If you do not like camping, then I would suggest you stop reading right now. Camping is not only suggested, it is MANDATORY for this race. There are a few reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that I don’t think there is a hotel within a 50 mile radius of the race site. This place is truly in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention, the park where the race is held is closed to all incoming and outgoing traffic for most of the weekend. So, if you are still reading and the idea of camping out the night before 70.3 miles intrigues you, then let’s get started.
Avia Wildflower Long Course Triathlon, set on the very, very pretty Lake San Antonio in California ’s Monterey County (not to be confused with the actual city of Monterey … this place isn’t even close). Often referred to as the ¾ ironman because well, everyone says it is just that hard. We flew in to San Francisco the night before the race and made the 3 hour drive to the campgrounds. There are a few regional airports that may be a bit closer, but this made the most sense for our group. The campgrounds are well maintained and once we find our area and our tents are up we settle in for the night. It was raining a bit, which was a bit of a pain but if you’ve been camping before, a little rain isn’t such a big deal.
A couple of notes on the campgrounds: Camping is not included in your entry fee. The campgrounds were built for large crowds and have restrooms, showers, and many developed sites. There is an overflow camping area so no one will be turned away. Camping is on a first come basis, so arrive early for the best sites. There is limited space for RV hook-ups and those too are on a first come, first serve basis. Our campsite was about 1 mile from the race start or I should say 1 mile above the start… it was a fairly short ride or walk, but it was ALL downhill and the climb back out was miserable. There are shuttle buses provided up the hill after the race, but the lines are LONG. So, now that you’ve got logistics, here is the full race report. Keep in mind I was a rookie triathlete in 2009 and this was my very first race.
Race Day
5:15 am: Woke up, thankfully, to clear skies.
6:15 am: Force fed myself a bagel with peanut butter and jelly, felt like I was going to puke. Nerves were definitely kicking in.
6:40 am: Biked down the hill to set up my transition area and get body marked, before race officially began at 8 am.
7:00 am: Being my first triathlon, I had no idea what to expect. Got into transition area and found my spot on the bike rack. It’s pretty unbelievable to watch almost 3000 people file into this small area. There were bikes EVERYWHERE! As far as transition areas go, this one is pretty laid back.
7:15 am: Went to get body marked with my number, 1953.
8:00 am: Men’s pro race begins. The race has an in-water wave start. The pros go off first, and then the age-groupers. All of the men’s age groups go off and then all of the women’s age groups.
8:20 am: I’m standing on line for the port o john for the third time in a half hour. The first pro man is out of the water. It’s been just over 20 minutes and he’s already completed his 1.2 mile swim. I don’t even get in the water for another 45 minutes!!!
8:30 am: First woman pro is out of the water. I’m standing on line for the bathroom for the fourth time. The lines are long, so I did a continuous pee and then loop back to the end of the line until it was time for me to get in the water.
8:55 am: 10 minutes until go time for the first female age group (that’s me!). I pull up my wet suit, trash the $2 flip flops I picked up at the Wal-Mart in Gilroy , CA and head down to the water. (Sidebar: If you fly in to San Fran I highly recommend a stop at the Wal-Mart in Gilroy . You can get anything you need for camping that you didn’t want to pack and then trash it when you leave, i.e. pillows, water, flip flops, blankets, etc. After that stop I became the proud owner of my first Sham-WOW!
9:00 am: The last wave of men go off and we head into the water for a quick warm-up. How do I have to pee again???
9:05 am: We are off. Ok, this IS really happening!!!
9:47 am: I’m out of the water. The watch says 42 minutes. Seemed like the fastest 42 minutes of my life. Lake San Antonio is lovely to swim in. It is closed to swimming and any sort of motor sports for the entire rest of the year, so it is very clean. Cold, but clean. Coming out of the water and heading up (yes UP) the ramp to the transition was a very weird experience. Kind of like when you turn the lights on in the dark and it takes you a little bit to get use to the light.
9:52 am: Headed for bike out. One leg down, two to go. This one is going to be the hardest (or so I think)!!! The bike starts out well, pretty flat, but by mile 2 or 3 we are heading up, up, up and out of the camp ground. This was the first hard hill, and I knew there were more to come. I was feeling pretty good until about mile 12, when I got passed by a 67 year old woman. I noticed the R (for relay) marking on her leg, but that still didn’t make me feel much better. Once we are out of the camp grounds it’s rolling with lots of fast down hills and equally steep uphills. Really got to enjoy the scenery.
10:10 am: Make the turn at mile 20 onto Jolon Rd. Pretty fast and flat for the next 20 miles, through some really pretty vineyards.
11:15 am: Mile 39. This is where the going gets tough. They don’t call the climb between miles 40 and 45 “Nasty Grade” for nothing! We have a 1000 foot climb. I put myself into the lowest gear, sat back and took my time. I didn’t want to lose my legs on this climb, as I still had a 13 mile run to think about. After about 4 miles (and one spectator dressed up as the Energizer Bunny) the hill seems to be subsiding. Make a right turn, and that dream was crushed. One more uphill mile. At this point I don’t think we can possibly go up any more. When I finally get to the top, there is a nice long 6% graded downhill.
1:35 pm: Bike in.
1:38 pm: Run out. I had no idea what I was in for.
Mile 1: 7:50. My legs feel pretty good, but this seems fast.
Mile 2: 7:20. I know this is wrong. I stopped to pee and tie my shoes, there is no way I’m running this fast.
Mile 3: 12:00. Ok, so obviously the mile markers are slightly askew. I stopped recording split times for each mile. At this point I passed Blane (or Dwayne) from the last season of the Biggest Loser! Good for him!!!
Miles 4 – 6: Holy CRAP… the bike was hard, but this is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. This is pretty much a straight uphill on trails for two miles. It was never ending. I don’t think a single athlete was running these miles! This is where I lost most of my time. By the time I finished these miles, my legs were SHOT! (I found out later even some pros walk these hills!)
Miles 7 – 10: Fairly flat, and able to get my legs back under me. These miles go right through the entire camp ground, which was AMAZING, as you have hundreds of people cheering for you (there were another 4000 athletes who were doing the short course on Sunday, that made for a great cheering section). I passed the NYC team in training camp, and WOW, I got so pumped. I see Coaches Adam and Jay around mile 10 and they are very encouraging. Tell me I look great, very strong. Adam tells me all I have left is a quick little out and back and then the home stretch. LIAR!
Miles 11 – 12: They call this “the pit”. You crest the top of this hill at the beginning of the first mile of a two mile out and back, and then you head down, down, down. This sounds like a welcome relief at this point of the race, except that on the other side of the road you can see everyone on the back side of the out and back heading up, up, up. The downhill never seems to end. Finally hit the turnaround and dig my heels in for the uphill climb to the 12 mile marker.
Mile 13: This entire mile is downhill, a very steep downhill. As I crest the top of the hill, I get my first cramp of the day. I can feel my calf tighten up, and I just tell my body, “please, not now! Just one more mile to go.” I run flat footed for a few strides and it seems to shake itself out.
Mile 13.1: I can see the finish line. I’m actually going to do this!
3:53 pm: FINISH LINE!!!!
I will say that I was the most concerned with the bike, and it wound up being slightly less difficult then I had imagined (long and very hilly, but I was picturing the Pyrenees ). I was least concerned with the run, as that’s my endurance background, and it was a million times harder than I could have ever imagined. The half marathon would have been the hardest half marathon I’ve ever run, even if I didn’t have a 56 mile bike warm-up!
Course: B+ As long as you like and accept that this is a very challenging race, this course is great. The bike and run are pretty much both loops, so you don’t have the tedium that is the out and back, nor do you ever have go past a point where it says “finish line ->” and “2nd Loop <-“ , which is my least favorite part of any triathlon run. The pit is absolutely miserable, and a sick joke played by the race directors I think. You spend a mile running down hill only to watch everyone else dying on the run back up after the turnaround. But, it is the only out and back section of the run course.
Organization: A- This is a tri-California event and they do a great job with it. Could have used just a few more porta-pots and definitely more shuttles up the hill post race. (Sidebar, we didn’t want to wait on the line that looked like it was 200 people deep to take the shuttle up the GIANT hill from the finish to the camp ground, so we ended up hiking it… with our bikes and legs that were pretty much jello at that point. This was my least favorite part of the entire day) Other than that, the expo area was great, and there were not long lines at packet pick-up or registration.
Atmosphere: A+ This is like the woodstock of triathlons and it is FUN. I would re-emphasize that if you do not like sleeping in the outdoors the night before/after a race, this is NOT the race for you. There are built in spectators because everyone who is there for the Olympic, which is held on Sunday hangs out all around the run course and cheers. If you race the long course and you stick around for the Olympic on Sunday, pull up a lawn chair, crack a brew and cheer your heart out.
Logistics: B+ It’s a fairly long drive from any major airport (3 hours from San Fran) and don’t forget: camping is not only suggested, it is MANDATORY for this race. Also, as previously mentioned, local hotels were non-existent.
Overall: A- It was absolutely one of the best experiences I’ve had at an endurance event and the scenery was gorgeous. Just don’t forget to look around!
-Tracy
