Race Report : Xterra Panther Creek - Morristown, TN (July 26, 2015)

This race was kind of an afterthought for me.  It certainly wasn't on my race calendar earlier this year.  A few weeks ago, however, I was looking at July and realized I had nothing going on.  I then realized this race fell in late July and would be a good "fun" race to play with.  So, I signed up and that was that.  I didn't taper since Xterra was not really in my plan and so, with my full week of training still in my legs, I went out this morning and played in the dirt.  Here's how it went:

Swim:

Two words to sum up my swim : nearly perfect.  Seriously!  My plan was the same as it has been for the last several races.  Line up wide, go all out for a couple hundred and try to get a gap then settle in to my race pace.  I did exactly that.  It worked perfectly.  One guy passed me and swam off into the sunset (pretty sure he was the overall winner) but for the most part, I was up with the leaders and swimming comfortably.  I rounded the final buoy and headed for the exit.  Up the boat ramp I went to head into T1.  Minor flub in T1 as I somehow forgot to take my speed suit off.  Had to re-rack the bike and strip it, then head out.  Not too bad.  Lost maybe 20 seconds.  Swim Split: 15:09 (1:58/100m)


Bike:
The bike course went really for me.  I had forgotten how hilly this course was.  It smacks you right out the gate and really doesn't let up the whole time.  Nothing too steep just constant little climbs.  I was following my buddy Jim through the first leg.  We leap frogged each other most of the first lap.  He's WAY faster than me but his chain would have pity on me occasionally and fall off so that I could catch up.  First lap went pretty quick.  I was managing my efforts on the climbs knowing that I would have to do it all again.  Had to force myself to remember to drink.  (When the straw isn't slapping me in the face I hardly think about it.)  We came out of the first lap and headed back in for lap two.  There was a lot more trail traffic this time around with the slower racers now making their way through the woods.  Everyone was polite and moved over to let us pass.  Jim was now pulling away and I wouldn't see him again.  A few miles later I caught up to a younger racer who was also on his second lap.  Kid had some skills.  He and I were going around the same pace so I never asked to pass.  Just stayed comfortable and tried to relax so I could really attack the run.  The climbs started to get to me though.  I could feel the fatigue setting in but I pushed on.  We popped out of the woods and headed toward T2.  Perfect flying dismount and I was in.  Bike hung, gear off, shoes on, belt on, grab hat and run out.  Solid.  Bike Split 1:17:31 (11.9mph avg)

Run:
I knew from the start that it was going to be a tough day on the run.  Again, I forgot how much elevation there is on this course.  Lots of just long gradual ascents to get the quads burning.  I was feeling pretty good.  Came to first aid station.  No one there.  Grabbed cup, filled it myself, quick drink and I was off again.  Here, the course goes into a loop.  I see the sign to go left, I go left.  There's no one in sight ahead of, or behind me... until I happen upon another one of my buddies who is running toward me.  Race brain kicks in and I turn around for a second to follow him, thinking I missed a turn..
Then I see another guy going my original direction come around the corner.  I turn back around and head my original direction, now confident I am on the right trail.  The guy behind me looks my age.  I put my head down and try to push my times down to stay ahead.  I've got maybe 200m on him and he's looking strong.  We come to the big open climb on the course.  By now, the sun's beating down and you can see the climb continue for what seems like an eternity.  I'm running with all I've got up this thing.  When I get close to the top, I look back.  He's walking.  Good.  I pick it up heading down hill.  Round the corner, 1 mile to go.  Look back.  Dude's there but not really gaining.  I just focus on keeping my turnover high and my pace steady.  Out of the woods and a long downhill pavement run to the finish.  Just keep pushing.  Start to feel my left hamstring tighten.  Almost there.  Don't look back.  Shut up hamstring!  Just run.  Don't look back... I cross the line first place in my AG (5th place overall), with him just behind me taking second in our AG (and 6th overall).  Yep, he was my direct competitor.  My buddy who looped backwards came across in third.  Run Split: 36:20 (8:04/mi avg)

Final Thoughts:
Great day of racing.  Lots of club members raced and lots of us took home podiums for our hard work.  I really enjoy racing the Xterra series races.  It's fun to get out and play in the dirt every now and then.

Notes on nutrition for the day:
As always, after breakfast, I sip on a diluted bottle of my Infinit Run Mix to preload for the day.  I had one bottle of Infinit Bike Mix for the bike and used on course water for the run.  Next time I will take a small bottle on the run with me just so I don't have to stop at the aid station.

Race Report: Xterra Knoxville (June 7, 2014)

Meads Quarry Lake.

I've come to discover that in the world of triathlon, much as in the world of cycling, there are two kinds of people.  Those who are at home on the road and the Crazies who prefer the dirtier side of things.  I am one of those Crazies.  Truthfully, I got into triathlon because of Xterra Knoxville.  When this race was announced last year, I knew I had to do it.  It was everything I love (and one thing I didn't love so much) all rolled up in one giant piece of intimidation: 1200m lap of the Meads Quarry Lake, 17 miles of mountain biking around the South Loop Trails in Knoxville's Urban Wilderness and 4 miles of trail running including a climb up the steepest trail in the system.  Yesterday, surrounded by friends, teammates and a whole slew of other crazy people just like me, I finished Xterra Knoxville.  Here's how it went down:

Pre Race:

With the race being held on Saturday morning, there wasn't much of a time to reflect and prepare.  All week leading up to the race I was fighting a head cold.  I got a couple short workouts in throughout the week, but for the most part I just took it easy and tried to get over my illness.  By the time Friday afternoon rolled around I was feeling mostly back to normal.  Early packet pickup was Friday evening so after work I rushed home and collected the wife and we headed to packet pickup.  I wasn't sure what to expect as this race was being put on by a new promoter but pickup went smoothly.  I was in and out in less than 5 minutes and we were off toward Calhoun's restaurant for my traditional pre-race meal of BBQ chicken and rice.  With belly full, it was back home to pack up for the race before bed.

Race Morning:

Bike setup in Transition.

My alarm went off at 4:15am Saturday morning.  Transition opened at 5:30 and I wanted to get there early to scope out a primo spot on the racks.  I consumed my customary yogurt and granola for breakfast, made my final checks of all my gear and loaded up the car for the long 15 minute drive to the race site.  After waking the wife and suiting up we headed to the race.  We arrived at the race site around 5:45.  I headed first over to check in to collect my timing chip and get my body marking done.  With that out of the way, I unloaded my bike and went to scope out a spot in transition.  I found a nice space at the end of a rack about 2 rows from the bike out.  Not bad.

Swim:

1200 meters doesn't seem like a very long way in a pool.  Standing on the shore, staring out at the buoys (the last of which was completely out of view), however, it was daunting.  I'll be the first to admit that the swim is by far my least favorite part of this whole thing.  It's not so much the physical challenge of the swim, it's the mental struggle with being in open water and all the things that come along with it.  My plan for the swim was simple.  Wait for 10-15 seconds at the gun and let the leaders take off, avoid the scrum and stay in my race mid pack.  Water temp was nice, over 78 degrees.  This also meant that wetsuit was not allowed by USAT rules so I wouldn't have added buoyancy to help me.

I'm right there, see me.  The one swimming... 

I hopped in the water with about 15 minutes til gun sound and joined the other racers already out there swimming a quick out and back to get warmed up and get accustomed to the water.   We all regrouped at the shore and received final instructions then, we were off.  I held to my plan.I waited patiently for the speedier folks to go then casually started my swim.  After a few hundred meters I realized I never started my Garmin so I pulled up and hit the button then continued with my swim.  I passed quite a few people.  My breathing was good and my lines seemed good.  I was sighting well and staying just in the bubbles of the person in front of me.  In no time I was rounding the first buoy.  It was then that I looked over and caught a glimpse of my Rocky Top Multisport Club teammate who was right beside me.  I paced with him for a while before rounding the second buoy.  I was still feeling good and there was only one more turn before heading to shore.  I rounded the last buoy and made my way toward the shore.  Before long I was hauling myself out of the water and headed over to the mat to grab my shoes for the rocky run up to T1.  A quick change in T1 and I was off on the bike.

Bike:

Going into this race, I knew the bike would be my best opportunity to make up time.  The course starts out down the greenway before ducking into the woods.  I knew I could pick up some serious time here and so I put the hammer down.  I passed a lot of folks through this section.  One guy asked if I knew these trails, I

Putting the hammer down out of T1

told him I did.  He asked if he could pace with me for a while, I told him he could.  I gel'd up and we turned into the woods.  Immediately after hitting the woods we were greeted by the first climb of the day.  I clicked down a couple gears to maintain my cadence and up I went.  I passed some more people.  After the climb the course made another turn into the tight single track where we would stay for several miles.  The guy was no longer pacing with me.

We came out of the woods again for a brief stint down the road before hitting the trail again.  This was the part of the course I was most concerned about.  This section of trail is very tight and twisty and there TONS of connectors and off shoot trails.  In short, it's the perfect opportunity to get lost.  A lot of people did.  There was some confusion about which way the course was supposed to go.  It was marked but not as well as it should have been.  At one point I came on an intersection and made the turn before seeing rides coming up the other way.  Was I wrong?  Were they?  There were more of them so I turned around and fell in behind them.  It wasn't long before we reached some wider trail again and, since I knew now where I was going now, I made my move and began to pull away when the trail tightened up again.

We exited the woods again at roughly the halfway point.  There were quite a few spectators here cheering us on (my wife and friends included).  This section follows the road for around .25 miles before hitting the trail again for the most physically challenging section of the course.  This section is where most of the climbing happens.  I took a gel and my first two Hammer Endurolyte capsules, switched out my bottles and headed

Exiting the woods around halfway.

back into the woods.  This whole section went well.  I climbed well and descended fast.  I was pacing with another racer in another age group (he would go on to win his age group).  We rode well together and were chatting a bit during the ride.  Coming to the last climb I let him go because I wanted to try and save my legs for the run.  I made my way down the other side of the climb and back toward transition.  It was here that I had my only get off of the day.  I tried to grab my last gel and failed.... my wheel turned and over I went.  I got up, dusted myself off, cursed a bit, squeezed the gel into my mouth and set off.  I pulled into T2 and another quick change (too quick I would later find out) and I hit the run.

Run:

I had decided not to carry any hydration on the run. I would just use the on course aid.  This was a HUGE mistake.  I found out all too late that the only aid station on the course was at transition.  I was less than a mile in to the 4.5 mile run and my legs began to cramp.  I thought I had hydrated well enough on the bike.  Apparently I didn't.  I wouldn't see that aid station again for 3 miles.  I was in trouble. I suffered through those miles, stopping every little bit to stretch.  I had a couple "good" sections where I wasn't in pain but then it would return.  I cursed.  A lot.  I got passed by a lot of people, all offered kind words of support.  Each time I would take off again and try to follow them for as long as I could.

On the run course.

The worst part of all of this was I knew the hardest climb of the day still awaited me.  I honestly didn't know if I was going to make it.  I could only hope that after taking on water and Gatorade at the aid station I could make it.  I finally made it back to aid and downed 2 cups of Gatorade and 2 cups of water and set off for the climb.  It was excruciating.  I had to hike the hill.  I could barely do that.  After an eternity I made it to the summit and started down.  This wasn't much better.  I finally came out of the woods and saw the finish.  I was running at this point and cramps be damned I picked up the pace and crossed the line.

Final Thoughts:

Finished.

Looking back, this was a great experience for me.  I had a game plan and followed it.  I grew a great deal mentally in this race.  I came out the swim with a new level of confidence that I will carry with me into future races.  I came off the run knowing that I finished.  I had every opportunity to call it quits but I fought through and came across the finish line with my hands in the air and a smile on my face.  I will use what I learned in this race to make me stronger for my future races.  And, despite some snafu's, the organizers did a pretty good job and I know the event will only get better from here.


Splits: Swim - 24:07, Bike - 1:43:31, Run - 56:48

Total Time: 3:08:34