On August 7, 2011 at Lake Chabot, Castro Valley, CA I completed the Skyline 50 K.  My goal for this race was sub 5 and I nailed it at 4:56 which is an average 9:37 min mile for 31 miles.  The course has a total elevation gain of 4,750 ft and this was my experience.

• Mile 1 - 3 - The trail contours just above Lake Chabot & the pace starts fast to burn off adrenaline & get toward the front of the herd (7:22, 7:35, 8:27). 
• Mile 4 - The first climb is presented and the trail will gain the ridge with some false tops which let me catch my breath & sustain a good uphill pace (10:10) 
• Mile 5 - 6 - The trail passes through Grass Valley and Bort Meadow & I settle into a more realistic ultra race pace (8:03, 8:29).
• Mile 7 - 8 - The climb to Big Bear and Skyline goes through Redwood Park (10:09, 9:01).  At this point of the race I am alone and completely in tune with nature as the oak and redwood trees that have soaked up the costal fog are shaken from the wind causing it to rain dew on me.
• Mile 9 - The single track downhill feels like skiing through the trees and I hit my max speed of a 5 min mile pace just loosing myself playing in the woods (7:40)
• Mile 10 - 14 - I'm feeling really good on the early climbs (9:22, 11:53, 9:14, 9:45, 9:23)
• Mile 15 - I get to really play again navigating single track on the downhill (8:50)
• Mile 16 - 19 - I feel totally lost in the woods as the single track course traverses through rollers (11:39, 10:51, 10:09, 10:13, 10:42)
• MIle 21 - This HIll is the big one (14:16)
• Mile 22 - 25 - I follow another experienced runner who looked the part w his shirt of and 5 finger shoes as I pick up my pace really racing through the single track and mimicking his form (8:14, 8:31, 8:08, 8:52)
• MIle 26 - 28 - Finishing off the remaining rollers (10:30, 12:01: 10:06)
• Mile 28 - 31 - The course contours just above the lake and seeing the lake I know this is my home stretch (9:22, 10:00, 9:14).

Last weekend, I did a road trip to Lake San Antonia, CA to do a Wildflower reconnaissance ride.  This course commands respect so I am going to walk through 10 points to set you up for success.

1. Wildflower is a camping event so arrive early to secure a campsite close to restrooms & close to transition.  Use a triathlon, camping and nutrition checklist to be as detailed as possible so items to bring do not get forgotten and impact your ride. 
2. Tune your bike.  You'll appreciate using your full range of gears on this course if your bike is ready for it.  Time to swap out that tire that is tore up from the trainer and put on racing tires that will not be thin and puncture.  Test your tubes by pumping them up the night before and looking for loss of air the next morning.  You may be in top shape but could blow this race if your bike is not.
3. The morning weather is cold so dress in warm sweats pre-race.  The course starts out of the water cold and windy but ends with hot climbs and sun so half of this the ride you will be uncomfortable either way you dress.  Sleeves work best to block the headwind which can be removed easily and mentally dressing cold you will actually look forward to the hill on mile 40 when it gets hot.
4. Its easy to get caught up in the race, forget about nutrition, tackle the hill on mile 40 then feel the effects of not eating right for the last 10 miles.  Mile 15, 30 and 50 serve as 3 sections of the course that distinctly change as you turn and these turns make an excellent time to take a min off the throttle to eat.  Think about it before the race, when you find yourself making a sharp turn that is the clue to take a gew.
5. Directly out of the water you get a little warm up zig zagging through campsite lined narrow trails then the first hill hits you hard so focus on not racing this hill to blow up but rather pacing, if you pace it you will pass those same competitors on the 6 rollers that follow.  Racing the 6 rollers is a lot smarter as you have time to explode on the uphill and recover on the down.  Just remember not to go redline on that first climb out of the lake or these 6 rollers will not be your best.
6. Mile 10 gives you a nice downhill descent and mile 15 - 25 mile is great for going aero then 25 - 35 is another good descent.  You need to be in the aero position between miles 10 - 35 milking the aerodynamic half of this course for all you got being aero & efficient. 
7. Mile 35 - 45 is a climbers course, the hill comes with about 1,000 ft climb over 5 miles so get in a grove going up.  The descent is wicked fast, 42 miles an hour is what my top speed clocked.
8. Mile 45 - 56 includes 4 rollers so you have to have something in the tank to finish strong.  These are rollers so there is some recovery to receive on the downhill.  How you feel at this point in the race is a direct reflection of two things, did you eat and execute your nutrition plan because anyone can go off reserves for two hours, its that third hour that gets you.  Plus, have you been doing long 50 mile or 3 hours rides recently.  Bottom line, have you put time in the saddle this season because two hours in a gym sipping on a sports drink vs. 3 hours on the road sucking down gew separates the men from the boys on this course.
9. You've still got to run.  Brick work, long runs and hilly trails is the homework that benefits here.  Your pace will be a minute slower, think the second half of a marathon, the heavy legs on a brick or the 2nd course loop on a hill.  Running a slower pace, its hard to find that familiar stride so what are you going to revert to?  I say go run uphill, that is your stride at Wildflower.  Given you will not have fresh legs and you will not achieve your pace you'll really benefit from putting that treadmill at the include or running hills every other day to simulate the stride you need to be familiar with on this course.
10. Beer money.  Ya I said it.  This is the one night you get to camp with your friends and toss down a beer by the campfire & no on is driving.  Celebrate the triathlon lifestyle and tents with people doing the same as far as the eye can see.

As the first weekend of May rolls around, you know it's time for Wildflower.  The Wildflower long course (aka half-Ironman distance) consists of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.  It sure is amazing to witness 30,000 spectators in Central California's Lake San Antonio.  Known for a particularly hilly and grueling course, it is one of the largest triathlon events in the world.

The weekend starts early, camping.  The Visalia Triathlon Club set up on Thursday and warmed up on the course but froze at night.  Repeating the camping experience on the second day and third day becomes more of a routine as one adapts.  Speaking of adaptation, the course commands
respect and will test how hard you have trained to adapt outside on hills and in the dirt.  For race nutrition, I took in some Odwalla superfood and electrolyte drinks on the bike then carried a 5 gel mixture container for the run and felt like I exectuted a solid nutrition plan to finish strong.

I like the mood triathlon puts me in after pushing my body to an extreme then finding peace and calm after accomplishing a 5 - 6 hour event.  The best thing about Wildflower is I feel great and look forward to 17 more weeks of training until Ironman Louisville, KY where the distance doubles as well as time.

The Visalia Triathlon took place on April 11, 2010 and was a sprint distance course 400 Yard Swim, 10-Mile Bike & 2 Mile Run.  Preparing for this race was a whole new paradigm for me because instead of racing, I volunteered and learned a new perspective about what it takes to host a Triathlon.  I took away three key areas to hosting a sucessful event:

#1 The City.  Ok, our city does not have a the name recognition as "Kona" but locally, we are on the map as an active city with its own triathlon and that rocks!  City approval is not a small task and a special thanks goes out to the Visalia parks and recreation department for coordinating this process.  When hammering out your PR pace during a triathlon, you take for granted the police department who runs the course on their motorcycles or security officers who man the intersections to allow you to littery fly through town during a race like you wouldn't be able to do on any other day of the year.

#2 The Results - recorded by ON YOUR MARK events.  Participating in triathlon means paying the entry fee to in turn participate in an event that tracks your results.  Accurate data tracking is critical in compliance with all the course rules form the USAT or other governing bodies so you have a reference point against other races or other participants.  Here are your top 3 overall results:

  1. Jacob Dodge, Dinuba, CA                          16    0:43:57    13 - 16 /   1
  2. Monte Mitchell, Visalia, CA                      41    0:45:24    40 - 44 /   1
  3. John Perez, Visalia, CA                          39    0:47:21    35 - 39 /   1

These age groupers each bring their own A game to the table.  This was Jacob's second sprint distance triathlon and he achieved 1st place in both events, talk about potential!  Monte Mitchell is old school and after the event, he ran home on a dirt road through the orchards in the rain.  John Parez is a multi-tasker & family man with a carreer as the athletic director at the local high school and kids who also participate in triathlon.  Each of the top 3 participants are a good role model for their respective age group and their investments in the active lifestyle pays off on race day.                    

#3 The Race Director - Justin Levine.  The race director is the ultimate multi-tasker, directing assignments but capable of filling in for any un-expected task to keep everything running smooth for the paying triathletes.  At a local event, people know you by name and have respect for the rules you preach.  The positive outlook you convey is contagious and the orchastra of spectators and participants alike tend to reflect the positive behavior they see in you.  Justin is a triathlete himself and leads by example to direct an excellent event, one if he participated in he also has the potential to win himself.  Its a selfless act to give back when stepping up to fill this position.  Justin gave me the task of course marshall for course traffic and I hope by voluteering I'm directing participant traffic to a positive experience not only at the race but their impression on the sport of Triathlon and a healthy lifestyle for the Visalia community I live in.

Joshua Hickey

VP - Visalia Triathlon Club

http://www.visaliatriclub.com

joshua.hickey@gmail.com