Race Recap: Bonelli Park Xterra Tri

Finally, my first Xterra off-road triathlon!  I've been mountain biking for a few years, and I love running on trails, so this seemed like a natural fit for me, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to actually get an off-road triathlon on my schedule.

Coming into this race, I had zero expectations.  Having raced Oceanside 70.3 last weekend, I wasn't sure how my body (i.e. legs) would respond.  On top of that, I've been sick and even missed a couple days of work.  It wasn't anything too drastic, so I decided that I would still do the race.

Swim (1/2 Mile, 18:49)
I didn't have my Garmin on for the swim, but I'm sure it was longer than 1/2 mile.  In the past, my swim has been 'middle of the pack', and it seems I'm making my way into the 'top third' group.  My swim time was 8th out of 28 in the men's 40-44 age group.  I was anticipating the water to be colder, like 58, but I'd guess that it was closer to 61.   I was in the first wave of swimmers, and started somewhere in the middle, closer to the front.  The swim was fairly uneventful, but there was way more contact than I had experienced last week in Oceanside.  This was probably the first time I've had some guy actually grab my shoulder and pull me back.  

What would I do differently?: Again, I could probably push it a little more. Otherwise, my sighting seemed ok, and I made a couple quick pauses to fix a leaky goggle.

Swim Gear: BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit, and Blue Seventy Nero goggles

T1
Wow, this felt like my first transition ever, so clumsy.  I felt like I got my wetsuit off ok, but getting the socks, shoes and gloves on was just a mess. Looking ahead to possibly racing an Xterra again next weekend, I'll have to reconsider some of my choices I made here, including gloves.

Bike (15 miles, 2 loops) Loop 1: 36:09 and Loop 2: 38:38
The first loop I felt ok, I was the 5th fastest in my age group.  Not bad, for some tired legs.  On the first stretch of lap 1, I rode a little with Wattie Ink teammate Liz Gruber.  The 7.5 mile loops starts with a stretch of pavement, then quickly to the short 'hike a bike' section.  After that, it's all rollers until the lap ends back at transition.  Coming into the second lap, I was third in my age group.

Loop two was going well until the first decent, where I dropped my chain.  I finished the decent and then stopped to fix the chain, as a few guys passed me.  Up and riding again, I was feeling a little more gassed the rest of the way.  The last mile of the course is mostly downhill and flat, so my plan was to get a little rest before heading into T2.  Boom, flat tire.  My rear tire went flat, really quick, not sure what it was.  Anyway, I rode the last 1/2 mile or so in with the flat tire.

Bike Gear: Frankensteen 29er HT, ISM Adamo Peak Seat

T2
I guess I was 0 for 2 with transitions today.  I racked my bike with the wheel sitting right on top of my shoes, visor and race bib.   No excuses, just some sloppy transitions today.  More to work on here.

Run (3.3 miles, 31:48)
This is a hilly run course, right out of transition.  I believe the elevation gain over the 3.3 miles is 800 feet.  Add that with the ankle-breaking technical downhill sections, and it makes for a challenging run course.  I actually walked most of the steepest sections, and somehow still ended up with the fifth fastest run split in my age group. This was my first race with the K-Swiss Kwicky Blades, and they were great. 

Final Time 2:05:25
6th of 28 finishers in the 40-44 Male Age Group

Overall, I was pleased with my day, and my first Xterra experience.  Knowing that I had an off day and was still less than 2 minutes from a podium spot is very encouraging.  This is great motivation to come back again next year and give it another shot.

Congratulations to Wattie Ink teammate, Liz Gruber, on her overall female victory.  She's a great triathlete, and it was nice to finally meet her in person.

Also, congratulations to some OC Tri Club members that raced also.  More first timers with Xterra off-road too. (Ray, Jason, Larry)






A couple more pictures:

Transition area: pre-race

Liz Gruber, top female OA