Race Week: Xterra Nationals

I can't believe Nationals is already here. The season has flown by. Not to say that it has not been a long, tough season, but it's hard to believe the end is near. I am really looking to getting to Tahoe and racing. Nationals is just a "B" race for me as I plan on peaking for Worlds at the end if October, but I definitely plan on giving it everything I have on race day. The race will be tough. The course is very challenging, it's going to be cold, and the competition is as good as it gets. I am also really looking forward to just hanging out with friends and enjoying the time away from work and home.

The weather in Tahoe has been nuts with snow and rain over the weekend, but Trevor reported that this has left the trail in good condition. It's supposed to warm up a bit by Sunday and I hope that's the case it because first thing this morning it was damn cold up there. In preparation for the cold I am growing a beard. I figure I might as well look like mountain man for a race in the mountains and it may help keep my face warmer in the swim. I know it works for surfing in the winter.

first thing this morning


weekend forecast.


working on the beard.

I had really good weekend of training and am feeling satisfied about where I am at with my fitness. Saturday was really mellow and a day off the legs with just a 60 min swim in the morning. Yesterday was a race simulation workout. This workout will be repeated often and is going to be key over the next couple of weeks. It's basically just a race pace brick with a ton of climbing both on the bike and run and felt great throughout. Here's some of the data:

bike: 1:53, 18 miles, 3300ft of climbing:


T-run: ~35min, ~5 miles


On Saturday I had the chance to attend a clinic with Joe Friel and Jim speaking about peaking. It was killer and I got some good information that I will definitely be applying to my training as I work towards a peak for worlds. There were only about ~20 in attendance and that kind of shocked me, but it gave me a chance to ask some training questions and get some good responses from Friel, which is pretty nuts in my opinion. I mean the man is a genius when it comes to triathlon/cycling training and methods. I am hoping he comes back to SD to give more clinics on training and his philosophies. Jim spoke about the mental aspect of peaking and racing... more good info.

That's it. I leave on Wednesday evening for Tahoe and will check in before hand. I'll leave you with a photo of Beth's epic, homemade power peanut butter pretzel granola. Check out her blog for the recipe. I can't stop eating this stuff!