(S)He who laughs loudest, keeps the rest of the camp ground up!

Oh the dreaded race report…do you report too little, report too much!?! I’m shooting for somewhere in between. We’ll see…I guess, it’s up to you to decide. I won’t bore you or me, with details of the drive down, the pre-race meal (which was yummy, btw!), or the camp set-up. We’ll get right to the morning of the race….

Woke up promptly at 5:30am…yeah, it’s as early as it sounds. Mike, Lo-Lo, and I woke in our little family tent, saying that we all slept pretty well (for camping that is). I grabbed my toiletry bag and headed for the bathrooms. WooHoo!! First trip to the restroom was successful, if you know what I mean! Came back to camp to my Sweets heating the water for our oatmeal and morning cup o’ joe! Shoved down the oatmeal and a cup of coffee and I was off to the restroom again! RIGHT ON!!! This is going to be a great day, two successful trips to the restroom! Slipped into my favorite tri gear, Lori and I double checked the tri bag with a quick checklist and everything was there. We pumped the tires (Lori was ready on time!!!) and headed to the port-o-potties one more time before we headed down. OMG – 3 in a row!!! We’re good to go!

Our little group rode down to the transition area and quickly dispersed to set-up our own transition areas. It was fun watching everyone get ready for the race…fun little rituals that we all partake in. I set-up my little area, and headed to line up for body marking. I was marked and ready to go. Lori and I walked the transition area to get acquainted with the In’s and Out’s. Then headed to the swim start to watch the male pro’s come in from their swim (DUDE, those guys are fast!!!), then we watched Mike’s wave head out. So, glad I could blow him a kiss before the start! He was front and center…that nut! He killed the swim! Lori and I headed back for one more quick trip to the port-o-potties and to wet-suit up. Here we go…down to line up with our wave in the boat dock. I’m so glad Lori was there with me…we’ve done quite a few races together and she always knows how to keep me focused. We ran into Karen and Ann…they look as nervous as we do, phew, we’re not the only ones! The wave before us goes off…holy cow…it’s GO-TIME! Our wave jets into the water for a little pre-race warm up…then it’s back to the docks. Lori and I hug one last time and line up. 3-2-1…we’re off! The swim start went well, not too much knocking, kicking, pulling. My heart-rate was high, but I told myself to just pace myself and get into a grove. Wow, we’re already at the first buoy and are making the first turn. I’m in with a pack of girls so I’m staying on track with very little effort. As we near the end of the out, I veer off course, spotting the wrong buoy doesn’t help…a dude on a surf board catches me and tells me to swim to the left…OOPS! Thanks buddy! Okay, back on course, but I lost my pack…uh oh…Note to self…work on spotting drills! The swim back is bit zig-zagged. But I make it in…not a bad swim at all!

Run up the boat ramp and into T1. I see Meggen running up and down our isle…I laughed when I saw her down by my bike…I told her to go back down the isle and look for “MEG” written in blue chalk. OH!, okay…she says! I got to my spot, finished pulling off my wetsuit, threw on the bike shoes and helmet and was headed out. Another funny note, as I was moving out of T1, the guy in front of me was getting yelled at…hey, your helmet is on backward…I thought to myself…how does that happen? He heard the yells and stopped to fix it. I was on my bike and out the shoot. Along the yucky road that winds along lake I come upon Lo-Lo! Lori, I said, you had a great swim! She says yeah, but I forgot to chammie. I tell her she has an iron-crotch, so she should be fine! (Sorry, for sharing that part of the story Lo-Lo!). We ride up Beach Hill together, see some friends shouting at us about ¾ of the way up…that was a great boost! Out along the road heading out the park I honestly had the following thought…I hope I get a flat tire, I don’t really feel like doing this race today…quickly, I put that thought out and tell myself I just need to warm up. Finally made it out on Interlake Road! I’m getting into my groove and feeling better, I see Kenny! He gives me a friendly hello and we pass…then I’m plugging away and feeling great. OOPS! Mile 14ish, I look down to check the mileage and my MPH. What the HECK!?!?!? It stopped working…all I have is my elapsed time and cadence. Oh well, 2 out of 4 isn’t bad. I tell myself, don’t worry, just keep an eye on your cadence and you’ll be fine. I was spinning nicely, starting to really enjoy the race. I made it out to Jolon Road, more of the same, eat, drink, watch cadence. Just was we’re making that right hand turn on Nacimento Lake Rd. I see a familiar IronTeam jersey…hey, I know that pedal stroke…that’s DANNY RUSSELL! YAY, my buddy is just up ahead! Danny and I exchange our ‘usual’ hello on the race course, but this time he hears what I have to say to him! (Danny, you know what I mean!) As we exchange some quick pleasantries, we have a good laugh and on we go! I cross the steel bridge and know that Nasty Grade isn’t too far away. I’m continuing to eat, drink and watch my cadence. Okay, quick left turn and I say to the guy next to me…Are you ready for this!? Yup, he replies and we start the climb. Spinning pretty good up the hill, at the water stop about ½ way up, I see another buddy…Jeremiah! I say to him…Hey, J, come and get it! He laughs and up the hill we continue. Me and the guy riding next to me see the bunnies and get a great laugh out of them! It’s the little things at this point that keep you going! At the hard right (aka, the false summit) I see two more IronTeam jerseys…it’s Wass and Chienyo! Hey guys! Wass shouts out an, “I told you!” A little inside joke we shared earlier, I tell him I don’t really like this hill. A quick smile and we’re off! Two more climbs and I’ve made it to the top of Nasty! HORAY! I tuck in for a fun, fast ride down. HOLY COW…I’M GOING TO DIE!!!! My wheel starts shaking, and I feel completely out of control of my bike…my heart races, and I pray that this won’t be the end of me. I regain control and take the rest of the hill nice and easy. DUDE, that was the closest I’ve come to terror in a LONG time! My buddy who’ve I’ve been leap-frogging with for the last 10 miles or so rides up along side me and tells me he thought I was going to die! I agreed, we both breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the ride in was mentally preparing for the run and doing some light stretching. ZOOM, I’m back into transition!
T2, all goes smoothly…including my signature ‘spot’ in front of my transition area! Change of shoes and on with the run hat …I’m out! Hey, there’s Mike P and Dougie…both smiling, so I know their relay is going great! They give me a quick shout-out and I’m on the run course! Lots of ‘Go IRONTEAMs’ on the way out of the transition area. That was a great pick me up! It was pretty quite on the road along the lake, I kept telling myself my run and breathing would settle in around mile 2-3. Sure enough it did…then a hard left and we’re out along the lake. Lot’s and lots of people were walking, but I told myself to try to run to the hills, then walk when I need to. All went as planned. Those back hills killed me…lots of walking with a purpose! Made it to the naked water stop…gave me a good laugh…and burned an ugly image in my head…there is a difference between ‘good naked’ and ‘bad naked’! Finally out to the meadow, I was able to get into my run groove…aahhh, now that feels right! Hey, there’s Ann, coming in on the bike! GARVIN!!!, I yell! Took two tries, but she figured out it was me. Then Bev spots me, she’s looking great on the bike…just down Lynch and she’s on to the run! I’m soo proud of our girls! Okay, out the campground…I love, love, love my IronTeam jersey! So many hoots n’ hollars through the TNT camp! WOW, I needed that! Finally the PIT! Down the pit, I see more teammates, Matthew, Dan C, Holger, Dr. McKenna, Mark and a few others! Great support to see a few more friends at the bottom and an awesome Coach giving lots of encouraging words to just about everyone. Wass, knew him and introduced me to him the next day, I told him he HELPED me a ton. It’s people like that who keep me going! THANKS!!! Back out of the pit…only a little over 2 miles to go and the last mile is down hill!! Lynch hurts the IT bands on the way down, but I was almost done!

I made it back to the chute! Lot’s of cheering fans, and I see my sweet husband waiting and yelling his little lungs out as I come down the chute! That’s always my favorite part of the race…knowing he’s there waiting to give me the biggest HUG of the day! I crossed the finish line feeling great! WOW, what a great race!

We all hung around to watch all of the South Bay team come in…I love this team, the support is incredible! I’m soooo proud of everyone and their personal accomplishment! We had a great night back at camp, laughing, eating, drinking, eating, laughing and more laughing! Thanks to everyone for making the WildFlower weekend such a blast!

GO TEAM AND GO LONG!!!