Race Recap: Xterra Lake Las Vegas

Three races in three weekends, on top of being sick, what could go wrong?  Well, just about everything.

After Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, then Xterra Bonelli Park, Xterra Lake Las Vegas was just too much.  Coming off two decnet race weekends, I was hoping to have another solid race, while also getting in some good training for St. George, and at the same time accumulating some Xterra Championship points.

In the end, the entire experience was a major gut check.  Before the race, I was coughing and hacking up green stuff for nearly 10 days, and I just assumed (hoped), that it would be all over by Saturday morning. Nope.  Anyway, here's a recap of the race.

 
Swim (1,500 meters, 28:19)
The swim actually ended up being closer to 1,700 meters, but this is still slower than I would like.  I could tell from the swim that it was going to be a long day.  I swam fine, and relatively straight, but I could tell my breathing was heavy.  The swim was fairly uneventful, but since my energy seemed low, I tried to draft whenever possible.  Also, after the turnaround, the wind was picking up and the water was getting a little choppy.

Out of the water, it was a short run on the dirt to the transition area.  In transition, I had the hardest time getting my wetsuit off.  One sleeve just didn't want to come off over my watch.  This is something I need to figure out, because it not only takes time, it also causes me some unnecessary stress and frustration.  This was my first transition in the dirt, so if I plan to do more Xterra races, I'm going to need to work on this new dynamic.

Bike (2:00:26)
This is essentially a two loop course with about a mile of paved road to and from the dirt loops.  The paved road was long enough to give me time to put my gloves on while riding.  Since I wasn't able to pre-ride the course, my plan was to cruise the first loop and then hopefully push to a faster second loop.

The course isn't extremely technical, but the terrain was dry and loose everywhere, which made some of the climbs challenging.  My gear setup wasn't the best for this course, since I have a 1x10.  If I do this race next year, I'll definitely run with a smaller front chain ring.  On the first loop, I had to walk a couple of the climbs.  Because of tight traffic with other racers, I was forced to un-clip.  Also, the climbs usually only had one good line up, which caused problems when there were too many people in a tight area.  Another "fun" part of the course was about a 1/4 mile stretch of deep sand.  It was a struggle to keep pedaling while trying to find some solid ground.  On the second loop, I was able to get through that section a little faster after seeing some other people that knew of faster lines through and around the sand.

I had a 'soft' crash on the second loop.  It was a quick downhill section, with a sharp turn towards the bottom.  My front wheel slid out, and I nearly did the splits.  Instantly, one of my quad muscles cramped up.  I got up and back on the back quickly with other bikers not too far behind me.  The next couple miles were tough, until finally it seemed like the muscle tightness went away.

The entire time on the bike, I felt like I was carrying an extra 50 pounds, and just moving around in slow motion.  I was already planning ahead to racking my bike and calling it a day.  The winds had really picked up, and every time the course took me along a ridge line, the wind would nearly blow me over.  The heat, combined with the wind, made it impossible to keep my mouth from going dry.  Finally, both loops were done, and back on the pavement to transition.  This last stretch was into a strong headwind.

I decided that I'd already gone this far, so I was going to finish the race, regardless of how miserable I was.  I got through the second transition, and off on the run.

Run (10k, 1:07:16)
The run course was a single loop, with the first half almost entirely uphill.  There were several sections that were very steep, so running wasn't an option for me, and many others.  One of the climbs was a 16-20% grade up for about 1/2 mile.  I walked all the steep climbs and then I'd run the rest.

Final (3:36:01)
20th in my AG, out of 35 starters.

This was a rough day for me, and I probably shouldn't have raced.  After coming home, I went to the doctor and she confirmed that it was bronchitis.  On a day when I should have been at least in the top 10 in my age group, not only was I disappointed in the outcome, but I was disappointed in my decision to race.  This race will go down as a life lesson for me and hopefully make me a better triathlete.


More pictures of my weekend and race:

Lake Las Vegas, prior to the race

Expo area and transition

a loaded trunk for my road trip, excellent packing skills

Another podium for teammate Liz, 1st in AG, and 2nd female

Liz, Lesley Paterson and me

Selfie, before the suffering

My first "in the dirt" transition

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

Race Recap: Ironman 70.3 Oceanside

After Ironman Arizona last year, I told myself (and my family), that I wouldn't race or train for another Ironman distance race until 2014.  So, this year I'm doing a few 70.3 races mixed in with some Xterra off-road triathlons.

I've been down to spectate "Oceanside", but never raced it, so I was really looking forward to this race.  Truthfully, I had a hard time getting motivated to train again after IMAZ, but as it got closer, I was getting excited about racing again.  In the lead up to Oceanside, I also signed up for Ironman 70.3 St. George, which is a tougher race, so I caught myself looking past Oceanside to St. George.  Anyway, on to the race...

Pre-race:
I decided to get a hotel room in Oceanside to make it easier on me and the family.  We had dinner the night before with some of my Wattie Ink Team family, and to pick up the sick new team kit for 2013.  The hotel was within biking distance in the morning, so I rode to set up at T2 with Brian, who was staying at the same hotel.  After setting up at T2, we biked to T1, and where the start line is.

Since I was starting in the last wave (23 of 23), I had plenty of time to get ready, and lots of time to just hang out.  The pros went off at 6:40am, and my wave was scheduled for 7:48am.  One bonus to this is that I was able to hang out in the transition area and watch the pros come in from the swim.  One valuable lesson I learned: even Andy Potts can have trouble getting his wet-suit off.  After the male pros rolled through, the women were next, and I was able to cheer on a couple of my favorites, Heather Jackson and Lesley Paterson  (they ended up 1st and 3rd!).

Finally, time to get in the corral and head down to start the race.  A valuable tip I got was to purchase a pair of throwaway sandles for walking around prior to getting in the water.  The night before, my girls had fun decorating mine for me.

The Swim (1.2 miles/2,112 yards) Goal: sub-35 minutes, Actual: 32:32 @ 1:41/100m

AG rank out of the water: 132 of 393
My wave was probably 100-150 guys, and we had three minutes to get from the boat ramp to the start line, which was less than 100 yards away.  This was just enough time to get in and start getting acclimated to the water temperature, which was announced at 62.8 degrees.  

The horn sounds, and we're off.  Honestly, not much to report here.  It was a very uneventful swim, with very little contact.  I've been spending more time swimming 'fast' during my swim workouts, and it looks like it may be paying off.  I still think I get in a comfortable swim pace and should probably push it a little more.

Since I was having some issues with the buttons on my watch, I didn't know what my swim time was, but this ended being my best swim time at this distance.  I think it's reasonable to think that I'll be able to push through the 30 minute mark in the not too distant future.

What would I do differently?: Push it a little more, work harder to find someone to draft, make sure the watch is set up correctly.

Gear: BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit, BlueSeventy Nero goggles

T1 (Goal: 4 minutes, Actual 4:43)
This is a long transition, and my bike was racked near the far end, next to the bike exit.  Two important things going on here: 1. with every step, I could feel my calves wanted to cramp up and 2. the entire time I was running to my bike gear, I was messing with my watch to get it reset.  As I was getting the wetsuit off my feet, boom, calf cramps.  I had to stop for a moment and slow down to take the wetsuit off.  It's happened to me before, so I didn't stress.  Next, cram everything in the gear bag and head out with my bike.

What would I do differently?: I still need to practice getting the wetsuit off quicker.  For some reason I had an extra beach towel in my transition area, and this made it tough to cram everything into the gear bag.  Now that I have actual tri-cycling shoes, maybe it's time to work on the flying mount.

Bike (56 mi.: 2,300 feet of elevation gain) Goal: 2:40-2:45, Actual 2:47:44 @20.03mph

AG rank through the bike: 90 of 393
Having never ridden this course, my time goal was arbitrary, but based on a speed average, similar to what I did at SOMA.  I knew going in that I'd be dealing with traffic the entire time, since I basically started dead last.  Similar to IMAZ, the course was fairly crowded.  I would attempt to stay right unless I was passing someone, but much of the time, that wasn't possible, because of the quantity and speeds of people on the course.  Generally, slower riders stayed right, but a couple times I was forced to pass on the right.

The first "no pass zone" was a bit of a joke.  It is a skinny walking trail with a slight incline.  Again, because I was in such a late wave, the course was crowded, especially here.  The pace was soooo slow here, it was a little frustrating.  Overall, it's a good bike ride, with a couple challenging hills just past the halfway point.  Then there's the second "no pass zone."  I saw this one coming up, so I sprinted to get past a slower rider.  This is a downhill section with a 25mph speed limit, which basically requires you to sit up and use your brakes to even keep it under 30mph.

The home stretch is about 15 miles of relatively flat roads with a bit of wind.  At this point, I really had to pee bad.  Usually, I can take care of this while riding, but it just wasn't happening for me today.  I spent the last 10-15 miles riding uncomfortably and likely a bit slower than I should have.

The last "no pass zone" is heading into T2.  This was a good time to peddle easy, stretch my calves and hip flexors and start thinking about my transition to running.  For the first time in a race, I got out of my shoes before coming into T2 and carried my momentum through the bike dismount line, running to my transition location.

What would I do differently?: I could probably push it a little more on the bike. Also, I ended up with leftover fluids in my Speedfil Original, which means I didn't take in enough on the bike.

Bike Gear: Kestrel 4000, Rudy Wingspan, Speedfil A2 and Original, rented HED Jet 6/9 wheels

T2 (Goal: 2 minutes, Actual 1:20)
I don't know if I could have done this any better.  I was on the furthest rack from the bike dismount line, so I had a long way to run with the bike.  Anyway, I racked the back, changed my shoes, grabbed my bib and visor, and I was off.  Bonus: my family was there cheering for me with signs just out of the run exit.

What would I do differently?: Nothing.  Well, actually, I'd like to find disposable wipes that have suntan lotion on them, so I can apply more lotion while running.

Run (13.1 miles) Goal: 1:40 to 1:50, Actual 1:44 @7:56/mi

AG rank through the run: 58 of 393
Before the run, I told myself I wouldn't spend too much time looking at my Garmin to monitor my speed, and run based on feel and RPE.  I tried to limit my speed checks to each mile split when my watch would vibrate and beep.  Coming out of T2, I tend to run a little fast, and for this race I wasn't going to fight it, and just let my pace settle naturally, which it did.  

Looking back at my splits, I was able to keep pretty close to my goal pace for the first 6 miles, except for the bathroom stop during mile 4. Wow, did I have to go, that mile was about 80 seconds longer than the mile before and after.

One of the great things about the multiple loop runs is that you get to see a lot of people, which gave me a chance to shout out to my Wattie Ink teammates and my fellow OC Tri Club members.  On the run, I took water or Perform at nearly every station.  A couple times, I slowed to a walk to make sure I got enough in.  Somewhere around mile 11 or 12, I took in some cola to help boost me to the end.

Heading down the finisher's chute I was focused on the crowd, trying to spot my wife and kids, and they spotted me and were able to get my attention.  That's always great motivation for finishing 'strong' over that last mile, seeing those smiling faces as you cross the finish line.

What would I do differently?: I think I still need to work on my run fitness.  I'm not happy with how my pace declined, and I'd like to see more consistency.  Some of that may just be pushing harder and not losing focus.  Another cause could be nutrition.

Run Gear: K-Swiss Blade Light Runs

Finish Time: 5:10:19
AG rank: 58 out of 393 starters

This is my fastest time at this distance, and pretty close to my stretch goal of breaking 5 hours.  I'm confident that will happen, with a few adjustments to my training, nutrition and pacing. 

Here's a link to the Wattie Ink Elite Team recap
Go check out what some more pictures and highlights from the race.

Oceanside pier

Wattie and I, pre-race

2,500 people crammed in to T1

Eurostar chasing down HJ