2008 Xterra World Championships - Race Report

I wrote this race report on the flight back from Maui. Typically I don't like to write too long of race reports, but since I have plenty of time to kill and this was the biggest race of my life I got into some detail.

Pre-race:
The night before the race Xterra puts on big "Night of Champions" dinner and it's killer. The only reason I know this is because I went my first year (2006). The last two years I have opted to skip the dinner. I just don't like all the hype, would rather eat exactly what I want, and just relax... relax I did. My sister and I hit a killer pita restaurant recommended to my by the owner of Tokyo Joe's who I had the pleasure of meeting and riding with that morning. The food was incredible and then we headed back to the hotel and I just laid around at watched the world series and was dead asleep by 830.

I slept great and woke up at 530am with no alarm.

Now for the race.

empty transition. time to race.


Standing at the edge of the water waiting for the canon to go off was kind of surreal. I had thought about and visualized that exact moment for a year and it was exactly like the picture in my head. I was very calm and at the same time ready to throwdown.

I felt great swimming the day before the race and had swam a lot the week leading up to the race in hopes of getting my race of to a solid start. I didn't want a repeat of Tahoe. Standing on the start line waiting for canon to go off I made a promise to myself that I would swim hard the whole way.. for once.

Swim:

The canon went off I jumped in right behind some fast AG men and some pro women. The plan was going to hang on their feet to the first buoy and see where I was. I was able to do this but was getting my ass kicked. It was hands down the roughest swim I have ever been part of. I got kicked (in the junk), dunked, grabbed, and elbowed. I didn't let it get to me and just hung in there taking a beating but swimming well. At the end of the first lap I was still feeling good and ready to go harder the second lap.

After the beach run I dove in for the second lap right on the feet of some pro men and women (obviously not the super fast swimmers, but solid ones). I once again started to get beat up a bit in the pack as it seemed everybody was fighting for a feet. One pro woman in particular, my friend Danelle Kabush, was beating the crap out of me. The only reason I knew it was her was because 'fessed up at the awards dinner later that night.

When we hit the last buoy I was still feeling good and swimming well. I was able to pick it up as we headed back towards the beach and was stoked I was able hang in there and have a great swim (by my standards)


T1:
Fast. I wore my Zoot Sprintsuit (it has a pad) so while some people were getting out of the speedsuits I was able to just throw on my helmet, shoes, and grab my hydration pack.


Bike:
As soon as I jumped on my bike I started to pass people. I knew I had some work to do. I mean it's the worlds champs so a lot of the AG'ers are really good swimmers so there were plenty of people to chase (and pass!). Once off the road the climbing starts and was in a pretty big gear passing a lot of people. I put in a pretty hard effort all the way to the first descent and passed a lot of people.

I just kept pushing it up every climb because as I knew a lot of guys out there are better descenders than me and willing to take more chances. So I yo-yo'd with a couple of guys. I would pass them on the climbs and then they would get back to my wheel by the end of the next decent. I still continued to pass people and then started riding with 3 other guys in pack over a couple miles of rolling terrain. I think I kind of lost focus a bit during this stretch. I wasn't pushing hard enough. I just kind of sat in the pack... and it wasn't slow but I could have been riding harder.

When we got to "Ned's Climb" our pack was caught by another pack of five. So as we started the climb I was now in a group of 8. I fumbled a bit here. A lava rock got kicked up by the guy ahead of me and right into my front wheel and I almost went down and had to quickly unclip as to not crash. So the pack got a bit of a gap on me as I got going again up the climb.

At this point I decided I wasn't going to ride in this pack anymore. As soon as the there was room I made my move and gave it everything I had. I went to the front of the pack and kept pouring it on... and on. When we got to the paved section I locked out my fork and got out of the saddle and kept going and caught and passed two more guys. At the top of climb, right before "the plunge", I looked back for the first time and there was nobody... I mean nowhere even close. This got me stoked and ready to charge the descent.

The descent was really good for me. I just opened it up and let my bike do the work (thanks Gordon). Nobody caught me! The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. I caught a couple more guys and rode with them until the last descent. one guy got a way from me and I was to get away from the other. As you head into t2 you can see people heading out on the run. I kept looking for amateurs and didn't see any until I got really close to T2 and saw a bunch of fast pros just getting started on the run... I was stoked.

T2:
Again pretty fast. The only hang up was that I couldn't find the gel that I had laid out for the run... so I was gel-less.

Run:
Heading out on the run I knew there could not be too many amateurs ahead of me and I wasn't sure where I was in my AG. I got a little boost from the race announcer, Whit, announcing that I was one of the top amateurs and pre-race favorites... time to represent! I headed out of transistion and the legs felt good but the guys I came into transition with were trying to hang on... so I went for it as soon as i hit the road. Once you turn off the road it's a straight 2.5 miles of climbing, and the best time to make up significant chucks of time. So I went for it. I just charged the hill and passed quite a few amateurs and a couple of pros. This boosted my confidence and then I just kept rolling. Because I didn't have my gel I was forced to take in some Gatorade Endurance, which in the past has give me some sotmach issues, and this day was no different... luckily it didn't really hit me until after the race.

Right before the beach I caught and passed Craig Evans. He gave me some words of encouragement and I just tried to focus on my cadence and turnover. Then I hit the beach and as always it was brutal. It feels like you are running slow motion, but again I just thought about cadence and turnover. Then it was into the "spooky forrest" with 1.5 miles to go and I was informed I was the 2nd amateur and 3 minuter back from #1. I just kept going and as I got close to the finish a pro was coming up on me and was going to make me work to the line. So over the 1/4 mile i picked it up and ended up holding him off, but couldn't quite catch the number Am... but I took 7 minutes out of him on the run!



Finish:
I was so stoked to cross the line and even more stoked to have my sister there and knowing that Beth and the Family were watching online.

once I got my card with the results confirming that I had won my AG group I almost broke down. I have never worked so hard or been so focused on a single goal in my life... and the fact that I was able to make it happen was unreal.


Post race:
I quickly took in some fluids talked with Josiah and Conrad for a bit and then packed up all my gear. I headed over to the bike wash and ran into Chris Leigh. I have been a big fan of his since I started triathlon. He kills the 70.3's and when shows up at Xterra races he usually lays down the fastest run split. We talked for quite some time about surfing, living in socal, austrailia, colorado, and just racing in general. He's a super cool guy, really mellow and down to earth.

After washing my bike it was back to the room and time to clean up. After packing my bike Steph (my sister) and I headed down for some well deserved beach time and then hit the poolside bar. After a drink we headed back to the room and got ready for the awards dinner.

The dinner was killer. The food was great and getting to stand on top of the podium and get my "World Champion" jersey is something I will never forget. I was also able to sit down with Conrad, Amber, and the team manager for Specialized (hopefully some big things are in the works..Thanks Conrad!) and enjoy of ice cream and cookies!

Overall the experience was incredible and I still can't believe I was able to accomplish this in 3 years of racing and training.

I will get more into the goals I had for this year, the future and a 2008 season recap in a future post or two. I also have a lot of people to thanks for this. But that will be getting a post of it's own as well.

that's it for now... this is already way too long.

one of "those" weekends...

...what I mean by one of "those" weekends is that it was one where everything thing just clicked and I sit back and am just stoked to be training, racing, and living "the life" in southern california.

Saturday:

I woke up early to head down to get in my "peak" mountain bike session before heading down to the expo for the Spring Sprint. I hit the trails around 630am and it was already sunny and warming up. I ripped this workout. I felt great on the bike and it was probably the best workout I have had so far this year. I was strong on the climbs and was railing the descents. It went so well that I was kind blown away... a good sign with the race two weeks out!

Then it was off to the expo to pick up my packet and hang out with Break Away crew. Good times.

Me and Beth on Saturday in our sweet aero lids.

Sunday:

Spring Sprint Triathlon

My wave went off at 7:05 and Beth's was at 7:30 so we were up early to head down to the race. This race is always big as it is kind of the local kick off to the triathlon season in San Diego. This was my 2nd ever road triathlon back in 2006 and my first ever AG win. This year was no different and their a couple thousand people racing. I raced in the Elite division for the second time and against some very fast dudes. There were seven of us racing Elite including local pros Caue Suplicy and Juliano Teruel, and my fast Break Away homeboys, Felipe, Luke, and Erik.

The swim (1/4 mile):
I got right up in the mix off the start. Even though the swim was short and these guys were all faster swimmers than me I wanted stay with them as long as possible to minimize how much ground I would have to make up on the bike and run. Well I hung with them... until the first buoy and then they got away. I came out of the water in 6th (out of 7) and was about 30-60 seconds back. Not bad, but not good either in such a short race.

T1:
As I entered transition Luke, who was doing his first race of the season and first since his crash, was on his way out and I took the time to slap him on the ass and get him on his way. Transition was a little crowded and I had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off over the timing chip. Nothing major, no worries.

Bike (9 miles):
As soon as I got on the bike I knew it was going to be a tough one. My legs were pretty tired from the bike workout the day before (as expected) and I felt kind of flat. I just put my head down and tried to not lose any time to the leaders. Half way through the bike I was caught and passed by the 7th place guy and now I was in 7th... last place. sweet. He put about some time on me and soon enough I was off the bike.

heading into T2:


T2:
Wow... probably the most congested transition area I have ever been in. There wasn't really any clear way back to my rack but I eventually found a way having to pick my bike up to clear a couple of curbs and piles of gear. After that I was in and out.

Run (3 miles):
I got reports as I was running out of transition that I was any where from 30 to 90 seconds down on the entire field. So I just went for it and ran hard. The majority of the run was on trails and some which were sandy and loose. I knew this would be to my advantage. It was only a 3 mile run so I wasn't sure how far I could move up but I felt great. I caught Luke 1/4 mile in to move into 6th and then just kept pushing. At the first mile marker I could just start to see the guys in 3rd, 4th, & 5th.

Now that I could see them I made it my mission to catch them. It took me about 3/4 of a mile to catch 5th (Felipe) and 4th (Brian Wilson). They were running together and I just surged past them in a sandy section and upped my pace and was able to get away. Erik was in 3rd and I was closing in. I caught him just after the 2 mile mark and then could see 2nd off in the distance. Again... I went for it and as I got closer I could see the leader (Caue Suplicy) about 15 yards ahead of him. I worked hard to get up to the 2nd place guy (Juliano Teruel) and finally caught and passed him with less 100 yards to go and now was closing in on first. I just did not have enough course left to get to first place. Caue got me by 3 seconds. If there was another .1 miles I am pretty sure I would have taken the win!

Overall:
47:33
2nd Overall/Elite

Caue (1st), Me, Erik (5th)


I am definitely happy with the race. My biggest goal going in was to run hard and fast off the bike and that's just what I did. It's definitely one the best runs I have ever put down off the bike... if not the best. Mission accomplished.

The guys I am racing against these days are guys I thought were way out of my league last year. I never even used to see them in races after the gun went off. So to say I am stoked with my progress of the the last couple of years would be an understatement, but I still have a long ways to go to get where I want/need to be.

Beth also had an incredible race and I am very proud of her. I don't want to steal her thunder so you will have to wait until she has time to post a report to find out how she did.

The Break Away team had a great day with plenty of athletes taking podium spots both in the triathlon and duathlon. Biggups!

Me and Beth after the race (second place is the first loser)


After the race it was straight home and then we headed out for an easy spin thanks to Beth. I was ready to blow it off and go hit some happy hour for some celebratory beers and tacos but she got me out the door... and today I am glad I did. My legs feel great. After the ride we headed to our favorite spot for the mexican food and beers.


Beth with her well deserved cerveza.


This week is my second "peak" week and I am ready to get after it. "The race" is less than two weeks away!

Weekend recap and Castaic Race Report

It's Monday... and the weekend flew by. Beth and I both took the day off today it was good to sleep in... we both needed it for sure! The weather was summer-like this weekend and here's how it went down.

Friday.

I was up early to get in a 2 hour mountain bike ride with some VO2 intervals. It was warm up on the trails and it felt great to sweat my ass off. Then it was off to work and I was able to squeeze in a 40 minute swim between meetings. It was a late night of work and I didn't get out of there until around 830pm... gotta love it!

Saturday.

Beth and I were up early to head down to the TCSD club race. We were on "beth time"(which means show up 20 minutes before the start, rush around, get in a 5 minute, and then throw down). I was just going to do the swim so I was just cruising and talking with everybody. I think I warmed up for 1 minute and then before I knew it they were counting down. I had a good swim and maintained contact with the 2nd lead pack (2 U23 Team USA guys were off the front) and I came out of the water with the top 10. I was happy with it but definitely noticed the difference of not properly warming up in the water beforehand. Lesson learned.

Beth had a good race and was the 5th woman overall and just a couple minutes off the leader. Not bad for not swimming in a month and just starting to ramp up here bike mileage and training.

Later on in the afternoon we headed up to my sisters house in LA, grabbed some good dinner at the California Chicken Cafe, relaxed, and watched "Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135". Ultrarunners are nuts... and I think all the people in this movie fried their brains out on the desert roads. Very strange.

Sunday.

I was up at 6am to start getting ready to head up to Castaic Lake for the Big Blue Off Road Triathlon... gotta love 10 am starts!

We were on the road by 7am and at the race site by 7:45am. The sun was blazing and it was already in the 70's. Perfect! I got checked in and ready to race while Beth set out for a 2 hour trail run with plenty of climbing. She's gnarly... and by gnarly I mean awesome! Unfortunately, due to not having the permits soon enough, the race was not an official Xterra points race this year so the number of races was down. Regardless of how many people were racing I knew it would be tough... the course is F'n hard and perfect prep for Temecula.

getting ready for the swim.


Swim: 1200 meters (supposedly 2 x 600m laps with a 50 yard run in between. It was long, closer to 1500. I found this out after talking with the race director)

One of my goals for this race was to swim "hard" and not the let the leaders get away... and for once I did a pretty good job. One guy took off and me and a couple of other guys formed the second pack. I stayed on someone's feet for half of the first lap and then moved up. I was in second for a while and ended up third after the first lap. I stayed there throughout the second lap and came out of the water in 3rd. Solid and stoked!

end of lap 1.


3rd out of the water.


Bike (2 x 8 mile laps):
I passed a guy in transition and was out on the bike in second and about 2 minutes down. I settled in and started to "do work". I caught the leader 3/4's of the way up the first set of climbs and just pushed the pace. I was able to open up a gap and never backed off. It was hot and there was a lot of climbing but I felt pretty strong even with a hard week of training in the legs. I came into T2 up about 2-3 minutes over second place.

heading into T2.


Hitting the run... and feeling good.

Run (2 x 2.25 mile laps):
I felt great off the bike and my turnover was perfect. I felt quick and continued to extend my lead. After the first lap I knew I was had the win and just put it in cruise control. No need to dig myself into a deeper hole with another hard week of training ahead.

Overall: 2:00:10 (2:03:46 last year... and the swim was longer this year)
1st overall/1st AG


me and my trophy.


I am stoked about the race and with 34 days (ok... I am counting down) until Temecula I think I am right where I need to be. There is still some hard work to do but things are looking good.

After the race we headed back down to Carlsbad and hit up the Yellow Coyote Tortilla Factory for dinner. good food.


Ceviche Appetizer.


I had the Carne Asada Tacos.


Beth had the Mahi Salad.

Monday (today): Recovery day... maybe the best ever.

Beth's school was closed so I decided to take the off too and just chillax... We headed out on the bikes this morning for an easy spin up the coast. It was another killer day!

After that we chilled by the pool.

her.

me.

and then headed out for some mexi-food and a couple of drinks at the Cabo Grill.

A perfect recovery day.

Tie Goes to the Runner.

Aero Time!


First of all check Beth's blog. She a killer race at the Carlsbad 5000 and met a big goal of hers... but I still think she's a sandbagger (tough love goes both ways).

Everybody knows a tie goes to the runner in baseball. I am huge baseball fan and played baseball for 20 years of my life, but I didn't think there was such thing in triathlon.

Yesterday I raced in the inaugural Super Seal Triathlon, an olympic distance race that was run in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Super Frog Triathlon (half ironman distance). The race for me was just be a tough training day and to get a chance to work on a few things. I really just wanted to have a good swim, have fast transitions, and a solid run off the bike.

The race didn't start until 9:15 so I had plenty of time to get down to Coronado and set up transition. I forgot how much crap you need to pack and take to a triathlon. It was rad hanging out with the Break Away crew and I was really calm.

The Swim:
The swim course was long and they were still setting buoys when gun went off. The race got off to a pretty fast start and plenty of people blew up before we hit the first buoy. Right after the first buoy I was just out of reach of the lead pack and had to swim solo for a while but I felt good and just continued to build my pace throughout the swim. I think I was 4th or 5th out of the water and felt great, but was about 2+ min down on the leaders. Thanks to Brian at Xterra Wetsuits for getting a killer suit the day before the race.

T1: solid. Nice and fast.

Bike:
The bike course was flat and fast with a headwind in one direction and a tailwind in the other. I felt pretty good and maintained the gap. I don't think I let the leaders get anymore time on me. I was actually having fun on the TT bike, but by the time it came to get off the bike I was ready. I think I was 4th off the bike. I didn't pass anybody and nobody passed me.

T2: really fast.


Run:
Luke told me I was about 2+ minutes down on the leaders as I left T2. My legs felt good and I was ready to go. I quickly began to reel everybody in. I passed an ITU guy from Mexico to take second place at the end of the first mile and had my sights set on Felipe who was 50 yards ahead of me... and then stopped and threw his hands up in the air. We all missed a turn... a turn that wasn't marked and where there was no volunteer to tell us where to go. We all just stayed on the dirt path we were on instead of taking some single track around a closed gate (yeah... pretty obvious. lame.) So eventually the top 10 guys were standing around with a race director while they tried to figure out where we were supposed to go. We stood around for 5 minutes... no joke. I thought it was kind of funny but some the guys were pissed, and rightfully so.

Another one of the guys working the race eventually jogged the group back to where we were supposed to go so we could finish the run. We all "jogged" together until mile 3 and talked about what we were going to do. We decided to to just treat it as a tempo run and all finish together. So by the time we got to the finish line there were 3 of use and we all just stopped and walked across the line, but we gave everybody a good show as we rounded the final corner and headed towards the finish chute 3 across, and shoulder to shoulder. The crowd was going nuts and I am sure they were pretty confused when we all stopped right before the line.

heading to the finish


So I tied for 1st. Kind of lame and funny at the same time. I am kind of taking it as a blessing in disguise. I didn't hammer the 10k and am feeling pretty good today so I will be able to resume normal training sooner than if I would blasted myself for 6+ miles. I'll take it for what it's worth.

Here's a bunch of photos I poached from the Break Away site and Jay's blog... I stole the video from Jay's blog... thanks dude!

Felipe and I setting up


getting ready to hit the water


out on the bike... into the headwind


Me and Break Away athlete Chris... sweet man-kini


getting my aero on


that's it for now... time for some recovery and to hopefully watch mempis "do work"... and maybe a cerveza or two.

Vision Quest: Done.

Vision Quest:

6:55:12
54.93 miles
12,024 ft. of climbing.

That's what my Garmin read when I crossed the finish line Saturday at Vision Quest. My actual time was ~7:06. My Garmin pauses when I stop moving so the extra time is from stopping at the aid stations to fill bottles and to use the bathroom/bushes.

It was killer! I had more fun than I thought I would. I didn't approach this as a "race" but just a long training day. I figured it would be a sufferfest but honestly I felt pretty good the whole way. My plan was just stay on top of my nutrition and just keep it steady. I had a good idea of how hard the climbs would be, but was totally blown away by how fun the descents were. Miles and miles of fast, twisting single track... probably some of the best I have ever ridden.

The day started pretty early with a 3am wake-up. Beth and I stayed at her friends crib, Parker and Paige, in Mission Viejo so we were really close to the course. They cooked me up a killer pre-race meal. I had a couple good beers and two "personal" size pizzas. Soooo gooood.

So I was up at 3 for coffee, taking care of "business", and breakfast consisting of a PowerBar Performance Bar (peanut butter) and bottle of PowerBar endurance drink.... then more coffee. Beth is awesome... she got up just before 4am to drive me to the start (the start and finish were in different locations... and not close).

on the way.


Once at the start I got everything together and then natured called... again... not normal.... and Beth thought it was funny and decided to take a photo of my taking care of the business in front of my truck...



Once I had everything together it was off to the start line for the 5:30am gun.


The vibe at the start line was pretty mellow. The majority of the 500 racers are out the just to finish... and I was one of them. I took a PowerBar Gel before the start and was ready to go. When they sent us off it was pretty dark and just had a knog light on my bars which ended up being good enough but I just hung with some guys that had better lighting. A lot of people hammered off the start and I was just cruising and figured many of them would come back to me... and they did. The weather was good. It was in the mid 50's for the start and then after climbing 3,000 ft in the first 1:20 we were above the clouds and the sun was out and it was warm. The descents were chilly but not bad at all.

I am not going to go into too much detail about the actual race. It would just end up being too long. The climbs were long and arduous. I just sat in and kept up a good pace. I would catch people on the climbs, talk to them for a bit and then head on my way. I made sure to eat A LOT. It was nice having on my Garmin on my bars with a running clock. I just made sure to take in some calories at a set time. I alternated between powerbar endurance drink, power Gels, and powerbar bars. I worked perfectly which is why I applied for the PowerBar Team Elite in first place and am so stoked to have been a accepted. The stuff just works for me.... but the highlight of the day was the last aid station...

after a 1+ mile hike-a-bike with 1,000+ ft. of climbing I reached the last aid station which was about 6+ hours into the day. The guys at the top were bbq'ing and asked me if I wanted a burger. I said "no thanks" and asked them if they has anything salty... and they did. Anybody who has read this blog knows that my favorite snack food are Kettle Chips and that's just what they had... and my favorite flavor no less... Sea Salt and Black Ground Pepper! At this point, after hiking for 45 minutes, I was over it but after cramming in 3 handfuls of chips into my mouth I was ready to hammer! The last descent was pretty cold because I took off my arm warmers during the hike-a-bike, and we were riding on a muddy fire-road, but I was just hammering to stay warm and to get my ass off the bike.

I finished in just over 7 hours, was stoked, and felt great.




my killer (hot) support team.


Luke and Eric both had at great races as well. I am on still on a "high" from yesterday (and not from the post race beers!). It was just great to go out and "participate" in an event where the only thing mattered was finishing. I didn't care about time or racing, and everybody out there seemed to have the same mindset. I had some really good conversations on the climbs with some really strong riders and good people. There is no question I will be out there next year.

24 hours in the Old Pueblo

I am thinking about changing the name of my blog after this past weekend. Something like Cold, Snow, and Tears... not really but it was a very interesting (and fun) weekend).

Thursday:

I headed out Thursday morning after and epic valentines day breakkie with beth. The normally trustworthy San Diego weather men (ok, never, they suck) predicted sunny skies and mild temps. When I hit the to road it was raining and pretty chilly. Needless to say when there is rain in SD people forget how to drive. Once I finally made it to I-8 I was roll'n unitl I hit the Laguna Mountains. The rain had now turned into snow. This slowed me down a bit but I made it through. I found out Friday that they ended up closing a 27 mile strech of the I-8 due to the snow later that day. Luckily I got on the road and made it through. I made it to Tom's, ate some killer grub, waited for Trevor to arrive, and then we all crashed.

the start of my drive.


Friday:

We were up early to hit the pool. Tom has an amazing aquatic facilitly two minutes from his house. We were in the water by 6:15 and Trevor lead us through a solid workout. The water was pretty warm (83) which made the 3000 yards a little tougher but I just tried to hold on and keep up with these guys. After the swim we head back to Tom's for some breakfast and then the originial plan was to head out on the bikes for a bit, but the rain followed me to AZ. It was raining so we just chilled, finished packing, and hit the road. We picked up Brian and after a couple of pit stops we headed for Old Pueblo.

Just getting to the race site was adventure. Just prior to reaching the "24 hour Town" you have to drive a 9.3 mile stretch of dirt road. From all the rain the road was already a mud pit and torn up. Trevor and Brian were in a Prius and Tom and I were charging in the Xterra. Somehow Trevor's Prius dealt with gnarly conditions way better than Tom's Xterra. We were slipping and sliding all over the road but it made for good times.

Trevor's amazing Prius.



We finally made it to "Town" and found the boys from Focus Cyclery. Brian rides for them so they had some spots reserved for us. It was cold (upper 30's) so we decided to start setting up camp immediately. As soon as we busted out the gear it began to drizzle, then rain, and then snow. We were all laughing at this point but were also freezing. We got all of our tents set up and bikes under the EZ-UP and headed for the EXPO to check-in. Standing in line, drinking coffee, getting sleeted on, we decided we were going to make a break for it and crash in a hotel for the night.... ok... so were are not tough men... we are wimps.. there I said it.

Lucky for us Brian was prepared (that made one of us). He brought a list of phone numbers of the closet hotels. Our first call was a success and we had two rooms lines up at the San Manuel Hotel and Lodge. We packed some of our shit and hit the gnarly dirt road again. We were stoked that the guys from Focus agreed to keep an eye on our gear so we were able to leave our camp set up. Once we made it to the highway the snow really started to come down and we all pretty sure we made the right choice.

We made it to the hotel which looked like a converted insane asylum but were stoked to find clean rooms, working heaters, and hot showers. We all got cleaned up bought some necessities and headed out for some grub. After dinner it was back to the the hotel for some more "carbo loading" and then we all crashed. I got a great night sleep (thank's PBR) and woke up warm, and positive we made the right choice.

Pre-race dinner.


washing it down.


Saturday:

We woke up to this.


I headed down first thing to grab some coffee and then we were on the road. We got back to the race site and it was still really cold. Our tents had all collapsed from all the snow and we listened to horror stories of how cold the night was. Most people without RV's ended up sleeping in their cars. Not fun.

Heading out Saturday morning.


Since the point of this whole weekend was to get in a heavy dose of training we all headed out for a run prior to the start of the race which definitely got us some strange looks, but it felt good and it was the first time I actually felt warm up there. Shorty after we got back Tom got ready to start. Our lineup: Tom, Brian, Me, Trevor.

The sun finally came out for a bit just prior to the start.


Tom got out quick and we were off to a good start... That lasted about 10 Minutes. Tom got a front flat which caused him to crash on a pretty fast descent. After getting himself together and getting some loaner gear (took the wrong tube) to fix the flat Tom was finally back and Brian bolted out on the trail. We got Tom back to the campsite and he was covered in dirt and blood (knee). The cut on knee was pretty bad but he was down playing it.

Tom... bummed.


I got ready to roll and in no time I was in transition trying to stay warm and itching to finally get out on the trail. Brian put in a fast lap and I was on my way. Brian's advice as we made the tag, "Go for it, just put it in the big ring and hammer!" That's just what I did and had a really good lap and made my way though loads of riders which was tricky at time because the the majority of the course is single track. I felt great and by the time I got back to transition I was amping out and laughing about how much fun I just had.

running out of transition to my bike.

When I got to the the tent Trevor wasn't there to head out. Tom was waiting for me to tell me that we were hitting the road. While I was out on my lap he visited the med tent and he was told that he needed stitches ASAP and a tetnace shot. The closet hospital was far away and the boys decided while I was out riding that we were all just going to pack it in and take Tom to Urgent Care. All for one and one for all.

I was disappointing but there is nothing you can do. Getting his knee taken care of was the most important thing and considering the fact that it was still very cold and only getting colder I wasn't too upset with packing it in knowing I had a hot shower and bed waiting for me back in Scottsdale.

So that's it... that's the race report. We made up for pulling out by putting in a mega training day on Sunday but I will get to that in my next post.