Xterra Laguna Beach - June 5, 2016

After getting outrun at Xterra Bonelli, I was hoping to put together a more complete race at Laguna Beach.  Not sure what it is, but this just isn't the year I'd been hoping it to be in regards to running.  So, as it stands, I do all that I can to hold people off from passing me.

Swim (32:23)
7th of 22 out of the water.
Posted as 1,500 meters, actual 1,885 yards.  No, I didn't swim that crooked.  By most accounts the course was long.  Also, the timing mat for T1 was way up the beach.

T1 (1:38)
3rd of 22 in T1
The timing mat was way up the beach.  This is a long run up from the beach to the parking lot, but I think I was pretty efficient and on the bike relatively quick.  No major issues....now, on to the trails...

Bike (1:21:41, 16.2 miles, 11.8 mph)
3rd of 22 on the bike.
This is not a real technical course, but it is full of climbing.  There is one 9-10 minute climb that you have to do three times before the day is over.

T2 (0:41)
2nd out of 22 in T2
No messing around here.

Run (1:01:21, 6.8 miles)
7th of 22 on the run.
Uggh, this was not a fun run.  I was constantly looking over my shoulder, knowing more guys were chasing me down.  At one point, I was in 2nd place in the age group, but ultimately couldn't hang on.

Final (2:57:45)
3rd place in the age group (out of 22), same as Xterra Bonelli Park.  The run was painful, and not just because of the hills.  It's time to take some time off and see what's causing this discomfort.

Getting set up in transition.  The orange towel makes my spot easy to find.

Yeah for me, the swim is done.  BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit.

I managed to stay ahead of these guys, no thanks to the slow traffic throughout the 'no pass' zone.

Rounding the corner to go down Elevator.

Super Xterra racer and teammate, Tom Monica.

A long, fast straightaway before heading back up I Think I Can.

Thanks to the guys from Tru Cycling for all the great pics.

I ditched the glasses because of the mist.

I did it, 3rd in the age group and 13th overall.

Xterra Bonelli Park - May 14, 2016

Back again to race Xterra Bonelli Park for the third time.  The last two years I ended up just off the age group podium, so I was coming in this year to try to change that.  The biggest challenge would be to see how my legs would hold up just three weeks off the Belgian Waffle Ride and one week removed from St. George 70.3

Swim (14:53, GPS'd at 946 yards)

4th of 23 out of the water.  I felt like I swam pretty good, and based on the fact that I was 4th in the age group, this was likely my best triathlon swim. Yay!!

T1 (1:19)

5th out of 23

Pretty quick time because the timing mat was just outside of the transition area.

Bike (1:08, 15.4 miles over two loops, 13.6mph)

3rd fastest bike split in the age group.

Looking back, most of the time I was riding in 2nd place.  On the second loop, strong cyclist, Brian Johnson pulled ahead of me and the other guy up front.  I didn't see an age on his calf, and assumed he was in another age group, so I didn't try to kill myself to keep up.  I rode just hard enough to keep him in my sights though.

Coming into T2, I saw Brian (whom I met for the first time after the race), running the wrong way in transition.  I found out later that he missed his area and was running back to his stuff.  I exited T2 ahead of Brian and the other guy in my age group.  Little did I know that at that point in time, I was actually running in first place.

T2 (0:43)

Boom, fastest T2 in the age group.

And, like I mentioned before, I was actually leading the age group at this point.

Run (29:57, 3.4 miles)

4th fastest run in the age group.

So, yes, I started the run in 1st, but Brian passed my pretty quick up the first steep climb.  He was always in my sights, in case I wanted to try to chase him down, but honestly, I had assumed he wasn't in my age group, so I guess I just wasn't self-motivated to chase him, which is a silly excuse either way.  I was then passed by the next guy in my age group, somewhere around mile two.  I tried to keep pace with him for a little while, but that only lasted about a quarter mile.  

Finish (1:54:43)

3rd place out of 23 in the age group, and only about 45 seconds behind the first two guys.  Overall, I was 11th out of 150 racers.

It's always nice to get the end of the rack.  It makes for easy transitions.

Finishing up the first bike loop.  I was in second place at the time.

The loops require a run through transition.

The home stretch.  Thanks to teammate Adam Harita for the pics.

The podium...3rd place for me.

Post-race beers with teammates Tom Monica and Adam Harita

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 Plan for 2013

A couple themes for my schedule this year: 70.3 and Dirt.

After getting through my first full Ironman race last year, I plan to get back to that distance, just not in 2013. This year, I'm going to do 3-4 half Ironman races, while mixing it up a little with some Xterra races.

Surf City Half Marathon (2/3) | Result: 1:38:30, 68th out of 930 in M40-44
Harding MTB Time Trial (2/23)*
Desert Tri (3/3)*
Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, CA (3/30) | Result: 5:10:19. 58th out of 393 in M40-44
Xterra Bonelli Park (4/6) | Result: 2:05:25, 6th out of 28 in M40-44
Xterra Las Vegas (4/13)*
Ironman 70.3 St. George, UT (5/4)
Orange County Triathlon (5/19)*
Ironman 70.3 Boise, ID (6/8)**
Firecracker 10k (7/4)
June Lake Triathlon (7/14)**
Xterra Snow Valley (7/27)
Ironman 70.3 WC??? (9/8)***
Leadman 125 (9/21)*
Lifetime Tri Oceanside (10/20)

*these are races I'd like to do, but based on family commitments, finances, injuries, etc., I like to have a few "maybe" races.
**a little more of a stretch, but I keep them on here so I don't forget about them.
***not sure if I'm there yet, but I'm going to take a couple shots at qualifying for Vegas this year.

I'd like to add Lake Stevens 70.3, Rev3 Quassy to the mix, but again, family, finances and health are always a big part of my planning.