Training Update

Friday – 4 mile run with Amanda / core work

Saturday – canceled AM hike and went to work on the house. Using a crowbar to tear down kitchen cabinets = functional strength

Sunday – back at the house for marathon of yard work. Trimming bushes = shoulders, pulling weeds = squats = legs, lifting, carrying, and hauling limbs = total body

Monday – Another impromptu trip to the house meant a canceled PM run, but Amanda stopped for ice-cream on the way back home and I ran back to the house from the store. 2 miles + arms /core while watching men's gymnastics and feeling like a girly man.

Training pictures from the weekend

Looking Forward

This has been an amazing week and the weekend is looking even better.  Ever since moving to Phoenix in June, I have been living out of a suitcase, trying to find my bearings at a new job, missing my wife, looking for a house, and trying to find places and time to train.  This week many of the pieces fell into place.

1. Tuesday we closed on our first house (now the DIY home improvements begin, and my days of living from a suitcase are numbered)
   
2. Amanda is here for good, and having her around reminds me of how much more fun life is when she's part of it.
3. I finished my last XTERRA points race of the year, Snow Valley, and am currently ranked 5th in my AG.  Top 9 make nationals.
4. I thought I was moving out here for my dream job...and I was right.

So, this weekend we will spend tons of time at the new house fixing, tinkering, and making decisions about what work we'll do and what work we'll have contractors do.  I get to train with Amanda, which is awesome, and I have a better feel for the area and how to train in the heat.  The pressure of training to be competitive in XTERRA is totally gone (well...reduced) as now my goal is just to go into nationals fit and have a great time on an awesome course being thankful for the opportunity (again...assuming I make top 9).  Work will be there on Monday, but I enjoy it and am passionate about it, and you can't ask for anything more.

Overall I have to say things have gone from being pretty overwhelming and me wondering how I could ever manage all these things at once to slowly but surely falling into place.  I'm looking forward to some down time this weekend to watch the Olympics and catch up on the blog scene.  My equipment review really is coming.... 

Post-Race XTERRA Snow Valley

I recovered quickly from the race by just standing and breathing. A lot of what made the course difficult was the elevation. There is definitely a trick to keeping your effort within a given range at altitude. I checked out the results:

12^th AG – points, but not what I had been hoping for
69th OA - big change from Dawg Days - bad change
5th AG out of the water
20th OA out of the water

Much stiffer competition in these SW races. I talked briefly with James about the race, and then Amanda and I decided to skip the awards and hit the road back home. I felt pretty nasty about an hour into the ride home and it was a long ride back home.

A big thank you to Amanda for shuttling me and all my gear all weekend. It would have been near impossible to cart my gear up to the top and had enough left to race. It was also great to have her there cheering me on and seeing me race for the first time this year. So that was XTERRA Snow Valley. Now I sit back and watch the points to see if I make Nationals!

Race Report XTERRA Snow Valley

A little more pre-race:

I secured an excellent transition location and had plenty of time to get ready for the start of the swim at 6,300 ft. My XTERRA Wetsuit fits perfectly and is slippery fast in the water. I was pumped.

The Swim:

It was a dry start so we all ran into the water. I’ve only ever done in-water starts so this was a little more hectic in some ways, but I made it into the water with an early pack. Things quickly went awry as I couldn’t find any clear swimming and everyone in front of me was stopping or swerving into me. Not my best start. I finally found a rhythm and some open water. I was breathing every stroke instead of every three at about the 200m mark, while at first very awkward it really helped off-set the altitude.

finally finding some room

It was a 1 ½ loop swim (1000m total) and at the 400m mark I was all alone, in the zone, and cruising. I could have pushed a little harder, but I was making good progress and keeping my heart rate in control. I stumbled a little exiting the water – not as acclimated to the altitude as I thought and ran into transition.

T1:

Not a fast transition and I knew it wouldn’t be. I decided to take a breath and get my gear and nutrition in order before heading out on the bike. Besides, since I was going to be riding platforms and running in the same shoes as the bike I figured I’d make up some of it in T2.

Bike:

I left T1 feeling strong and not as out of breath as I had feared. I hit the first climb and passed two people by just keeping it steady. I held my position on the entire climb and then had a super fast and clean descent. One deep area of sand threw a lot of riders, but the big 29ers just tore through it. At the bottom of the first 1/3 of the bike I started to get passed by the stronger riders (including Steve). The next 1/3 was all climbing and I gave up more ground, but stayed on the bike. Amanda gave me some encouragement and I pushed too hard when I saw her leading to my only blow up of the whole thing. I walked for maybe 25ft of one section after that, but otherwise I kept it in the little ring and road the way John is always telling me to ride hills. My second loop on the descent wasn’t as clean, but still better than my pre-ride. The lines and trail was in much better shape Sunday.

PS – at the bottom of the bike I turned off my shock to make the uphill climb easier. Must have been the altitude and not having Chandler there to remind me, but I never turned it back on – riding rigid on the second descent. I wonder if that’s why my back is all jacked up.

T2:

I dismounted, ran the bike in, threw it on the first open space, and took off…to the aide station. There was an awkward moment where Amanda was yelling for me to go… go… go…and I promptly stood my butt and drank a nice cup of Gatorade. Oh well, I was thirsty and there was just more climbing ahead.

Run:

All I can say about the run is that it was all pain. Climb after climb and then the downhill was open ski slope with chutes you had to run through on your way down. Loose, rocky, and uneven ground made for screaming quads going down and screaming calves going up. At mile marker 1 (of 4) I was questioning my ability hit the run as hard as I planned. Pretty soon there were climbs where no one was running, jogging, or even moving quickly. It was hands and feet death march to the top. At mile 3 I was really struggling to keep my heart rate under control and breathe regularly. I stopped for a brief rest to try and get some air and then made a final push for the last mile. One guy found me after the race and told me I made an awesome recovery for the pace in the last mile – I just wanted it over. It was downhill to the line and I coasted across with no one in front and no one in back feeling glad to have survived Snow Valley.

Pre-Race XTERRA Snow Valley

Friday – It hit 115 in Phoenix so I decided to forgo my after work run - running in that kind of heat before a tough race would be a mistake. I started packing for the weekend (triathlon requires a ton of stuff) and started thinking about my weekend strategy. I usually try and go out hard in the swim to gain as much as an advantage as I can, try to stick with a reasonable pace on the bike, and then just hammer the run. This weekend it would be different.

Saturday – Up early to get a head start on driving in the heat. We leave Phoenix for LA on I-10 and enjoy the flat and fast drive to the West coast.

The drive was uneventful with the exception of some poor hydration strategy and highway signage that almost got ugly, but all my core work paid off.

We arrived at the course just west of Big Bear, California around 2:00 pm, where I checked in next to Conrad Stoltz and got my first look at just how steep the slopes were. We parked the car next to what turned out to be a former HS classmate of Amanda’s and we chatted with her and her husband about the course as they had just finished their pre-ride. The description was climbing, more climbing, and then sketchy descents on rutted, loose, and rocky slopes. Hmmm….

I suited up and hit the trail while Amanda found a spot in the sun to kick back and read. It was a long series of climbs from the parking lot until I hit T-1 and the lake at ¾ of the way to the top. I rode the rest of the course with a MTB racer, Steve, from San Francisco. We had a good time keeping each other company on the brutal climbs and the almost worse downhill. There was so much sand on the course it made climbing and descending pretty hairy. Conrad Stoltz came flying down one track in a blaze of dust and bunny hopped a ditch I had stopped short of to scope out. What a beast!

I arrived back at the car, made a quick tire change (I had been planning for jeep road, not sandbox), went for another quick spin and then packed up and headed for the motel.

The Deep Creek Motel wasn’t as scary as the name, but it wasn’t ideal pre-race resting.

We had some OK Mexican food at the place across the street, but their salsa was out of this world – we bought some to bring home in the cooler.

Sunday – Up early for a breakfast of champions, plenty of protein and carbs early enough to be fully digested. A little red bull in transition brings the whole world into focus.

Strategy – after sucking some serious wind on the bike in my pre-ride and being sketched out by the downhill I was changing my strategy by the minute. I didn’t want to blow up in the swim at 6,300 ft, but I knew I was going to lose some serious ground on the bike. I hadn’t run the course at all, but I knew it would be nasty. I’ve been doing lots of climbing on my training runs and felt good about my chances at the end – if I had anything left.

The announcement that it was a wetsuit swim made the process easier. I didn’t worry about blowing up in the swim with a wetsuit (breathing is easier), so I planned to go ¾ speed on the swim, survive the bike, and push the run. Or something like that…

This is not a race report

It is Monday night and I'm still exhausted from a big weekend of driving and racing in California. Pre-race, race, and post race reports are all coming with plenty of pictures, but I have to find the time somewhere. We close on our house today!
The weekend was a blast. A totally different kind of XTERRA in a totally different environment from races down south. I got to meet and race against the current world champion Conrad Stoltz and I got to meet James Walsh, who inspired me to blog about racing XTERRA in the first place.
I finished 11th in my AG, good enough for some points, and didn't get hurt. Not too bad for some lack luster training over the past month and a half. Now it is just waiting to see if I earned enough points to qualify for the US Championships in Tahoe.

glad to be done

ahh the run courseheaded home

arriving

running to the finish

more of the course

at least it was pretty

swim start

transition

climbing

the bike course

Getting Ready

Amanda and I leave in the morning for Snow Valley!!!  I'm so psyched to have her there with me as a support crew and so she can see me race this year!  She's only been to one XTERRA race and that was my very first one over a year ago.  She finally gets to see what all the early mornings and long weekend rides are about.  I know that having her there will make me calmer and make the weekend less stressful - which means I can race my best.  I'm feeling pretty lucky to have her since she spent last weekend in the car driving solo from Tennessee to Arizona.  Thanks Babe!
 
The best part of the race this weekend (in addition to seeing guys like James Walsh and Conrad Stoltz throw down) is going to be thinking about nothing but racing for as long as I'm on the course.  This week has been particularly stressful with a close family member in the hospital for surgery, Amanda arriving in Phoenix, closing on our first house, and preparing for the wild-ride that accompanies a new fall semester at the university.  The thought of all of that drifting to the background while I curse my way up some gnarly slopes at 7,300ft sounds sweet. 

Today I wrap things up at the office, start packing for the weekend, and start to carefully watch my hydration and nutrition to go into the weekend in top shape.  I've been taking care of myself this week while still getting in some solid training.  I can't wait to test my fitness this weekend and see a part of the country that is totally new to me.  We sure don't have any ski resorts in Nashville.  To everyone who will be there this weekend I can't wait to say hello.  For everyone following back home I'll put some race results up as soon as I can.

Race Week Training:
Tuesday: 2,200m AM Swim / 3 mile run with Amanda then 1/2 mile hill repeats on my own - legs are feeling worn down so I wore tights to bed
Wednesday: AM slept in / PM put on a 25# weight vest and hit the canal for a hard 10 mile bike followed by 1/2 mile hill repeats - may have been too much weight this close to the race as I came away feeling pretty beat up with a very tender R calf and knee.
Thursday: AM Swim - 200m warm-up, 1000m at race pace, and then some goofing off enjoying having an outdoor pool to myself / PM relaxing with Amanda in the pool at home working out house closing and remodeling details
Friday: Maybe a light afternoon run (although it hits 115 here today).  I'm feeling stronger and less sore from the week so I should be in great shape for Sunday!