Monday 5.1.2006 - BB Offroad Triathlon - Race Report

another one in the books...

Big Blue Offroad Triathlon (Xterra Point series race)
4.30.2006 - Cataic Lake, CA

swim: 2 x 600m laps separated by 50 yard run
bike: 2 x 8 mile loops
run: 2 x 2.5 mile loops

Pre-race:

The race didn't start until 10am so I woke up around 6am and had a solid breakfast.
6:15am
1 whole wheat bagel w/natural peanut butter
1 banana
water
coffee

7-730am
on the drive:
1 x 16 oz bottle of water w/ 1 scoop of carbo pro

7-30am - 945am
setting up transition and until start of race:
1 x 16 oz bottle of water w/ 2 scoops of carbo pro
1/2 of clif bar
1 gel (15 minutes before start)

Swim:
The swim course was really interesting. It was 2 laps and was shaped like and "M". You started from shore swam out to buoy 1 and then back to the beach, ran 50 yards up the beach and around a flag, and then headed out and back to buoy number 2.

the start was rough and i got thrashed about. I usually let the fast guys go ahead of me and did the same here. Unfortunately and bunch of slower swimmers decided they would line up in front and to the inside. so for the first 300 meters i had to swim hard get through them. I was hurting on the first lap and my heart rate was way higher than i wanted it to be. I hit the shore after lap 1 and the 50 yard jog didn't help to lower my HR. Lap two was better and i passed a lot of people and picked up my pace. I finished in the top 15 and then ran another 50 yard to T1.

I am not sure what my official swim time was but I was out of t1 and on my bike pedaling away at 19:29 (on my watch).

T1:
slower than usual. I decided to wear gloves this time and it took me a second to get them on my wet hands. Don't know if i will keep wearing gloves, or if I just need to get some that go on easier.

Bike:
This course was tough. Tons of climing. Of the time spent riding the 2 x 8 mile loops about 75% was spent climbing. Just long sustained climbing and a lot of single track. You really had to pick and choose where you made your moves. The last quarter of each loop was some super fast, rough single and double track. The bike was really solid for me. I got passed by two guys who were both in different AG's and I passed about 4 guys as well. I don't what else to say except that the ride was really hard. I came straight out of the water right into climbing. My HR felt like it was maxed out for the first 20 minutes of the ride. Taking fluid was pretty tough too, but I managed to finish 2 x 16oz bottles of my new mix (2 scoops carbo pro/2 tabs of NUUN). It worked really well for me. I also had a gel that I taped to the top bar of my bike. I took the gel on the final stretch heading into T2.

T2:
the guy in the rack next to me had thrown his wetsuit on top of all my perfectly laided out gear. It took me second to grab my shoes, race belt, and visor. It still went pretty quick though, but could have been faster.

Run:
Really fun run. It was really hot (85, sunny, no wind) but I was feeling strong. The two loop run consisted of road, fire road, and technical single track. the single track ran along a creek that you had to cross numerous times. I had to climb over and crawl under fallen trees, cross the creek by jumping from rock to rock, running on a tree, and at one point just jumping over it. It was tough. I passed some guys on the run but didn't know what AG they were in (no body marking.. lame). I felt like I had a solid run and defintely negative split the two lap course.

Finish:
I don't remeber what my official time was, but I think it was about 02:10:00.

results:
2nd in AG
Top 10 Overall

Through out the whole race I never saw the guy that beat me and he ended beating me by about 1 minute (guess). He was ahead of me in the swim and then stayed ahead in the bike. It was hard to make up ground on the bike becuase it was 90% single track. To say the least I am stoked. More Xterra points!