Thank You!
With your generous donations we surpassed my target of raising $2800 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The combined team raised over $250,000 for Leukemia research from the Wildflower season! This was my second time competing in the Olympic Wildflower Triathlon and I'm happy to report I improved over last year.
Some Pictures from the Race:
Results:
Total Time: 3:16:57 Rank for Men 25-29: 157 / 221 Rank Overall: 1200 / 2491
|
Swim |
Transition 1 |
Bike |
Transition 2 |
Run |
|
28:34 |
4:03 |
1:38:38 |
2:32 |
1:03:10 |
Narrative of the Race:
This year for the first time in the history of Wildflower it rained! We camped in the mud and rain Friday and Saturday. We cheered on the Half-Ironman folks Saturday as they raced in rain and wind. The course officials changed the run for both the Half-Ironman and the Olympic course to avoid running on the muddy trails. They replaced the trail run with a huge paved hill to everyone's displeasure. Towards the end of Saturday, the weather started to ease up. Thankfully, Sunday morning we had clear skies and the temperature was just right.
Once again I found myself in the starting area with my wetsuit on anxiously waiting the sound of the gun. Alex from Survivor was one of the guest starters this year and gave us a "Go Team!" cheer. The swim this year was very choppy. Last year I was able to navigate through people with relative ease, but this year I was constantly getting bumped and swimming into people due to the waves. It reminded me of my days of playing water polo. The swim seemed to go on forever. After the race I checked the times for people that competed this year and last year and everyone was significantly slower.
I had really been working my bike riding this past year so I was excited to tackle that part of the course. Once again I climbed the steep Lynch hill at the beginning of the ride. After getting over the hill it was time to turn on the jets. Just like last year, my chain decided to jump off and I had to stop to fix it! Luckily, that was the only hiccup I had for the day. The bike felt great this year, I had plenty of water and gel to eat while riding and the weather was very comfortable. I was 7 minutes faster on the bike this year.
The run was much harder than last year due to the substitution of Beach Hill instead of the muddy trail run. My legs felt good and I was able to run most of the course. It was great to see students from my alma mater, Cal Poly, volunteering at the water stops. Our teammates that did the half-ironman were out their cheering for us like we did for them and it helped get me pumped up to finish the race strong. It felt great to come down Lynch Hill and cross the finish line knowing another season was a success.
I had set a goal of breaking 3 hours, but after the course changes and the camping in the mud, I was happy to beat my time last year and leave the 3-hour goal for a future race. This was another great season of supporting the cause, making new friends, and getting in shape. Thank you so much for making this experience possible!!!
I stayed on as a Mentor for the summer season and helped a group of new participants raise their money and complete their first triathlon. I also trained along with them and completed my first Half-Ironman triathlon (1.2 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13 mile run)!!! Being a mentor was a great experience and I'm happy to report that all of my mentees completed their fundraising goals and their triathlons! The Big Kahuna half-ironman in Santa Cruz was a great experience. The weather was perfect and the swim around the pier wasn’t too cold. I battled some cramping on the bike and at the end of the 13-mile half-marathon, but I was able to run over the finish line in 6:29.
To find out more about Team-in Training please visit the website at: http://www.teamintraining.com. Once again thank you for supporting the cause and making this all possible!!!
Sincerely,
J.T. Gilkeson