Sorry that I've been late to write about the race. I've put together a race summary video that briefly summarized the race but I wanted to tell the whole story in detail. It was like the usual Wildflower Half ironman experiences I have, a ton of up and downs but in the end a lot of ups. Play the video for a background soundtrack if you'd like!
The day started off well when I woke up and I felt decently good. Though I felt weird with my throat so I listerined it 50 times before I left the house we were staying at (thanks to TriCal for letting us stay in such a nice house!). My dad gave me a really nice massage everywhere the night before so I felt really good in the morning. But my nerves quickly got to me as I started to feel sick. I calmed myself down and said I'm just really stressed and it will be alright. My dad and I drove to the race site and I quickly set up transition. I took a poo to increase my optimal power to weight ratio. Finally I headed off to the swim start 2.2 miles down with the shuttle.
The day started off well when I woke up and I felt decently good. Though I felt weird with my throat so I listerined it 50 times before I left the house we were staying at (thanks to TriCal for letting us stay in such a nice house!). My dad gave me a really nice massage everywhere the night before so I felt really good in the morning. But my nerves quickly got to me as I started to feel sick. I calmed myself down and said I'm just really stressed and it will be alright. My dad and I drove to the race site and I quickly set up transition. I took a poo to increase my optimal power to weight ratio. Finally I headed off to the swim start 2.2 miles down with the shuttle.
The race was unique this year as the lake was completely dry so the swim was relocated 2.2 miles down in Harris Creek. I arrived at the start and was quite impressed with the size of the boat ramp. It took a while to walk down to the transition 1a for the pros. The boat ramp would have been perfect for some serious hill repeats. I finally got down to my spot and set up transition. I took another poo to further improve my optimal power to weight ratio and warmed up for about 10 min then scrambled down to get my wetsuit on for a warm up swim. Boy was the water rank.
SWIMMING BLIND with a help of a dear friend. 27:28
Right off the bat my goggles were knocked off. Someone really didn't like me. I distinctively remember having a conversation with myself. And it went like this:
Me 1. Dude.. I think we just lost our goggles.
Me 2. Yea…uhm, sh*t. Should we look for it?
Me 3: We’re not going to find it you idiot.
Me 4: We should probably just keep going.
Me 1: Man, can we just drop out.
Me 2: No just get your ass going.
So I kept going. I struggled and panicked but calmed down a bit. I was swimming with people and was able to the stay with the pack. Eventually like usual I lost the pack and found myself swimming with my teammate Kenny. I smacked him so many times because I simply couldn’t see anything and wanted to stay with him so badly. My cap came off later on and made things worse with my Asian haircut bang in my eyes. I had to stop every 100 yards to see where Kenny was and just chase him down, then repeat for the next 1000 yards. I told myself to just finish the swim and see what happens. It’s a new learning experience. Many thanks to Kenny who helped me get out of that swim in decent shape. Kenny set a blistering pace during the 2.2 mile transition run to our bikes and I managed to follow him. We passed a lot of pros on the way and was making good progress.
Right off the bat my goggles were knocked off. Someone really didn't like me. I distinctively remember having a conversation with myself. And it went like this:
Me 1. Dude.. I think we just lost our goggles.
Me 2. Yea…uhm, sh*t. Should we look for it?
Me 3: We’re not going to find it you idiot.
Me 4: We should probably just keep going.
Me 1: Man, can we just drop out.
Me 2: No just get your ass going.
So I kept going. I struggled and panicked but calmed down a bit. I was swimming with people and was able to the stay with the pack. Eventually like usual I lost the pack and found myself swimming with my teammate Kenny. I smacked him so many times because I simply couldn’t see anything and wanted to stay with him so badly. My cap came off later on and made things worse with my Asian haircut bang in my eyes. I had to stop every 100 yards to see where Kenny was and just chase him down, then repeat for the next 1000 yards. I told myself to just finish the swim and see what happens. It’s a new learning experience. Many thanks to Kenny who helped me get out of that swim in decent shape. Kenny set a blistering pace during the 2.2 mile transition run to our bikes and I managed to follow him. We passed a lot of pros on the way and was making good progress.
THE BIKE. UBERBIKE. 2:26:51
I have to admit that I have never felt this good on a bike before. Beach hill comes at around 2 miles and I always remember struggling up it like a energized rabbit without batteries. This time around I just powered up them. I guess all the torture interval work my coach Keith has me do is paying off big time. I kept on passing pros. For the first time since I turned pro, I was riding with a lot of people. Back in my age group days I would pass age groupers by the 10s and 20s. Ever since I turned pro I would ride with the pro women most of the time. But this time around I just kept passing guys. First I thought they were having bad days. After I passed a dude and there would be no one up the road, I figured it'd be the end of my run at passing guys. But I continued to pass guys even after mile 45. My spirits lifted big time. Though nasty grade again like usual smashed my legs and I basically just crawled my way back to transition in 16th place. Holy crap!!!
I have to admit that I have never felt this good on a bike before. Beach hill comes at around 2 miles and I always remember struggling up it like a energized rabbit without batteries. This time around I just powered up them. I guess all the torture interval work my coach Keith has me do is paying off big time. I kept on passing pros. For the first time since I turned pro, I was riding with a lot of people. Back in my age group days I would pass age groupers by the 10s and 20s. Ever since I turned pro I would ride with the pro women most of the time. But this time around I just kept passing guys. First I thought they were having bad days. After I passed a dude and there would be no one up the road, I figured it'd be the end of my run at passing guys. But I continued to pass guys even after mile 45. My spirits lifted big time. Though nasty grade again like usual smashed my legs and I basically just crawled my way back to transition in 16th place. Holy crap!!!
THE TOUGH RUN HOME. 1:24:38.
The run is always tough like usual with all the hills. But being a Cupertino Monta Vista High School native, hilly trails are all we run back in our cross country days. I knew coming in to this race that I haven't done the run work necessary for a fast time so I just did the best I could. I managed to pass more guys than being passed by other guys. I stayed patient in the first 5 miles to get over all the uphills and steep grades, passing a couple dudes in the process. On the big down hill at around mile 6 or so I booked it and began passing more guys. Kenny shouted out my position at mile 7 or so telling me that I was in 12th.. WTF?? I could not believe what I heard and yelled back at him WTF?? and he laughed. Unfortunately Kenny had a bike mechanical problem but he was gracious enough to cheer on the guys out on the run course, such a class act. Afterwards I put my head down and went. I moved into 11th at mile 8 but a dude in red in the name of Andrew Langfield was closing in fast. I tried to play mind games with him by accelerating every time he got close but he eventually caught me at mile 10. But that's alright. Because I'm 12th!!!!! Check out the photo finish. Jumpman.
The run is always tough like usual with all the hills. But being a Cupertino Monta Vista High School native, hilly trails are all we run back in our cross country days. I knew coming in to this race that I haven't done the run work necessary for a fast time so I just did the best I could. I managed to pass more guys than being passed by other guys. I stayed patient in the first 5 miles to get over all the uphills and steep grades, passing a couple dudes in the process. On the big down hill at around mile 6 or so I booked it and began passing more guys. Kenny shouted out my position at mile 7 or so telling me that I was in 12th.. WTF?? I could not believe what I heard and yelled back at him WTF?? and he laughed. Unfortunately Kenny had a bike mechanical problem but he was gracious enough to cheer on the guys out on the run course, such a class act. Afterwards I put my head down and went. I moved into 11th at mile 8 but a dude in red in the name of Andrew Langfield was closing in fast. I tried to play mind games with him by accelerating every time he got close but he eventually caught me at mile 10. But that's alright. Because I'm 12th!!!!! Check out the photo finish. Jumpman.
I think that might have been the highest I've ever jumped. This really represents 5 years of hard work and progress. It has been my dream to place high (top 15) in pro races like Wildflower and I never thought it'd actually happen. Turning pro was already a really big step forward but being able to compete and hold my own was something else. This race started off on a really bad note but the day progressively got better and it showed me that the race really isn't over until it's over, even at the pro level. There's always a chance for a better day ahead and if not, it's always a learning experience for a better race in the future. It's important to realize that there's really almost no such thing as a perfect race. Every competitor out there has problems in one form or another, even the winner of the race. I'm glad I kept going and held myself together and had a fantastic day in the office.
I couldn't have done this without the support of so many friends, family, and sponsors. I would like to thank:
My Dad: You never pushed me to do anything. You always told me to do what make me happy and I really appreciate it. All your massages, therapies, late night talks, support are much appreciated and I'd never take you for granted. Your massage on my hamstring the night before made all the difference :P
My Mom: During college my diet was crap. Ever since I moved home it has been night and day. Thank you so much for your homemade bread that tastes like heaven and homecooked meals that power me through all my hard training sessions. Happy Late Mothers Day.
Jay @ Pacwest: Thank you for all your work that you do to make my job as a professional athlete easier and smooth!
Keith: Thank you for working with me and believing that I can do it. All your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated. Your work outs definitely made me stronger in just 5 weeks. On wards and upwards !
Brad @ Newton: Man, you've always believed in me from the beginning and helped me not stress so much. I appreciate all your support and good times. Hopefully more is to come!
Kenny: thanks for helping me out in the swim man, as well as all our training sessions. You're the best training partner I've met since I started doing endurance sports.
Argon 18 for the awesome bike.
Newton shoes for the support and trucker hat.
PacWest for the training camps and support. The recon really really helped!!!!
I couldn't have done this without the support of so many friends, family, and sponsors. I would like to thank:
My Dad: You never pushed me to do anything. You always told me to do what make me happy and I really appreciate it. All your massages, therapies, late night talks, support are much appreciated and I'd never take you for granted. Your massage on my hamstring the night before made all the difference :P
My Mom: During college my diet was crap. Ever since I moved home it has been night and day. Thank you so much for your homemade bread that tastes like heaven and homecooked meals that power me through all my hard training sessions. Happy Late Mothers Day.
Jay @ Pacwest: Thank you for all your work that you do to make my job as a professional athlete easier and smooth!
Keith: Thank you for working with me and believing that I can do it. All your advice and guidance is greatly appreciated. Your work outs definitely made me stronger in just 5 weeks. On wards and upwards !
Brad @ Newton: Man, you've always believed in me from the beginning and helped me not stress so much. I appreciate all your support and good times. Hopefully more is to come!
Kenny: thanks for helping me out in the swim man, as well as all our training sessions. You're the best training partner I've met since I started doing endurance sports.
Argon 18 for the awesome bike.
Newton shoes for the support and trucker hat.
PacWest for the training camps and support. The recon really really helped!!!!