then the shuttle transported me back up
the hill. The daylight was really starting
to fade and the rain had picked up. Al
and I sat in the Dodge eating PB&J
sandwiches and I was suddenly happy
that I had remembered my Brooks Trail
shoes. Tomorrow's run was 60% trails
and with this rain it was likely to be
muddy!
The Swim
During the night the heavens opened
and rain it did! I slept well and though
it was a little cool when I awoke it was
a beautiful morning. My main concern
of the morning was what I was going to
wear. Because I was in the 45-49 group
my swim did not start until 9:25 am. As
I was relaxing and having my morning
coffee I discovered that everyone had to
rack their bikes by 8:00 am. Yikes - there
went my coffee and breakfast! Al stayed
at the campsite and I rolled down Lynch
Hill which was still wet and slippery. An
announcer was telling all athletes to be
careful as one triathlete discovered his
brakes did not work and his race ended
before it started!
After finding my bike spot I did not have
enough room to set up my transition as
the woman opposite me had laid out a
HUGE bath towel and her bike right
over my spot! I looked for another patch
of asphalt and set up my gear. There
were still 90 minutes before the swim
start so I went back to the campsite. I
was certainly warmed up by the time
I trekked the 2 miles up steep trails
and had a minor panic attack when I
couldn't find our site! I finally saw Al
who wished me luck, told me to be safe,
and to have a fun race. I grabbed my
Hammer Nutrition fuels and left again
to run back to the transition area. I put
on my Profile-Design Wetsuit, consumed
a Hammer Gel, and then walked to the
swim start.
At 9:25 am the gun went off and the
water teemed with purple swim caps.
I was off on my personal journey of
70.3 miles and this was just 1.2 miles
of that experience. As much as I love
my sport there is a lot to be said about
the swim, arms thrashing everywhere,
women swimming over me... I went to
breathe and another woman dunked
me! Wow talk about piranhas! This was
a swim for survival and I was happy
to have put my timing chip under my
wetsuit as I would have surely lost it
with all this contact. I kept repeating
"I am enjoying this mayhem!" trying to
remember Caoch Martha at Tri La Vie
saying relax, upwards, and onwards
to her women group! As I approached
the turnaround buoy silver swim caps
started passing me which meant the fast relay swimmers were making head
way. I passed a few green caps from
the 40-44 grouping, sighted the finish
chute, and was dismayed to see a huge
sea of yellow swim caps! The mountain
bike triathletes, whose swim was 200
meters, were exiting the water at the
same time and so things were a little
congested. Finally I made contact with
murky green bottom of the lake
and soon found my self running
through the chute and over the
timing mat. I found my bike
and wasted time in transition
deciding whether I needed arm
warmers or not. I finally opted
for gloves; I was wearing my
trademark Hammer pink tri
suit, Rudy helmet, and glasses.
I managed to get in a Hammer
Gel and was soon heading out
on to the bike course.
The Bike
The first two miles of the
bike is a small climb nothing
too steep but the difficulty is that the
mountain bikers share the road for the
first mile, and for me it was a nightmare
as they were all over the road zigzagging
from right to left not looking behind
them! One girl stopped right in front of
me on a small hill and it took everything
I had to swerve around her and not go
down myself or hit the cyclist in front of
me! They soon left the asphalt for trail
and then the real cycling could begin.
I kept climbing and hydrating with my
multi-hour bottle of Perpetuem and
Endurolytes. The actual 56 mile bike
course is beautiful and very scenic and
I really enjoyed the challenging climbs
and rapid descents. The views of Lake
Nacimiento, better known as the dragon
lake, were literally breathtaking as
the view comes right after the “Nasty
Grade.” I felt great the whole ride
by making sure I kept up with the
Perpetuem and Endurolytes and saying
thank you to all the volunteers out there.
As I turned on to Lake San Antonio road
I sensed the transition near, I could see
other athletes already doing the run.
With 4 miles to go I passed Rudy Garcia
Tolson, wow he really is inspirational
and when he finished the 70.3 he became
the first athlete ever to finish this
challenging course as a double amputee!
After a hairy descent down Lynch Hill
I was told to slow down and get off my
bike, I walked over the timing mat and
went to change into my Brooks trail
shoes which felt great as I had soaked
the insoles with Kool n' Fit spray, ate a
Hammer Gel, put on my fuel belt, and
set off…
The Run
13.1 miles, or as I like to say 1 mile 13
times! Well hydrated I set off into the sun on a brilliant day. The run was
mostly trails and very well marked with
aid stations every mile. I only had to rely
on water as I carried my own Hammer
Gels and Endurolytes. The trails were
challenging with loose dirt and some
wicked climbs which were difficult to
run due to the lines of tired athletes
walking these single tracked sections.
Every aid station had enthusiastic
college students cheering on the runners.
As I approached the last few miles my
husband was waving at me from his
mountain bike and taking photos which
seemed to make me pick up my step.
After running through the campgrounds,
the last segment is an out and back
mile. The final mile is down Lynch Hill
and I tried to run
smoothly as to not
jar my quads on
the steep descent.
I was soon running
through the finish
chute with people
on either side
cheering. My name
was announced as
I crossed the final
timing mat in a
time of 6 hours 6
minutes and 23
seconds! I had
done the bike in a respectable 3 hours and 12 minutes
and ran a slow 2 hours and 3 minutes.
I survived the swim and the mountain
bikers and now proudly had a finisher’s
medal around my neck!
I saw my friend Jodi at the finish area
and was really happy when I found
out she had won the age group 45-49!
Unfortunately she had then been DQ’d
because she lost her timing chip after the
swim. I spent a few minutes at
the timing tent were Jodi told
the officials what happened, and
then I went to find my husband.
I really enjoyed Wildflower
and was pleased with my time.
It was fun seeing a bunch of
Hammer athletes out on the
course and I even had time
to catch up with Kevin from
Finishline-Multisports. After
hiking up the 2 mile trail with
my bike I soon found Al at our
campsite and we began breaking
it down. I visited with Brendon
from Hammer Nutrition one last
time; he smoked the course in 4
hours and 17 minutes and was
the first amateur across the finish line!
A week later the results were finalized
and it turned out they had a number of
hiccups with the timing system. Despite
my friend losing her chip she was
reinstated as first female in 45-49 and I
had the honor of being the 13th female
in the group to finish. More importantly
I was able to raise $495 for Avon of
Puerto Rico’s Breast Cancer Crusade. I
would like to thank Hammer Nutrition,
Serfas tires, Profile –Design Wetsuits,
Brooks running shoes, Polar Monitors,
Cannondale, Rudy Project helmets and
glasses, Fuel Belt, Kool n' Fit, and my
husband for the long hours on the road
and making sure I was safe!
