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

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)

ITU Cross Tri World Champs/XTERRA Germany

ITU Cross Tri World Champs/XTERRA Germany

Race Equipment, Setup & Nutrition

Clothing-USAT Supplied National Team Race Suit

Swim - 2XU Race Goggles, 

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 26psi.

           Rudy Project Windmax Helmet

           Rudy Project Noyz Fluo Sunglasses

Run - Colorado Running Company Inov-8 Trailroc 245

Nutrition - First Endurance Off-Road Nutrition Plan

The ITU Cross Tri World Champs/XTERRA Germany was the key race for the trip the field was one of the largest pro fields with almost 70 guys including the U23 racers and extremely talented.  Going into the race the big question was the weather it was off and on rain all week and we weren’t exactly sure what the weather would be on race day but when the day arrived it was heavier spots of rain mixed with periods of sun, which made for the wettest and muddiest course possible. 

Having a good laugh with Ben Allen on the line before the start.

Through the rain and cloudy skies leading up to the race the water remained just warm enough to have a non-wetsuit swim which suited me.  As well with the ITU rules governing the race we would get called up according to our world ranking which is based upon the previous years ITU Cross Tri World Champs and I would be called up 10^th and slotted in right next to Ben Allen and Ruben Ruzafa which was perfect having a strong swimmer on one side and a weaker swimmer to the other to get out and on to feet immediately and have some open water to the other side.

It worked perfectly as there was a “directional” buoy about 75 yards from the start that we had to turn at to head to the first official turn buoy.  The arms turned over well and I felt very strong cruising in the swim.  In what seems like an automatic Conrad and I were at each other’s side half way through the first lap and I eventually made my way up to the head of the chase pack and back ahead of Ben Allen surprisingly.  There was a small group of 3 in the front then Craig floating in the middle then the group I headed up behind at the end of the first lap, I kept the pressure on trying to bridge to Craig but couldn’t quite do it and exited the water in 5^th about 1min to the front and 10-15 sec from Craig but I had Conrad, Ben and Braden Currie all out the water on my feet and a great group to work with on the bike during the first 5k of gradual uphill.

Craig and Faris Al-Sultan headed out and me in the background headed to my bike.

Conrad blew by quickly out of transition and I could not attach myself quick enough to his wheel and was just off him on the first section and I worked as hard as I could to close the small gap.   I pulled Craig back in and Braden went by shortly there after and pulled to the front and we had a good train going up the road.  The legs were feeling better than in Czech but as the climb gradually got steeper Michi Weiss cruised past and Ruben was not far behind, Braden made the jump to Ruben’s wheel but I didn’t.  I continued to head up the climb steadily as they slowly cruised away.

Quite hilarious as Conrad and I seem to have a lot of twin pictures like this where we are doing the same thing.

We then reached the first actual dirt parts and things that actually resembled mountain biking about 9k in to the course and saw how sloppy and muddy the course was after the 500+ amateur athletes had raced on it that morning.  I was very happy to have left the caveman water jug mud flap on the bike from the Czech race the previous week.  Thankfully the mud didn’t stick to the tires that bad and traction wasn’t horrible climbing.  There were slick sections but with some basic maneuvering you could keep going, the first descent it was a quick lesson to stay off the front brake entirely and let the bike skip across the top of the roots and get back in the dirt where the tire would grip.

The train, Braden leads with me on his wheel (10), Craig tucked in there along with another mystery athlete.

The slower you went the longer the front tire would be on a wet slick root and it was easier to go down.  The steepest section was very rooty and rocky and with the wet conditions was unrideable and we were all left hike-a-biking for about 1k then still had a good 2km’s of climbing to the summit.  Once at the peak of the course I hit the downhill hard flying past people taking back a over a minute to some of the guys that had passed me on the climb.  It was difficult maneuvering at times as the race organizers had decided to send the elite women off 20min before the men and we started to catch them before the descent and then was trying to be respectful but still go full on past them on the descent.  Through the rest of the bike it was more of the same flying past guys on the descents and trying to minimize losses on the uphill sections.  Getting off the bike everyone was coated in mud head to toe and nearly unrecognizable but was thankful for the sponges at the start of the run to wipe some of the mud off and get clean drinks of water.

2014 ITU Cross Tri Worlds SRM Powerfile (Wet and muddy course caused issues at times)

I stared the run well and really felt like I was moving well till guys started flying past me again, the legs just didn’t seem to want to turnover.  I was thankful the run was not quite as muddy as the bike, there were a few slick sections but nothing like the bike.  I hit the deck once on at the top of a shallow downhill since I didn’t understand what the volunteers were yelling at me in German that it was very slick mud right where I was headed.  I plugged along until about 7k and that is when the lights went out.  It was an immediate bonk, no warning just all of a sudden I was shuffling along and having a hard time holding a straight line running.  Unfortunately in the rush to set up my transition when the rain started I neglected to put my First Endurance Liquid Shot flask with my shoes and they had only water on the run course and had no way of getting in extra calories.  It was a slow last 2 k losing three minutes from what I would guess and I stumbled across the line in 29^th.  It was a very bad end to a marginal day.