What doesn't kill you...

I'm recovering well:


The view from the Reno airport Monday morning. It was snowing on the drive from Incline Village to Reno. Crazy weather.


This is going to be the last post that about Tahoe and Xterra Nationals. I have got tons of comments, advice, and support based on my last post and bad race. I want to say thanks to everyone who posted some good comments and everybody else that either emailed or called me. It's rad to know there people actually reading and following along who are willing to take the time to drop me a line.

I took a lot from the race, both good and bad. Sitting here right now I am not disappointed and the race is behind me. I had a killer long weekend up there hanging out and training with Trevor, Cody, and Tom (and Brian on Sunday Night for beers and mexi-food) . They all had killer races and as always I learned a lot from Trevor and Cody. They both have a lot of experience, have had a lot of success, and are always willing to offer me advice/tips. That's what I'll take away from this past weekend.

Check out Cody's new coaching website. http://www.epcmultisport.com/

They put my quote of on the big screen at the Night of Champions dinner the night before the race.... killer.


So my post race thoughts...

Mistakes made:
1. Wearing Blue Seventy wetsuit socks.
- they alone probably cost me a couple of minutes in transition, on the course, and didn't even keep my feet from going numb. In T1 it made taking my wetsuit off over them nearly impossible and I fumbled around in T2 trying to get them off. Next year I will just wear them down to the lake and for the warm-up and take them off right before the start.

2. Swim warm-up
- this was a tough call with it being so cold. I played it safe and didn't warm up as much as I probably should have. I was probably in the water for 10 minutes and I should have made it 20. I really wasn't ready to go for it at the gun, but I wanted to stay warm. I know now that no matter what the cold waters of lake Tahoe are going to get to me. I just have to accept it and deal with it.

3. Forgetting camelback
- this was just mental mistake on my part but it should not have derailed my whole race. I should have had a back up plan. I will stay taping 2 gels to my bike in case something happens with my planned nutrition.

4. Wearing too much gear
- Again, trying to stay warm on the bike. Under my wetsuuit I had an UA shirt on under my tri suit (this wasn't bad) and knee warmers. In T1 I put on a L/S jersey, decided to keep the wetsuit socks on, and then thick gloves once on the bike. I definitely stayed warm with the exception of my feet. The knee warmers were cool until I got to the run where one of them kept falling down. L/S jersey was a hassle, but probably worth the warmth it provided. I am always warmer on the bike that I think I am going to be. I need to remember this... and probably save me minutes in transition.

Good stuff:
1. The bike
- I felt strong on the bike and was riding by people and didn't let anybody get by me. The power was there. My goal was to break 2 hours on the bike (I rode 2:07 last year) and I am sure I would have if I didn't have to sit down on the trailside to put my shoe back on my frozen foot. I ended up with a bike/T2 split of 2:00:03. If my nutrition would have been on point I wouldn't have started to blow up on the last climb. So I think I would have been closer to 1:55. If you take 5 minutes off my swim/T1 time (last year I was 30min, 5 min faster than this year) and 5 minutes off my bike I would have been right around 3rd place in my AG.

2. Getting through the run
- The run was a struggle to say the least, but I still pulled off a top 20 run split. Considering how I felt I'm pretty stoked I pushed through. I definitely paid the price and ended up in the med tent, but I didn't leave anything out there.

3. Race prep
- I was feeling pretty sharp and rested race morning. I think the workouts and approach I took in the days preceding the race were right on the money. It was kind of a dress rehearsal for Worlds so I am stoked to have it dialed in and will have confidence in the approach.

That's it for now. Tahoe is behind and will serve as good motivation as finish up the last bit of training before Worlds. I am feeling good and ready to get after it this weekend.

Here's some photos from the weekend and this week and also link to a video of the race. There is a good clip of me in the video running over the log bridge. I am wearing the all red B&L kit and NUUN visor.

Xterra USA Championships Video

run between laps on the swim:


running into transition. I look like I am having a great time.


Heading out on the bike... what's missing?


Post race refreshments:


congrats to Will for getting the Mr. Xterra award. After his trip this summer there was no one even close to deserving this more than him. Big ups!


We're a lively bunch. Post race party. Actually we got out beers at the bar and then just chilled in the Hyatt lobby... we were all pretty beat down and tired.


my bike making it on the plane in Reno.


Dinner of the week: Basil & Pesto chicken/turkey sausage sauteed in EVOO and balsamic vinegar with garlic, red onions, cremini mushrooms, smoked sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, spinach and then topped with some dijon mustard and goat cheese. Whole wheat tortilla on the side.


work in progress.

Xterra National Championships Race Report

it was a rough one...

I am sitting in the Reno airport with some time to kill so I thought i would knock this out. This will just be a race report (it's going to be a long one) and will post later in the week on what I learned from the race and where my head is at.

Here's the official report from the Xterra site: Xterra Nationals

I don't even know where to begin to tell the story of this race. There were some highs and a lot of lows, but I defintely took a lot from the race and will fuel my fire for my goal A race of the season, Xterra Worlds in a month. If you have been reading the blog the last couple of days you know weather was pretty gnarly so I don't need to go into that too much. I'll just start with race morning.

Pre-race:

I was up nice and early with a steaming hot cup of coffee and jumped on my computer to check out the weather. At 530am it was 27 degrees... killer! I had my usual pre-race meal of oatmeal and then put on a bunch of layers of clothing and Trevor and I headed down to transition (it was a half mile from the condo) about 730am.

I got a solid spot in transition and just tried to keep warm. I even used hand warmers. At about 830am I head down to the lake.

Swim: 1500m

The water was 58 degrees and I decided to wear a Zoot neoprene cap and Blue Seventy wetsuit socks to try to stay warm. I got in a nice warm-up and we had to exit the water for the pre-race briefing. I got pretty cold standing there but I am sure everyone else was in the same boat.

The canon fired and we were off and I was swimming with a pretty good pack. I probably started out a little to hard considering we were at 6500ft and I struggle swimming at altitude. As we approached the first buoy things were pretty typical and bunched up. As I was swimming around the buoy I took a heel kick from a guy doing butterfly right to the adam's apple. It choked me and swallowed a ton of water. I was already out of breath from the hard effort to the buoy so I was in a pretty bad predicament. I had to totally stop swimming and I just sat to the inside of everyone for a couple of minutes as I tried to catch my breath and cough up water. After I recovered I was on my way and basically just got through the swim and ran my way to T1.

T1:

My first transistion was a nightmare. My hands were numb and I was cold. I had decided to leave on the blue seventy socks for the bike in hopes they would keep my feet warmer than being barefoot, bad idea. I had such a hard time getting my wetsuit off my feet becuase it was getting hung up on the socks. Once out of my suit I threw on a long sleeve jersey and tried to put my shoes on. With frozen hands and feet putting on my shoes was a challenge for sure and it also took me quite a bit of time to buckle my helmet. I was in full-on panic mode because I was taking so long. Finally I was out of transition and on my bike.

Swim + T1: 35:25

bike: 24 miles

I was stoked to be on my bike and out of the water and t1. I was hammering down the road on my way to tunnel creek road. About a half mile down the road and realized that with me rushing in T1 I failed to put on my camelback. My camelback was filled with all my calories/electrolytes (NUUN + Carbopro) and my spare tube, air, and multitool. I was too far out to turn back and with everybody else exiting T1 I dont even know if I could get back in. So I just hammered away.

As soon as I got to the long climb that is Tunnel Creek road I started passing a lot people and was feeling really good on the bike, but knew I was really far back from being in contention. So I just really pushed it and was able ride a way from alot of people and didn't get passed on the climb at all. At the end of the climb is the first aid station and I needed water... bad. I only have one cage on my bike so I had to decided between gatorade endurance and water. I chose water becuase I knew I would not be ablt to stomach the gatorade and thought being hydrated was the most important thing.

I was having a good time, going fast on the flume and made my way through more people. I was pretty cold on the flume as it's all in the shade. So I just kept riding harder and harder to generate heat. At the end of the flume there is a small bridge and then a rocky, technical climb. I made it most of the way up the climb, but had to dismount right at the very end. So I was running my bike up the rocks when I hear someone yell, "Did you lose a shoe?" I didn't know who he was talking to so I kept running up the rocks and then he yelled again. I looked down at my feet and I had no shoe on my right foot. My feet were so numb that I was running without a shoe and didn't even know it. It's probably the funniest thing that has ever happened to me in race. The nice guy actually brought my shoe and I had to sit down trail side to squeeze my feet back into them.

After I got my shoe back on I headed into the second section of climbing and I was still feeling pretty strong. I continued to just ride by people, which I was stoked about because it's usually the other way around. At the top of the climb is the second and final aid station. I had only manage about 3/4 of the bottle of water and this time opted for gatorade because I was in severe need of some calories. As soon as I got the gatorade i took a drink and immediately knew it was going to be tough to drink... it was like syrup to me.

Then there is one more climb before you get to the super fun descent. I was starting to bonk on the climb. I guess pushing yourself to the max for 2 hours with very little water and no calories takes its toll... who knew. I was fading fast but made it to the top and then it was time to descend and I was stoked and had a blast riding the single track. Both sides of the trail were covered in snow which was killer. Definitely a new experience for me.

After the single track you hit a false flat and one more small climb before descending tunnel creek road. I was tapped. I had no power and my calves were cramping a bit. Once I got to tunnel creek road I just opened it up. Then it was back to road and tried to drink some more gatorade but it was making me sick. Before I knew it I was back in transition.

It was pretty discouraging as I entered T2 and I heard the announcer screaming that Conrad Stoltz was headed down the shoot for the win.... and I still had a 10k to run.

T2:

Another shitty transisiton. I had to take the blue seventy socks off and my long sleeve jersey. My feet were still numb so it took longer than usual to get my shoes on. I grabbed my visor and race belt and I was out.

bike + T2: 2:00:03

Run: 10k.

I was feeling like shit but I made a decision not to bag it, but the thought to just cruise and get through it crossed my mind. I grabbed some water at the first aid station as I was leaving transition and just tried to get my body going. I made my way through some guys pretty quickly and just focused on the trail and guys ahead of me. At the second aid station I grabbed a GU, but I was in such a deficit and so dehydrated I could feel it just sitting in my gut.

As I was finishing the first lap I heard them announce that Trevor was finishing. This was also pretty discouraging. While Trevor normally beats me he had just finished the race and I had still had 5k to go and I was getting worse off as time wore on.

The second lap was a full on gut check. mentally I wanted to be done and so did my body. I knew I was not in the race and I thought about Maui for a second and decided to just smash myself and finish. I just wanted to see how hard I could go in my depleted state. So I pushed on and kept passing people. My stomach was cramping and so were my calves and I was starting to feel a twinge in my quads. It got really bad with about 1k to go. I was getting really lightheaded and even missed a turn. I got back on track and finally got to the finish. I was seeing stars and just about collapased.

Run: 40:15

Overall: 3:15:437th AG

72nd Overall
Official results

I was out of it. I really didn't know what I was doing and just wanted to get off my feet. I was helped over to the med tent where I basically collapsed to all fours. I couldn't even talk, I was kind of blacking out, and dry heaving. Good times. I was in a bad place and was starting to get really cold. I couldn't even take in water. Everytime I would take a swig I would cough it back up. They laid me out in the sun to get me warm, raised my feet to get my blood flowing. All my friends were concerned and huddled around the tent making sure I was ok. After a while I got to my feet and headed out....

Here's a couple of photos from the the post race explosion. Thanks to Drew for the photos.

More later....

Xterra National Championshps: Playing in the Snow!

Xterra is gnarly. From scorching heat and choking humidity in summer championships races and now to snow and freezing temps for Nationals.... gotta love it!


Last night from the front deck of the condo:


this morning from the front deck of the condo:


Well it's the day before the race and as you can probably guess from the title it snowed last night. It was just a dusting, but c'mon, snow. I am not a cold weather triathlete. I love the snow and the cold when I am going snowboarding or staying inside having some drinks by the fire, but not when I have to swim, bike, and run.

I am not stressing out about it. It is what it is. I am still going to go out, go hard, and see what happens... just with a little more gear on than usual. I am contemplating what I am going to wear tomorrow morning. The air temperature at the start should be just below 40 and the water temp is a steamy 58. So gear choice will be very important.

as if there was any doubt...


This morning was a couple race prep workouts. I was planning on a swim but bagged that idea when I checked the temp and it was only 28 degrees. So instead at about 830 I rolled out on my bike and watched the start of the Xterra Sport race and then got in a 40 min ride with a couple of race pace efforts then just some easy spinning. After the ride I changed into some warm run clothes and headed out with Tom and Cody for a quick 15 minute run with some accelerations to race pace on the way back to the condo. Feeling good.

post bike... still some snow on the deck:


post run:


Here's some more photos and video. My next post will be a full race report and I probably won't get that up until sometime Monday or Tuesday...

post ride/run breakkie:


yeah... that's snow:


From the start of the sport race. You can see the snow up on the mountain. I'll be up there tomorrow:


Cody and Tom headed up on the trail this morning to find this:


and this:

Reporting from Tahoe: Xterra National Championsip weekend

Lake Tahoe from the climb up Tunnel Creek road. EPIC!

I am in Tahoe living it up and hoping the speed of my condo mates (cody waite, trevor glavin, and tom o'brien) rubs off on me!

Things have been going great so far. The weather has been killer. Definitely a little colder than I like, but not too bad... but the temps are supposed to drop a bit come race day. Right now we are looking at a high of 60 on Sunday with a low of 37. Right now the hour by hour is showing temps in the mid 30's for the race start 9am on Sunday... nice and warm!

Yesterday was pretty much a perfect day. I got into to the condo just after 10pm on Wednesday night, and after "fixing" the internet I did some unpacking and hit the sack. I woke up around 7am had some strong coffee, oatmeal (that i pre-mixed and brought from home), and then built my bike. Then around 9am Cody and I headed to pre-ride the epic bike course in killer conditions. I was about 50 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Here's a video and some photos from the ride:

I don't recommend trying ride the flume trail with one hand on the bars and the other holding the camera... but the video came out killer:

From the Flume looking down on the beach we swam at later on in the day. Beautiful!


The flume, you can see cody on the far left and the consequences on the right:


cody and I on the flume:


The ride was rad, but I did have some problems with my brakes... they really weren't working! I pretty much had to ride the entire descent pumping my brakes the whole time just so I could keep some pressure and slow down. Right after the ride I took my bike to the shop, which is just around the corner from the condo and they bled the brakes and replaced the pads. That did the trick and I'm all set for race day.

After slamming a recovery shake we all headed down to a secluded beach with crystal clear water for some open water swimming. The water was defintely cold but I was prepared with a neoprene skull cap and some blue seventy swim socks. After the swim it was off to the grocery store to pick some grub for dinner and then it was back to the condo.

another video of the lake where we swam and some more photos:

the calm waters of lake tahoe, prior to swim session:

Just before dinner I went a quick run of the run course. Just one loop and then called it a day. For dinner I grilled up a steak, some multigrain bread, and made a big salad. It hit the spot for sure. We ended the night watching the season premier of "The Office" with a glass of wine. I can't think of a better way to end a day.

Cooking dinner, top sirloin and some bread:


the boys in rest, recover, relax mode:

Today is a total day off and tomorrow I will do some short race prep stuff and then it will time to throw down...

Here's a recap from the rest of the week and some more photos. I meant to post it sooner but never got around to it.

Tuesday:

AM: Masters swim - 4000 yards

PM: 45 min trail run with race pace intervals

Both workouts on Tuesday were solid. I felt really good in the pool and the mainset was pretty challenging. I think I have timed the build up in my swimming pretty well. After cutting back on the swim volume and focusing on the bike over the summer I finally feel some the speed I had at the end of last year is back... and I will hopefully be taking that up another gear before Maui. The run was solid as well. I ran in San Elijo lagood because the trails back there remind me a lot of of the course here in Tahoe.

Wednesday:

AM: 90 min road ride with some short race pace efforts and quick climbs

I felt really good on the bike yesterday morning. At the last minute I decided to work from home on Wednesday in order to finish packing and get some extra sleep without having to rush. My flight didn't leave San Diego until 6:55pm. I slept in a bit, took care of some work, and then hit the roads and the legs were feeling really good... alot of snap, but I knew I could go too hard. I am still in training mode as this is still the last week in my "build" phase and the rest will really start on friday and continue through the first half of next week. I got home from my ride, made and epic breakkie, knocked out some more work, and finished packing.

the killer breakkie: whole grain waffles (made with Kodiak mix, protein powder, and ground flax seeds) topped with Fage (greek yogurt) that I mixed with cinnamon and a banana.... chronic!

Beard update:
Tuesday:


Thursday:


traveling gear:

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!

some more training and an aquathlon RR...(mega photo edition)

You gotta love San Diego in September. Empty beaches and killer weather.


Well it's the final week leading up to Xterra nationals and things are a little hectic. On the training side things are going really well. I am feeling really good in the water, on the bike, and my run is feeling very solid. I got some strange news on Tuesday and I'll get to that in another post.

Taking sunday off was defintely the right call. I have been feeling very fresh and strong throughout my workouts this week, and they've definitely been tough.

Monday:

AM: Bike - road ride

Lunch: stretching/core

Tuesday:AM: Masters

PM: trail run with race pace intervals

Wednesday:

AM: MTB with race pace/LT intervals on the climbs

Lunch: Stretching/core

Thursday:

AM: Masters

PM: Aquathlon (1000m swim/3 mile run)


an incredible day for a race... good 'ol SD.

The race last night was a good time. My plan was to use it as my last hard run workout in my last build week before Tahoe before I back it off a bit. I really wanted to have a good/smart swim and run very hard. Mission accomplished. I got down to La Jolla around 5pm and just sat around and made the usual rounds of friends and conversations. It seems most people have already started their offseasons, are getting ready for last one big blow out, and then there's me. My two big races of the season take place in the next 5 weeks. Jim was out there to race as he gets ready for Kona as well as some other fast dudes.


pre-race photo... what am I scowling at???

I warmed up with a trot down to the pier and back (1.5 miles) and just swam about 100 yards. My arms were definitely feeling the 4000 yard masters workout from the morning.

Swim - 1000m:

the start. I am in the middle of the pack in the green cap.

The beach start was pretty typical and I chose a pretty good line and had a straight shot to the first buoy. I was a little inside of it and had to back track a bit as I made the first turn, no worries. At this point I was swimming sided by side, stroke for stroke with 4 guys. I got hit in the face pretty hard and also dunked one time. Good times. We stayed side by side for a minute and I decided to pick up the pace a bit to see what would happen. They all stuck with me so then I knew what to do. I dropped back and then latched on to some feet. No use in wasting all my energy if they would pull... and they did. We got to the last buoy and they were fading and I was feeling good so I picked up my pace and headed into the shore.

Run - 3 miles:

It seems like our pack got gapped quite a bit by the leaders and there were quite a few (7-10) guys out on the run ahead of me. Time to "do work". I worked my way into 6th at the first turn around (.75 mile) and was shadowing the 5th place guy who didn't want me to pass him and I could see all the guys ahead of me including Jim, leading the race, and Emilio DeSoto in 2nd. I pulled up side by side with the 5th place guy and he didn't want to back off, I put in a surge, he hung, so I put in another one and he backed off. I decided at that point that I needed to be in 3rd by that next turn around (1.5 miles). I ran hard and was able to run into 3rd with each guy giving me a challenge. It was rad. I love it when people make me work harder than I want to. So I was in third as I headed back down to the pier but Emilio, 2nd place, was still had quite a lead on me. I passed Paul (he was out the just doing the run) and he cheered me on to go get Emilio and get 2nd. I lock in on Emilio in the distance and just started to close the gap. I was working very hard. When I got to the final turn around (2.25 miles) I was only 20 yards behind him. I caught him quick on the final lap and just tried to blow by him. He responded to my pass and surged to catch me. We were running shoulder to shoulder. So there was only one thing to do... lay it down. I made another move, got 10 yards ahead, and then he tried to respond and as soon as he almost got back up to me I picked it up another notch and then just kept running harder and harder all the way to the finish to build a pretty good gap and take 2nd place.

Results:
1st - Jim Vance
2nd - Me!
3rd - Emilio DeSoto


(L to R) Emilio, Me, & Jim with our rice crispy treat medals.

It was definitely one of the harder 3 mile runs I have done and it felt great. I love running that hard. Not necessarily when I am going that hard and it feels like I am going to puke, but afterwards it's very satisfying knowing you pretty much went as hard as you could have.

After the race I hung out for a bit, had some pizza, and then called it day and headed back up to north county. The Triathlon Club of San Diego is rad and I am very fortunate to have it a training resource. I have met a lot of killer people and got in some killer training with the group. I mean where else can you blast yourself in the Thursday night aquathlon, chat with Bob Babbit, Jim Vance, Emilio DeSoto, and loads of other awesome people, and then chow down on killer food?

This morning I woke up early to get in a ride because the forecast was calling for rain and I wanted to get it in before it started. When I headed out just after 6am there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was just coming out. It was perfect out, a little cold, but it felt great. It's now 2pm and the sun is still blazing. What happened to the rain?

Below are some more photos from the aquathlon, food, and other random stuff from the week. there is also a little video of me from the race from Brian's (our new club president) blog.

Sequence from the race. I think it's at the 2nd turn around (1.5 miles in)







here's a little video from Brian's blog. I am the one running from left to right as I head out for my second lap. here's the quote from Brian's page:
"James Walsh, the second place mens finisher is seen here running down Amanda Felder who won for the womens. Time to work on that swim James!!"


new breakfast concoction (thanks beth): Cheerios, Kashi Shredded wheat, puffed corn & wheat, granola, bluberries, a banana, protein powder, and chocolate almond milk.


another killer burger: lean hamburger patty, whole grain bread, grilled peppers & onions, cheddar cheese, roasted tomato salsa, and a chipotle ranch sauce


getting it done!


it's getting to be that time of year. In order get out of the door before 6am I had to break out the lights.


making sure they still work.