Date: May 3, 2008
Distance: Mountain Bike Sprint (0.25 mile Swim, 9.7 mile Bike, 2 mile Run)
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| The Wildflower Swag |
In the museum of McCarry that I have in my head, this is what a plaque on the wall reads for May 3rd. For this was the day that I decided that I did my first, and would continue to do triathlons, with my ultimate goal of completing an Ironman.
A few months earlier, after having my new iPod + Nike running kit for a few months, I needed a goal. I found that running with out a real purpose didn't make any sense, and that I needed something to motivate me. After searching many local running races (with a goal of doing a Marathon one day in mind) I came across the Ironman triathlon. I remembered the name from watches I owned as a kid (Timex Ironman) and wondered what it was about, and how it ended up on a watch. After becoming short of breath after just reading the description of Ironman, I decided that this was not a goal for myself in the short term, but was interested in the format of the race. Swim, Bike, the Run. Moments later, the internet lead me to the Wildflower.
The (One and Only) Wildflower Triathlon Festival is the largest event of its kind in North America, and one of the largest in the world. Thousands of athletes come to race, some representing their countries from all around the globe, and a select few competing for the coveted "Champion of Wildflower" title. In its 26th year, Wildflower was huge, and was about to be my first race. Luckily, there were 3 race distances available for athletes; The long, Olympic, and Mountain bike sprint course. I obviously opted for the shortest of the 3, being the sprint. I felt I was easily prepared after doing no actual swimming, a little bit of biking in the local bike path, and continuing the 5 - 6k runs 2 - 3 times a week. Boy was I wrong.
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| After my 50 yard warm up... and exhausted |
That morning, after racking my bike in the transition area, I squeezed into my rented wetsuit, took out my brand new goggles from there packaging, and headed down to the start line. I looked out an in the distance over the lake and about 250 yards away I could see two large orange bouys. This was the swim course for me. Didn't look to challenging at the time, but this would change quickly. The announcer calmly advised all athletes that wanted to get wet and warm up to head into the water, as we were about 10 minutes away from the start of the race. I calmly entered the water and swam to the end of the boat dock and back, probably about 50 yards total, and got out of the water... completely exhausted! What the hell have I gotten myself into? How the hell am I ever going to complete this swim? What about the bike and the run after?!? This had shortly become a nightmare, but one I planned to see though.
At 8 a.m. that morning, I entered the water with the rest of the athletes.
10 minutes later, I exited the water. At least that is what the race clock said. To me it felt like over an hour. I was sure I just drank 4 gallons of water, was struggling to keep my balance, and wondering how the hell I was ever going to complete this race. I was moments away from finding the nearest course marshal, and telling them that I can't continue, and that I just wanted to go home when I spotted him. The guy who saved my triathlon career. The guy puking in the trash can. At that moment I realized that I'm not in a worse condition as that guy, and that I can continue this race.
I took the bike at an extremely conservative (possibly not by choice) half walked, half ran the 2 mile run course to cross the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 27 minutes and 44 seconds. A volunteer came up to me, placed my first ever finishing medal over my head and congratulated me. I had finished my first triathlon... and it felt great!!! I still can't express the amount of joy and accomplishment I had felt at the time, and I knew at that point I was hooked! I couldn't wait to go home, and sign up for my next race, and I was in luck! Only a month and a half away was another local Mountain bike sprint race! A few clicks and a credit card later, and I was signed up for the Silicon Valley Mountain Bike Triathlon!
links:
Wildflower Website: http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2013-main.htm
Official Results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20080503_Wildflower_Triathlons.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Bib=&Firstname=&Lastname=mccarry
It makes me laugh when remembering this!
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