As a follow up to my Wildflower Long Course race recap on Monday, I wanted to revisit my pre race goals that I laid out last week. Although my finishing time and overall experience left something to be desired, I did ultimately accomplish what I set out to do. Here’s a blow by blow breakdown of how my performance measured up against my goals:

1. Don’t get hung up on time.

I’m still reminding myself a few days later. I missed course and personal PRs by a wide margin, but it’s important to remember that this race wasn’t about breaking records. Goal: Accomplished.

2. Focus on the long term goals.

Wildflower was my B race this year and I registered so that I could analyze my weaknesses ahead of my first A-race: Vineman 70.3. I didn’t overexert myself and am already feeling refreshed; there’s something to be said about putting in a long effort on a hot day only to resume training days later. I’m already working on applying my experience at Wildflower to my approach for Vineman and will further detail this in a future post. Goal: Accomplished.

3. Save it for the end.

Knowing that energy conservation would be difficult at a hot, hilly race like Wildflower, I wanted to save a bailout gear or two for the latter half of the race. Although I didn’t overdo it on the bike, I cramped very badly and needed to save whatever I had left to run through the hottest part of the day. I did just that and finished the race by running a 7:09 mile – my fastest of the day. Goal: Accomplished

4. Caffeine taper.

I almost made it from Sunday-Saturday without consuming any caffeine – I even made it through a business trip. I was dragging really hard on Friday and did decide to have a cup of morning coffee to pick me up before the drive to Lake San Antonio. Goal: Mostly accomplished

5. Make the most of the elements.

About this. On a 90 degree day, would you rather: A. Sip a cold beer in a hammock in the shade – or B. Cramping during a very hilly bike ride because of a weak nutrition plan? I thought so. I need a serious overhaul of my hot weather training and racing approaches prior to Vineman. Goal: Failed

6. Marginal improvements – not leaps.

My 3+ minute swim PR was certainly a leap – especially because I had plenty left in the tank when I got out of the water. Two hours at 18mph+ on a rough day is also nothing to scoff at, and I dug deep to make the final 5k my fastest of the day by far. If Wildflower 2014 goes down as my worst performance to date, then I’m still happy with the bright spots on the day. Goal: Accomplished

7. Have fun out there.

We all have our own definition of fun, and although a beer in a hammock under a shady tree would have been nice at the time, it tasted a lot sweeter after powering through and crossing the finish line. Goal: Accomplished