Ride Report XTERRA USA Championships 2007

Incline Village, NV – Sept. 30th, 2007

Xterra never seems to let you down in regards to challenge. I didn’t know what to expect at the USA Championships. All I knew was that it was a championship series race and the last one of the year, so I figure they wouldn’t hold back on the athletes who qualified for this event.

On race morning it was 40 degrees. I woke up and started the journey over to Incline Village from the hotel I was staying at in Squaw Valley. There was frost on the ground….a first for me this year. Most of the snow from Friday night had melted, but a few small patches remained. I couldn’t believe I was going to be running around in lycra in a couple of hours. Once I arrived at the venue, I started to get my bike in order. After fighting with my rear brake for a while, I lubed the chain and headed to transition.

The grass still had frost on it when I arrived. My hands went numb within minutes after taking off my gloves. I prepared my area in transition, got body marked, and went through the race in my head (usual pre-race routine). After a quick jog I put on my wetsuit and made my way down to the Hyatt Beach. The water was 56 degrees and I knew I had to get wet before the start. I needed to warm the water between the wetsuit and my skin. Once your face hit the water I literally took the breath out of you. Your instinctual reaction is to pull your head out of the water and gasp for air. I watched as many others had a similar reaction to the frigid waters.

The National Anthem was played and the networks helicopter flew overhead. There were cameramen everywhere. The fact that this race would be nationally televised in a couple of months didn’t help with the pre-race butterflies. The canon fired and as soon as the thud of the boom hit our chests I was in the ice-cold waters at full sprint. I tried to get some distance on the pack to avoid the usual initial combat that ensues at the start of every big race. I felt good and could see that I was in the lead group while sighting and taking my breaths. As I approached the first buoy I began to feel this strange panic feeling. I was beginning to hyperventilate. It was strange being at 6000 feet in elevation and having too much oxygen in your system. I stopped and was engulfed in the melee of the field as I tried to find my wits. I looked over at the lifeguards and contemplated my first DNF, I have never hyperventilated before in a race. With 20 athletes in every directions fighting to get past me I tried my best to tread water. After a minute or so, I began a recovery pace to the next buoy. I knew that with a bad swim split I would only lose about 5 minutes from my usual time. I completed my first 750 meter lap and trudged along the beach to start the second. I felt like crap. On the second lap I focused on rhythm and began to make up some time. I was told later that I finished mid pack….I couldn’t believe it.

We made our way across Lakeshore blvd. and into transition, where everyone was frantically putting on enough gear to keep warm. I put on arm warmers and my cycling jersey over my tri top. I bolted out of transition onto the road. The road was littered with spectators on both sides and their cheering reduced the wind chill factor at least ten degrees. As we started the climb up to the Flume Trail I began to make up some time. I knew this was where I excelled….the bike. The fire road ascent took us up to the junction were the Flume trail began. I think most everyone had warmed up fairly well on the way up. Once on the flume, the air rushed past making for a pretty chilly section. It was all in the shade and patches of snow became apparent. With the singletrack cut into the side of the mountain, there were some pretty hairy drops off to the right hand side. I stayed focused and the thought of falling never entered my mind. We got backed up several times and I managed to make a few more passes. Once we rounded the back of Martlett Lake, I realized the scale of this course. We began to climb yet again, and this time it wasn’t so easy. 8 hours of Hurkey Creek had taken its toll the previous weekend and my focus became pedal turnover. I started to lose ground and was passed by several people. It was like the Damn Climb on the Temecula course, but extended about 6 times. There were small rewards of fast fireroad descents that were barely long enough to get a decent recovery in. Near the summit there was almost 2-3 inches of snow on either side of the trail. The trail was muddy, and my Maxxis Crossmarks were picking it up like crazy. The pre-ride the day before gave no indication of a muddy surface, although I only rode up to the junction and back. The singletrack down the backside was windy and rocky. There were some fun little technical sections for a long deserved reward. The fun singletrack went much faster then I thought, but the sight of the junction squashed any disappointment. The last section of fireroad is really fast back down to the surface streets, lots of fun.

I hammered back into transition, took off the jersey and arm warmers. The air temperature had made an awesome recovery to a very comfortable 64 degrees. Once I put on my shoes I realized they were still wet from the run across the street after the swim. With cold feet and a smile on my face I headed out on the two lap course. The run was windy with very few hills. I was surprised that my pace felt as comfortable as it did, and my stomach was rewarding me for staying straight with my nutrition schedule. After about half of my first lap I came up behind professional Xterra athlete, Melanie McQuaid. As one of my favorite triathletes, I was very surprised to catch her. I figured she must have been having a bad day and thought maybe I could pace her out for a while. My pace wasn’t much faster then hers and once I passed her she latched on. I kicked hard for the rest of the lap as she was on her second. You could hear the announcer during nearly the entire run course. It was a windy section of trails with multiple stream crossings, some of which were huge logs laid down as bridges. As we reached the finish Melanie jumped in front and down the finish chute as I continued on my second lap. My pace stayed consistent and my stomach continued to drain. I felt a hamstring cramp coming on so I was careful not to put my leg into any high stress situations. I continued hard and finished strong….done…finally!!!

.93 mile swim, 21.7 mile bike, and a 6.1 mile run to finish in 3:36:34 35/2:10/:50). 137 of 353 overall and 11 of 26 age group. I will take it racing against the best in the nation.

This was a great venue and a great race overall. I have had more fun on other courses, but none had more epic landscapes than this. If you don’t qualify for this race, enter the Xterra Nevada race next year. Xterra Nevada runs the same course as the Championship but with half of the swim and run distances. Xterra rocks!!!


CLICK HERE FOR RACE PICS

 

Great race report!!! It's not often we get to hear about tri's. Thanks for taking the time to share. Congrats on the finish!

 

Thanks for sharing and congratulations! That lake is cold in the middle of the summer let alone the morning after it snows!

Having ridden the Flume several times in the summer, I love this pic!

 

And I rode it with her.

I've done the Xterra and I'll tell you, that is an excellent time. I wish I could do it that fast. I did the one at Big Bear and really got caught up in the swim. I gained major ground on the bike course (fastest in my age group and the one below and all above), but my run was only average so I finished 8th in my age group and 322 out of 500 and something. Still a very memorable experience.