Who can say no to a weekend of camping in the hills of central California, surrounded by hundreds of like-minded athletes, fellow triathletes, and dozens of teammates from your own club?
This year, as last year, I made the trip to the Wildflower Festival, this time for the Olympic-distance race. (Last year I tackled the Long Course / 70.3.) I hadn’t done many Olympic races in years, so I decided to plan a few into my 2026 calendar. This was my second, following the AlphaWin Napa Tri in mid-April. Another stunning venue, another great race.
Saturday
We arrived Saturday afternoon, set up camp with the SVTC crew, then rode down to the lake for race registration. From there, we headed to the Long Course awards ceremony to cheer on our SVTC long-course finishers and celebrate a handful of club podiums.
After that, it was time to ride up Lynch Hill, a great preview, since the Olympic bike course opens with that punchy climb. Dinner followed with the SVTC crowd: good food, good stories from today’s race, and more. We kept the conversation going around the campfire before calling it a night. The beauty of camping before a race: you’re in bed at a decent hour, whether you like it or not.
Race Morning
I started the day with a solid breakfast: two eggs, nut butter, homemade chocolate spread (sweet potato–based, Merci Nanou), and a tea. Bike nutrition was simple: 60g of PH Hydration to complement a Maurten chocolate bar and a PH chew on standby. I also packed a Maurten 160 gel for the pre-swim window.
Then it was time to roll down Lynch Hill to set up the transition. Being in the last wave, I got time to watch the sprint starts and even catch the first waves coming out of the water before I needed to get my own head in the game.
With overcast skies, I slipped a thin trash bag under my trisuit as a makeshift windbreaker for the bike, cheap and effective. I rolled my arm warmers and socks into donuts, though I skipped the baby powder (Thanks, Brenna, for the tips), which I’ll correct next time, as sliding them on mid-transition would have been a lot smoother.
Swim — 25:41 (1:34/100 yd)
At 9:30, I entered the water with roughly 30–40 others. I settled into my rhythm quickly and found myself leading after the first buoy. Before the turn, I started catching the previous wave and had to thread through some traffic, but it never felt too crowded. I felt strong throughout and was happy with the result.
T1 — 4:01
The transition begins at the boat ramp and continues up to the parking lot. Lesson learned: wear shoes during T1, the pavement was brutal underfoot. This was also my first race using pre-clipped shoes with elastic bands, something I’d practiced at home but hadn’t tested in a race. In theory, it should be faster, and it was, but I struggled putting on my socks and arm warmers on wet limbs. At the mount line, I skipped the flying mount but got my right foot into the shoe and rolled. Closing the shoes before the Lynch Hill climb took longer than it should have; more practice is needed. Still, I believe in the system.
Bike — 1:19:06 | 24.5 miles | Avg Power: 224W | NP: 233W | 18.6 mph
The course opened with Lynch Hill, which I attacked at 110%+ FTP, finishing with a hard push before settling into the aerobars and focusing on a narrow shoulder position, a cue I’ve been drilling. From there, I targeted ~85% FTP on the descents and flats, and ~100% FTP on the climbs. A great effort on a rolling course with pretty bad road conditions.
T2 — 1:39
I forgot to unclip my shoes on the descent into T2, which meant running in bike shoes and removing them later, not ideal. I also had to tie my laces, since I hadn’t installed quick laces beforehand. Both are easy fixes.
Run — 50:56 | 8:36/mil
The first 2.5 miles are rolling, and I simply couldn’t find my rhythm. My pace plateaued around 8:30/mile but stayed almost the same when the climbing started. Legs weren’t responding, and I couldn’t get my heart rate up to the 140 bpm I was targeting. I walked through every aid station. The run is where the work is and I knew going in that my run fitness wasn’t where I wanted it to be due to Patellofemoral knee pain (aka “runner’s knee”)
Final Result — 2:40:41 | 1st in M60–64 | 8 minutes ahead of 2nd and 3rd
All things considered, a great race. The win always feels good. The runway for improvement is clear: running fitness and transition execution. Wildflower is a truly special place , there’s nothing quite like it on the race calendar, so I’ll be back next year, hoping the event continues to grow and that even more SVTC and Athletica peeps make the trip.