Where Triathlon Becomes Woodstock: The Wildflower Experience

TriDot Podcast Episode 298

Where Triathlon Becomes Woodstock: The Wildflower Experience

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Announcer: This is the TriDot Podcast. TriDot uses your training data and genetic profile combined with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to optimize your training, giving you better results in less time with fewer injuries. Our podcast is here to educate, inspire and entertain. We'll talk all things triathlon with expert coaches and special guests. Join the conversation and let's improve together.

Vanessa: Welcome to the TriDot podcast, everyone. Thank you for tuning in and spending some time with us today. We have a very special episode lined up here as every guest with me is a TriDot staff member and we were all involved in the Wildflower Experience. So we're going to share what went down in the middle of the California desert and not too long ago. And I'm pretty certain that if you didn't get some serious FOMO from our social media content during the event, you will be putting this race on your bucket list in less than one hour. That's the goal. So, without further ado, I would like to welcome a few key members of our TriDot family, all of whom are coaches and basically rock stars. First up, we have Coach Kurt Madden, who is the director of coach development and a 50 time Ironman finisher. He is one of the OGs of triathlon. Welcome to the show, Coach Kurt.

Kurt: Thank you so much. And I brought flowers, believe it or not. Right here.

Vanessa: So nice. Yes, of course you did. That's awesome. We also have with us Coach Ryan Tibball, whose fancy name is Coach Connect Advisor, but in reality he is the mastermind, coach, matchmaker for athletes looking to take their TriDot training and racing game to the next level by adding a coach. So if you're wondering about adding a coach, you're going to be speaking with Mr. Ryan Tibball. Welcome to the show, Ryan.

Ryan: Thank you. Very excited to be here with my colleagues, as I like to, and friends, you know, always, always a great time here on the podcast with you guys.

Vanessa: And last but not least, we have Coach Brandy Ramirez, who is the TriDot Pool School Director and the fearless leader of TriDot At the Races Wildflower Experience Edition. Welcome to the show, Brandy.

Brandy: Thank you, Vanessa. And hello everybody. We're colleagues, but I think we're more family than friends. Like, I'm just so happy to be here.

Vanessa: Absolutely. I think that's one of the greatest things about the all of the staff members that we work with on a regular basis. We are a tight knit group and I'm super grateful to be here with you. As usual, we're going to start with our warmup question. Move on to the main set. And then we'll wind things down with the newest edition of our cooldown. So stay tuned for that. I am Vanessa, your average triathlete with elite level enthusiasm. Let's get to it.

Announcer: Time to warm up. Let's get moving.

Warmup

Vanessa: Mindset is paramount to the success in all aspects of life. And one of the things that I love, love, love about triathlon is that we practice flexing our mental game as triathletes, which invariably affects how we tackle situations in all areas of our life. So I'm a huge fan of setting intentions for many things throughout my day. So I'm wondering what words of wisdom someone has given each of you at some point that you repeat over and over in your head when things get tough on the race course. Brandy, let's start with you. What's your go to?

Brandy: My go to, I don't know if anybody's ever actually told me or not, but going through cancer, all that stuff, my. My go to motto, motto for my life actually is never quit. And so when things get bad or rough or I start to get tired, I could tell myself to slow down, reset, but just never quit.

Vanessa: I can see that about you. That is definitely something that you embody in every aspect of your life. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Ryan, you know how to dig deep on the race course. What's your secret? What do you tell yourself to keep moving forward when things get hard?

Ryan: You know, I think simply put, just smile. You know, it reflects on your attitude. You know, you think about that mental boost you get from just smiling. It is so underrated. Smiling, thanking people. I've heard this from many of wise teachers and coaches throughout my career of racing and coaching. And when you get into those dark places, seriously, whether you're training or racing, I think I was in one of those dark places today. It was a hundred degrees here in Texas. I was out for my run. It got dark for just a moment and I had to start smiling. And I'm telling you, it just changes everything about how you feel. Because you know what? Every dark place has a light, and you will find it.

Vanessa: Absolutely 100% agree with that, Kurt. You always have the best one liners. It's something that I really appreciate about you. They're always so well crafted. So what do you say to yourself when you're in the Hurt Locker? And I know you've been there many, many times just based on your experience in the sport that spanned many decades. So what do you say to yourself?

Kurt: Yeah, you know, very similar to Coach Tibball, I've learned smiling is your secret weapon. Because I can remember coming off the Bayakin Kona, and when you're going down Alii Drive, if you're smiling, especially at the aid stations, they'll go like, oh, my gosh, that guy's smiling. When you are really suffering, I mean, really suffering right there, even with fellow competitors, you smile at someone when things are really, really tough. You might be there at, say, you know, the wicked winds of Waikoloa. They're looking at me like, why in the are you smiling? You know, why aren't you shouting obscenities? I'm like, no, I'm going to flip the switch. But on top of that, I think the other thing I found is that you've got to be relentless. That just like Brandy said, you've got to be relentless on race day, and you've got to be that in life. You've got to keep on grinding. I mean, that's what it's all about. You just got to hang in there a little bit longer. But I kind of flip the switch. I go to Mad Dog mode, and when I go to Mad Dog mode, then I know that I'm in a good, good place. That, no, the Mad Dog just continues to go. Even when he's tired. He just goes until the job's done. That's what my coaches have told me, and that's what I need to do.

Vanessa: Love it. I love it. When I was coaching field hockey way back in the day, we had an award called the Mad Dog Award, and it was awarded to the player who showed whatever we decided on that day during a game. And we had this little actual Mad Dog that we would award to the. To the player, and they just loved it. It was so fabulous. So I get that. Let's get on the Mad Dog train. Um, for me, I guess this one is multifaceted. I'm on the same lines as. Along the same lines as Coach Kurt and Coach Ryan. Um, and it. It just kind of depends on the specific goals that I'm trying to achieve. And sometimes those goals are not necessarily related to going faster, but to slow down or to be patient or mindful. Um, and then when you hit those dark times on the race course, I like to practice gratitude. Um, and I focus everything that I have on in that moment to be grateful for. And every single time, it brings me out of that dark place. And sometimes I'll go on for, like, 30 minutes in a really long race, and I'll just be Going over and over all the things that I'm grateful for. And the other thing that I like to do. I can't remember who said this. It was a long time ago, I think it was on this podcast, in fact, is to focus on something outside of yourself, which is very similar to what Coach Kurt and Coach Ryan had to say. I like to look at the other racers, and I like to find someone to give a compliment to, because as soon as you start focusing on somebody else, then you're actually changing your mindset. You're flipping the switch. Like you said, Kurt and everyone out there is on some kind of a journey, and at that very moment, we're sharing the same space. And maybe your compliment might be able to bring them out of their dark place, and at the same time, you're bringing yourself out, and you might just. You might just be the highlight of that person's race if you can do that. So that's something that I like to. To focus on and to. To get. Get through those dark times.

Announcer: On to the main set going in 3, 2, 1.

Main Set

Vanessa: I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have heard the word wildflower from the beginning of 2025 up until now. And it has been a wild ride. Getting prepared, planned, and then actually attending and, and, and in case for myself and for Ryan racing at the event. However, this event is not new, and people who have been in the sport for a really long time definitely know about it. So, Coach Kurt, because you are the triathlete who has been around the triathlon scene the longest, I want you to tell us what the wildflower experience is and when was the first time that you ever heard about it.

Kurt: I can still remember the genesis. But the way I would describe the wildflower experience is when we look at some races, we'll talk about Nice, France, very. I mean, it's like, epic. You are in East France on the Riviera. You're doing all those things. The Woodlands in Texas, various. Obvious, super, super organized. The wildflower experience is a little bit different. It is kind of a wildflower experience, meaning that it's a little bit off the grid. It is definitely going to be an experience, but I think when you look at your bucket list, when you look at your journey in life, it's important to stop at this one and drink the water a little bit, because this one is going to stick in your heart and your mind and your soul. So back in the day when there were very few races, I mean, very few, I think I could put Them on one hand, there was this race that they were kicking off called the Wildflower. So if I'm training with my colleagues in Northern California, we actually even had telephones back then, believe it or not. When you get word that hey, Scott Molina is going to race at the Wildflower. Dean Harper, they're going to race, I'm like, bring it. I'm going to rent a car, I'm going to drive six hours. I got my bike in the back, my road bike in the back. I'll sleep in my car because I want to be there with the giants of the sport and get out there and just do that. So that was in 1983. And for me it was something that I had no regrets on. The drive back home was definitely worse worth that. But from San Diego to where this venue is taking place near kind of Morro Bay, but inland, it is a little bit of commute, but it was well worth it. So that was my first time ever. And I was honored and touched and delighted that I was even invited to come back as a coach, support staff person in 2025. And to see those steps with all those names, I got a little, I got a little teary eyed. I welled up a little bit. It was nostalgic.

Vanessa: I just getting shivers as you say that. Actually just for those of you that haven't been to Wildflower there, there's this staircase that goes from close to the swim exit and entry and it goes all the way up to the, the top of the camp groundish area and there's plaques on each of the stairs of the winners for the various races. And, and it's pretty amazing to, to know that there's so much history involved in this race and, and to see the, the great, the great triathletes that have come before us, to see their names on those steps was pretty remarkable. So thank you for sharing that.

Vanessa: Brandy, how about you? Did, did you know about this event prior to being thrown into the hot seat and having to lead TriDot at the races for this event?

Brandy: I actually did know about this event. So I'm in Kingman, Arizona. I remember back 2015, I think I was looking for a race that was closer to me travel wise. So of course California was on my list and I was searching through 70.3 events for California which is when I stumbled upon the Wildflower event and it just seemed so iconic. I was like this, I have to race this race. Like I have to go here, I have to do this just all the Things that happened there in one weekend was just very intriguing to me. We all know that I got sick in 2017, and then, sadly, the event stopped, I believe, in 2018 or 2019, so I didn't get a chance to race it. But then I believe it was around December that Mr. Jeff Booher himself reached out to me and started telling me about the partnership with TriDot in Wildflower and asked me to be part of the team to be heading down there. It's an. It's a venue that is very much wine country. It's. The closest city is Paso Robles. Vanessa. We stopped and we ate a wonderful meal in that beautiful city. It's a beautiful, quaint city with just amazing food. These rolling green hills, there's vineyards in every direction. And so that was one of the reasons that called me to it back in 2015. So I did know about it, but I didn't know even half of it until we got there.

Vanessa: Yeah. And so you currently haven't raced it at this point?

Brandy: I have still not raced it. Maybe next year.

Vanessa: Okay. Yeah, I think so. I think we're putting that on the list of to dos for next year. That's awesome. Ryan, you've been on the tri scene for a while as well. When did you first hear about Wildflower?

Ryan: Yeah, I go all the way back to. I think it might have been January of 2025. Yeah, so it wasn't that long ago. You know, in my defense, I live in Texas, so I, you know, I figured everything was, you know, much bigger in Texas with triathlon scene. But when Brandy and I think our team mentioned was it was dubbed as the Coachella of triathlon, the. The Woodstock of triathlon, and I was like, what? I haven't heard of this one. And so I immediately, you know, went to Google and looked it up, and I was like, oh, my gosh. Wow, what a phenomenal event. I definitely want to be a part of that. And, you know, so hence the reason we attended there and worked it, but, you know, it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's what it felt like to me, you know, driving from LA to there, and. And now sudden you hit that wine country. And I was like, oh, man, I really wanted to stop multiple times and partake, but, you know, we had a job to do, you know, so, you know, again, it just in the middle of the woods, Lake San Antonio, and I was like, wow, this is definitely an event that I have never experienced of this magnitude, you would say. And I think we're probably Going to talk a lot more about that here in just a moment. So it was just. I will definitely tell everyone, add this to your bucket list. 100%.

Vanessa: Yeah, I agree. Actually, compared to the three of you, I am a baby triathlete, maybe a toddler at this point. But I had never heard of Wildflower either until it had been brought to my attention that there was going to be a partnership between TR and Wildflower. And so I had no idea of the history, and I had no idea that there were thousands upon thousands of athletes that would come to this location to take part in this festival, like it truly is a festival. And. And so when I heard about it, I was pumped to know that there was this kind of an event in the triathlon world. And. And I feel very fortunate that I was able to be a part of the team. So I, I know this event is like none other, and I think that we have to paint the picture here for the people who are listening. So we have mentioned that it's in the middle of the desert. So where do people actually stay for this event? Brandy, like, tell us, tell us how it all works out, because you said 45 minutes away is the closest little town. So what happens when people come to Wildflower?

Brandy: Yeah. So Wildflower. I do remember telling Ryan, imagine Coachella. And then imagine every single race distance that you can do, because that is basically what happens. And so you are very inland. You're at Lake San Antonio, and there are bands that are playing, there are food trucks. There is every run distance you can imagine a kid's fun run. There is a 5K, a 10K, there's a sprint triathlon, an Olympic triathlon, a 70.3, which they call the long course. Then there's an open water swim. I mean, you name it, it happens in the course of this weekend. And something that is very unique to this venue in particular is that the road that you use for the Sprint Olympic and 70.3 is the road that you use to get in and out of this one event. So the road literally gets locked down. You are, you are at Wildflower whether or not you want to be. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, parts of it. And so that's. That's part of the uniqueness of Wildflower as well, though, is that you do have this camp feel. Everybody stays literally everywhere. So there are RVs to be rented. People bring their own RVs. There are sprinter van parking area. You can park right along the lake in your RV. You can camp, you can glamp, you can Sleep in your truck. Just literally people are all over the place. This entire venue just has so many remarkable people. There are people who do stay in Paso Robles and they drive back and forth. For me, that would be very hard. It's a very windy road like Ryan was talking about. You just, you're just climbing and getting to this venue and then all of a sudden it just opens up into this amazing, amazing, majestic place.

Vanessa: Yeah, those roads are, are pretty windy. I, I don't know. Should we tell people that we, we arrived very late at night in, in a van and there was this really sharp turn. It was in the dark and we're just happy to say that we're all still here and not in the dam.

Brandy: Don't pay attention to the GPS because it is misleading when you come to this one corner. So Thankful Barb was very misleading.

Vanessa: Yeah, absolutely. I do have to say, like, although it is camping like a camp feel and, and we were very fortunate to be staying in RVs. Our staff were all in various RVs. There were hot showers. I was so excited about the hot showers because like, my kind of camping is in the mountains. It's always freezing cold. It could be snowing on you and, and it's like the water is just as cold as the temperature. So to be able to go in and have a hot shower as many times as I wanted was quite remarkable. I don't know about any of, any of the rest of you if you liked the hot showers or what else did you like about the camping, the camping feel of this whole race.

Ryan: I, I personally, I mean, definitely is way different than, you know, any other event I've ever been to, you know, so it, yeah, glamping, I call that glamping because I'm, I'm so used to primitive camping. It's like you, you got a tent, there's a tree in their hole over there for whatever you need to do and that's about it. So, you know, so we glamped, you know, had the RV and, and that was great having, you know, having all our gear and things like that. Plus, you know, we were working so it, it. But yeah, you're in the middle of the woods. It's awesome. Look in middle of nature and, and all these things are happening, all these events are happening through this three day festival of things and along, you know, with many other things that Brandy's coach, Brandy's already mentioned. So just a, just super, super unique. For sure.

Brandy: I think one of the great things about there, and sorry, Kurt, was the Animals. Right. So there were deer. We saw rabbit. We saw wild turkey. And Vanessa is the only one who got to see majestic Kevin. I heard him. I was calling his name. I did not get to see the wild peacock that they call Kevin that was roaming.

Vanessa: That peacock was. It was quite spectacular. I had a very long run on my schedule, and. And I saw all of the things I got to see Kevin, like his. His plumage on the back end was, like, in. It was intense. The. The colors were so vibrant, and they were very long. And Kevin was great. He was squawking away while I was running by, and. And I even almost stepped on a snake. That was a little bit outside my comfort zone because I went off of the trail by accident. That was crazy. But, yeah, the. The animals were. There were cute little bunnies. There were just all sorts of things. It was. It was. Was great time there. I really enjoyed that nature feel. Birds. Yeah. Coach Kurt, what do you. What did you have to add there?

Kurt: Yeah, no, there were plenty of mammals, for sure. And like Brandy said, we did have other types of species. And I think the one thing that we remember, at least where our RV was, was there was this woodpecker that let you know that this was kind of his hood and the camper was in his hood. So that was kind of interesting, but I like it. Like Temple said, there's various levels of camping, but you can imagine you're in a nice trailer, you've got air conditioning, you know, you're out of the elements. Showers right there. So we weren't roughing it too much, and everyone was kind of civil, at least in our area. I'm not sure about other areas, so shout out to the team. We actually obeyed the 10 o' clock rule, and things got quiet. So that made it that you could get a good night's sleep.

Vanessa: I didn't even know there was a 10 o' clock rule.

Kurt: Oh, do you see that? Brandy had that listed. That one went right over your head. I saw it. She let me know now. Ten o' clock, coach. That's it. Lights out. Boom.

Brandy: Okay, so time to go to sleep.

Vanessa: Yeah, no, it was great camping alongside other athletes as well, because everyone had the same, like, schedule. It's like, wake up early, go to bed early, and then everyone is just so friendly. It was such a wonderful. I think, like, we've been talking a lot about the vibe of. Of. Of wildflower, and part of the vibe is. Is the camping part. I. I'd like to know what you think the vibe of the entire race Weekend was like. Like what. What kind of. What can we express to the people about what it was like to be at this. This iconic race in the middle of the desert? Ryan, let's go to you first for this one.

Ryan: Yeah. You know, I said I've been racing for a long time and I quite honestly have never attended an event, you know, quite like this at all. I mean, everything I've been used to is kind of pretty much feels like I'm in a city or whatever, got a hotel room, etc. You know. But, you know, as everything's mentioned earlier, all the events that were there, just amazing how the wild. Big shout out to the Wildflower staff. That is something huge to pull off. And they did it with grace. They did it with, like, it was just total engagement. And so that's what really added to, you know, the. Just the. It's hard to describe, but just the feeling of being out there and, you know, adding to the entertainment that, you know, they. That they had out there was constant. You know, we as try DOT staff and we were doing our part to add to that experience for all the athletes. I mean, we. We just, you know, I think we'll talk more about that in a little while. But, you know, again, it was just. I just. It's hard to describe the vibe. I just didn't tell everybody, just go do it. Know, don't listen to me. Just go do it. That's it. Plain and simple.

Vanessa: All right. I am curious about how this race ended up on the race schedule because Tried out at the Races is humming this year. We have over 40 different events that we're activating at all over the world and. And being a part of. So how did Trot end up having Wildflower on this list and. And how was it decided who was going to represent. Represent our brand there? Brandy, give us the story. Tell us the scoop.

Brandy: I can only tell you from my version. So Wildflower was a huge race with nearly 7,000 athletes back in 2018, the race was actually canceled and stopped because of the water shortage in the lake. So they literally could not host the race anymore. And TriDot saw the opportunity to be a part of a historical comeback race. And of course, we jumped at that opportunity. Who wouldn't? After all, Wildflower, like we've been saying here, the experience is right in line with our core values with CV3, like, we are better together. And that was the vibe of Wildflower. To be there, to experience it, to be part of a team. And like Vanessa, you said their team really welcomed Us as a family. And not just us. I saw them helping everybody. If somebody needed sunblock, I mean, they're their crew was on it. Everybody there worked as a team and so we were just so excited to be part of it, determining who was going to go. That was a tough one, especially since I did not have firsthand knowledge and TriDot as a company, we had never been there before. This venue was new to us. So there was a lot of factors that played a part in who got to go. Ultimately, we built a team for Wildflower that we knew could face any challenge. And believe me, there were a lot of challenges. And so we did very well with the team that we picked. So grateful to Dan Caskey. He is the gadget man. I don't even know what he did because I'm not a techie person, but somehow he created Wi-Fi for our tent and we became the hotspot for pretty much all of Wildflower. So yes, big, big shout out to Dan Caskie. We needed somebody to be in charge of the first ever TriDot TriClub Games because we presented this for the first time ever at this event. And that goes out to Barb Campbell. She was in charge of that. She did amazing. She is just a phenomenal, phenomenal individual. We needed coaches to speak to athletes. We needed to cover responsibilities for Dottie because Dottie was there. I think we had four different Dottie outfits in case we needed them. But I mean, you can imagine we have so many different events. We have a kids fun run. We have, you know, a 5K, a 10K, a sprint, an Olympic distance. All. We have all of these events. So we needed enough coaches that could take on the responsibility of popping into a Dottie suit when we needed them to. We had swim sessions, we had wetsuit fittings, but we also had hiding Dottie. It was part of our game. So we had these little rubber ducky dos and with this huge venue, we started with 125 of them and I think we wound up with 40. So I show think people were keeping the Dottie’s. They loved them so much, but somebody had to hide those just everywhere. And then we had stage talks and we had the RaceX demos and I mean, you name it, we had it going on. And so the most important thing was that we created a team that could conquer any obstacle that was thrown at us. We could overcome, we could pivot and still allow everybody to feel the TriDot community and who we are as a team. And I think we did that.

Vanessa: I think we did that. As well. I think we're going to head over to the racers that have done this wildflower experience before because we have to talk about the race itself. So, Kurt, you raced this a long time ago, so let's start with you. What was your race like way back in the day?

Kurt: Yeah, back in the day, like I said, I didn't quite have that depth and breadth of knowledge of having done all the races where I am today. But I think it was really, as we go back to the, you know, kind of being one of the early pioneers of the sport, it was something that we were going to take on anything. Just get a race set up and we're going to show up no matter what. So when you think of old school wetsuits, I don't think those were even invented back then. That's how long ago it was. It was like, hey, trunk up, put your goggles on and we're in. But you know, when I actually watched the races this year, it brought back a lot of memories of, you know, it was a good experience in a swim. The reservoir. I watched so many starts. I'm lucky that there was no wind this year when I did it, there was no wind. However, the swim was the fun part is now you're on the bike. I think Coach Tibball, we had a few conversations. It's like, oh, boy, we are not in Kansas or Texas anymore because we do have these hills. And that brought back memories because back then, you have to imagine we had no technology. We had a wristwatch, we had the sun. And then we had our rate of perceived effort. So it was just, hey, we were in a zone three, Zone four from start to finish, and we were either climbing or descending. And I remember when I did it, it was one of those warmer days where there was no cloud cover. I mean, that sun was just up. But back then, that was all part of it. I think, again, I can remember what they had out on the course for aid. It kind of existed, but it really didn't. I think they maybe had some bottles of water on the side of the road and that was it. And that was real simple. So a lot of climbing, a lot of descending, and I think that's really what created the adventure. And then the run is the run. If you haven't done the run, it's hard to articulate that. I think you have to do it first and then let's go ahead and talk. But again, it wasn't on the prom at all. It wasn't on Alii Drive. Oh, no, we're going a little bit off the grid. And I think in a way that's good because it really teaches you that I would call this, as a former track coach and cross country coach, it's an honest course. Honest means this. You definitely have to work from start to finish. And it was funny this year when I was there, because I remember when I did it, but I was at a whole different place in time this year. It was like first thing they said when they crossed the finish line. Man, that run kicked my butt. Really? Tell me about me. Went on and on and on. So my memory of Wildflower was great. And I know that if I hadn't done Ironman Texas, I might have. I might have thrown my hat in the ring to at least chase Coach Tibball on the swim and then just let him go on the bike and the run.

Vanessa: Yeah, that's definitely the case. Ryan, how was. How was the race for you? What did you think of the race course you did? The Olympic race distance. So how did that pan out for you?

Ryan: It was a lot of fun. The swim was great. I think Coach K mentioned this a while ago. You know, you get to drink the water. Yeah, I drink some of that water there. Lake San Antonio, it was fine. You know, really, the swim was a lot of fun. They do a great job, you know, setting up the course. And despite what my Garmin looks like, you know, if you guys go take a look at my Garmin, it looks like I. Who knows what I did. But, you know, nonetheless is when you leave transition, the first thing you hit is a mountain, in my opinion. You know, so, Vanessa, I think you would say, oh, that's just a little cute hill. But it just was relentless. It was almost a mile long called Lynch Hill. And I tell you what. Yes. If you weren't geared up for that, yeah, it was a rude awakening. And. And I'm telling you, there is no such thing as a flat spot there. It was up or down, up or down. And you have to decide. And this is what I love about RaceX is like, hey, you say, all right, my max speed is 30 miles an hour or 40 miles an hour, whatever it is. And it's going to give you your race predictions based on that. Well, because you definitely needed to punch that into your race predictions. And so, yeah, you know, maximum. You can get some major max speed going down some of those. But like Coach K said a while ago, too, you know, getting back and flying down Lynch Hill and then getting into the run. That run was just. It had Everything trails, little punchy climbs, road. I mean, it was just a variety of terrain and it just really, you know, lent to know what you need to do. You got to plan this. You've got to strategically think about what are you going to do in these little punchy guys. What are you going to do, you know, once you get to the top, what are you going to do going downhill and then speaking that downhill. That finish. Finish was so much fun. But you fly down lynch hill, the same one you climbed on the bike and came down on. And I'm talking about flying. You better know how to use those legs. Right. And getting into that finish line, shoot, which was honestly just beautiful. They do a phenomenal job on the finish line. It was just so professionally put on. And I tell you, just a great experience for an Olympic distance. That was top notch, no doubt.

Vanessa: Yeah, I 100% agree with you. I was also doing the Olympic race and I have actually never done an Olympic race before. This was the first time that I'd done an Olympic distance. It's the only race distance that I haven't done. So I was a little bit nervous because knowing that this distance is so hard to do, aside from the course itself, like the elevation gain on the bike and the run is quite intense and so doing that in an Olympic distance, I was very nervous about how it would feel, um, revving your engine at such a high intensity for that long of a period of time. Um, so I was a little bit nervous. But I think, I think this course was spectacular. I do love hills, so I am not sure if you want to take my word for it in terms of it being like one of the best races I've ever done. Um, I really enjoyed it. I love the hills. The run was like partially on trail and partially on the road. And they do have. Just if anyone is out there thinking that they want to do this as like a, an experience with friends, like they have an on course sprint and, or, sorry, an on the road sprint and they have an off road sprint as well, which includes like bike trails and the dirt and everything. So there's like, there is something for everyone. But that that run was really fun. There were a lot of hills and as Ryan had said, coming down that hill towards the finish line was just plain fun. Your legs are going like, you've got like the roadrunner vibe going. Your legs are going and you're trying to keep up and not fall over and. And it was just a really good time. So I think that I can't wait to actually do this again. I want to go back next year and take me back right now, actually. It's going to be on my list, that's for sure. I would like to hear from each of you now that we're deep into this. I want to hear about your favorite moment from the entire weekend. So let's go to Brandy first. What was your favorite thing that happened?

Brandy: The best thing. The best thing for me was on the last day Sunday, and we went to awards. And so we were sitting at awards and as they start to give out the awards for the Olympic distance. And let's remember, Vanessa raced it, Ryan raced it, and Cari Lubinow raced it. So Julie Moss is announcing. And as they get to Cari Lubinow's age group, before they announced the first place winner, Julie Moss said, you're gonna feel a trend coming, and I hope you all are ready for it. And then she said, first place, TriDot, Cari Lumenow. And just to hear that was amazing. Then we get to Vanessa, and it's still Julie Moss. And Julie Moss is, like I told you about this trend you were going to hear. First place in her age group with TriDot is Vanessa Wrongsley. So you took first in your age group. And then when we got to Ryan, Ryan took second in his age group. So not only did we come to this event as the first time ever being there as a team, we representing TriDot going through the entire week, the six days that we were there, you three really closed the show. You put a nice little ribbon around it. You dropped the mic, however you want to say it. It was just like, try, dot. There you go. And so Julie had even said something like, if you want results, like, try, dot. Yeah, you need to go talk to these people. So that was absolutely the best way to finish the three of you standing on podium. It was just wonderful. We did also have other athletes who won their age group in the different races, and so that was great, too. We had another one who was in the. The Olympic like you were then. We had. I believe he's in his 80s, and he won the day before. He raced the day before, and he raced on Sunday as well. And so just watching that was really huge.

Vanessa: Yeah, that was pretty special for all of us to be involved in that. Kurt, what was your favorite moment? I can't wait to hear what it is. I'm looking forward to this.

Kurt: What I was thoroughly impressed with was just our team. As you know, this was our first time. We were trying to Establish the baseline. We have very little depth of knowledge. No baseline. It's like, hey, we're just going to go. This team will pivot. This team will adapt. And you know what? No matter what obstacle, TriDot is just relentless. They will find a way to make it all work. So that's one thing I want to acknowledge. Every person there from TR just took it to a whole new level. So that's something that's very, very reassuring. The second thing is, I think for me is just being able to do a stage talk with Mark Allen, that Mark and I go way, way back. And if I go back to when we were just up and coming, like, let's do this traveling triathlon gig, I never would imagine to fast forward it to go. I am on stage with the goat. I am on stage with this man. I am on stage with the GOAT. I am on stage with the greatest athlete of all time. And we're talking like, we're just like, you know, mixing it up. And he was very complimentary of me. I was complimentary him. That is worth the price of admission. That's something like, you can't put a price tag on that. And the vibe was just positive and it's good. And I think some people actually listened to a couple of the stories that most of them were true.

Vanessa: Ryan, let's hear about your favorite moment from, from the weekend.

Ryan: I, I, you know, I think, you know, Brandy and Coach K, you know, said a lot of what I wanted to say already, you know, working with, you know, I said I called y' all colleagues, but, you know, earlier. But yes, family, that is just getting the, the teamwork atmosphere, the. Just everything about it was just, you know, absolutely the best. And then, you know, to just to add the, the icing on the cake, the other experiences was being able to race it. This iconic event that was enormous, but not only being able to race it, but race it with my own athletes, with you, Vanessa, with Cari. And, and that, that was just, just epic experience, you know. Yes, we had our rematch kind of thing. I know that, that. I know that war is not over. We're still, we're still playing, you know, as long as we're doing triathlons, girl. So. But, you know, again, working alongside those, the great coaches there, too, was just seeing what, you know, our organization of coaches are doing with, you know, Coach Cari Lubinow, coach Claudia Rosas, coach Alex Hamlow being there. And, and they were just as much as part of our family as anyone else. I mean, absolutely phenomenal. Job by those guys. And, you know, you're looking for some great coaches. Claudia, Cari, Alex, you can't go wrong with them. They are hard workers. No question about that. So lots of great moments, as we've all said. And I think if you're going to go to Wildflower, expect to have those great moments, for sure.

Vanessa: Yeah, that was very special. The whole weekend was wonderful. Brandy, I just want you to give a quick, brief overview of what the TriClub Games actually were, because this was a massive part of the entire festival, and I think it went off really, really well. So I just want you to give a quick rundown as to what the Tri Club Games were and how that involved participants.

Brandy: Yeah, absolutely. So we knew that we were going to have a bunch of Tri Clubs coming to this event. Right. And that there would just be this whole camaraderie of your Tri Club. The Tri Clubs at Wildflower, they camp together. And so it's not just regular Tri Clubs. You have collegiate. So we knew that Tri Clubs were massive, a massive part of this. And we wanted to just bring the fun. I mean, to be honest, that's what we wanted to do. So we created the TriDot Tri Club Games as a sense to try to let people know about TriDot and experience our culture as a team. So we created the “Hide the Dotties”. We did Scavenger hunt. We did Photo Bingo. We did a few different things. These were events that happened throughout the whole weekend. We included other vendors. So on this scavenger hunt, we would have athletes go to these different vendor booths looking for whatever item we told them to go to. We had cornhole. We really just wanted to bring a lot of fun and let these Tri Clubs not only compete as a tri club in the actual races, we wanted them to allow anybody who came with them, Sherpas, kids, anybody, everybody could participate. Everybody could be part of the fun. And that's why they were different games that we created ourselves. I think it worked really well. At the end of the weekend, we wound up giving a trophy away to the Tri Club who had the most points. And so, again, this wasn't athletically based. This was not how many athletes do you have running in the races. This was how many people from your Tri club village could you get involved an hour games, and how many people can you bring to us and just create some fun times?

Vanessa: It was great. It was so well executed as well. We have our last question of this podcast here. If you were to describe the Wildflower experience in one word, which word would you choose and why. Ryan, we're going to. You first. What's your word for Wildflower?

Ryan: You know, I. I think I thought about this. I'll go. I'll. I'll stick with my original memorable, because this is going to be etched in my mind for. For life, you know, really is. And again, I'm gonna find a way to get back there as much as I can, and until I can't. I think it is a great thing. And. And, yeah, yeah, you. You just gotta. You just gotta come do it yourself and don't take our words for it. Just do it.

Vanessa: Yeah, that's. That's great. Love that word. Memorable. Uh, Brandy, what's your word?

Brandy: My word is animated. So, you know, I have adult children, and they watch anime, and when I think about the entire time that we were there, pretty much anything that happens in an anime is just like, what I see. There's excitement, there's energy, there are tears, there's, you know, just everything that happened. The funny faces we made in some of the videos, you'll see them. So for me, it was very animated. It was an amazing time. I look back at it, I smile, I laugh. I have a bunch of memories that I get to carry with me. And so, yeah, it was an animated experience.

Vanessa: Oh, I love that. That is a really great word. I think that it does definitely encompass the experience that we had at Wildflower. I think for me, the. The word that describes the entire weekend is connection. And I know that I've said this word a lot on this. On this recording, but it truly was the foundation of my own experience. Being able to connect with the Wildflower staff, with the other vendors. It was really great to see them as well. I felt very connected to the land that we were on. It was absolutely gorgeous. Um, the sunrises, the sunsets were spectacular. And. And. And also being connected with nature, just being outside all the time and. And feeling the fresh air and hearing the birds. Like, I felt so grounded being immersed in that, in that and very present. So it was wonderful. And I think the most important connection of all is the one with my colleagues and three of whom are sitting right here, because we're also friends. And it was so special to be able to share that experience with each and every one of you and. And all of the others that we've mentioned here today. So I. I just. Yeah, my heart is full. I will remember this for a very long time to come, and. And I feel truly honored to have been a part of. Of this experience with each and Every one of you. Coach Kurt throwing this one to you.

Kurt: All right, I think I just caught that. I'm probably going to use the word spectacular because that's what this team is all about. And I think, again, as you look at your journey in the world of triathlons, you want to do spectacular things with spectacular people. That has a great culture to it, a great vibe, and at the end of the day, I think you're going to be very fulfilled because you're going to become much more well rounded. But, yeah, overall, just really spectacular. And it just. This is. We. It's kind of funny. As we're talking here today, this got, I think, a lot more traction than we really anticipated, especially from Brandy. She's still bubbling over. I think she's got flowers growing in her garden all over the place. Because this event, because it's still springtime and it's a great time for the spring bloom to get out there and do great things.

Announcer: Great set, everyone. Let's cool down.

Cooldown

Vanessa: We have switched things up on the cool down, everybody. We are now answering questions from you, the audience. So if you have a question about triathlon, if you have a question about TriDot, if you have a question about anything else, submit them to us and we will answer them on air. You can connect with Andrew or you can connect through myself through direct messages or email. And there's actually even a try podcast voicemail inbox. If you want to leave a recording for that, feel free to do so. So our question today is from Mac Serda, and the question is, how do you set up your bike's Garmin screen to best utilize it? And I think that we're going to get Coach Kurt to answer this because he's raced more than the rest of us combined. So what would you say to Mac about the Garmin computer screen for the bike?

Kurt: This is Mac. I'm going to give you again, just tip of the hat. That is a great question. I have to honestly say I have not heard this one very often. I wish more people were like Mac to say it might be good to kind of get a sounding board on this. So I would say what I would have you think about Mac is you've got to look at, first of all, the Garmin bike computer that you have and look at the screen. That's step number one. I have learned through the years, especially on race day, keep things super, super simple. In other words, you don't want to get so hung up on so many screens. You've got so much data going into Your head. Too much data on race day, I've learned, is probably going to work against you rather than for you because it might, you might doubt yourself on this and that and the temperature and the time of day and that the cadence can't be right. So to keep it super simple, the two things that I focus on myself and I have my athletes do I really want two variables at all times. I want my heart and I want my power. If I have my heart rate and my power, I toggle back and forth. I think the miles per hour can be very deceiving. It can be extremely fulfilling and then super depressing. I don't like to be on that roller coaster emotionally. So if I have those two things right there, I think I'm good to go. The other thing too, some people because of their eyesight, they can't see a lot and that could be a safety issue is you're flipping around the screen so much you're not focused or the print's so small and so go for those two big two, I'm going to call them your two north stars. I think if you're looking at that all time, you're going to be good. And now on a training ride that's a little bit different because it's more relaxed, it's low keyed. Oh, I didn't realize it was getting that hot. Oh, it is getting up to 86 or 87. But on race day I don't want to know those things. I just want to focus on, I've got to keep my focus on racing. So it's a great resource. But again, don't over rely on that because the real question mark is going to be this. If and when that computer screen just all of a sudden dies, what is plan B? So we are going to make sure it tried out. We pack another parachute on your back and it's real simple. That is called your RPE and that is your rate of perceived effort. So I'm going to challenge you maybe one day. Don't even set that up. I want you to get on your bike and just go out and ride. Try to guess your heart rate, try to guess your power. Continue to do that because all of us need plan B on race day and we need it in March.

Announcer: Thanks for joining us. Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDot Podcast with your triathlon crew for more great tri content and community. Connect with us on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Ready to optimize your training? Head to TriDot.com and start your free trial today. TriDot, the obvious and automatic choice for triathlon on training.

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