3.29.09 Let the Season Begin!

Sunday the 29th marked the official start of my XTERRA season with XTERRA REAL, a .5 mile swim 13 mile mtn. bike and 4 mile run, at Folsom Lake,CA.Living in Southern California was a bit of a trek, a 8hr. drive up the 5fwy, so I left early Friday morning so that I could get settled and rest before the race. I got to my campground around 3 on Friday afternoon and I couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was in the mid-seventies and sunny, great race weather and I was starting to get excited!

On Saturday I pre-road and ran the course. I really wanted to know what I was getting into so there would be no surprises on race day. When I got to the transition area the super sprint race was going on so I hung around for a while to cheer on all the racers. Once the course cleared I hopped on my bike and headed out to do one loop on the 6.5 mile bike course. The trail was in great condition, really smooth and fast for the most part with a couple of rocky sections thrown in to keep me on my toes. I felt really good throughout the ride and it really boosted my confidence to know what was coming on race day. After the bike I transitioned into my run gear for the 4mile run. The run course was really fast with just a couple little hills and a small stretch of sand and helped me gauge where to go all out in the race. This was the first time I have pre-road a course and I can’t recommend it enough. It really put my mind at ease knowing what I was in for on race day and allowed me to better estimate my desired splits.

(Here is the course map for the bike and the run – bike in blue and run in red)

As luck would have it there was a Macaroni Grill nearby, which is my absolute favorite, so I had a nice big pasta dinner to carb-load for the race and then headed back to my campsites to get some sleep.

Sunday was just as gorgeous as Saturday and I was excited! The race start was scheduled for 8:30am and I wanted plenty of time to warm up and get set up so I arrived at transition around 7am. It was great to see all the racers milling around and there was just great energy as everyone was excited for first race of the season. My mom, dad and brother live a couple hours away and drove up for the race. Luckily they got there before the start so I was able to hang out with them a bi.

(Me and my “little” brother talking race strategy. His advice, go fast.)

About 15min prior to start I headed down to get a little warm up swim in. I jumped in the water a gasped, it was freezing!!! Turns out the water temp was 58, welcome to XTERRA. I did my usual 200 yard or so warm up and was feeling better about the water temp, that I could handle it and would warm up as the swim went on.

The Swim:

So I was totally wrong about being ready for the cold water. I got about 300 yards into the swim and was completely dis-oriented, everything was spinning and it felt like my face was frozen. I quickly took off my goggle and floated on my back for a few seconds to try and regain my balance and feeling in my face. I was a little panicked as this was not at all how I wanted the race to start, so I pushed the pain aside and tried to focus on the swim buoy and muscle forward. I didn’t start feeling “normal” until about the half way mark of the swim but really, I never got comfortable. I can’t tell you how glad when the swim was over and I could get on dry land and my bike.

The Bike:

First off I LOVE this picture! I can’t believe they caught my as I was doing a wheelie over a rut, so cool! Actually everything about the bike was cool. I immediately started making up the ground I lost in the swim as I was passing people left and right for the first mile. After that things started to settle and I just focused on riding my race. I really didn’t run into much traffic on the first lap of the bike but on the second loop I ran into a lot of traffic, luckily I was able to get through it with out too many issues. This bike course was so much fun, tons of tight single track and really fast, I couldn’t ask for a better combo!

The Run:

I have struggled with finding the right balance of bike pace to run pace and this race was no different. I felt great for the first couple of miles but at the bigger of the 2 hills I was starting to slow. My goal was to finish in the top 5 in my age group and at this point I had not seen anyone in my age group as I was holding a steady pace and really not gaining on anyone nor was anyone passing me. Shortly after the start of the bigger hill I was over taken by someone in my age group. I thought, “that guy probably just got 5th place” and then thought, “with the way I am running I am probably a lot further back than that.” I fought through the rest of the run and as I came out of the woods towards the finish line I got nailed with a brutal head wind so instead of putting on that extra burst of speed I fought the last 300 yards. As I neared the finish line I realized I was going to blow my goal time out of the water! I wanted a 2hr finish and ended up with a 1:53:48!!!

Funny thing is the one guy who passed me did end up getting 5th in my age group! I finished 6th, one off of my goal, which I now look at as a good thing as it has helped me increase my training intensity. So here’s the final break down:

43rd overall (192 racers)

6th in my age group (21 racers)

And here are the splits:

Swim: 0:14:21

Bike: 1:06:47

Run: 0:32:40

Finish time: 1:53:48

And Monday I was right back in the pool, getting ready, getting faster. Cause this is just the beginning.

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