The hard work is finally starting to pay off this season. Lock 4 not only gave me my first win of the year, but also got me qualified for the XTERRA USA Championships in Ogden, UT in September. I'm already registered and ready to go!
I've changed up my training a bit to improve my endurance. The sickness in March ruined my base and I haven't had a chance to get the miles back up. The past 2 weeks I have knocked out 20+ hour weeks. I love getting out on the bike that much. I really do enjoy riding. It was crazy hot for the first week, but last week cooled down with some rain rolling through middle Tennessee and relieving our drought conditions. I got in a century one day after work which was cool. You rarely get enough time after working to knock out 100 miles. I spent a day or two in the rain, but overall the weather has really cooperated for me. I enjoyed the rain. It's been very dry here so it was nice see rain falling and also get cooled down during the ride. I'm starting my third big week now to finish off my block of endurance riding. Then it will be time to really crack down on the running and swimming to get ready for Utah.
Cumberland River on an early morning ride
Hanging out with Keith, Misty and Ben following a Tuesday night group ride in Sango
During last week's big training week, I also got to play around on the mountain bike at Marty Pierce's house. He has a few ramps that I have ridden before. I rode my dirt jump bike and also his BMX bike. I loved the BMX. It was so light compared to my mountain bike. The lightness made it very easy to pitch around on the quarter pipe. His son, Trevor, also rode with us and played on his skateboard. The kid is pretty good to be so young. He led us in a game of follow the leader before the night was out.
Video: Riding BMX with Marty and Trevor
I'm enjoying the Tour de France right now. It's been more exciting compared to recent years, at least from my point of view. We don't have cable/satellite at home, so I either watch the race at work or on British Eurosport online. The X Games were good this year too. ESPN made them available on demand which meant I could watch them at night after my rides. It always cool to see the progression of all the sports. One of my friends, Mike Brown, was there racing the Enduro X. He's a Pro motocross rider and venturing into the Endurocross scene. We have raced on the same team at the 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth in Oak Ridge, TN a few times. Mike's a cool dude and I was happy to see him not only make it to the final, but win the gold! Go Mike Brown!
Mike Brown in action at X Games
I have two more triathlons ahead. This weekend is the Music City Triathlon in Nashville. I don't expect a whole lot from this one. I'm just not that excited about doing a road tri. The only reason I signed up was for the swim training. It's a 1 mile swim, which is just a tad longer than the 1500 meter swim we will face at XTERRA Nationals. I'm also going to be coming off another week of long hours. The following weekend I will get one more chance to brush up on my XTERRA skills at XTERRA Panther Creek in Morristown, TN. I will rest up for this one and hammer the whole thing for training. More to come afterwards...
My week between XTERRA Scales Lake and XTERRA Lock 4 Blast was a hot one filled with lots of dirt. Well, the dirt was mostly dust. It's been very hot here, with temps well above normal. We've rocked the triple-digit temps for the past three weeks and have had no rain, which has led to very dry conditions on the trails.
We took advantage of an afternoon off work to go pre-ride the courses at Lock 4. Shannon and I did a full lap on the trails. Then I did some race-simulation work, hammering out 2 laps on the 6-mile bike course and then going for a lap on the 2.1-mile run course. I had maybe the best run I have ever had, running under a 7:30 mile for my run. That's fast for me on a trail. I usually run in the 8:30-9:00 range.
I hit my backyard trail a few days too. They were short rides just to keep the legs going and to fine-tune the bike. We have a bunch of blackberries growing in the creek so I've been picking them as they ripen to keep the freezer full. Most of the bushes along the road have dried up with the drought. Yes, I know I'm a berry freak.
I was excited on race day. This was the first week in quite a while where I had no aches or pains. I finally didn't feel like an old man! We had another early rise. That seems to be a common thing with triathlons. The transition area was crowded this week and I barely got a spot. The temperature has stayed up at night lately so we haven't had much relief at all from the heat. The forecast was for 104 degrees. I was glad to be starting at 8am! It was a humid morning which makes getting changed a challenge. It's amazing how hard it is to put on a skinsuit when you are already sweating.
Parking lot early before the race
The swim was 1/2 mile long in Old Hickory Lake. We started in the water just off the tip of the peninsula. All racers started in one big wave this week. I started at the front, but again had difficulty the first few minutes. I started faster than last week, but everyone merged over into my lane. They told us that fast swimmers were to line up on the left and slower swimmers to the right. Nobody changed sides after that announcement. I was in the middle and got run over as everybody from the right side tried to move left after the start. I think I dog-paddled more than swam the first 5 minutes as there were just too many bodies ahead of me. I finally got into a clear lane just before the first buoy. I started picking off swimmers in the second half. There's always a few guys that know me from mountain biking and they like to pick at me about being a slower swimmer. It was awesome to beat all except one of them out of the water. I slowed some at the end of the swim in hopes of hitting the bike with less fatigue than last week. That slowed down my swim time to just over a minute slower than last week at Scales Lake. I think that was mostly due to the crazy start though, rather than my backing off at the end. I clocked at 17:44, coming into the transition area around 25th place.
Start of the race in Old Hickory Lake
Out of the water and running to the transition area
I fumbled around in transition, losing my balance while putting on my socks, causing me to step onto the edge of my helmet. That catapulted my GPS and gel flask into the air. I also stepped on my shoes and pulled both the velcro straps totally out of the loops. I had to kneel down and re-thread the straps, then find my GPS and flask on the ground. Most triathletes will go without socks, but I can't stand riding and running without socks. Besides, my shoes are a tad too big so I need socks to take up the extra space. I did try something new for this race. I went without gloves. Again, most triathletes will do this. I have no problem with that on the road, but mountain biking is a lot tougher on the hands. You put much more pressure on the grips which can lead to blisters. And there's a lot of trees flying by your knuckles throughout the race. But I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.
In transition
Leaving transition to begin lap 1 of 2 on the bike
It was nice being farther up in the group. I've always been outside the top 50 when starting the bike. Traffic was still a problem, but the riders were much more spread out. Most of them let me by as soon as I caught them, but I did have a little trouble with a few. My first lap was like last week. Despite backing off at the end of the swim, my legs were flat and my upper body was tired. I was hoping to run 28-29 minute laps, but came it well outside 30 minutes on lap 1. I did however, move up to 6th overall by this point.
GPS map of the bike course
Lap 2 went better. My legs really came around by halfway through this lap. I moved up to 5th overall and ended the lap with a dead sprint for the last 2 miles. The sprinting caused me not to notice my GPS flying off my wrist. Apparently, you can sprint hard enough to cause the plastic mount on your wrist to flex and allow the GPS unit to pop off. I came through the finish and reached for my lap button only to find an empty wrist. Those things are way too expensive to just lose on the trail. My second lap was a tad faster than lap one. Still, my time was outside 1 hour and a good 3 minutes off the best bike time. I seem to be swimming better, but it's effecting me more once I get onto the bike. I did not like going gloveless. The water left from the swim, combined with a lot of sweating in the heat, made for a slippery grip. I had my hand nearly slip off twice on rough descents. My hands were sore afterwards from having the death grip on the handlebars. Definitely don't want to have a hand fly off on a fast downhill. That would not end well.
Rider coming over the jump
Me keeping it low and fast over the jump
I had 4th place in sight as we began the run. I did my best to hang with him the first mile. It's a tough start to the run with an immediate climb on the road out in the hot sun. I did ok on the road, but I was way winded when we entered the woods and I started dropping time. I tried to yell at Shannon too, to led her know that I had lost my GPS in case she heard of someone finding it. I am used to judging my run pace by the numbers on the GPS. With no gauge I just ran as hard as I could. I didn't try to pace myself at all.
I hurt bad the first lap, but then got settled in. I had lost sight of 4th, but I was holding onto 5th still. I got caught halfway through the second lap and lost one spot. The guy came by fast and I had no chance of hanging on. I was getting tired in the last mile, but I could hear footsteps. I knew I couldn't back off. Mike Edens was the guy behind me. I had passed him near the end of the bike. He's a good rider and I was surprised to get away from him like I did. He's been training hard for this event and was running a bit faster than me. He caught me as we exited the woods. I hung on to his pace up the last hill and waited for a sprint. We were in different classes, but I still wanted to beat him for overall placing. I started the sprint early, hoping the element of surprise may give me the edge. He was ready and we went toe to toe all the way to the line. I gave it all I had, but he beat me by a foot. It was such a fun way to end the race! I was pleased to have enough left in the tank to sprint like that. And sprinting a friend is always fun. So I finished 7th overall with a time of 1:58:22.
Me about to enter the woods on the first lap of the run
I had no idea where I finished in my class. I immediately headed in for another lap on the bike with Shannon to look for my GPS. We rode over an hour looking with no luck. Then we went back to check results just in time for the podiums. I rolled up the hill to see Daryl Glascock waving at me with my GPS and to hear my name being announced as winner of the 25-29 class. That makes three wins in my class in three years at Lock 4 and should seal the deal for me going to Nationals.
I look very out of place on top of the Men's 25-29 podium
Video clips from the race shot on the GoPro
I am pleased with my first win of the year, but I know I have a lot of work to do to be ready for Nationals. It was stupid hot when we finished at Lock 4. We stopped for some frozen yogurt on the way home and then hit my parents' pool for some swimming. Actually, it was more floating than swimming. I had enough swimming in the race! Thanks go out to Shannon, Amber and my Mom for the pictures and videos. They also helped keep me motivated during the race and let me know which place I was in.
My XTERRA season kicked off a few weeks ago on June 23 at XTERRA Scales Lake in Boonville, IN. It was a really fun weekend of camping, riding, racing and hanging out with family. Amber is still in town staying with us and we met Shannon's parents at the race site. They were looking for a few days away and decided to make the trip down to see us since we were racing in Indiana. It was still a long drive for them, but they made a fun trip of it, stopping in Indianapolis along the way to tour the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and some other historic places.
We headed up to Boonville on Friday afternoon as soon as I got out of work. It's a fairly short drive from Clarksville at just over 2 hours. We got to Scales Lake Park with plenty of time to set up the tent and go for a pre-ride of the race course. I was expecting a flat layout cruising around the lake, but the course was anything but flat. There were many, many steep ups and downs that felt like a roller coaster. I really enjoyed the loop as it reminded me of the old SERC race course in Reddick, FL. Shannon on the other hand, was not too fond of the steepness of the hills, both up and down. She is still new to mountain biking so it was a bit scary. She handled it well though, walking when she wasn't comfortable with the terrain. I was pleased to not have hamstring or knee pain. I was really worried after it bothered me so much in the week prior.
It took much longer than I expect to ride the 6-mile loop and we almost got caught out in the dark. The race loop came right behind our campsite at one point and Shannon bailed out there so I could hurry around the last bit. It was nearly dark when I finished the lap, but I wanted to see the run course so I went back in. The run course was crazy. The trail was freshly mowed, narrow and off-camber. There were a lot of trees down as well. I walked some of it because the hills were crazy steep. I had a hard time walking them, let alone riding them. It was definitely an advantage to get in a pre-ride on this course.
Race day came bright and early. We actually woke up before 5am, which was well before the alarm went off. It was probably the best night of sleep I have ever had in a tent. I felt great! I hit registration early and got my transition set up. The race consisted of a 1/2 mile swim in Scales Lake, followed by 2 laps of the 6-mile mountain bike course, and then one lap of the 3.6-mile run course. My goal was a top 3 overall and to win the 25-29 class. I was sure that this goal would be achieved. My bike is always fast and I thought I would be even faster on this type of course and also in the swim with my improved form.
Awaiting the start in Scales Lake
The race began with us already in the water. And it was a fast start! I was on the front row and went to the back in the first 10 strokes. I kept my cool though and concentrated on my form. I swam my own race and didn't worry about anyone around me. They started us in waves, with my wave being everyone under 40 yrs old. Some of the 40+ wave guys came strolling by towards the end of the swim. I did my best ever swim time, coming out of the water in 16th out of my wave with a time of 16:33. That's a full 5 minutes faster than I've ever swam that distance. I did make one little mistake near the end. The water was clear and I thought it was shallow when I was about 15 feet from the shore. I tried to put my feet down and was surprised to find no bottom. It looked about 3 feet deep, but was well over 8 feet to the muddy bottom!
Swimmers rounding the last buoy
Me coming out of the water
Running from the lake to the transition area
Video: Swim start
Transition went well and then things got serious. I started picking off the people on the bike, but I wasn't feeling well. I made a lot of mistakes and didn't have good legs the first lap. Still, I moved up to 4th overall by the end of the lap. Lap 2 was much better. My time was a minute faster than the first lap. I made up some time on those ahead of me, but it wasn't as much as I had expected to make up. Some of the other guys were faster on this terrain than I had anticipated. My time was good enough for second fastest bike time of the day, which was a disappointment. I wanted nothing less than fastest bike time, but I was beaten handily by 1:25. I came off the bike in 3rd overall. It was starting to get hot now with temp in the mid-90s and the sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky.
Grabbing a drink at the end of my second lap on the bike
Bike course
My run started fast. I only had about 30 seconds lead on the 4th place overall. I wanted that podium bad so I ran with everything I had. The first half of the run I did well. I actually pulled away from the people behind me. There were 3 sections that were gnarly with narrow, off-camber hills and lot of roots and rocks. I made it through the first two without getting caught, but I was hurting after 2.5 miles. We came across the dam next to the lake at mile 3 and I was finally caught. Two people came by, neither of which were the guy I had been trying to stay ahead of. I didn't get my podium, but I held on for 5th overall finisher. My run time was 32:22 and overall time 1:42:37. I was 15 minutes off the winner. I ended up 9th overall after they did the math of subtracting the times off the guys in the second wave.
Heading out for the run segment of the race
Nearing the finish
Run course
I didn't know that I had been leading my class until the run. One of those two that passed me in the last mile was in my class and he won. That put me 2nd in the 25-29 group. So close! I wanted a win, but 2nd is nice too and gets me some good points towards qualifying for nationals.
After the race, we rolled over to Biaggi's, a nice Italian restaurant in Evansville. I would recommend it if you ever pass through the Evansville area. It was good food and good service. I have been losing coolant in my car for a week or so and have been trying to find the leak. We stopped by a sewing store for Shannon to look at some material and found a big puddle under the car when we left. I couldn't find the leak until the next day when a friend from church stopped by. He found the leak quickly and pointed it out to me. When he touched it, the line exploded and blew coolant all over us. It was still hot too. We got the part the next day and put it on. The travel mobile still lives and is ready for more races!
This race was to be my only XTERRA race in June, but with my recent strong of injuries and set-backs, I didn't feel ready for the Cincinnati crits that were scheduled for the following weekend. Instead, I stayed home to work more on my triathlon form and try to earn some more points at the XTERRA Lock 4 Blast. I will say that it went pretty well. I'll post a report from Lock 4 soon. Thanks for reading!
