Wildflower Race Report - Sufferfest

It's been a while since I had an update, and this one is going to be a tough one to write.  Wildflower 2013 (#3 for me) was a sufferfest.  My goal in writing this is to try to analyze what went wrong and to hopefully learn from it.  No one wants to have a bad race, and the key to avoiding them is analyzing and racing smart.  So let's begin:

Pre-race training:
Leading up to the race I was feeling good.  Training was consistent and mostly focused.  My swim was lacking a bit, but losing a minute or two on the swim was the least of my worries.  I was coming off of an amazing open half marathon PR, and my expectations were high.

Then race week happened.  Work was rough.  I was under prepared for a midterm.  We had to volunteer for the Treeathlon.  I had to pack for Wildflower.  And at the last minute I found out that I had to race on my newly built, unproven road bike.  Suffice to say, stress levels were through the roof.

Pre-race:
Friday - HOLY CRAP it was hot.  My goal was to not do much and stay as hydrated as possible.  I was drinking water and Gatorade like crazy, and I was still thirsty.  From past experience, I DO NOT race well in the heat.  I was worried.

Swim:
I really enjoyed this swim.  It is by far one of the easiest open water swims at any triathlon.  The water was smooth and WARM!  Oh man, I can't tell you how awesome the water temps were.  Perfect for a sleeveless wetsuit!  At 31min, my swim was a little slow, but as mentioned before, I expected that and was ok with it.

Bike: http://app.strava.com/activities/52707834
This is where the problems began.  10 miles into the bike, I had to stop.  My bottle cage holding down my Di2 battery was loose and rattling like crazy, and my bike seat was pushed all the way back.  I made the decision to stop and tighten things up.  The less I have to worry about, the better.

Then around the 20mi mark, my ass and lower back were killing me.  You're not supposed to try anything new for a race.  Well, not only did I have a new seat, but I also had a new BIKE.  Obviously not a good decision to race on it, but the alternative was just as undesirable.  Queue back stretches every few miles and standing breaks to relieve the ass pressure.

By mile 40, I was almost broken.  Bike noises, sore ass, and screaming back were wearing me down.  Nasty Grade never looked so steep.  I CRAWLED to the top.  It seems another thing was getting me down too: Dehydration.  While worrying about everything else, I was neglecting the fact that I had to take care of my body, and I was paying the price.  Lack of energy and ability to produce power added to the mental collapse.

Run: http://app.strava.com/activities/52702690
This race ties with Ironman Florida for never wanting to get off my bike more in my life.  I wanted to be excited about running, but I wasn't.  Mentally, I was ruined.  Physically, I was ruined.  50 steps out of transition, I had to walk.  Quads were cramping.  This was the story for the entire run - all 13 miles of it.

Full results: http://raceresults.eternaltiming.com/index.cfm/20130504_Wildflower_Triathlons.htm?Fuseaction=Results&Bib=280

Post-race thoughts:
It's blantantly obvious that this race was poorly executed:
- High stress levels before the race - Better preparation could have helped.
- Dehydration on the bike - Better hydration plan with LOTS of practice.  If there's anything I need to learn, it's how to race in HOT weather.
- Bike issue - TEST the bike ahead of time.
- Use the right tools for the job - Road bikes are not for triathlon racing.

I think that's about it.  I wish I could been limited by fitness, and it's really soul-crushing for that not to be the case.  I know I'm fit, but long distance triathlon is as much about brains as it is about fitness.  THAT'S the reason I got into this game.  I'm not stupid, but on Saturday I was.  Time to learn and get better.