Wildflower has been described as the Woodstock of triathlon and after experiencing my first Wildflower race weekend I couldn’t agree more. If you ever have the chance to do this race I would highly recommend it. The race production itself is top notch and the whole weekend is centered on a triathlon festival, which includes live music all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. While the race draws some of the best athletes from around the world; this year the male and female winners for IM 70.3 were there plus numerous other former Olympians and World Champions; the atmosphere is relatively laid back. Everyone is there to race hard but to have a good time as well. The course is absolutely fantastic. The bike ride goes through a beautiful valley but starts with a steep climb out of the park and ends with 16 miles of climbing back up to Lake San Antonio. The run is all in the park and most of it is on beautiful trails, this was also very hilly with some challenging climbs.

 

When we arrived in CA on Thursday we were greeted by cool temperatures and 30 mph winds. Thankful the winds significantly died down and it warmed-up a lot by race day. However, it was still fairly cold when we started the race, mid 40’s, but it warmed up fast once the sun broke through, which felt really good and made for great racing conditions. Wildflower was my first Pro race, and while it certainly wasn’t the debut race I was hoping for, I learned a lot and still had a great time. I didn’t believe this the first time I heard it but I understand it now, “racing as a Pro is completely different than racing as an age grouper.” I am happy to have my first Pro race under my belt and look forward to the next!