XTERRA Costa Rica

Race Equipment and Setup:

Bike: Pro Cycling Epic with SRM XX1 156Q Crank

     90ml of Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex Sealant, 22.0 psi Front, 24.0 psi Rear, 2.2 Fast Trak 

     Helmet: Rudy Project Windmax

     Glasses: Rudy Project Tralyx 

Run: Colorado Running Company Inov-8 X-Talon 212

     Glasses: Rudy Project Tralyx

Race Nutrition: +First Endurance Triathlon Nutrition Plan

     Pre-Race: 24oz Bottle of 1 serving of EFS Pro + Beta Red, and 20oz of water

                         Enduro Bite Dark Chocolate Espresso

                         3 Capsules of PreRace

     Bike: 2x24oz bottle with 4 scoops EFSPro

               2 servings EFS Liquid Shot

     Run: 1 serving EFS LiquidShot and on course hydration.

     Post Race: Cappuccino Ultragen

First Endurance VIP Friends Discount

XTERRA Costa Rica
After a few years I returned back for XTERRA Costa Rica, it was a great experience the first time and I was very happy things worked out to make back this year.  Once significant change I made was flying in to Liberia instead of San Jose and when you do this race that is the only way, it saves you a minimum of 6 hours in a car.  I was very happy about that after all of the travel that I had done in the preceding two weeks to Argentina and Chile.  The XTERRA Costa Rica crew had made some great course changes to the bike since the first year as well.  The race is very hard due to the very hot and pretty humid climate and the first year there was a tremendous amount of hike-a-bike and one very steep hill you were crawling up and trying to drag your bike with you.  They changed the course and there is one very steep hill that if things pack down just a bit would be ride-able but it is a very manageable hike-a-bike.  They added some new sections of trail and fun, so if you did the race in 2014 I highly recommend you go back, it is still tough but you will enjoy it a bit more.
The water is beautiful and a perfect temperature for a non-wetsuit swim that is just a touch chilly when you get in but it feels great once you start swimming and with a high of 99 anticipated for the day being a bit cold out of the water feels pretty good.  Because of the high temps we were off running to the water at 6am but it was definitely welcomed with how hot it would get out there.  The plan was the same get on Jean-Philippe’s feet but he started far left and I started far right and I just missed them after clearing the field after the start.  Ian King, Billy Gordon and I swam through the first lap and JP was about 15 sec up so we were staying closer than in Argentina and Chile.  I felt good and lead through the second lap and ever so slightly managed to shorten the gap to JP just a little bit, about half way through the lap I felt a few funny bumps during my stroke and could see some jellyfish floating around.  I was happy that it was only a few of them and not the thousands we were swimming through a few years before.  The current right at the shore was very strong and our timing was off and it was a big struggle trying not to get pulled back in.  Running to the bikes we were only about 10 sec down from JP.

Ian and JP got out quick and were riding to the beach and I laid chase to them, trying to find the hardest packed sand to ride on as we rode along the beach.  I slowly closed the gap down and we started the hike-a-bike together about half way up we heard someone charging from behind and Josiah was motoring us down.  We peaked over the top Josiah took the lead, with me behind, he got a stick stuck in his wheel and had to stop and I pushed on knowing it would not be long till he would be powering back up to us.  JP and I rode together and we jumped back on Josiah’s wheel when he went by and focused on just sticking there.  Josiah slowed on a corner and when he accelerated out of it neither one of us could match it and he slowly powered away.  We continued to work together to try to keep the pressure on and limit the gap he would get, a few kilometers later Kris Coddens rode his way up to us and powered away as well on the next hill.  Through the remainder of the ride JP and I continued to work together, I was more powerful on the flats and led much of it but JP would always be willing to put in as much work as possible.  We had a common goal to limit our losses to the front and to expand our lead on everyone else.  I knew I would like to get away from JP before the run as he has been quicker in the last two races but I was not quite strong enough on the flats to do so.  A big blessing through the race was that it was mostly cloudy and it kept the temperatures much lower and the sun from beating down on us though the bike, which is pretty well exposed for much of the course.
I grabbed my frozen bottle and bag of ice in transition to help stay cool and JP was able to get a gap to start as we headed up the hill on the run out of transition.  My legs were not going very well up the hill and JP easily ran away from me.  I did see Ian King and Ryan Ignatz come riding down the hill and knew that I had to run hard to keep them at bay.  Ryan has run me down a number of times and I didn’t want it to happen again.  Once I was able to get the legs going on the downhill I felt much better and was able to tick things over and just continued to run scared.  On my the second lap of a small loop in the middle of the run that the Olympic distance did twice a sprint racer, Sebastian Alfaro, was just entering the loop.  We ran together and were able to push each other and it helped keep the pace high.  The last 1.5 km’s of the run are tough on a sandy road that is relatively hard packed for most of it but there is a section about ¾ of the way through that is just running through soft sand.  It is brutal at the end of the race but we charged along, after I got through the soft sand I took a look back and saw Ryan coming.  I really pushed that last little bit in and thankfully for the first time really started to feel the heat of the day.  I held strong and finished in 4th and Ryan was not far behind in 5th.

Sorry I don't have any photos her is a link to a few:
https://augustteague.smugmug.com/XTERRA-Costa-Rica
XTERRA Costa Rica

Marquee Tri and what lies ahead.

Refreshing the Caffelatex with 30ml in each wheel after 2 years.

The Lifetime Fitness Marquee Triathlon was Sunday and was the last little rust buster for me before the season gets going. Unlike the previous few races of just rolling into the races, this one I went through a more typical routine the night before of getting things ready and getting to bed earlier for the early start.  I broke out the race wheels and refreshed the tubular tires with 30ml Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex of sealant, it is a very quick and easy insurance against having a flat tire ruin a race. Thanks to the stability of Caffelatex I only need to do this maybe once every 1-2 years, so depending on how much you race and the tires, you could easily wear out the tires before you need to refresh it. 

The swim was in Tempe Town Lake and the weather had cooled things off enough to make it wetsuit legal.  I would have preferred non-wetsuit but it was good to get in my 2XU X:3 in preparation for the next two races that will likely be wetsuit legal.  The race was an amateur race but there were a couple other pro's there using it for the same purpose I was and I would have some good competition with Pedro Gomes and Tyler Jordan.  I swam well leading out of the water and put 30 seconds on Pedro and a couple minutes on Tyler.

I transitioned quick tossing on my Rudy Project Wing57 and jumped on my bike. I did not position my Ergomask glasses well on the bike to put on and they fell off the bike and I rode straight over the lens.  A volunteer ran and grabbed them as I turned around to grab them and told me they were broken, I saw the pieces from a far, he said he would get them to lost and found and I could get them later there, and I took off on the bike.  The course was a two loop bike, on the first I had smooth sailing with a clear course and really pushed, unsure for the first 8 miles if I was gaining or losing ground to Pedro.  I clocked an estimated split of about 1:15 or so on an out and back that I was ahead and was hoping to put more time on him.  The second loop was a bit messy though as more athletes from later waves were headed out on to the course.  There was a lot of dodging athletes and trying to be a good representative of what you needed to do on the course with the narrow lanes of staying to the right and only moving just enough to the left to pass.  On the out and back section I was able to spot Pedro again and estimated I had maintained the gap around a minute ten with only a few miles left to go and worked on continuing to use the other athletes to slipstream further ahead.  I had a smooth transition to the run and hoped was moving well enough to hold Pedro off.

SRM Power Graph for the LTF Marquee Tri

I had done well on my nutrition thus far in the race taking in all of my First Endurance EFS Pro and a good swig off of my EFS Liquid Shot flask during the bike.  I felt strong and my legs felt like they were turning over well but I was not moving quite fast enough as on a few sections of the two lap run I could see Pedro was gaining on me.  Towards the end of the first lap he caught me, I made a little surge to stay with him but did not commit to it hard enough and he pulled away.  I kept pushing though the second lap and used the other athletes that were on course as carrots to keep gaining ground and keep Pedro as close as possible.  I did not know that Tyler Jordan was gaining on me and closing things down.  I crossed the line in 2nd and found out later that Tyler was only 10 seconds behind.  Overall I smoothed out my transitions and my effort on the swim and bike were right on.  The run was not up to par with my training and I need to work on the mental part of my run a bit more.  It was great having Spooner Physical Therapy there after to help loosen my left glute and hamstring out which was a bit tight on the bike.  I got my Rudy Ergomasks back after the race and the best news is that the lenses did not break, the removable ear piece came off and there is a good scratch on the lens, as to be expected riding over them,  but with Rudy's Replacement Lens Guarantee I will have clean clear vision at the next race. 

I now have a week left in Tucson before leaving my wonderful winter training grounds in Tucson and the real racing begins.  It will be a solid mix of XTERRA and half ironman distance triathlons through the year.  Below is where you will be able to find me this year there are a couple races later in the year that may change.  Let me know what races you may be at and best success with your seasons as well.

4/25   XTERRA West
5/2     IM 70.3 St. George
5/16   XTERRA Southeast
5/31   IM 70.3 Raleigh
6/14   XTERRA East
7/5     Challenge St. Andrews
7/18   XTERRA Mountain
8/1     XTERRA Mexico
8/16   Challenge Pocono
8/30   Challenge Maine
9/19   XTERRA USA
10/4   IM 70.3 Silverman
10/18 Challenge Rancho Cordova
11/1   XTERRA World Championship

Lets get the ball rolling, what has been up for the past 4 months

Have been silent for quite some time and frustration will do that.  After a less than desirable race at USA Champs last year and a horrific performance at XTERRA World champs it took some time to come back around.  There was a lot of self reflection and over analyzing trying to figure out what was going on and why I was not connecting some great training to my racing.  Derick and I decided that we needed to change things up a bit and took a bit longer break over the winter before heading in to any structured training and focused on more mental training for the first part.

What I wouldn't miss is heading back down to Tucson to train over the winter and just after the New Year I headed down to start getting back into some solid training.  Tucson is an excellent place to come in the winter for training, it doesn't take long to learn some basic training routes and then you can branch off from those and explore more of the area.  There is a great masters swim group at the University of Arizona that offers 3 practices a day Monday through Friday and one on Saturday.  There are a few group rides the most notorious being the "Shootout" on Tuesday and Saturday.  It is a hotbed for cycling and there are many national and world class mountain and road pro cyclists on US Continental to UCI World Pro Tour teams that come down and train and the group ride on Saturday grows from about 50 during the summer months to over 200 in the winter as guys and gals are down putting in the miles.  So it isn never hard to find some one faster than you that will help you push your limits.  Tucson has been improving its network of mountain bike trails over the years and there is and increasing number of options each year, the only downside is that they are a bit more spread out than the trail options in the Springs, but there are a great network of bike paths and bike lanes to get around easily.  Those paths have been great for running as well, with the Santa Cruz and Rillito River Paths for some great flat open paths for pace work or up in the rolling hills of on the west side roads in to Tucson Mountain park for close trail running.  I have also been playing a bigger focus to some strength training over the winter as well.

I have been steadily building over the past couple months and doing a few random races here and there as well.  Started out with the Sun Run 5k to get an idea of where my run fitness and speed was at in early January and over all the run went well.  Only issue is that about 2.5 miles in the course crosses and intersection and the police were there doing their job but a guy riding was on the wrong side of the crosswalk right as I was turing to cross the intersection and our shoulders collided and I went spinning through the air something like this:

Took about 30 sec to gather myself grab my Rudy Project Agon glasses that went flying, check to make sure the rider was okay and then continued on to the finish.  With that taken into account I was pretty happy with my overall time and how it ended up.  We kept the training rolling and kept racing as well.  Part of the mental aspect that I have needed to work on has been in races and makings sure I don't give in and to stay with guys when they pass me and after working on some goal setting and some of the mental pieces in training I applied it to racing.  

In the fight for 2nd less than a mile in.

The next race was the Sunrise at Old Pueblo 4 Mile, it was a race I won last year and was hoping to keep that rolling.  One guy was too quick and there wasn't a chance of staying with him but I had a great battle for 2nd with another guy.  He really forced the pace for the first 2 + miles and made things uncomfortable for sure but I knew that I couldn't let him go I would give it everything to stay with him.  He cracked slightly at about 2.5 miles and I was able to get a small gap on him but he was holding very strong and I had to keep pushing.  I managed to hold him off and took 2nd.

Just past 3 miles in 2nd but 3rd is just lurking, can see him just off my hip.

Off on the 2nd run (PC: Deb McMullen)

Next up was another race that was advertised as an 8k, once it was all said and done it was more about 5.5k.  I guess that is what you get when a fraternity act as the race organizers and they are just trying to copy maps off of mapmyrun.com.  Around this same time I had been working on getting all the pieces of my new mountain bike together to build it up and it was almost 100% complete.  I can't thank Logan enough for loaning me his drive train since the parts I ordered were held up at a shipping yard in San Diego while the workers were on strike.  With the bike up and running I headed up to Scottsdale for the Desert Classic Duathlon, it is a great race that has been held for quite a while and Angie and her crew at Chasing 3 did a fantastic job putting it on.  They offer two events, a standard road duathlon and an off-road version, they both used the same trail run at the beginning and the end with the chosen road or mountain bike leg between.  I elected for the off road even though I had only been on the mountain bike 3 or 4 times to test things out.  There were some quick runners which gave a great opportunity to really work on chasing and staying with other athletes.

Feels good to be on the top step.

On the mountain bike I had a good lead and really tried to focus on really pushing the pace since I didn't know who was behind me.  About half was through the bike a local mountain biker caught me and it really made me have to push and attack the course more to stay on his wheel and not let him get away.  I stayed with him all the way back to transition and then took off on the run.  There were other road duathletes out on the run as well and I was able to use them to focus on and try to catch.  I was slowly reeling in 3 guys ahead and was going to make a big push in the last 3/4 of a mile to catch them when boom I hit the ground.  I had tripped over a rock, after a sec gathering myself I took off to the finish but lost the opportunity to try to catch the guys ahead.  It was still very nice to take the win and start to get the flow of going through transitioning between the sports again.

Sampling 1st Endurance & Enduro Bites 

After a few more weeks of solid training I headed back up to Scottsdale for the Fat Tire 40 Mountain bike race.  At packet pick up I got to meet a lot of the racers some very experienced and some that were just entering the sport as I did a sampling and demo of the First Endurance and Enduro Bites.  It was a great time getting to listen to some of the other products that athletes were using and any issues they had with them and letting them try the new EFS Pro hydration sports drink and take samples of EFS Liquid Shot and Ultragen Recovery Drink.  They could also try the Dark Chocolate and Espresso and Fig and Dark Chocolate energy bars from Enduro Bites.  The race overall went well, I mainly need to work on my hole-shot sprint at the start so I don't get trapped to far back.  I was in the lead group but the 3 strongest guys got away out front and I had to battle my way past a few guys to try to catch up but it took too long to get around and they opened up a gap that I couldn't close down and they were working together and going well.  It was a good hard effort unfortunately I rode all alone but I was getting more and more comfortable technically on the bike.

 TriZona Sprint Triathlon, T1 on the rough of the golf course.

      I was continuing to string together some great training and the new 10 day/3 day plan Derick had adjusted my training to was really going well.  After the struggles last year we needed to at least try a new approach in my training and after a bit of an adjustment period I really began to understand the process.  I have always been able to string together some great volume for weeks on end then take a rest week then do it all over again but we both felt that I was slowly digging myself into a hole.  So we made the change and I am working really hard over a 10 day period and then taking 3 days of rest/light movement and the results are showing.  The first triathlon of the year was at the TriZona at Starr Pass two weeks ago, it is a unique event that is a must do.  Barry and Jodee Siff of 5430 Sports put it on and it is a great low key event.  It starts like no other triathlon out there, down the waterside at the JW Marriott Resort at Starr Pass then two laps AGAINST the current in the lazy river, it was and absolute blast.  I headed out on the bike and had my work cut out for me as Olympic Mountain Biker Todd Wells was doing his first triathlon so I knew his bike would be very strong and I really had to swim and run well.  The three lap bike is very challenging rolling hilly course, I felt good as it was the first really big effort on my TT bike this year.  Just at the end of the bike Todd went by, after a bit of a smoother transition I headed out on the run just ahead of him.  Because of the time trial start I needed to finish 40 seconds ahead of Todd to take the win, let it be known that Todd can run as I was only able to just barely out run him.  I was first across the line but Todd kept me close enough to take the win.

The winter has been great being down in Tucson and I have been staying down here a bit longer than normal as I am house and dog sitting for some friends that are over in Italy, one is a lecturer for the University of Arizona and had the opportunity to go over and it couldn't be missed.  It has worked out as a great trade that I get to be down here and train while they get to go on a grand adventure and work a little on the side too.  The only negative is that I am in Arizona for 4 months and it takes me away from Bri.  She makes some adjustments at work and comes down every few weeks for a long weekend and we get to have some fun.  She joined me in racing at the Sunrise at Old Pueblo 4 miler, took on a 6 winery (out of 11) tour around Sonoita, went on a mountain bike ride together for the first time and had a blast using Hunter and Aimee's cruiser bikes riding around town to get to dinners and events during the year.  By far the best weekends are always these ones.

Only have two more weeks down in Tucson before a start the journey back to Colorado.  I am doing one more tune up race at the Lifetime Fitness Marquee Triathlon in Tempe this weekend before the big events start.  I will head up for the first XTERRA of the year for the West Championship on April 25th in Las Vegas and then head to St. George for the Ironman North America 70.3 Championship the following weekend.  It has been a great few months and I always enjoy my time in Tucson but I will enjoy being back home in Colorado.

XTERRA England

XTERRA England

Race Equipment, Setup & Nutrition

Clothing- 2XU Long Distance Tri Singlet and Compression Tri Shorts

Swim - 2XU Race Goggles, 2XU X:3 Wetsuit

Bike - Pro Cycling SW Epic, Rotor 3D+ SRM w/38-27 Q-Rings

           Effetto Mariposa Sealant in Ground Control 2.3, Front 23psi, Fast Trak 2.2 Rear 27psi.

           Rudy Project Windmax Helmet

           Rudy Project Agon Sunglasses              

Run - Colorado Running Company Trailroc 245

Nutrition - First Endurance Off-Road Nutrition Plan

Saving the best for last, the final race of my XTERRA Europe tour was in England and at the Vachery Estate near Cranleigh.  The race went through some turbulent times to be held but thanks to the hard work by Sam Gardner, Richard Stannard and a few local friends, in the weeks leading up they build one hell of a course, and with additional help from Dave Nichols who was helping while attending the other XTERRA European races pulled together a very well organized affair.

I can’t thank Sam, Susan, Abby and Zach enough for the support through the week leading up to the race, with a place to sleep, transportation and food.  I only hope that I helped out some going into the race and didn’t make things harder.

A lot of organizers could learn from what Sam did in creating a great 15km loop course and building and clearing the better part of 10km of those trails in the few weeks leading up to the race.  It was some great technical singletrack that everyone could ride and the faster you went the harder it got.  Unfortunately I did not have the best lead up to the race as a few days out I developed a head cold and had some body aches and wasn’t able to pre-ride as much on the course as I would have liked.  I spent a few days on the couch trying to keep the strength of the cold to a minimum.

Trying to get my 2XU X:3 off with Conrad on my heels as always (Photo Credit Trey Garman/XTERRA)

A number of road guys showed up to try their hand at the off road stuff and it made for a large front pack in the spring fed lake, the water was super clean even through it looked like ice tea and very crisp making for another go with my 2XU X:3 wetsuit.  I followed the same protocol that I had in Czech and Germany and lined up next to Ben Allen and followed his lead out.  I settled in to the group but could tell that I was just a bit off and had only one gear after being a bit under the weather.  I was able to settle in at the tail end of the pack and at the turnaround moved up a few spots only to then notice that a gap had formed and I didn’t have the extra gear to close things down.  I stayed steady on the way back in and hoped to be able to not get caught behind to many guys on the tight singletrack.

Pushing my SRM Power as much as possible on an engine limited day (Photo Trey Garam/XTERRA)

Due to the nature of the start of the bike I elected to put gloves on in transition, as it would be very hard to get them on and into my shoes before the singletrack.  I definitely lost a spot or two and wasn’t able to get on Conrad’s wheel but I was not going to stay there long anyway as I had one gear on the course and there were a lot of pace changes necessary to ride fast and hard on the course.  Not pre-riding definitely my speed on the course but I think my body was holding up better due to the increased rest going into the race.  I worked my way up and past many of the roadies who were

Almost to the run (Photo Trey Garman/XTERRA)

having some problems negotiating the singletrack.  I think worked my way up to about 4^th or 5^th before some of the good mountain bikers but slower swimmers started to cruise by me and that was when it was really evident I didn’t have that extra gear to stay with them.  I tried to ride smooth and steady on the course but it was really frustrating going along and feeling like I was hauling an anchor behind me.  I did have an absolute blast riding some great trails and that was a welcome change after the last two courses.  I rolled into transition just inside the top 10 and was hoping to hang on.

SRM Powerfile from XTERRA England

The first section of single track is a blast as you hit the first of two water jumps and then immediately have to pick a line around a bog, last year they went straight through it but is was in a bit worse condition this year so they routed us around the edge through some soft mud that if you stepped in the wrong spot you could loose your shoe.  I felt good running but felt like there was a limiter on me and could only move so fast.  I was holding a steady pace but one guy cruised by and there was nothing I could do.  Towards the finish of the two lap run you encounter the second stream crossing and shortly there a log jump, I hadn’t seen this part of the course and chose to go a bit out of my way to run across a log across the stream.  I started the

Last bit in the forest before the field to start the 2nd lap or head to the finish (Photo Trey Garman/XTERRA)

 second lap and got a good idea of how far back the next guys were and knew it would be a hard battle to hold on.  About halfway through the lap I could hear the footsteps behind me but he didn’t make the pass, just as we started a little grinder of a hill.  I knew he pushed hard to get up to me and wanted to rest just, I stuck it to him and pushed the pace up the hill and opened the gap back up.  In the last section of single track through the woods through not seeing it ahead of time cost me and at a muddy section he took a quicker line and at the last water crossing he made the jump while I ran the tree and he was ahead of me.  I pushed but he had better leg

Up and over (Photo Light Trapper.co.uk see others here)

 speed in the end and I came across the line in 12^th.  It was a tough way to end the trip not racing at my best but it was what I had in me that day.  I have taken some time to recoup and rest before a little push going into USA Champs that are two weeks away now and then a bigger push into Worlds at the end of October.

Into the field headed for home (Photo Trey Garman/XTERRA)