XTERRA Buffalo Creek

After my win in Winter Park last week, I got back after it. It's now 4 weeks until the XTERRA Mountain Cup in Beaver Creek, 14 weeks until XTERRA Nationals in Utah and 18 weeks until XTERRA Worlds in Maui. It's time to stay focused, buckle down and hit it hard.

Last week's training looked like this:

• Monday: Recovery spin (2:00)
  
• Tuesday: Short interval speed swim (:45), Vo2 bike-run combo intervals (2:00).
• Wednesday: Endurance climbing mtb ride (3:30), hilly transition run (1:00), open water endurance swim (:40)
• Thursday: Recovery spin (1:30)
• Friday: Race Prep: Course pre-ride (1:30), acceleration run (:15), acceleration swim (:15)
• Saturday: XTERRA Buffalo Creek
• Sunday: Recovery spin (1:30)

XTERRA Buffalo Creek went well overall. We ended up with a small, but solid group of pros in the men's field. Branden Rakita and myself were the "regular" Xterra pros, and then we had 3 solid ITU pros from Boulder joining in on the fun, and a couple of other guys in the mix as well. I had yet another lack luster swim leaving me 5 minutes behind the four leaders getting on my bike. Branden and the ITU dudes swam 20 minutes, I swam alone in 24:50. Sad.

Anyhow, I had made my mind up before the race that I wanted to put everything into my bike at this race. Leave nothing behind and simply kill the bike course. Mostly for confidence purposes heading towards my A-races, but I also knew that was my only chance at winning the race as Branden and the others would kill me out of the water.

I hit it hard out of transition and never let up. I think I may have ridden that course about as cleanly and focused as I could. I covered the 20 miles, 3000 feet of climbing of fire road and singletrack in 1:23. just shy of 5 minutes faster than Branden and 7-10 minutes faster than the other ITU dudes.

Out of T2 I was in second only 40 seconds behind Branden. I kept my focus and headed off on the run with the goal of winning. At the halfway point, after the only climb and descent portion of the run, I closed it to 20 seconds and I could see 1st place ahead. I zeroed in and put my head down and ran. Along the flat lake road Branden was able to keep his distance despite my effort. With a half mile to go, into the final trail portion back to the finish I knew I was running out of trail to catch him. Then 200 yards to go I hear someone behind me! Shit, I forgot about the ITU guys running behind me. Around the final corner and 50 yards to go I get out sprinted for 2nd and finish a dissapointing 3rd place. 22 seconds from first, 2 seconds from 2nd.

Major bummer and bad mistake on my part to not look behind me on the run. I was so focused on the runner ahead, that I lost track of the faster runners behind. Painful lesson to learn, but glad it was here rather than at Nationals and for 2nd place and not 1st.

Still a solid race and a strong bike which was what I was looking for. Now it's time to focus in and get ready for the big events ahead. My plan is to swim a bit more so I can maybe get a minute back by Nationals, keep the bike going on the upward swing with more bike racing, and maintain my run strength for the hilly courses ahead.

CW

Back At It with a Win in Winter Park

This last week has been an odd one. The first few days I was tired from a hard race in Idaho and some poor recovery practices below (see Rough Recovery below). Then mid-week I attempted to resume training and found that I had still had heavy legs and a lack of desire to train hard. Wednesday I hit the trails for a 3:30 hour off-road ride with two 30+ minute climbs followed by a 1-hour hilly trail run. Legs felt heavy and slow. Still recovering I figured. Later in the afternoon I had an open water swim scheduled but I bagged it due to lack of desire and motivation. Thursday's plan was another ride with 1-2x25 min LT climbs in the morning then an evening Stroke n Stride in Boulder. I got one climb in and called it quits. Legs and energy still feeling off. Bagged the swim-run race deciding that I need to get my head on straight and legs feeling better by next week when I need to get back after it. Friday was a light spin.

Saturday Kathy and I decided to drive up to Winter Park for the Hill Climb kick-off race to their annual mountain bike series. It was a perfect mountain day with highs in the 60's, sun and some clouds and light winds. Warming-up I noticed my legs feeling better and I was looking forward to the race.


The race was 5.2 miles straight up the dirt service road to the top the main chairlift on the mountain. About a 2500 ft climb. It was hardpack and smooth. Some guys were riding cross bikes, others super light fully rigid bikes and others their only full suspension bikes. I considered bringing my CX bike but instead opted for my trusty ARC hardtail with Schwalbe Furious Fred tires. It's a pound heavier than my CX bike (18.5 vs 17.5 lbs), but the wheels and tires are lighter on the mtn bike than the CX bike, so I went with the lightest rotating weight option. The PRO field was about 40 strong. I recognized a lot of the faces from last year. Same faces, new bikes and kits for 2009.


Up the first mile I felt suprisingly good and was easily turning my big chainring over while hearing other around me gasping for air at 9000+ feet. By the end of the first mile it was a 5-man race. I decided to take control and see what they were made of. At the front of the group I put in several surges to see who could hang. Now down to three of us I pushed on at a steady pace. After a few more switchback surges I took a galnce back to see who was left. One man, Michael Matters.

With about a mile and a half to go we rounded a corner and the steepest part of the course was in sight. Kathy happened to be there and was in disbelief that I was the first rider coming around the bend. She cheered hard (as she always does) and pushed harder. I gave it all I had up the first steep pitch. Mathers was still there. I began to worry. Then I pushed with all I had up the second steep part. Snap. He was gone. I had put a 20 second gap on him. The road levels out a bit. I pushed hard knowing that he would have the advantage on this stretch on his 29'er. Out of the trees I could see the final stretch that finished on one last steep pitch. Matters was holding strong and closed about 5 secs on the flat stretch. I grit my teeth and dug deep to the line finishing first by 15 seconds.



Legs felt great today. This was a much needed confidence boost. I have been down on my biking lately at the races and this picks up my spirits. It's amazing how a good result can quickly turn around your attitude and motivation. Not that mine was that far gone, but I was in need of a boost for my final weeks leading up to my priority race.


After the ride Kathy and I hit the trails for a light 30 minute run. Then a bite to eat and a coffee for the trip home. I'll be back in two weeks to contest race #2 in the series. Looking forward to racing the bike again!


CW

Rough Recovery

Last Sunday was rough. My traveling companions had early flights home so I was forced to wake-up at 4 am local time to head to the airport and wait. My flight wasn't until 1:30 pm local time. Then to top things off, a tornado east of Denver caused my connecting flight in Salt Lake to run late so I didn't make it home until 8:00 pm. Brutal! Being stuck in airports all day, I didn't get any activity in. Not an ideal recovery day by any means.

Monday I was up early again (not as early as Sunday, thank god) to help Kathy get the kids to day camp on time with swim gear and lunches packed. Then I had a day packed with work. Spent several hours at Wheat Ridge Cyclery, spent time on the phone/computer with coaching athletes, and ran a few errands. Again, I didn't get home until 8:00 pm and no workout was involved.

Tuesday morning was more kid and work stuff through the morning. By the afternoon I was finally able to get out on the bike for a ride. Legs were toast. It took huge effort to pedal down the block. Gradually I loosened up over the two hour ride, but not by much. Recovery days are critical components to everyone's training plan. The more you train, the more of a necessity they are. The body gets accustomed to working out everyday and if you take multiple days off it will revolt by shutting down and stiffening up. If you know what I'm talking about, you know it's not fun.

Lesson here: train hard, race hard, recover. Recovery needs to involve extra sleep, activity to flush the body, stretch and massage. Don't sabotage your efforts by not recovering properly.

"Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!" -G.I. Joe

XTERRA Northwest Cup

A mild storm had rolled in over night bringing cooler temperatures and wind. The swim was extended to 1600 meters once the water was a confirmed 55 degrees. Not bad temp at all. The wind brought on very rugged waters. Some of the most difficult I've experienced. Five foot swells and a seemingly never ending headwind length. I had a great start, got out with the lead group for the first 200 and then settled in at my pace. Melanie came up along side and I stuck with her for the remainder of the swim. Now normally coming out of the water with Melanie is a good start to the race, but she had a less than stellar swim so, once again I was 4 minutes behind from the get-go.



On to the bike. I started out with Ryan Ignatz on my wheel. I let him around and wanted to sit in until I found my biking legs. Well that took 3/4 of the first lap and by then he was a minute ahead of me. Frustrating. I need to get going quicker once on the bike. Giving up a few minutes on the bike cannot be an option. My second lap was strong, but by then I was over a minute down on the chase group where I needed to be.



Off the bike I quickly changed into running mode. Thanks to the solid bike-run intervals I have been doing lately, I was able to find my running legs immediately. I think I may be becoming a better runner than cyclist! What's up with that? I ran the first half entirely alone. Pushing hard through the trees I saw Jasper Blake in the distance. I pushed harder. He looked back on a climb, realized I was closing, and picked up the pace. If there were more hills I may have had a chance, but with only downhills left, he maintained his distance. Still a solid run. I was only a minute, minute-fifteen behind the best splits of the day with the exception of Nico who was 2 minutes ahead of everyone else.



A 9th place finish it is. I'm pleased that I'm getting closer to the front group with every race. Less than 10 minutes down from the front group (remember I lost 4 in the swim alone!), and only 2 minutes from 6th place. So I was right in there again. Had I been able to find my bike legs faster I could have potentially made up that time up. More training ahead, but I am feeling more and more confident heading towards July!

CW

photos courtesy of Sue Hutter

Private Idaho

Made it to Northern Idaho yesterday. Round 4 of the XTERRA Cup Series takes us to Bayview, Idaho (about 30 minutes north of Coeur d'Alene). I met Brian Barret at the Spokane airport and will be rooming with him and Jason Hilgers (comes in today) for the weekend. Travels were good and uneventful. We were able to unpack the bikes and get in a short spin to get a lay-of-the-land.

Today we will ride the coures a couple times and run the course once. Maybe take a dip in the lake. Rumor has it at the local coffee shop that the water temp is 48 degrees!!! Crazy.

This week I have been coming around from my rest week. Last week I came doen with some bad allergies that had cold-like symptoms without the fatigue. Stuffy nose, watery eyes, coughing. I got in a good long run on Thursday, long ride on Friday, Saturday I took off completely due to the allergies. Sunday I hit the trails for a longer mtn bike ride with my boys (luke, ed, rickey, hairy jason, and jason h.) followed by a strong run with hairy jason following the bike. Legs are feeling good!

Monday was easy, Tuesday was a hard swim and a bike/run combo interval day. Wedneday was travel. Today here we are. I'll post some pics and course info later this evening.

CW

Rest & a Short Return to BASE

I was pretty hammered after returning home from Alabama. Tried to ride and run easy on Sunday and my legs were totally cooked. Didn't even attempt the run. This week was a scheduled recovery week, so I decided to make the most of it and take a small break from structured training for a few days. This will allow my body to recover and keep me fresh for the long haul through the summer and fall.

So the plan is Mon-Wed no training except for some light activities more for sanity than anything else. Memorial Day was a complete day away from training. Got caught up on some chores, spent time with the family, got to bed early. Tuesday I hit the pool for 30 minutes of light swimming followed by a 45 min weight session to maintain the gains I made in the gym over the winter. Wednesday was a very light open water swim with a new triathlete client of mine. Taking people out on their first open water swim is always a little nerve racking. I once took a client out and 200 yards out into the lake she totally freaked out on me! I had to grab her as she panicked and get her to calm down and relax. My client yesterday was nothing like that, but I still get nervous not knowing how people are going to react in the open water.

Now for the remainder of the week I am going to revisit some base training. A mini-base camp if you will. Start out easy with a 90 minute hilly trail run today, then a 5+ hour hilly bike for Friday, long open water swim and 2 hour hilly run on Saturday and finally a 5+ hour hilly mtn bike ride on Sunday with a run after if I have anything left. With all of the racing and traveling I've been doing over the last 4 weeks "training" has slipped a bit. Racing is the best form of training, but after several weeks you begin to lose endurance from the lack of volume. It's far to early in the season for me to be losing volume, so a nice 3 1/2 day blast will be good for the long haul.

I'm only 7 weeks away from my first priority event of the year. It's coming fast and I'm feeling confident.

Alabama Report

So I raced in Michigan on Sunday. Flew home on Monday (12 hrs travel time), recovered a bit on Tuesday, then got in some training on Wednesday before flying out Birmingham on Thursday. Whirlwind. I wouldn't have even bothered unpacking my bike, but I wanted to bring the ASR to Bama to handle all the roots and rocks the course offers up.


The course is covered in roots and rocks like those in these pics.

The ASR gobbled them up with ease and speed.

Thursday was another all-day travel experience. Extremely tiring. All week my legs felt terrible following the race in Michigan, but by Friday I was beginning to see the light and feel better. Rickey Tolliver (travel buddy for this one) and I hit the course early for a ride, run and swim of the course. The weather was cloudy and cool. Nice change from the previous two years of 85 degree heat with 85% humidity. Back to our hotel by noon in time for a nap and pre-race packing. Then off to Whole Foods for the traditional pre-race pizza dinner.

Up early, 4:30 am EST, on Saturday morning. It's hard to eat that early in the morning. An easy 5 mile spin to the race venue, warm-up run, back on the bike for a couple hard bike efforts and into the speedsuit for the non-wetsuit swim warm-up, before the cannon fires at 7:30.

Out of the water 3+ minutes behind the leaders in 8th place. I really need to work on the swim, seriously folks, can somebody help me? I rode alone again for nearly the entire race. Besides a couple fast swimming amateurs and Melanie, I didn't see anyone out there until the about a mile to go. I was riding hard, staying focused and trying to not get discouraged when through the trees I saw someone ahead! Fueled by the opportunity to have someone to start the run with I dug deep, bridged, and passed Branden Rakita. I continued to apply pressure and reached T2 about a 20 seconds ahead in 7th place.

Whipped through transition again (not sure what's gotten in to me with transitions lately?). Rakita was hot on my heels. My legs felt surprisingly good and I kept thinking to myself: keep those legs moving, fast and light. Into the trees we go. Through the winding, rolling trails that make up the first half of the run, Rakita was hanging tough, but not gaining any ground on me. I was pleased. Then we made a right turn on to the hiking trails and the 7 steep hills that make up the second half of the run. I hit the first one hard. Up then down. I hit the second one harder. A quick look back and all I saw were the trees. Onward I went, thinking I may be able to catch someone else. But alas, I was way to far behind the 6th placed Craig Evans.

I was pleased to cross the line in 7th place. I felt like I had a solid race. Considering the previous 10 days, very solid race. To continue to gain fitness through weekly racing and travel is a good feeling and leaves me thinking I am on the right track. Up next is a few days rest to recover and prepare for the next Race Prep push. I'm feeling very tired right now, but at the same time I can't wait to race again in 10 days in Idaho. It will be tough to improve upon the 7th place, but I am chompin at the bit!

CW

Michigan Report

Overall, the race went well. However it appeared to go well for 10 others as well as I finished in 11th place in the pro men's field. The weather was down right cold in the morning. The car thermometer read 34 degrees as we pulled into the Ft. Custer Rec Area at 6:30 am EST. Luckily the sun decided to come out after yesterday's rainy day hiatus. I think we maybe hit 60 degrees near the end of the race.

The swim was a two lap 1000m swim. They decided upon the shorter length swim due to expected chilly water temps. Good call. While swimming it wasn't bad, but getting out of the water and onto the bike was cold. I had a great start with the lead group, but quickly lost contact (as I always do). However I was able to push hard throughout most of the swim. I figured I was in good position coming out of the water. Later after the race, I discovered I was still 2.5 minutes down! Damn. Swimming is so frustrating.



On to the bike. I had a great transition, in and out in 48 seconds despite cold feet and hands. The bike course was all big ring power with a lot of tight finesse sections. I was hungry to begin picking people off. Despite pushing hard, that never happened. Each time through the two water crossings on the course my hands and feet would go numb from the cold wetness. Brian Smith came by about 1/2 way through the first lap and I dug deep to hang. On the pedaling sections I was right with him, but in the tight finesse sections he was able to gradually pull away. I continued to push hard onto the second lap. I hit a tree and went down hard on my left side. I sprung to my feet almost instantly as the soft forest floor cushioned my blow but my wind was knocked out of my sails. After I gathered myself, back pedaling the bike, I got back after it but lost my chances of bridging to Seth Wealing, Ryan DeCook, Craig Evans and Branden Rakita which I was beginning to bring back. Into T2 I rolled, in 11th place about a minute behind the group ahead.



In and out of T2 in 33 seconds (3rd fastest, I'll take my victories where I can get them) I hit the run hard. My one goal for this race was to push hard from the gun and not let up. This has been a problem for me in the bigger races, especially on the run. With the exception of the bike crash mishap, I was able to get it done. Legs felt good off the bike as I ran down the 300 yard beach run that starts off each of the two laps. Into the woods, feeling strong and settling in. I felt like I was moving good, but there was not another racer in sight. All alone I pushed hard and kept my legs moving as fast as I could. One lap down, still feeling good, but not making up any ground on my counterparts. Seth blew the race apart with a sickening fast run (congrats to him!) while DeCook, Evans and Rakita hung out at about the same pace as I not allowing me to make any ground. I finished strong and was happy to have been able to stay focused and committed the entire time.



More improvement is definitely needed for me to be able to consistantly crack the top-ten. I will keep plugging away as we continue with the season leading up to Beaver Creek and Ogden. Next week is Alabama. A little better bike course for me (more pedaling) and a tough run course. We'll see who can recover better and who has the legs next Saturday. I'm feeling confident.

CW