XTERRA West Championship Race Report

I have never been more nervous in the days before a race.  Three days before the race, on Wednesday afternoon, I had to abort a track workout because of severe cramping in my calves.  That evening, I could barely make it up the stairs without severe pain in my legs.  Thursday morning, before driving to Las Vegas, I got a massage to try to work the cramps out—it didn’t work.  My calves were still very sore and cramped.  I wore compression sleeves on my calves during the 5 hour drive to Las Vegas and took the day off.  The legs felt a bit better by Thursday evening, but far from 100%. 

After a warm up run on the day before the race

The day before the race, I ran the first 2mi of the run route with my kids.  This kept me slow, helped me review a technical part of the run, and gave my son a course preview of his 5k.  The legs still were sore and I didn’t have confidence that I could push them.  As soon as the run was complete, I got on my bike for a bike course preview.  I’ve ridden the course many times before in previous years, but trails change depending on rains, use, and other factors.  It changed substantially from previous years—it became exceptionally difficult in some areas and much more dangerous to ride aggressively.

 

The bike venue.  This is atop the first climb

I practiced a few downhill sections that were sketchy so I could find a decent line without crashing on race day.  I was going fairly slow, but still had difficulty feeling in control of my bike.  I completed one loop of the course (on race day, it would be two loops) and came to a decision point: ride another loop to practice some technical areas or head back to the hotel without a crash and with my legs feeling okay.  I went back to the hotel with the plan that I needed to be cautious in the technical areas and knowing that other riders on the course would probably regulate my speed somewhat.  The ride needed to be focused on the uphill portions of the course and on the flats; I was willing to sacrifice speed for safety on the downhill areas.

The afternoon before the race, I relaxed by the pool with my family and an XTerra friend.  Josiah Middaugh stopped by the pool with his family as well, so we talked about the course and some of the challenges it posed.  Josiah would win the race the following day—what a nice guy and family.  I told my friend about my cramping calves and he bet me that I’d forget about the pain during the race.  I was hoping he was right, but I was exceptionally nervous.  The course was tough and dangerous, the temperature would be about 90, and the ability of my legs to endure the run was very questionable.

Before the swim, not feeling nervous anymore.

Swim venue.  In the foreground is the buoy I never saw.

Race morning came after a good dinner and a great night of sleep.  I got my bike set up in transition at 7:00 and went back to the hotel room a short walk away to get the kids ready for the day.  The start time for my race was 10:30.  During that time, I somehow found a way to relax a bit and my nervousness went away.  My plan to deal with the leg cramps was to drink a lot of water and push a lot of Enduralites during the race.  My transition area was set up, I had a nice 1.5mi jog to loosen my legs, and I finally felt ready to race.  My race was the run—I needed to get off the bike without crashing or some mechanical issue and my legs needed to be in good shape.  I expected that my efforts on the bike would loosen my legs somewhat, but still didn’t have confidence that the calves would hold out.

Under the bridge, ready for the swim start

 

The cannon went off after we assembled under the bridge for the swim start.  There was one intermediate buoy before the turn buoy that I lost track of.  The buoys were yellow, and so were our swim caps, so they were somewhat hard to distinguish among all the yellow caps at eye level.  I felt okay during the swim, although I wasn’t on anyone’s feet.  I got a few good gulps of water, but it was an uneventful swim otherwise.  Water temperature varied between 58-62, depending upon the depth of the lake, so the swim was actually pretty comfortable. 

 

Trying to get my balance in the transition area

In the transition area, I got my wetsuit off fairly quickly and attempted to get my shoes on.  I had a real tough time keeping my balance.  I couldn’t bend over to put my shoes on without stumbing.  So frustrating!  I burned a lot of time in the transition area attempting to get my shoes on.  My feet were covered with dirt from stumbling and I had a lot of muddy sand in my shoes once they were on.  I was pretty glad to be out of that transition area—one part of my racing that I need to improve…

 

It was about 11:00 once I was on the bike, so the temperature started to pick up.  More significantly, it became exceptionally windy.  Atop the first hill we climbed, there was a very strong crosswind that blew me off a thin established path into some loose rocks.  I almost lost my balance but gave a strong few pedals to get speed and balance established.  The first few tough areas soon approached; thanks to my practice the previous day, I dialed in the appropriate gears and took the right lines in the rocky downhill portions.  The course wasn’t too crowded, although there were a few of us in a loose pack.  I passed a few groups without much drama—I was lucky enough not to be constrained on a single lane.  I drank water at preplanned locations so I’d have two hands on the bars during technical areas.  At a water bottle exchange, they gave us a water bottle with cold water—that was quite welcome.  I was still riding with a small group, maybe three other competitors, at the halfway point.  During the race, I noticed that they were a bit slower on the hills, so I wanted to get ahead during the first big hill on lap #2 so I’d have a clean trail in front of me.

 

That round part in my suspension came loose and popped out

Lap number two on the bike went well for me.  I was confident, my legs felt pretty good, and the course was somewhat tamed due to all the bike traffic.  I was also alone, except for some of the people I was passing along the way.  I had no one to compete with for good ground on the bike course, which helped me get up, down, and around efficiently.  After a rough downhill portion of the bike, something felt odd when I was in the small chain ring.  There was an odd noise and my suspension didn’t feel right—something was loose.  With all of the difficult terrain behind me, I just hoped I could get the bike to the finish.  I was concerned that my cranks would fall off and was planning on ways to cope.  The bike performed well in the big ring, so I kept it there and finished the ride without incident.  Into the transition area I was so happy to have kept on my pedals for the entire ride and was ready to see how my calves would respond.

 

Up a steep hill immediately out of transition

Right out of the transition, there was a steep hill that led to the run course.  Then there was about a 1 mile steady incline after a somewhat rugged trail portion.  I saw Josiah coming the other way in the lead with Conrad Stolz a long way back.  I gave them both a shout of encouragement.  My legs felt okay and my calves were behaving, but overall I felt dull and the air seemed hard to get.  Miles 3-4 were merciless.  The hills made your chest pound and the grade was exceptionally steep in some areas—I couldn’t even run up a few portions.  I passed a few competitors and one who was in my division just before mile 5.  After mile 5, it was pretty much all downhill, so I picked up my speed, as it didn’t bother my aching hamstrings.  I finally had a good stride, but felt that my run overall wasn’t too good.  It actually ended up being the 10^th fastest run split in the race.

 

On the final stretch home

I got to the finish having given everything I had.  What a great feeling to be completely depleted after a challenging race with so many obstacles to overcome, primarily my spastic calves.  I saw my kids cheering for me on the way in, which was a welcome sight.  After I saw my results card, I actually gagged on the water I was drinking—I got on the podium!  I was pretty proud of myself and elated to have finished in good health.  With that finish, I qualified for the World Championships and met one of my goals—to podium at a Regional or higher level race.

Lots of Enduralites resulted in salty sweat but no cramps

 

At the conclusion of the race, in true XTerra fashion, a few of us shared some beers and stories at a hotel pool.  The following day, my son had his XTerra 5k, so that was the focus for the evening.  It was a good day for him too—1/7 in his age group and 7/199 overall.  He and the Middaugh family all stood on the podium after the 5k with proud parents in the audience.

 

So a great start to the XTerra season with a real nice trip to Las Vegas with the family.  The season is progressing nicely so far, with the San Diego Omegawave ITU in a few days, the B&L Encinitas Sprint Tri in May, and a few more XTerras in June. 

3rd Place Men 40-44

My son during his 5k

1st Place Boys 10-14