What is it that brings 8,000 athletes each year to Lake San Antonio for the AVIA Wildflower Triathlons Festival? The Wildflower Triathlon is a triathlon held at Lake San Antonio in Central California since 1983, the first winner being legendary Paul "The Machine" Huddle.
The original course was expanded to the standardized half-Ironman distance (1.2 mi / 56 mi / 13.1 mi) in the late 1980s, and is often referred to as simply the long course. Two more races have subsequently been added to the event: an Olympic-distance (1.5 km / 40 km / 10 km) race and a short or "sprint" mountain-bike triathlon (0.25 mi / 9.7 mi / 2 mi).
Known for a particularly hilly and grueling course, it is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, with 7,500 athletes and 30,000 spectators attending each year. Traditionally it is associated with a Wildflower festival, though in recent years the festival has been eclipsed by the increasingly large athletic event.
Yeah baby......we are packing up and hitting the road tomorrow AM for the drive up and hope to be there mid afternoon to set up camp, pick up my packet and chill with so many people from Tri Club San Diego!
I am the last wave on Saturday... 9:25 start time (very late) and with this warm weather it will be a hot run - looks like mid 80's. Since it has been so chilly, 80 feels really hot these days. Have to gauge when to eat, stay hydrated etc...this race is NOT a PR! Hilly bike and very hilly trail run so I will be out there longer than O'side and have to plan accordingly. More salt, more calories and more fun!!!
The water temp is 68! Perfect and I love swimming in a lake vs ocean. Whats the goal of the race....have fun!! No pressure on Saturday- the goal is to swim hard, solid ride and enjoy the run... :) So funny how my emotions are in check, not stressed this week and just excited to race with a lot of friends. It is good to have no pressure races so we remember that this sport is all about having fun! Not that other races are not fun, but when qualifying is in the back of your mind, the pressure stacks up.
The big fun will be Saturday night! Post race, campfire and huge tri club dinner. Have a few bottles of Hard Cider to knock back and hang out at the campsite.
No live tracking like they have for Ironman but results will be posted as the day progresses on Saturday http://www.tricalifornia.com/index.cfm/WildFlower2011-results.htm
Good luck! Have fun!
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