Triatomics Go BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!

From our club's Sport's Chair, Clay Moseley:

I've been meaning to post something about a couple of our own Triatomics members who have "ventured farther into the food chain" and laid it out on the line in some of the biggest races in the world.

First off, our own Liz Miller went big at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Henderson, NV. For those of you who don't know about this race, it is a very hard course (just click on that link and the picture of the competitors on the bike says it all).  Just finishing it is tough.  Liz had an awesome time of 5:39 on that course, which is fantastic.  

Her age group (F30-34) was incredibly competitive; the most competitive women's age group, in fact.  The gal who won that AG placed 1st overall for the women age groupers, and 11th overall, including the pros (ahead of such pros as Leanda Cave, etc.).  The next age grouper was over 12 minutes back!

Anyway, great job to Liz!

Laurie on the podium. Click photo to see it larger.

This past weekend, Laurie Goddard scored a huge victory in the M65-69 age group at the XTERRA National Championship in Ogden, UT.  He's been on the verge of so many age group podiums and victories, so this is huge.  All of you who know Laurie and how hard he's worked and progressed in the off-road triathlons, then you know how big this is for him.  It is fantastic to see that he finally got that big one!!!

Does this mean that Dr. Goddard will be going to the World Championship in Maui???

Here's to Liz and Laurie!  You two represented us well and we're proud of you!

Also, many of you may not have seen/heard, but we hosted another pro triathlete in early September for his final training block in preparation for Ironman Lake Tahoe.  His name is Kirill Kotsegarov, and he's from Estonia.  A big congratulations to him for his 4th overall at Ironman Lake Tahoe.  

He loved training here and will likely be back.  He may come back and train with Viktor for perhaps one last end-o-season Ironman.  We'll see.

Again, WAY TO GO Liz and Laurie!

Storrie Lake(+Billy the Kid) Race Report - June 23, 2013

Ha ha!  Here I thought I was getting the ball rolling for new reports last year when I put the Storrie Lake and Billy the Kid Tri race reports up, but it seems we have all run out of blogging steam.  I think the usual tri club bloggers have all had some big things happening, and that is likely why no one posted anything since I did about a year ago.

Anyway, here is a repeat of the same two races, one year on:

Billy the Kid Triathlon - Ft. Sumner, NM
Once again, the "BtK" Tri has featured in the Chasing3 Open Water Tri Series.  Once again, it was not the best run race, promotionally speaking.  This year was lacking a lot of organization, but it is a beautiful venue and an interesting course, so it was still worth it.  This year's version was more or less a DIY tri, with just some folks turning out to go through the motions of a regular triathlon.

I'll leave out the gory details of poor organization.  But, everything was affected.  First off, the swim was totally wrong in it's distance.  It was quite long - probably exactly what a 70.3 swim should be.  That's OK, we need the practice.  The bike is not a 40km, but the course is challenging an consistently bumpy, so it still takes a while.  The run is long, and for some reason, they added more to it.

If you haven't heard me whining about it, I've had an ever-increasing back problem over the past few years that is really beginning to bug me, especially when I run.  Something happened late last season that made it worse, and I had a horrible start to my run training.  I've had to go see doctors, but you know how that is...mostly disappointing because they aren't really sure about anything.  They just tell me not to run and go get therapy.  So, the upside is that I have been getting some great PT and have become very aware of what is happening to my muscles and nerves due to the collapsed disks and injured facets of my lower vertebrae.  I've had to completely change the way I run, and do many other things, and it seems to be working, but I can't run "fast" like I used to.  It's frustrating, but at least I'm not all in pain like I had become there for a while.

The run at BtK was a bit frustrating.  I had done two XTERRA races the week before, both with less than fast runs, and the BtK was rough.  I also took a wrong turn (or rather, missed a turn) and had to double-back, but it didn't really matter.  I had been holding 2nd throughout the race, but with a very strong Frankie Benavidez always behind within striking distance.  This guy is fit and strong this year, and it didn't take him too long to dispense with me on the tough run.  I watched with envy as he sped up the road away from me.  Rance Irvin had the race locked up from the gun, with dominating performances in all three disciplines.

Lots of other folks out there had solid efforts on that tough course.

OK, on to the Storrie Lake Triathlon-turned-Duathlon:

By now, you've probably heard that there is a drought in the Land of Enchantment.  Storrie Lake just looked sad.  There was enough water to host a full triathlon, but the water was very turbid and we would have had to wade through knee deep mud and muck to get in and out of the water.  They made the right call in changing it over to a duathlon.

Poor Angie at Chasing3...she's had a rough year this year.  More on that in a later post, but she's been beaten up with some of the great events she has promoted over the last couple of years, and she just hasn't caught a break this year.  Now, this deal with the drought and having to alter the race to a duathlon.

Quite a few NM folks rallied though, and for that, I applaud you.  I am not quite sure why some people have issues with Chasing3 and the Open Water Series.  Again, more on that later.

Anyway, the day dawned beautiful.  I mean, very pretty, with the big moon and totally calm winds, and even a little chill in the air.  What a day for a race!

I was very concerned about my back for that first 5km opener.  I haven't been able to train well this year, and certainly have no speed in my legs.  I knew it was going to be ugly, and somehow, I had to keep my form and not get hurt.  I think I did a very good job, without losing too much ground.  But, it is still very frustrating to see where I could/should be, vs. where I am.  I was impressed with the speed of the leaders, and especially Danny Montoya, who put in a wicked 5km opener with a 15:11 or something like that.  Very fast!

I suffered a bit, but got better after the first mile.  Mile 2 improved, especially with the big hill we had to climb.  I still like running uphill, so that's good.  I also ran downhill fairly well.  The flats are more difficult.  I came in with a 16:38, about 9th, including teams.  I had some ground to make up on the bike.

Once out on the bike, it took a while longer to find my legs than usual, but it's probably because I had just run, not swum.  Thankfully, I did find my legs to some extent.  They were good, not 100% great.  I'll complain about my lack of training again, but keep it brief.  I've barely ridden my tri bike this year, and just don't have a lot of time in the saddle period, compared to years past.  Lots reasons for that, but I can tell that it is affecting my road tri power and speed.  Hopefully, I'll get a little better before the season is done.

Since there were a number of dudes up the road, I got to see how they ride and what all was going on.  There were some shenanigans with riding too close and etc., but whatever.  It happens sometimes and I don't think about it unless it is really bad.

Again Rance Irvin was crushing it and us.  I thought I was really having a fast ride because I was slowly grinding up to Marty Moriarty (who was competing in a relay) up the long hill past the Sapello turn-off, but at the turn-around, I saw that Rance was way out in front and going away further.  I kept at it, and slowly ground my way up to Danny Montoya, who was having a stellar day and a great ride on the bike.  I don't think I've ever seen him ride so strongly, so big kudos to him.  He was really giving it hell!

Unfortunately for me, Danny is a really fast runner, and it didn't take him long to whip up on me on the run.  He ran so fast that he actually got out of sight by the later part of the run.  That is hard on the mental aspect, knowing you're getting the tar beat out of you and there's nothing you can do.

But, I do have some positive feelings about that run, and the opening run.  Overall, they felt better and more natural.  It's been exhausting to go out running and have to think about posture and "neutral spine" on every single stride.  I was able to run during the race and not think about it quite so much.  So, I was not all that disappointed.

I had worked up to 2nd place, lost it quickly on the run to Danny, then held 3rd until the very end, when a hard-charging Tchad Leeds came pounding up behind me.  I was already pushing my back's limit by that point and could not accelerate to beat him at the line.  So, he took 3rd at the finish.  Later, he would receive a double penalty:  one for drafting and one for littering.  Those refs are serious when they warn you at the start about that stuff.  I've had to learn the hard way more than once myself.  The final result was that I got 3rd and he was relegated to 5th.

Angie had lots for the racers afterward, with prompt awards, food, and just plain fun post-race atmosphere. It was a great day to out at a race!

Big thanks to Angie and Chasing3, and all of the volunteers they found, and the Storrie Lake rangers and state police and volunteer fire fighter folks, etc.  They all made the race safe and fun.

Next up for most of you...the VERY awesome City of Lakes Triathlon in Santa Rosa.  You don't want to miss it.  Those courses are so cool.  I will have to miss it due to family vacation obligations, but will be back for the Cochiti Tri...woohoo!

XTerra Dread Mon Mtn Bike clinic Sat May 19th!

From Clay:

"I've been meaning to send out information regarding the mountain bike (and possibly also swim and run) clinic this weekend at Elephant Butte for the coming XTERRA Dread Mon in July.  This is a little late in coming, but if you are planning on taking part in this super-cool race, it might be a good thing to consider coming down and camping (or moteling it in style...) and doing the clinic with us.

There is great camping at the Elephant Butte State Park, as you're probably aware from the Elephant Man tri, but there is also great camping at the Dam Site as well.  That is actually where the XTERRA Dread Mon and the Dam It Man triathlons are, not at the State Park beach like the Elephant Man.  Information on the Dam Site lodging, restaurant, and marina can be found at:http://thedamsite.com/  There is actually a lot of really cool options with an historic lodge, cabins, campsites, etc., and it's a very scenic and fun setting.

The mountain bike course for the XTERRA is quite challenging, so I've heard.  I have not actually seen it myself, so the focus will be to develop a strategy on the most technical sections to limit time losses and make the experience as fun as possible.  XTERRA events are a lot of fun and the atmosphere is a bit more laid-back than normal triathlons, but there are some technical differences between them and regular road triathlons, so this will be a good introduction to what you may expect, as well as getting a little more comfort with the whole thing. 

Hope to see some of you there!"

[to sign up click here: http://www.dreadmontriathlon.com/mountain-bike-clinic ]

Elephant Man Long Course -- THE first in New Mexico!

Elephant Man Long Course Triathlon

Well, New Mexico’s first Long Course Triathlon is finally a reality. And, it definitely lived up to all the hype and anticipation. I can say for sure that this is definitely the most difficult long course race course I’ve ever done. I won’t say that it was a death march or anything like that, but it was definitely not for the under-prepared. I really enjoyed the course and felt like it went by fairly quickly, except for a couple of sections. If you’re up for a big triathlon challenge, this one is for you.

I’m pretty serious about challenging our tri folks to take on some of the bigger local triathlons. It’s kind-of frustrating to see so much effort being put into these bigger races, but then have the turn-out be somewhat lighter than it should be because people are either too scared to take that next step to swim in open water, or won’t drive the tiny little bit farther, or are “training” for a “real” triathlon somewhere else. Well, I can tell you that there’s plenty of real challenge right nearby. That being said, this is probably THE best bang for the buck, and the scene at Elephant Man is pretty cool.

We have made the trip down to the Elephant Man 4 times now, and it never disappoints. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take on the first long course race in NM, and after reviewing that course and knowing the terrain in the area, I was extra motivated. Again, this one was the real deal, and if you have designs on stepping up to the Ironman, you should do the Elephant Man long course first.

We have fully subscribed to the “camp right there” plan because it just works with a little one in tow. Not only are we skipping the morning commute to the race, but we have so much fun playing on the beaches and in the water at these open water venues. It’s the best time. Elephant Butte is like a second chance at a real summer time weekend in late September. The water is still warm and the air can even get a little hot. This year was the hottest weather we have had yet, but it still wasn’t too bad.

Camping out was great for this year’s race: my race started at 7:00 A.M. Dina’s started at 8:05 A.M., and Suzie Schillaci was so kind to watch Mila for us. That was a big deal, as I was gonna be out for the better part of 5 hrs and Dina would take nearly 3 hrs. We didn’t have to go far to set up transition and got to test out the water all we wanted the day before. Plus, it’s just nice to camp right next to water. We were luckier with this year’s situation, as the Park limited camping to mostly just race participants. Things quieted down a lot earlier than usual and we all got to sleep with no problem.

The water level was also very low this year, due to the drought. If you compare this year’s pics with those of 2007, 08, 09 and even last year, it’s clear that the lake has lost a LOT of water. It looked like little more than some puddles surrounded by the desert hills and mountains, whereas other years it looked pretty good, especially 2008.

Because of the low water level, they had to make an unusual swim pattern, but it worked out pretty well. It was a “T”, but with the top part the longest and the “tail” the shorter part. With the low light at the start and the color of the buoys, we had some trouble sighting at the front of the race. We rounded the second left turn and it was a long way to the far end of the T-crossing. The kayak volunteers were floating back and forth, and at times they obscured our view to the far end turn buoy. That caused a group of us to get off course for a few minutes. The guys in the big boats (mainly Kori Mannon’s dad, Ron) yelled at us to head left and get back on course. Thanks to him, it wasn’t a long way out of our way, but still added a fair bit of extra swimming. The first two guys didn’t get off as much as my next group of four.

I made it out of the water in 4th and passed the 3rd place guy in transition. I caught the 2nd place guy before we even got out of the park, so I figured 1st (Justin Newcomer) was just up ahead. I pretty much just figured I’d forget about him and ride my own race and quickly settled into a steady and comfortable rhythm. I was actually enjoying my ride and the air was nice and cool, with just a slight breeze out of the northwest. I had actually forgotten about the 1st place guy until I saw him on the two big climbs out of Monticello Canyon. Those are two pretty big hills, so he looked closer than he was. I didn’t catch him until we got to the crossing of I-25. He was going pretty well, so I was happy to catch up to him.

We stayed on the Olympic course until that big aid station at the Sierra County airport, where we made the turn out onto the longest and most lonely stretch of the whole race. This section was like going onto the dark side of the moon. It was a 30 mile out-and-back on a pretty lonely stretch of highway in some desolate terrain. It is pretty out there, but in that desolate, southern New Mexico way.

Soon, that little light breeze began to be a wind. It was picking up steadily as we made our way to the semi-ghost town of Cuchillo. We got a little respite from the steady grind with the descent into Cuchillo, but then were punished with the long climb into the wind out of Cuchillo. This was probably the most difficult part of the race and I was glad I had put on a lower gear on my race wheels than I normally use in a race like this. My speed dropped down to a crawl.

There was no relief once at the top of the climb. In fact, the wind was now blowing with some authority and it was right in our face. There is a slight, but relentless grade on that road, as it heads toward the foothills of the Black Range toward the more famous “ghost town” of Winston. It was just a mental test to keep it together on that stretch. I decided to back off a bit and use the time to ensure I was eating and drinking enough. I knew the run was going to be harder than usual, so I figured I would be smart and conserve where I could. I also knew that my closest rivals would likely see me in the distance and probably work too hard to try to pull me back. Another thing I made sure I did was stand up and stretch a lot, despite the stiff headwind, since my back now gets very achy in the aero position for more than an hour. It really affects my run more than it used to.

It was all a very good strategy, but it was a bit scary to see those guys getting close at the far-end turnaround. I kept my head about me and just slowly dialed it up on the way back, not losing my cool and burning out too quickly. On the way back, we had the tailwind with the slight downhill. It was a super fast section and one that took concentration and leg speed. It was also 15 miles, so it got tiring. We got a break, albeit a scary one, on the frightening descent into Cuchillo. The wind was buffeting our aero wheels as we wound down to the base of the canyon and the town. It was fun, though!

Climbing out was actually a welcome relief from the hunched position we had to be in the previous 10 miles. Then, it was back at it with the tight aero position and the super-speedy efficient pedaling.

The final stretch on the Olympic course was fast and fun, and it seemed like the bike wasn’t so bad when I got into Elephant Butte. But, a check on the watch told a different story: 2:32 for the 56 miles is a long time for me. Even on a slow year at Buffalo Springs, I do about a 2:25, so that gives you some idea of how challenging this course is. It was all fun, though.

Into transition, I knew I had a lead, but didn’t know by how much. About 3 guys were pacing together to pull me back at the far turn around, but I knew I had ridden well those last 20 miles. I knew I had gained some of my time back, but didn’t know by how much. The main thing was that I felt quite good and had good energy going into the run and still was in the lead. I felt confident.

I did the transition just like I would have if it were an Olympic. I hit the run and quickly settled into a long-distance rhythm that I think I held the entire way without falter. It actually felt good at first, although it was a burn on my legs to get up that “dam hill” at mile one. I felt the small pangs of cramps, but they quickly diminished once I stretched it out over that dirt dam stretch.

Everything was going GREAT until about mile 4, when I started to notice that the bottoms of my feet were getting hot and quite uncomfortable. I sort of ignored it for another mile, but then just before the mile 6 aid station (where the Olympic turned down that dirt hill), I had to make a stop to loosen my laces. That helped for a few moments, but climbing the long hill off of that dam, they were really getting pissed off at me. The road surface was just too rough for the lightweight soles on my racing flats. I needed beefier shoes (or tougher feet) for those surfaces and the heat wasn’t helping.

I tried lifting my toes when I landed; I tried landing on different parts of my foot and pushing off differently too. It was much more of a problem on the uphills because I needed to land on my forefoot and push off aggressively. It became agonizing by mile 7.

I took only one gel on the whole run, then figured I had enough energy and electrolytes to make it through the race. I started taking on just water, about a cup per aid station. At the 8 mile aid station, I spilled water on myself and when a little trickled into my shoes, I noticed it made them feel better, just a little. I was so happy about that, because the hills just kept coming and there was not one section of that long course run (especially the "extra" part that we did…) that was flat…not one section!

So, I got extra water cups at each of the aid stations and took a few seconds each time to pour it on my feet. It helped a little and kept me from just losing it.

Finally, we had a steep dirt trail/arroyo to climb, followed by a mile of sandy hills before turning onto the long climb back up to the ridge above the lake. My feet were toast, but that was with 3 miles to go, so I just put it out of my mind and tried to push harder. Up to that point, I tempered my running because of my feet. It was like I was trying to run on eggshells. It probably kept me from running too hard, but I wanted to run harder.

With one mile to go (the run down the steep sandy “dam hill”), I kicked it into gear and finished strongly. In the end, I was tired, but it was my feet that limited my race the most. I spoke to 2nd overall, Richard Sena, who had a very strong and smart race, and he said he had the exact same problem and was limping on hamburger feet too. So, I suppose it was an even situation…he still outran me by 3 to 4 minutes. My feet didn't look good after the race -- like a bubbling hot slice of pepperoni pizza on the bottoms. As I write this, they're still very sore and sensitive and dicolored from the blood blisters, etc. Gotta love triathlons!


I was so pleased with the race overall, despite missing my goal time of 4:40 by about 4 minutes. That’s pretty good for a long-course time estimate. And, I was happy to have accomplished such a tough race finish.

They have an awesome race course there and it would be cool to see more people step up to the challenge. In the end, only 63 people crossed the line. Hats off to all of them. That is a huge accomplishment.

And of course, I want to send out a HUGE congratulations to all of you Triatomics racers who gave it everything to pull in some great results, both long course and the Olympic. I'm always SO impressed with how we do as a group.

Becoming a “true” triathlete

2011 marks the start of a comeback of sorts, after running cross-country and track both in high school and collegiately I was burnt out and needed some R&R before returning to competitive athletics. Rewind to fall 2010 when I began seriously training again for the first time in about 2 years. After suffering through minimal length workouts for about 8 weeks, I finally began to feel like my former self. After a very consistent winter of training I felt that it was time to begin racing again. After looking at the NM race schedule most of the winter, I decided on several races: Little Boy, Jay Benson, Milkman, Santa Fe, Cochiti. This is a report of my race experiences for the 2011 season.

Atomic Man-Little Boy

In about mid March I finally felt mentally ready to race and decided that my season opener would be Little Boy. After mostly doing easy runs and longer swims, I had begun to add in some intervals and some bike workouts. Race weekend finally arrives and as is typical for Los Alamos, Snow is predicted for the first week of May. During the prerace warm-up temperature were in the 20s and I kept going back and forth between using tights or not. It seemed to be warming up, as race start got closer, so I decided to use only arm warmers and gloves.

As the race goes out, I find myself out way to fast and way to close to the front, especially for the shape I was in. About a quarter in I had the unique experience of getting past by my younger brother for the first time in a race. As it turns out he takes the race lead and pushes the pace the rest of the way. I am content to wait and stalk the lead pack of 5 or 6. Coming into the last half mile I still was able to see the lead pack of guys. Entering T1 I was in about 6^th place and was very happy with my run split.

I managed to catch 3 people in T1, including Alexander and left in 3^rd. During the bike leg I had planned to maintain until the turnaround and crank on the way back. I felt that the way back the hills were easier and you could make more time coming back. I held until the final hill before the turn and was feeling good so I decided to push a little more up the hill. Right before the turn I saw the two leaders within about 30 seconds or so, so I really started pushing. I occasionally caught a glimpse of them until about 2 miles felt, then, I began to feel the lack of bike work and my mph dropped. I hung on until I got to Monterey S and then I was past by Marty. Him passing me woke me up and I was able to finish the bike well.

T2 went smoothly and I was able to overtake Marty early in the run. The second run was pretty miserable; I ended up being content with my place and just held pace.

Overall it was a fun race and a great first race of the season. I was very excited about a 3^rd overall result and excited about the upcoming races.

Jay Benson (ABQ World Championships)

I was particularly excited about Benson since the run course is first, and also quite fast, it would be a very good indication of my current run shape. Alexander and I started in the second wave 2 minutes behind the elite wave. I had planned to go out conservative since the first straight is uphill, and to my surprise Alexander stuck with me on the whole first stretch. We begin catching the end of the first wave. As we crossed roughly the mile he tells me, he was going to go from here and takes off. It was nice of him to wait for me during the first part. I thought about going with him but thought better of it. I kept catching more and more people from the first wave and was able to see Alexander about 30 second upfront. I finished the run and had a smooth T1.

On the bike I started out at a good pace and caught my brother about a mile in. For the first time I had the experience of mostly catching people on the bike instead of being caught. I hit the second turnaround feeling strong and was maintain a good pace. Once again my lack of time on the bike caught up with my and I suffered the last 3 miles.

The swim was also painful. I was out of gas due to lack of training and I couldn’t go. I managed to catch two people but was overall disappointed with my swim.

Final impressions from the race were overall positive but showed that I was out of gas after about 50 min. I needed some longer workouts. I finished with my best time ever at Benson, at just over an hour and just outside the top 10.

Milkman

Milkman is one of my favorite races in NM. The course is a fun, and more difficult then you would think. A lot of the really good guys from down south came out for it this year. My good friends Matt Gonzales and Rance Irving were there also. The lake/pound whatever you want to call it was the clearest I had ever seen it, you could actually see the bottom. I had the advantage of youth during this race, being in the first wave. This I found key because temperatures were supposed to climb to the mid 90s by mid morning. Matt, Rance, and I were all in the same wave. Rance took the early swim lead and never looked back. I swam along side Matt for most of the swim and came out about ten seconds back of him.

On the flip side of being in the early swim wave, they gave all the under 24s the worst transition spots. We had to double back on ourselves to get our bikes and get out of T1. The bike leg was going great. Going up the long hill towards the turn around I noticed I was doing close to 30 going uphill. This of course was due to a great tailwind. The return trip was brutal and the rest of the bike I was suffering. Read: lack of time on the bike.

Coming into T2 I passed my Dad who was just going out on the bike. T2 was uneventful and I went out on the run. I begin passing people as soon as I hit the dirt around the fish hatchery. On the backside of the fish hatchery I began feeling lousy and was light headed. I had been getting water at every aid station but I needed more. I took two glasses of water at each aid station, drank one and poured the other on me to try to keep my core temp down. The heat was getting to me bad. Then I hit the two-mile marker and suddenly felt better and was able to finish strong.

I ended up with a top ten finish and a very good time. I was quite happy with my overall race.

Santa Fe Triathlon

After milkman I had 6 weeks to put in quality training before my next race. I took advantage and added some longer rides and some track work. This was once again a stacked field. The run was first, and it was going to be a fast start. It was completely downhill from the start all the way to the mile marker. Once again I overestimated the shape I was in and started out way to fast chasing the leaders. The next mile was mostly flat and I just tried to hold a solid pace. Pat caught me shortly before the 2 mile marker and I tried to hang with him in the last mile that was all uphill. I couldn’t hang but finished with a solid run time.

T1 went super smooth, I caught multiple people during it and right after the transition. The start of the bike leg I tried to push a little bit and get into a good groove. We made a turn and the rest of the way out was uphill, I put my head down and cranked on it, which worked to my advantage, I had closed to within about 30 sec of my friend Matt. After the turnaround was all-downhill and I gave it everything I had. I finished up the bike leg pretty happy with my effort. Then entering t2 I was able to keep my momentum.

Santa Fe is interesting in the fact that you have to run about 400M to get from transition to the pool. The swim I felt much better than I had late in any race earlier in the season.

Socorro

Socorro is another of my favorite races to do. The only problem with Socorro is the pool can be a little crowed with the time trial swim start. I was lucky and when I started I found myself with clear water both in front and behind me. I had a better swim then I was expecting. I got out of the pool and after passing a small crowd of people I made it to T1. I had a spot on the other side of the transition so I tried to make up some time running without my bike.

I got on the bike and started to push the early portions of it. I was rolling on the bike until we got to the guard shacks to go on the back portion of the bike. Mentally I feel sleep from here to the turnaround, but from the turnaround all the way in I was flying. I finally felt I had some bike legs and was feeling great. Despite raining the night before the course was mostly clear of debris. Coming into t2 one of my shoes got caught on the ground as I dismounted and came off so I had to go back and get it.

Getting out of the run it was surprisingly still overcast and I felt great. I loosened up rather quickly and soon caught several people. Then we turned onto the ditch bank and I really begin moving. I reached the second turnaround and tried to increase the pace. Then with about a half left I started increasing the pace more and for the first time, this season, it felt like I was actually getting up and running. Triatomics overall had an excellent showing, with Pat and Jeff both being in the top 3.

Overall I could not have been happier with this season. The “comeback” is in full force and I can’t wait to see what next season holds now that I have some good races and good base under my belt.

Sept 17-18th Trail Duathlon and Cyclocross Events course info!

Well, the Enchanted Forest Trail Fest weekend is set for Sept 17th-18th with a trail duathlon and cyclocross events and clinics for all levels and abilities! Proceeds from the event will benefit Los Alamos trail restoration efforts! There will be free camping at the venue (no hookups) and hotel discounts in Red River for participants! Check out registration, schedule and more details on the flyer on the Southwest Nordic Ski Club's homepage under Club News and Upcoming Events front and center.
Below is some info on the actual courses for the Trail Du and Cyclocross events courtesy of Clay:

After the mountain bike race in Red River on Saturday, Nina and I, and a couple of the Get Out! team juniors all went up to the Enchanted Forest trails to scope out the best possible course options. As of now, the trails are beautifully soggy, green and a bit muddy in places -- perfect conditions for a cyclocross and trail duathlon. Except for the altitude, it felt more like we were in Oregon or New Enland. Come Sept. 17-18, the trails will probably have had time to dry up just enough to make for a perfect weekend of trail events.


I can say that I believe we've come up with the best course for the cyclocross event, and the duathlon course is still being figured out with many more little sections of fun and scenic single track still being discovered. We found some nice terrain that will allow the advantage of real cross bikes to be maximized. The course is a blend of some more buffed out double-track "access" road, a short, steep natural run-up right where specators and campers will be, and a lot of rolling/twisty Oregon/New England-like woods that will be quick and fun. We tried to avoid too much steep grinding, or gnarly descents that favor mountain bikes. It'll be a real traditional cyclocross course that both racers and spectators will enjoy.

For those of you who went up to RR for the mountain bike race and got your butt kicked by that crazy (for lack of a better way to phrase it...) course, you might want to consider this event. Trail Du course will be a lot more flowing terrain with a mix of wooded double and single track with only short climbs and fun descents. This is the case for both the run and the bike. These are going be some fun events.

The cyclocross camp is going to feature several accomplished 'crossers giving instruction. If you're looking to improve your cross skills, come up and take advantage of this opportunity.

babysitting for Storrie and Cochiti Lake Tris?

Hey, anyone bringing friends/family with them to Storrie Lake or Cochiti Lake tris? If you think they might want to watch our almost 3 year old during the race please email me at dinapesenson at gmail dot com.
We're happy to pay or trade by watching your kid(s) at another event.
thanks!
Dina

Legendary Runner in Los Alamos for Jemez Mtn Run this weekend!

Jemez Mountain Trail Run is this weekend Sat May 22nd! The event always sells out early and often attracts top ultra runners and this year Micah True or "Caballo Blanco" will be participating. See the Los Alamos Monitor story. If you havent read Born to Run its highly recommended. Its a great story and extremely interesting for anyone who has done any running and avid runners in particular.

Micah is from Colorado but lives most of the time down in Batopilas, Chihuahua, in the copper canyon of Mexico with the Raramuri, or more widely known as the 'running people', the Tarahumara Indians. He has adopted their way of life and style of running. He puts on a 50mile ultra marathon in the rugged "Barrancas Del Cobre" each year that attracts the local running people and few legends from around the world. Everyone donates their race winnings back to the local communities.

Caballo Blanco will participate in the Sat race and will also give a talk on Sunday at 4pm at the Unitarian church in Los Alamos, donations requested for his charity Norawas de Raramuri. This should be very interesting so try to attend!

Cochiti Tri and AR is just a tri :)

Ran into a few people last couple of days and it appears there is confusion as to what Cochiti Tri and Adventure Race actually entail. I'll pass that on to the race dirs for their marketing next year. Meanwhile, here is some info to hopefully clarify any confusion:
These are two events on two separate days. The race dirs from each are working together to advertize as joint event and there will be a prize for people who do both races but they are completely separate events with completely separate registration links - you dont have to worry about getting into one by doing the other.
So the Cochiti tri is all pavement and is Olympic distance, nothing unfamiliar to tri-only people esp those nervous about getting off the pavement.
If you want to try out an adventure race great, but you can also just do the tri. The reason for this post is that it appears having "Adventure Race" in the event name is scaring some triathletes off because it gives the impression that the event will not be a straightforward tri or may involve going off pavement (*GASP*). No off-road on this one - all pavement (even if some bumpy pavement on the dam). Tell your friends!

Cochiti Olympic Tri registration open - register this week!

Sport Systems has opened registration for the Cochiti Olympic Triathlon. They are not advertising it widely this week so that local NM clubs can get registered. That includes us. Registration will be capped at 250 entrants, so it'll sell out for sure. This event is on July 11th.

You can find registration at nmsportsonline (nmsportsonline doesn't charge any fees)
or on active.com which does charge extra fees.

Here is a brief course description from their flyer:
Swim 1500m
Beach, WAVE start. Triangle Swim.
Wetsuit legal. Cap supplied at packet pickup and must be worn during entire swim until you are in T1.

Bike 40k
Relatively Flat and Fast Loop course.
Out through the Rec Area and over the Dam. Dam road is rough pavement. Turn left off the Dam Road and out almost to I-25. Turn around and take NM-22 back into entrance to Rec Area.

Run 10k
Flat and Fast out and back.
Out through the Rec Area and out onto the Dam Road then back to finish.

Atomic Man Duathlon Sunday April 25th!!

Dont forget that our awesome Atomic Man Duathlon race is on Sunday April 25th.
For those not familiar there are two distances so its great for newbies or someone with a lot of experience.
Check out our awesome race site courtesy of Sol Web Solutions: http://triatomics.org/duathlon

Please sign up for the race soon, or contact duathlon@triatomics.org to volunteer and help out. All volunteers will get either a long sleeve race shirt or a pint glass with race logo.

Best of the US 2009 -- Mission Viejo, CA

Here's my blog about the BOUS National Championship 2009 at the Orange County International Triathlon, in Mission Viejo, CA.




















Well, after all the anticipation, planning, training, special care taken, and everything else that went into getting myself (and family) to the start line of the Best of the US Championship triathlon in Mission Viejo, CA, things didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped. The trip was fun and the race experience there is always special, but my performance wasn’t up to my expectations. It’s not that I could have done a whole lot about it that day, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way you hope.

The course there is super cool, and really tough. The swim is in a very, VERY nice lake in Mission Viejo. It’s a private lake with a perfectly manicured beach, park, etc., etc. It was perfectly surveyed with laser precision, so we were told, thus the distance was supposedly a perfect 1,500 meters. It felt long to me, but more about that later!

The bike course heads out into a canyon in the foothills to the northwest of Mission Viejo – Santiago Canyon. It is a popular route, and with good reason. There is a perfect bike lane the entire way out with signs telling motorists to keep off the lane to keep it clear for cyclists. It did have a little debris here and there, but it was mostly quite clean. Terry Moore, the female NM representative from Las Cruces fell victim to something in the lane and got a flat.

The run course was really awesome, with a lot of changing topography and changes of direction. I thought it was a hard 10km to finish off a race, but some of the run times begged to differ. We re-entered the lake park and finished along the beach right along the waterfront. It was a great course, all-in-all. The only thing I didn’t like was that there were two different transition locations. T-1 and T-2 were separated by about 3 miles or so, thus making for a small logistical challenge the day before, and morning of the race…no big deal though because the organizers had good information to direct racers.

The “regular” race had about 1,000 people, plus the extra 100 spots for the BOUS athletes. That’s a pretty good sized race, and it had sold out. It made for a very festive atmosphere at this typical sunny southern California location.

Leading up to the race, things seemed to be pointing toward me having a good chance at a top-10 result. I had seemingly gotten over my mid-summer sinus/respiratory infection that had forced me to skip both Socorro and Los Alamos triathlons. I had worked my fitness back up slowly and had gotten in more miles on the bike than last year, but my swimming had suffered due to the sinus thing and I didn’t seem to have my best run speed. I worked on both once I could sustain the harder efforts, but I always had to watch it when I felt tired or congested. I didn’t want to have a recurrence of the infection.

I signed up for the F-1 triathlon in Roswell, the Tenderfoot triathlon in Salida, CO, and the Patriot Tri in Rio Rancho as three good lead-up races to blow out the pipes and practice the things I needed to have down to be competitive for the BOUS. They were saying that the swim would not be wetsuit legal, so I got one of those speed skin suits as a sponsorship deal and used it in the Tenderfoot tri. They’re weird things, for sure.

Travel is a huge challenge now, with all of the stuff to bring for Mila in addition to all of the tri gear. We did alright, but it is not easy: bike, race wheels, tri gear, car seat, toys, extra extra clothes, etc. etc. Logistics with travel is also tough, and this was made even more challenging by the coordination of visiting family in Los Angeles (two different households), then me taking off solo to Mission Viejo, then meeting back up a day later…… You get the point. But, that seemed to go fairly smoothly and I was not overly stressed prior to the race.

Only a couple of things were nagging at me: the fact that my head and chest had started to get congested again the week prior to the race. I couldn’t understand why, other than I don’t think I ever bucked that nasty infection 100%. Small vestiges of it came and went like the tides during the month previous, and the week before the weather took a nosedive and that seemed to exacerbate things right when I needed to be making some hard speed efforts to fine tune things for the race. I would rest up well, go do my hard speed training, then feel a massive influx of congestion and a really stuffy head. I also got a really badly wrenched neck from doing just little stuff around the house. I could barely turn my head after that. But, the training was still good and I even felt my run speed coming on just in time (I ran the Splash ‘n Dash / LA Tri 5km run course as a “brick” in sub-18 time the Sunday prior to the race, after doing bike intervals), so I was feeling confident.

Getting on the plane and doing all of the travel stuff must have sent my system a little over the edge, despite all of the incessant hand washing and taking Cold-Eeze, Emergenc-C, and Echinacea. I got into LA with a deep cough and somewhat clogged sinuses, and my neck was still stiff and sore. But I still didn’t feel bad, so I remained in good spirits headed toward the race. I was also having fun hanging out with Dina’s family in Los Angeles, who are SO happy to see Mila. That provided a good distraction to pre-race stress.

After driving all the way through the LA metro area to Mission Viejo, then getting out and seeing the bike, part of the run, and then finally the swim course, we had all of the pre-race hub-bub with the BOUS organization and the different racers from each of the states. There were some big names there, some of whom I recognized, but many of whom I have no earthly idea who they are. Jerry MacNeil listed all of their results, which sounded impressive. I knew this would be tough but also that if I had a good day, I would be competitive.

Dina, her sister Liza, her mom Olga, and Mila all stayed in one room, while I got an entire room to myself the night before the race…they insisted and I can’t say how grateful I am. I slept really solidly the night before and felt quite rested the morning of the race. I got out there early, but amazingly, I was already way back in line to get to the venue. That stressed me out a little, as I knew I had to get the race wheels on and get everything set at this busy venue before I was ready. The only problem I had was getting air into my tires using a borrowed pump (I need to get a better travel pump).

I got in a decent warm-up in the water; not great but good enough. Soon, we were lining up in our special “Wave-0” and getting all of the special treatment and announcements. It was all eyes on our wave as the 1000 other racers and families watched us “super triathletes” take off.

I opted to take the second row going into the water, as I knew I would just get trounced with these swimmers (men and women BOUS went all together). It was a good call. I got onto some feet, got hit and kicked for over 500 meters, then started having some breathing problems with the chest congestion. I was holding onto a group, barely, but I wasn’t about to let go. I tried coughing it out and would lose ground, but then redouble the effort to catch back on. It got to be a little too much by about the half-way point and I had to let go and try to clear my chest. For a couple of minutes I just mellowed out and concentrated on the coughing. I then pushed on solo the whole way back. I could see some people ahead of me, but I knew I had lost a LOT of time at that point. It’s amazing! I still would have had a relatively fast swim around here, but with that group, forget about it. I struggled in with a 22:02…not fast in that group. I had hoped for a 20-something or low 21.

I finally made it into T-1 and noticed all of the BOUS bikes that were all gone. I was with a couple of guys and got the heck out of there with a little bit of a slow transition, but not too bad. On the bike, I instantly started passing the stragglers from the swim, then some of the faster swimmers, then some of the faster females – I could tell how the swim went and how the women’s race was playing out. I also noticed that I had instantly caught a handful of guys, but that they were now few and far between…not a good sign. I wasn’t going super great on the bike. I was still coughing and trying to find my legs on the early long climbs of the course. I just didn’t hit it hard enough early to make up the ground I lost. It was becoming more apparent that this was not going to be a remarkable day. I also had a splitting headache for some reason; I think it was the tightness in my neck and upper back putting strain on my head and the aero helmet was not helping matters. It was really annoying and something I hadn’t experienced before.

Way out in the canyon near the "turnaround" where we detoured off the main road onto a strange bumpy road that is normally closed to any sort of traffic, I caught yet one last female…she was so far into the men’s field and had been so far ahead of me, I was just amazed. It occurred to me that if I didn’t ride and run fast, she might finish with me or beat me!

I pushed a lot harder once I was back out on the main canyon road. The hills were steeper on the way back in, so I had some clear goals and dug deep…at least for what I had to give. I think I salvaged a bad ride with those efforts on the way back in and managed to have the 8th fastest ride for all racers on the day. It was a 59:27 and I had hoped for and reasonably expected at least a low 58.

I had no idea how my body was going to react to the run, since I was clearly struggling a little. I was fearful of a 40-something minutes 10km on this really tough course. It was getting quite hot and with all of the landscape watering going on, it was also humid at ground level.

After another rough-around-the-edges transition, I was off on the run and feeling surprisingly OK, but again with headache and congestion. I ignored both and just focused on moving forward as swiftly as possible. I was completely alone for over a mile, then I heard the dreaded footsteps of the last guy I had caught out on the bike – turns out it was Jonathan Krichev from Alabama. He’s a very good triathlete from the deep Southeast (former University of Alabama swimmer), but someone I have beaten before and someone I can usually outrun, but not today. He was moving along just a little quicker than I could muster, so I stopped blowing my nose long enough to let him get by me. I tried briefly to stick with him, but decided against continuing because I have blown up every time I’ve done that at early stages of a run leg. I was on my own again and getting the feeling that I was not really part of the race.

It was like that for quite a while until we hit some really nasty hills at mile 3. I could see Krichev and a couple of others ahead, but what looked like WAY ahead. I tried to get through the hills strongly, but the heat and humidity was sapping me and I just didn’t have the punch to do what I wanted. I focused well and kept my feet moving quickly, but I knew it wasn’t 100%.

It’s tough when you know you’re having an off day, but all the training and struggle you go through to get there keeps you pushing. I had to rethink things a little bit out there and decided I would really try to catch at least one guy ahead. I caught a fleeting glimpse of who I recognized as the Arizona guy, Cam Hill. He’s also a great swimmer and it seems that every year, no matter how we’re both doing, I catch him in the finale of the run. I made that my main goal for the day and set about picking it up as best I could, no matter how much snot I got on myself or how much I was coughing. I set my sights on him and just ran faster, period.

The run course was really crazy between miles 2.5 and 5, but at the 5-mile point, we dumped out of the steep hills and twisty turns of the parks, out onto a parkway, where we did a final out-and-back on a final long hill and were all able to see where we stood relative to the other racers just around us. I wondered if this was all of them, or if there were more already that far ahead of me that I didn’t even see them on this long out-and-back section.

Turns out it was to be the latter. I was further down than I had hoped at that moment, but I didn’t know that yet and my main goal was to catch Cam Hill of Arizona. At the bottom of the hill, he was still quite a distance ahead, but I was gaining steam and gave it 110% up the hill. I felt myself redlining and actually feeling better as I went up. I should have been able to hit that level and hold it much sooner in the race, but this was the only time I felt like I was able to go full-gas all day. I went into the zone and honed in on him until we entered the park. Until I was on his heels, I didn’t think I was going to catch him. Once I was right on him, he heard me and glanced back and I sensed he gave up the ghost to stay ahead of me. Around the corner leading to the home stretch along the waterfront, he slowed and I took the opportunity to keep my momentum and surged all the way to the line – I put 9 seconds on him in that short distance. It was at least a fun finish to what was otherwise a lackluster day. My run ended up being 38:49 on a tough course, but I had really expected a 36-something and really had ambitions for a 35-something.

I was happy it was done and all of the wondering how I would do and worry over my sinus/congestion situation was over. But, I was disappointed in the result. I wanted a top-10, not really for anything to add to my “career” or anything like that, but to put New Mexico in there. I think we do alright with the sport, but it’s hard to come up with the big result when you don’t travel to the big races very much. That takes time and patience, as well as experience and a bit of luck. It seems the less I travel, the worse I do once I do actually go on a trip to a race. I’m so tired of traveling away to races, though, so I doubt I’m going to do a whole lot better than that in the future. I think I’ll pass on it next year. It’s been a fun experiment for me, though. I went four times and grabbed 8th place in 2007. I felt like I struggled badly that day too, but ended up with a stellar run that moved me into the top-10 in only the last couple of kilometers, passing who else, but Cam Hill and Jonathan Krichev.

In the end, I managed to squeak out a 2:02:38, good for 17th place among the BOUS racers (20th overall including the "regular" Orange County Triathlon participants). I had hoped for a 1:58 or so and feel like I had that in me without the problems (read "excuses" =). Still, with the BOUS athletes there, there were 22 men who beat the old age-group course record, and 21 women beat the old female a-g course record. Matter of fact, the first female was only a few seconds off of the previous male course record!!! That goes to show you how tough that field is! (FYI, one of the women beat me by over 2 minutes on the run) So there is some consolation in the result...I just can't get over the fact that the first place guy did it in 1:52:50. That's SIX minutes faster than the pro/elite course record!


Thanks to all of you Triatomics folks for the well-wishes. It's always fun to race with all of you. I also need to REALLY, REALLY thank Dina for her support and efforts in keeping me out there. Any success I have now is due more to her than anything else in the equation! We'll both be out there again next year!

XTERRA Buffalo Creek Race Report

Hi all,
Hope the season is going well for all of you. Word has it that Dan Rees nailed his IMCD and is a probable qualifier for Kona, again! Congratulations Dan. It was a PR for him on that course by quite a bit, so he's proving that sticking with this sport pays off over the long haul.

Speaking of long haul, Laury Goddard and I (and Kim Katko & family), made the long haul up to Bailey, Colorado for the Buffalo Creek XTERRA. Bailey is mostly a tourist trap hole in the road on US Hwy 285 between Denver and Fairplay (a.k.a. "South Park," for all of you fans out there). The venue is at Wellington Lake, a 45 minute drive on a dirt road off of US 285. It is a lovely setting for a race, as well as just hanging out and camping with the family, or whatever. Lots of great campsites can be found, and that's almost a prerequisite if you want to do this race. It's even included with the race entry fee if you choose to do so.

Dr. Goddard and I hauled up there Friday morning, because neither of us had ever seen the venue and with XTERRA, you want to check out the bike course. Unfortunately, the course was too long to go see the whole thing after driving all that way, so we just focused on the very sketchy 3 mile decent along Buffalo Creek itself, on a forest road that consisted of a hard-packed surface transversed by deep drainage trenches (mostly in the turns) and covered in ball-bearing-like eroded crushed granite. It sounds worse than it was, but a lot of care had to be taken on the descent to avoid skittering off the road into the mountainside, or off on the steep slope down to Buffalo Creek.

Friday was nice, but we woke up to a dark, grey day on Saturday morning. We had camped out, so we didn't really have to go far to the venue, which was very nice. We ate breakfast looking out over the lake and wondered what the weather held in store.

The lake is a mountain lake that had only "warmed up" in the last month or so. I loved all of the "ice fishing" signs all over the lakesides. I gathered that the lake temperature was somewhere in the 50s and there were some complaints, but I've done it before and it doesn't seem to bother me too much, although I did get an ice cream headache from it a little bit.

This is the biggest XTERRA race in the world, second only to the world championships at Maui. It was pretty big, that's for sure. I was in a huge wave of guys aged 25-39, plus relays. We watched the pros take off, and they had us all walk out to the edge of the lake in a cove, and I waited for the countdown. Well, there was no countdown or warning of any sort and the guy just sounded a horn and I soon found myself running into the lake with no goggles on. I had them in my hand and had to stop and put them on only after figuring out what had happened after having run and jumped in and actually swam with them in my hand for several strokes. Too much race-start horn response conditioning! What an IDIOT! I was treading water and getting run over and hit and etc., etc., by the whole wave of men 25-39, plus relays, while trying to put the goggles on straight and not be leaky. It was a panicked moment, and to say the least, I didn't do a very good job. I had goggles on crooked and they were half-full (is that pessimistic, or optimistic if used this way?) of water. That sucked. I was SO uncomfortable and distracted and now over-extending myself on the swim to just get going. I finally stopped a little later and dumped out the water and put them on straight, but the damage was done. I had some ground to make up.

I swam steady and tried to focus on getting it together, then I finally got into my rhythm and started to catch the "front group" a little. It was mostly stragglers coming off of it, but I felt like I was back into the race. Unfortunately, the screwed up start made my goggles get all fogged up and with the dark, grey conditions, it wasn't long before I couldn't see a darn thing...just grey darkness. I really had to pull my head out of the water to make out swimmers ahead of me or the buoy on shore. I just focused on swimming straight and smoothly and begged for the end to come quickly to that fiasco. I swam the one-mile swim in 24:40, which turned out to be not so bad, but was a good 2 minutes off of what I should have done, which would have been a very decent swim.

Once out, it was time for the mtn bike adventure. This course is pretty long at 20 miles. I only saw the early parts of the course and realized we were going to be in a lot of big terrain changes. I didn't want to overdo it, but was smarting from the rocky swim, so I sort of hit it pretty hard. My legs felt heavy and I had guys breathing down my neck on the previous-mentioned 3 mile decent. That always makes me nervous. I prefer to do stuff like that alone, but I would never have that luxury in this very popular and competitive race. The whole day was spent either catching guys, getting caught by guys, or trying to stay with those guys.

At the bottom of the climb, I found myself with a cluster of fast mtn bikers. I tried like hell to stay with them. I did OK at first, but when the climbing got technical, the heavy feeling was too much. My back started getting achy very early and it affected me all day. I did pretty well to ignore it mostly, but it was always there and I know it took a bit of the frosting off my cake all day. I was riding a dual suspension bike because I figured the course would be a tough one, but I think I would have rather had a much lighter hard-tail because I seemed to have more trouble on the climbs than the descents on this course, and everyone around me all had much lighter rigs. Mine is a hand-me-down from Paul Graham, who is now riding something lighter for that very reason. I admit I want to blame that quite a bit, but it was probably mostly my go-jo that seemed to be missing that day. It wasn't an awful day, but I'd say that I wasn't 100%, or even in the range of an "A" grade.

I also made quite a number of technical errors on that course. It had quite a bit of everything, and the single track had some particular challenges when racing at full speed. I was always behind some guys who were pushing me well past my comfort zone and I focused too hard on staying with them and not enough on what was coming up. At one point, we went into a stand of trees on a steep descent, where there was a stream crossing and a very steep ascent up the other side. I didn't shift in time and found myself WAY over-geared and had to dismount and run up a long hill, all the while getting passed by those who were breathing down my neck just moments ago. Plus, I must have pulled my wheel in the dropouts, because the disk brakes were rubbing badly and the shifting was all messed up. I rode like that for quite a distance while debating on whether I should pull over, lose more spots, and try to fix it. The annoyance got the best of me, so I pulled over and fixed it. It wasn't as bad as I had figured and I was soon off and riding much better. I was quickly getting disappointed in my race, however.

At times like that, you just have to suck it up and focus on improving your situation. I started focusing more on smoother transitions in and out of technical spots, climbing more smoothly, and having fun, dang it! Sure enough, I began to get my act together and felt like I was riding better and during one particularly cool long section of single track, I smiled at how much fun it all was. I got through the final long single track climb (where we met up with the short course racers), got back onto the dirt road and hit the 3 mile climb that we descended early in the race.

It was here that I felt like I was riding a heavy lead bike, but kept myself smooth and made it over in good shape. A guy who had passed me early in the race, but had suffered a pretty heinous crash (and scared the crap out of me because I nearly ran over his head) came flying by me over the top and I grabbed his wheel (drafted, cause it's legal in XTERRA =) and rode really hard into T2.

I was surprised by my T2 quickness. That's usually an indication of how into the race you are and how you might go on the run. But, it was too early to tell because the early part of this run was up a steep mountain trail. It just felt horrible and my upper body went numb. It took a lot out of me to get to the top and I had let two guys pass me early with no response. At the top, the trail started going down steep, off-camber hills, right back into steep uphills. This went on for some time before we hit a very steep downhill to the base of a nice waterfall. At the bottom, we zigged and zagged through thick forest and scrambled through creeks and over little log bridges, making direction changes every few feet. It was tough running, but I started feeling good again and was having fun.

The trail portion was a little less than half of the run. We exited the trail onto the forest road that circumnavigated the lake. It was here that I suddenly felt my run get under me, despite having some cramping in my quads and hamstrings. I used a little less range of motion and a higher turnover and started picking off guys left and right. I noticed a very tiny racer just ahead and realized it was a chick! I was confused but soon remembered that the pros started ahead and some of them were women. It turns out that this was Sara Tarkington, the woman who eventually won the overall. She was quite a runner and it took a second wind and some digging to catch up to her.

I tried to pass her, but she was having none of it and latched onto another guy who surged ahead. I couldn't respond and a gap formed. A storm was building ahead of us and the cool, moist wind was in our faces. Sarah and the other guy lost steam and I caught back up. I found my rhythm again with a couple of miles to go and just held it steady on their heels. Our little group of three (I rarely race in such close quarters with others like this) were picking off all of the fast mtn bikers who could no longer run fast. It was a LOT of fun and I was impressed with this tiny woman's running speed and toughness.

Nearing the end of the dirt road before we descended a short hill to the lakeshore and final stretch to the finish, we passed a guy with his age, 38, on his leg (I'm in the 35-39 AG). I didn't think anything of it, but he made a gasping stuttered, "Uh, uh...," noise, then said, "...that's not good." The guy had been holding 3rd in our age group until our little group, with me in tow, went flying past him. He tried for a few moments to hang onto us, but couldn't quite do it. We started picking up steam into the finish and he fell off a little bit more. I realized at the very end that I had worked my way back into the top-3 of my age group. I finished with the first place pro women and the other guy who had started off a little slow, but obviously picked it up the whole way to the finish, pretty much like I did.

Right when I finished, it started raining. Laury was still out there and had to contend with the worsening weather. He got done and went straight to the car to change and get warm. We waited around for the awards, where we found out that Kim Katko had picked up 2nd OVERALL in the women's short course race...way to go, Kim!

Laury and I hit the road in a pouring rain. It rained all the way back to the Arkansas valley. We stopped in Salida for dinner and were hit by a mob of people...it was the FibARK freak festival (river rafting and lots of other stuff) weekend. No parking, hard to get around, etc. We settled on an out of the way cafe, where the food was pretty good.

It was a great trip and a very fun, if not tough, race. Lots of racers in Colorado! It's just amazing how many of them there are and how many other events there are on any given weekend there.

If you're inclined to do an XTERRA, this one is cool, but be ready for a tough, longer course. They have the short course option too, so that would be a good start. I recommend the race for sure...