Wow, just got this in the mail. I received this for ranking 10th in the country for my division in off-road triathlon. Makes me feel like I've done something.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
6th Place: XTERRA West Championship-Temecula CA-Vail Lake on May 20
Video Highlights
My personal pics are in, finally! Scroll down below them for the "blow-by-blow" race description.
My personal pics are in, finally! Scroll down below them for the "blow-by-blow" race description.
There were 320 athletes entered in this race, so to say the least, the masses added another obstacle to the swim/bike/run format. There were 30 in my competitive division of which the fastest completed the course in 3:00.16, the slowest in 5:00.32 & 4 did not finish (overall 62 did not finish). My finish time was 3:08.43.The 1500 Meter (about 1 mile, notice the hills in the background) Swim: 2 x 750m laps with a 50m shore run in the middle.
With so many people the swim start was a nightmare. Unfortunately everybody thinks they're the fastest swimmer & we all go out real hard to try to get ahead. So the start is like a school of pihranas. I was on top of & under so many people; just waiting for that fatal kick to break off my goggles. The key is to relax & not get worn out in the fight because fortunately fitness weeds out the weak rather quickly & by the 2nd buoy it thins out enough to get some rythm.
I didn't find any good drafting, but kept pretty good navigation. A swim time of 26.36 put me in 6th place out of the water. I had a good transition. Yes, I've consistently figured out how to strip off the wetsuit I had so much trouble with last year. Yeah!
The 38.6 Kilometer (about 24 miles) Mountain Bike: 2 laps with a "lollypop" out-n-back connector.
Does this sound a bit long compared to Xterra Championship Race standards? You're correct, it's long by about 4 miles. The bike course engineer added this super fun "roller coaster"
whoopty doo section. Problem is there is this one deceptive little corner where so many wiped out. Go left & you're down, go right & you're "golden." I was lucky enough during my pre-ride of the course to mentally flag this & kept it together enough during the race & stay upright. Initally I was happy about the extra distance, extra fun right? Well, kinda. There was a lot of steep climbing in other parts of the course & with 2 laps it started adding up. Also up was the heat. Race start at 10am means it's getting hotter & hotter as the race wears on. Honestly, I was hammered by the end of the bike, but with a time of 1:48.01 I gained one spot and was in 5th heading into transition.
The 8.9 Kilometer (about 5.5 miles) Trail Run: 2 laps.
I wouldn't want to be considered a whiner, so I'll begin this description with a quote from the 
overall winner, South African Conrad Stoltz, "The run here can be dangerous because there are really steep downhills, lots of up & down, loose dirt & dust, twists & turns. If you're not carefulyou could cramp up, twist an ankle, or fall off a cliff." Stoltz mentions the steep downhills, but to get to that point you have even steeper uphills. This is not a trail run, more like scrambling up the side of a loose, dusty mountain with no trail at all. It actually crossed my mind to quit after the 1st lap, but of course that was not to be. It was tough & I was exhausted. I don't have my pics yet, but to give you an idea here's a pic of a pro who placed 3rd overall in his last ironman. I'm sure my run pics will look even more urgent, but that's all part of the fun: stepping up to the challenge! My run time of 54.06 was 7th in my division, however I had built up a big enough lead to lose only one position & finished in 6th place.
As I write this a few days after this race, I've been through some more training sessions. I must say hard training sessions now feel easy compared to the effort it took me to finish this West Championship. Whew! When I receive my own pics I'll be adding them to this report.
Video Highlights
Division Results 6th of 30 w/ Splits
Overall Results 49th of 320 (including pros)
overall winner, South African Conrad Stoltz, "The run here can be dangerous because there are really steep downhills, lots of up & down, loose dirt & dust, twists & turns. If you're not carefulyou could cramp up, twist an ankle, or fall off a cliff." Stoltz mentions the steep downhills, but to get to that point you have even steeper uphills. This is not a trail run, more like scrambling up the side of a loose, dusty mountain with no trail at all. It actually crossed my mind to quit after the 1st lap, but of course that was not to be. It was tough & I was exhausted. I don't have my pics yet, but to give you an idea here's a pic of a pro who placed 3rd overall in his last ironman. I'm sure my run pics will look even more urgent, but that's all part of the fun: stepping up to the challenge! My run time of 54.06 was 7th in my division, however I had built up a big enough lead to lose only one position & finished in 6th place.As I write this a few days after this race, I've been through some more training sessions. I must say hard training sessions now feel easy compared to the effort it took me to finish this West Championship. Whew! When I receive my own pics I'll be adding them to this report.
Video Highlights
Division Results 6th of 30 w/ Splits
Overall Results 49th of 320 (including pros)
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