Wildflower...here we come

This past week I paid my monthly homage to Empfield's Xantusia compound in the San Gabriel Mtns east of LA. The first three days were dedicated to bike fitting during Empfield's popular FIST-certification course and now this morning a crew of us are driving up to Wildflower.

I never thought I would race out at Wildflower. I liked the course and the overall vibe of the half-ironman race in St. Croix and went down there in both '05 and '06. The course was hot, hilly, and very laid back. In '07 I raced the Tour of the Gila bike stage race down in New Mexico and last year I decided on Wildflower so I could race for an upgrade and get my pro card. Despite being on opposite sides of the North America, St. Croix and Wildflower share more similarities than differences. Wildflower too is laid back, very hilly, and easy going.

The folks who live here at Xantusia compose a "who's who" in the history of Wildflower. Yesterday after a noon swim break from the bike fitting workshop, Mark "Monty" Montgomery took me and Bjorn to a small, family-run Mexican joint before heading back to the house. While munching down our burritos, he told how he had been directed off course in the very first running of the event while holding a massive lead off the bike. The winner listed in the history books was the second best man on the day, Dean Harper, but Monty has the lifelong sympathy of race director Terry Davis who acknowledged the course direction mishap. Incredibly, Monty went on to race in at least 20 consecutive Wildflowers until his heart went bad. However, not being able to race hasn't slowed him down and this year he will be driving up to Lake San Antonio to provide LIVE feeds to Empfield who will provide color commentary on Slowtwitch.com. Make sure to check it out!

The Bjorn in the paragraph above is legendary Swedish-über-biker Bjorn Andersson. He won the race two years ago and finished in the top 7 again last year. This is a testament to the difficulty of the bike course. In a day now when many former short-course athletes from the ITU and non-drafting classics are turning over to half-ironman racing, to have a cyclist winning these races is in many ways a flashback in time to the days of Wolfgang Dittrich and Jurgen Zack.

Jordan "Rappstar" Rapp will round out our possé driving up to the race. This guy has been a constant mover in the long-course world this past year. Most recently, he captured 3rd place at Ironman Arizona last November and won the SuperSeal race in late March on the Navy SEALs base. He is looking lean and fit and will likely have a great performance in the hills of Wildflower.

I'm excited about the possibilities this weekend. I'm coming off three good cycling weekends and am feeling strong on the bike. This run course is very tough and not for the faint of heart. I raced last year as an elite amateur and finished second overall to Nick Thompson, but now this year we will both toe the line in the pro race. I am just looking forward to putting my head down and working hard all race and see how I have improved over the last year.

It's been hard being away from Em and the pups this past week and I wish she could have been out here to race this weekend too. I really wish she could have acted as my swimmer on Saturday as she is tearing up the fast lane at Flatirons these days.

Later,
LF