The Past Month

This past month hasn't gone exactly as I had planned training wise, but the past two weeks I have been able to put in some decent training. The highlight was this past Saturday and Sunday. Weather this previous weekend was superb, almost Spring like with temps in the middle 60's. Saturday was an off-road ride at Slaughter Pen utilizing only Phase 1 trails, the two other sets of trails just don't drain as well as Phase 1. So, I did multiple laps on a 4 mile loop. The weather was perfect and this was the first ride in a long time that I wasn't totally sucking wind.

Sunday's weather was even nicer than Saturday and I so wanted to get back on the bike, but I thought that my legs couldn't take another beating. Also, I wanted to remember how good my legs felt on Saturday's ride and not have a complete meltdown the very next day. So, I decided to take Smuckers on a trail run instead. I've been reading some other athlete's blogs brag about how warm their Winter has been in Southern Cal so I am going to join in as well. I ran Yesterday, Jan. 15th. in shorts and a T-shirt. This Winter has been so mild and I am loving it. I am counting down the days till March.

T-minus 49 days till my first race of 2012!

2012 Season

No Training equals No Posts.

That pretty much sums up my last two months, no real training just a bike ride or a run here and there. I have to admit that I enjoyed the time off but enough is enough. I went for a 2 hour casual paced mountain bike ride last week and it near killed me. I was sore the next day and took a couple days to recover. I've been riding a few times after that debacle last week and feeling a little better about my relationship with my bike. Today was a 35 minute trail run and I am optimistic that I will not be sore come tomorrow morning as I have a short mountain bike ride scheduled after work. Let the 2012 season begin!

As in years past, I am checking several websites in order to nail down the races I will participate in this upcoming season. Xterra hasn't finalized the 2012 season yet, but it does have a few races posted that I am interested in racing. About a month ago I started fantasizing about big races in exotic locales. First up was XTERRA Guam. I've always wanted to go to Guam after hearing my Dad talk about his trips there while in the Air Force. However, the Guam race was to early in the year and I didn't think I could save enough money to get there. So then I looked at XTERRA New Zealand. It was do-able being a month later than Guam. I really started looking into the logistics. Then I came back to reasonable thinking. There are many race I would like to do here in the states before I start racing on other Continents. Moreover, my ultimate goal is to get back to Ogden and race well, my extra resources should be funnelled to achieving that goal. Next year Guam is on my list.

So far this is what my schedule looks like. I included some races that I don't have a date for yet but included them in order according to last year.

03/11/12 Du it in the Dirt Off-road Duathlon Hot Springs, AR

04/??/12 South Central Champs Waco, TX

05/06/12 XTERRA Gator Terra Ruston, LA

05/20/12 South East Champs Birmingham, AL

06/??/12 XTERRA Eureka Springs AR

06/24/12 XTERRA Dog Days Arkadelphia, AR

After this the schedule gets a bit hazy. As for the 2012 XTERRA races in Arkansas, there are no more. I'm eyeballing a couple races in TX to complete my XTERRA schedule but at this point I am undecided on which or how many I want to do.

I am excited about the two Championship races on my schedule for a couple reasons. First being a bit longer course, much like the one that kicked my ass in Utah. Second being much faster competition.

I've got my training schedule planned out through January, now it's time to do work.

Still haven't found the right words to describe the Xterra Nationals experience.

All I can say is that I had a great time and learned a lot.

Lance was inspiring.

Beautiful Scenery

I will be back for next year's Nationals in better shape and a bit wiser. A big thanks to my Pops, you were awesome, couldn't have done it without you.

XTERRA Lake Degray

This past weekend was the inaugural Lake Degray XTERRA and my birthday. This was the rescheduled race from early spring, moved due to massive flooding. As a bonus, my parents were able to make the trip for the weekend. A race on my birthday with my parents, it was a good weekend.

I arrived at the race venue on Friday afternoon and was greeted with 100+ temps and downright nasty humidity. I had planned just a quick 45 minute ride on the bike course and then a short t-run. The bike course started with a 1.75 section of paved road over the spillway/dam, this offered some great views of the lake.

This was the first time I had ever ridden this trail and I didn't quite know what to expect. The first mile and a half left a bad taste in my mouth, it was wide enough for a truck. That section didn't last long as after the trail crossed the paved road the real singletrack began. I really liked the trail, it was fast and flowing. I finished up the 45 minute ride and headed back to my vehicle. Being as hot as it was, I decided to bag the run and jump into the lake for a quick swim.

Race Day:

The possibility of racing in 104 degree temps had me a bit worried. The race start time was 5pm, terrible time to start a race in my opinion. However, we caught a huge break about 3:30 in the afternoon when the clouds rolled in cooling the temp to a manageable 90. There were actually some showers in the vicinity. During my swim I caught sight of a rainbow off in the distance.

My race went pretty smooth, I ended up 5th in my age group 20th overall. I had a great swim as I was 8th out of the water. I went out on the bike maybe a bit to conservatively, my rationale was to save a bit in the tank for the run. I did finish strong and I'm somewhat pleased with my effort.

Next up, I hope is an invitation to Nationals in Utah Sept 24.

Big Thank You's go out to my Mom and Dad. Thank you both for making this trip such a success. I had a great time.

Dwight at his best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KSSvCVplIE

I'm a big fan of Dwight, this is my favorite video of him

XTERRA Little Rock

That's my bike in the middle, I got there early

My second Xterra race is in the books. Although I didn't get the result I really wanted, I left this race feeling better about my chances in future races. Again, I think one of my biggest hurdles is nutrition during races and in everyday life. I know what I need to do with my diet outside of racing, it is just a matter of putting it into practice. During races I am still a bit perplexed. I've got a few weeks until my next race so I plan to experiment with some different liquid calorie drinks. In the past races I have relied on Carbooms and water. That combo has worked for me in the past during training rides and runs, I guess it just isn't working for race efforts as my energy levels dropped late in both my races this year.

I put together 3/4ths of a solid race, here is the re-cap:

Swim:

After getting beat up during the start of the Eureka swim I was feeling a bit nervous that I may not be a good open water swimmer. I scoped out the swim course the day before and was feeling better as the distance looked short. I was in for a rud

e awakening as what I thought was the start of the straight line swim was actually only the second of four buoys. No big deal. This swim was a water start versus a beach start, I heart water starts! I picked my spot as the furthest swimmer to the right, strategery at its finest. I'm a left sided breather and was able to keep an eye on the competition and the shore the entire swim. I finished the 800 yds in 14 minutes.

Bike:

I was really looking forward to a much easier bike course than Eureka, it didn't happen. Although there weren't massive climbs like Eureka, this course made up for it with numerous rock gardens. Adding to the toughness of the course is that it is newly cut and very dry. Finished up the 13 mile bike feeling strong in an hour 12 minutes.

Run:

I started the run like gangbusters. I felt really good straight out of transition. I passed a fellow age grouper on the first climb which put me in third place out on the course. For the next two miles I was on cruise control, I passed one guy puking on the side of the trail. At the first aid station, I got a water and a sports drink, the volunteer told me I was half way finished. He was wrong, I was cooked. All the fluids and gels I had taken in just seemed to by sitting in my stomach like a brick going nowhere. My feet didn't want to turn over quickly, I had hit the wall. All I could muster was a slow jog the last two miles. At this point I started to get past by several people, at least six and three in my age group. I slipped from third to sixth in my AG in the last mile. Frustrating. This brings me back to fueling during races, I've got a few products I am going to try out in the next couple weeks.

Overall this was a much better race than Eureka and again I learned a lot about myself and what it takes to race Xterra. Less than a month till the race in Indiana, I'm really looking forward to it.

Races, Diet, and New Shoes

Four XTERRA races in just over two months. Here is what it looks like:

6/25 XTERRA Dawg Dayz Little Rock, AR

7/23 XTERRA DINO Versailles Indiana

8/7 XTERRA Iron Will Jonesboro, AR

8/20 XTERRA Lake Degray Arkadelphia, AR

To put it mildly, I'm stoked. I got some time off from work in July and I picked the closest race I could find, an xterra in Versailles, IN. I have never been to Indiana and have no idea what I am getting into but that's half the fun, the unknown. I just wish I could have gotten my vacation approved for a week earlier then I could have made the trip out west to the XTERRA Mountain Championship. Oh well, I'll take what I can get. From here on out I will have a race every other weekend, then off for a month till, hopefully, the US Championships in late September.

I've been watching some clips from races on xterra.tv, great for motivation if you are struggling to gear up for a workout.

After last weeks race, I have been trying to focus on my diet a little closer. NUUN tablets in my water at work, replacing one meal with a salad, and more fruit have been instituted in my daily routine. My goal is to be back down to the low 150's by mid July, I'm sitting in the mid 160's right now. Here is one of my latest salads, cold Quinoa gives any salad "legs" so hunger doesn't follow shortly after the salad is consumed.

Smoothies in the morning. A great way to get a headstart on your servings of fruits and veggies

Start with this:

End with this:

One more item. I switched back to Brooks Cascadia running shoes. I still love my Zoots, but for serious trail running the Zoots just don't hold up. I'm still going to use the Zoots for short road sessions or track running, but I am going to race in the Cascadias.