Xterra National Championships - Tahoe - 10.1.2006

I don't even know where to start. The last week has been kind of nuts. I'll just go over it day by day. I have a lot more on my mind about this race that I will have to save for another post.

Thursday:
AM: swim - Masters 2500 yards
PM: ride - easy 40 min spin on mtb

On Thursday I got got all my gear ready to go and got in an easy swim and bike. While I was on my ride both of my quads started cramping up. It was really weird because I never cramp up. Luckily I had a massage lined up for later in the day.

Friday:
PM: ride - 3 hr Pre-Ride of bike course

We got on the rode at 3am and arrived in Tahoe around 1130am. The weather was perfect and we headed out on the trail around 1pm. The ride was epic. The view from the flume trail that overlooks lake tahoe is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. As killer as the scenery was the ride was tough. Tons of climbing and it was really sandy. There is a lot of single track on the course and even where it was double track there was really only one line due to all the sand.

Saturday:
AM: run - 1 loop of the run course (easy) - 5k
PM: swim - easy 1000m swim in the lake

We headed down to the race site on Saturday morning to watch the start of the Xterra Nevada Sport race. They were racing the same course but with only one loop (750m) of the swim and one lap (5k) of the run. We hung out and watched the race and then headed out for an easy run of the course and then hit the water for a swim.

Saturday night we went to the Xterra dinner and it was killer. Great food, cool awards presentation, and slide show of all the races. There we even a couple of photos of me from the race in Richmond, VA. I got a couple of strange looks when I headed up to the bar and ordered an ice cold Sierra Nevada. I hung out with quite a few of the guys from my AG and they were all really cool guys. The vibe at Xterra races is quite a bit different than the road races that I have done. Everybody is more laidback and just ready to just lay it down on the course.

Sunday: The Race

Pre-race:

The race started at 9am so I was up a 6 for some coffee and breakfast. It was cold outside. It was about 40 degrees when we got to the race. Everybody had beanies and gloves on. It looked more like everybody was going snowboarding as opposed to swimming, biking, and running. I warmed up with a couple of miles of running and the put on my wetsuit and got in the lake. I did a longer swim warm-up than usual. I really wanted to acclimate to the cold water and lack of oxygen.

Swim: 1500m (2 x 750m laps w/ 150 meter run in between)
Time: 30:34 (swim,run to T1 - 1/3 mile,T1)

With a couple minutes to go before the start I spotted a quite a few of the guys in my AG so I went and got in the mix with them. We were to the far left and lined up right behing a group of pro men. I was really loose and relaxed prior to the start. When the cannon went off it was mayhem. The first 250m to the first buoy was rough. Everybody was all over eachother and combined with the lack of oxygen due to the altitude it made breathing tough. I was able to hang with the guys in my AG througout the first lap. When I hit the beach and started to run the 150 feet to start lap two my legs were super heavy. I tried to run but felt like I was barely moving.

Lap two was pretty uneventful. I didn't feel like I was swimming fast but I was consitent and didn't get dropped. After the second lap it was a 3 minute run to T1 and my feet were completely numb.

T1:
Pretty standard. I had a bit more trouble getting my bike shoes on because my feet were numb but other than that I was in and out.

Bike: 32k
Time: 2:07

A mile out of T1 you hit Tunnel Creek road and then it's 1600ft straight up(2500ft of climbing on the course). The climb was tough and super sandy. It is a double track road, but due to all the sand it rode like single track. For most port there was single line with limited areas to pass. This is probably where I made mistake on the day. I wasn't aggressive enough. I should have passed more people before I got to the flume trail (all single track/no passing). I got passed on the bike by some guys but also did my fair of share of passing during the 32k, but I wasn't nearly aggressive enough.

T2: In and out - Passed a guy in my AG in T2 and never saw him again.

Run: 10k
Time: 37:50

The run course was pretty fast. There weren't any hard climbs just a lot of twisting, turning, and obstacles. I passed a lot of people on the run and finished with the 19th fastest run split overall and 3rd amateur on the day. I felt pretty strong on the run.



Overall: 3:16
8th AG
74th overall

I am not very satisfied with my performance. From a physical standpoint I felt great but I didn't "race" hard enough. It's all mental. I don't know way to say it. I didn't take the chances I needed to on the bike. I could have made more moves on people and really pushed the pace on the climbs. I felt physically capable of doing it, but I held back. I raced safe and racing with that mentality on this course is not going to cut it. My coach called me out on it too. I am stoked to have a coach that is not going to sugar coat anything and will tell me how it really is. I have a lot of work to do and it's just not in the water and on the roads and trails.