Custers last stand and Craigs repeated fall...
First off I just want to say that I have a new found respect for the mountain bikers. My hat is off to anyone who chooses to put themselves into tight, twisting, log in the way peril and chooses to do it as fast as possible. Wow!
Now on to my race report from my weekend Xterra triathlon.
I got to watch the pro's start up close and personal but once they hit the bike it was my turn to gather my wits and prep for my race. Here is my observation about the pro's. They are AWESOME to watch up close and personal. They are just like age groupers only faster and their confidence and command on the bike and run is astounding. Jamie Whitmore , a former women's world champion Xterra pro, did the announcing for the race and did a great job at that. She is an amazing person who has battled cancer and is unable to race now because of it. What an Insperation to the rest of us. Also thanks to Doug V. who looked me up and said hi while we were setting up transition. That was cool. Great job out there as well Doug. You passed me on the bike and even though you looked like you were struggling a bit on the run when I passed you back, you stuck with it and finished. From the smile I saw on your face afterwards you might just be hooked like the rest of us now. Welcome to ranks of being a triathlete!
I hit the water about 15 minutes before my race start to try and get as acclimated as possible. It was a chilly 33 F on my way to race this morning. The only good thing was that I was sure the water had to be warmer than the air. It was, but not by much. It was a mass beach start of all of the sport distance athletes, male and female. (read sprint distance for all us roadies) I had a great line to the first buoy and was almost gassed by the time I hit it. I made that turn and managed to find a pair of feet to draft most of the way to the next bouy until their driver decided to take the scenic route off course. Thank God I was still sighting for myself. I made the turn for home and dug down deep for the final push. I came out of the water hardly able to get my feet under me and moving and I figured out why after the race. The timing mats by transition were about 100 yards up hill from the water and I still turned in a 10:02 swim time for 500 meters. That was smacking it a little too much and I paid the price in T1 and for the first few minutes on the bike trying to get my breathing back under control.
T1, I took my time on purpose this race. I knew I was out of my league on the bike so I dogged it in transition just to give some of the faster riders a head start. I don't remember my split time for T1 but I am sure it was 3+ minutes.
The first couple of miles on the bike were fun. Twisting and turning through the woods and I was flying pretty good. Then some joker decided to try the same twisting and turning while throwing logs in the way and adding a bunch of elevation changes both up and down (read straight down and straight up) That is when I got my first biff of the day. I learned the hard way to watch for lesser riders having issues on the uphills. When clipped in and suddenly coming up on a traffic jam right at the top of a climb, no momentum spells Craig on the ground, the hard way! 3 of my 4 biffs were the result of that exact scenario. Then I learned a cool way to dismount when going down a steep rut filled section. After that I latched onto another rider of similar skills to mine and just followed her at an easy pace until about the last mile when I found I could carry more speed than she was willing to in some of the twisty sections. (Thanks Monica for the assist and laughs about us roadies having no business on bikes in the woods, lol) I was never so happy to get off my bike in my life. Muddy, bruised and scraped up pretty good but happy none the less. (as a side note, Pusher I know we've had a lot of problems getting the kits right but I gotta say, the tri shorts are awesome. I was sure they'd be torn to shreds given the cuts and bruises I got on the inside of them, but the shorts don't have a scratch on them.) One last note from the bike. There were not 1 but 2 creek/river crossings on this trail and I am proud to report that I managed to at least keep it upright through both of those. (water depth was up to the axels on them both)
T2 was uneventful, I striped one layer of shirts off, changed my shoes, grabbed a quick sip of sports drink and I was off. Still not as fast as I am capable of but ok none the less.
The real test of my early season fitness came on the run. I am proud to report that I am ahead of schedule. I ran the entire 3 mile trail run with about the freshest legs I can remember having off the bike. The trail wasn't too hilly or technical and I was able to finish strong, right around 30minutes.
I don't have all my splits yet but I do know I had a 10:02 on the swim and was a 1hour 59 minute something total. I can't wait to get back on the road now but the experience was awesome!
This weekend was a good test for me on my current training plan. Friday I rode my first solo 50 mile training ride, raced Sunday morning and came home Sunday evening and ran a mile and a half easy run with my wife. I feel pretty good and the increased work this winter is already showing some results.
It was awesome wearing my new RACING GREYHOUND kit and hearing go GREYHOUNDS while out on the course. I'm bruised and battered and grinning from ear to ear. I can't wait for Motor City and road redemption. I'll put some pics up shortly. They had photographers at the finish and on the course in a couple of places so I should even get to show off my awesome GREYHOUND bad self, haha, just for you Mike.
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