RR: XTERRA West Champs

Happy to be back racing with the gang (PC: XTERRA)

The big ones are underway, after a great winter in Tucson training it was time to start a rather lengthy road trip back to Colorado, first stop was in Las Vegas for the XTERRA West Champs.

Headed out for a pre-ride. (XTERRA)

Spread out front group, I am tucked in there somewhere.

The weather was cooler leading up lead to the race and with a cloudy cool morning it was a +2XU X:3 wetsuit swim as expected.  A number or old road tri friends showed up to race and made for a large front pack on the swim, I got out well and got the arms moving and settled in trying to conserve but making sure that no one was going to get away.  Ben Allen as usual did get a little gap on the group by the end and the chase was on as we mounted the bikes headed for the lunar landscape course on the bike.

Up one of the early climbs, still had the Rudy's with me.

Rocky river bed, just about to loose the Ergomasks.

I managed to transition quick and was quickly into 3rd and charging to catch Ben and Francisco Serrano.  I really attacked the first lap of the bike trying to catch up and put as much distance as possible between me and Josiah who would be charging hard from behind.  I stayed steady and really pushed the hills but was a bit more tentative on the looser downhills than I should have been.  With the cooler temps it is easier to forget but just as critical to get your nutrition and I did a decent job getting down a bottle of +First Endurance EFS Pro nutrition on each lap.  Josiah caught me about three quarters of the way through the first lap and I immediately latched on his wheel and stayed with him up a decent little climb, unfortunately I had lost my +Rudy Project Ergomask's earlier in the race and once we were on the dusty trails along the fingers of the lake I had to back off a bit so I could see and not ride into the lake.  Thankfully Josiah didn't get away that quickly and it was a nice confidence boost.  The second lap was a bit tougher but I kept pounding away, focusing on sections of the course at a time breaking things up.  About half way through Chris Ganter caught me a bit by surprise, I knew he was a guy that could not be over looked as he had been getting better and better through out last year and knew that he had some solid training behind him coming into this year.  He races smart and I didn't get a chance to latch on to his wheel, I kept chasing hard but he opened up about a 30-40 second gap by the time we reached transition.

2015 XTERRA West SRM Powerfile

Proof that the run is getting stronger, both feet off the ground.

I grabbed my flask of +First Endurance Liquid Shot as I headed out of transition Craig Evans and Karsten Madsen were coming in and I knew they would be chasing hard.  I was stoked I felt great going out on to the run and focused on holding a nice steady pace for the first half.  Once the larger hills were behind I really started to turn it on as I could see that I was pulling back time on Ben Allen but Chris but he was pulling away a bit.  I slowly cranked up the pace really focusing Ben and knew he was suffering.  About a mile out a friend told me he was cramping bad and I responded pushing harder through the last uphills.  

Once I hit the last downhill segment on the pavement I was in a full on sprint to catch Ben.  At the line we were separated by three seconds, Ben just held strong to hold me off and I crossed in 5th.

Always great being back racing at XTERRA a great family of racers
(L2R-Ryan Ignatz, Francisco Serrano, Me, Josiah Middaugh)

Always good when you can post a pic of the podium (L2R-Ben Allen 4th, Josiah 3rd, Francisco 1st, Chris Ganter 3rd, Me)

It was a great first hit out of the year and though I would have liked to of placed a bit better I walked away from the race very positive about how I had competed and raced especially mentally through the race.  This is a bit of an easy week of training as I am not in St. George for the North American 70.3 Pro Championships, it is a world championship caliber field and it will be a great battle on Saturday.

Another reason to be grateful the +XTERRA America Tour has started is the Cut-a-thons at the races that Paul Mitchell hosts.  It is a great cause, you get a free hair cut they ask for a $15 donation and all of it goes to the +Challenged Athletes Foundation.  Paul Mitchell is also extremely enviromentally focused as well and during Earth Month (April) they are planting trees with Reforest Action.  If you race an XTERRA this year Paul Mitchell will plant a tree in your honor, if you are not racing one they will plant others if you go to www.paulmitchell.com/reforestaction click through the links and use either code SPORTATREE or XTERRAME

Getting my mop cut down to race style thanks to Kalena, Ross and the Paul Mitchell Crew

Race Details:
Race Kit: 2XU Custom Teamwear Long Distance Tri Top and Compression Tri Shorts
Swim: 2XU Project X:3 Wetsuit, 2XU Race Goggles
Bike: Pro Cycling S-Works Epic with SRM 1xCrank (PWR Avg 270, NP 306)
         Tires both with 80ml of Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex
         Front: Fast Trak Control 29x2.2 @ 23psi
         Rear: RaceKing Protection 29x2.2  @ 26psi
         Rudy Project Windmax Helmet
         Rudy Project Ergomask Glasses (till I fumbled them putting them on)
Run: Colorado Running Company TrailRoc 245
         Rudy Project Noyz Fluo
Race Nutrition: 1st Endurance Triathlon Nutrition Plan

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