Treating Top Athletes: New PT Solutions Clinic

Recently, I opened a new clinic in Dalton, GA with PT Solutions. On our first day of operations, I had a very special guest. Kyle Buckingham, a 2x Ironman and Ironman 70.3 Champion and professional triathlete from South Africa, was in the area for the weekend’s upcoming Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga. Kyle reached out to me through his host housing regarding some knee pain. I invited him down to see what I could help with.

Kyle went on to finish 9^th at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga and two weeks later finished 5^th at Ironman 70.3 Raleigh.

Here is what Kyle had to say about his physical therapy treatment:

“I saw Matt 4 days before Chattanooga 70.3 after I had travelled 30 hours on the plane for an issue I was having while riding my bike on the outside of my knee. Matt did a thorough assessment making me do stability/core exercises, after the assessment was done I had dry needling to my right hip, glute and knee area as well as left QL and surrounding areas.

Race day came and I had no original knee pain at all, what a relief! It has been now 2 weeks after the race and the pain has still not returned. I am keeping up with my stretches and stability/core exercises he recommended.

Thank you so much to Matt who found and released the source of my pain and extreme tightness.”

Kyle’s website can be found here: http://www.kylebuckingham.co.za/

If you're experiencing pain or aches during your training or competitions, reach out or stop by for a free screen to see how physical therapy can help you perform at your best. 

Kyle and I in the new Dalton clinic.

Dry needling treatment for Kyle.

Kyle finishing Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga

Triaging some minor injuries

A Plan Coming Together

So, for the first time ever in my career, I have established a yearly training plan. In years past, I would schedule, haphazardly, the 2 or 3 weeks leading up to my most important race of the year, but that's it. This year is different. I have done my research and created a structured, purposeful plan to tackle the 2013 season. I have 3 big races I am focusing on with many others along the way. The first race of the season is March 10th with the first major race being in late April. The last race isn't until late September. It's going to be a long season.

As mentioned previously, the first half of the season will focus solely on cycling events with a gradual transition to triathlons in the summer. How am I going to integrate the two other sports and make everything work? No clue yet. I am really excited about the cycling though. I am using my new power meter to guide my training as I progress through the different training cycles. This weekend I completed my baseline power profile testing. It was a rainy few days and I didn't quite get the numbers I was expecting: timing, weather, big week as possible causes. Just means more room for improvement and I'll try again in 4 weeks.

I will be cycling more per week than I ever have as part of this cycling focused training. Come race time I should find out what my true potential is. I have the tools, I have the plan, and I have the perfect city to do it in. Time to execute.

The famous river gorge

The scenic city: a great place to train

Views from power testing

Another nice view from a long day of testing

May 2013 Be Better Than 2012

From broken wheels, broken shoes, a broken Garmin, and broken dreams to the "one lap to go" finish at Johnson City and the amazing crash finish for 2nd at Moab. From being hit by a car to surgery and 6 weeks of NWB crutch ambulation. It's been pretty obvious that 2012 was not my year. Most of the goals I set for 2012 were not achieved. They must roll forward to 2013 where they have snowballed into even bigger aspirations; because as a friend once told me, a champion lives on to race another day.

In 2013, I am chasing jerseys. I have 6 in mind listed in order of difficulty.

1. TORBRA Cat 1 BAR Champion
2. TBRA Cat 4 BAR Champion
3. Xterra Southeast Regional Champion
4. TBRA Cat 4 Crit State Champion
5. TORBRA Cat 1 XC State Champion
6. Xterra USA National Champion

The thing that will make this complicated and hard to accomplish is scheduling. I'm assuming a lot of these races will fall on the same weekends and I'll have to chose which to do. I already know one of our mandatory Saturday guest lectures for school will occur on a Saturday race day in April. Skip class? I think so. Other goals include:

7. Continue to succeed in school by learning all I need to know
8. Maintain my GA position by staying on top of my hours
9. Train methodically and scientifically for better performance
10. Fully adapt and incorporate my new, less stressful running stride
11. Travel more, for races and to visit friends
12. Ride 5,000 miles

The miles should come pretty easily if I follow my training program required for success in earning all the jerseys. Merely a task I would like to concur that was listed as a goal last year and didn't achieve. Even with being off the bike for about 5 months, I was able to ride 3,516 miles in 2012, about 400 more miles than I rode in 2011. The front half of the coming season will be loaded heavy with cycling events with a mid summer transition to heavy triathlon racing and training. This should help me accomplish the cycling goals since for the first time ever, training will have a sole cycling focus. Delaying triathlons will also give my knee more time to recover so that I can get back to running form. Currently, I haven't been able to run more than a mile without knee pain, and that mile was on the treadmill.

I have my work cut out for me now. Time to get serious and put in all the training necessary for success. Time management will be key to balancing all the workouts with all the school. Time to go to work.

ITU Cross Tri World Championship

I did not DNF. That's the first thing that I was able to say to people. It still bothers and upsets to write this because it means I have to go back and relive the race; walk through it step by step which brings on so many emotions and frustrations. So far I've just been trying to not think about it, because if I do, then I get too distraught and emotional with what could have been, what should have been. That being said, here's what I recall from race day.

The days leading up to the race were good. I had a good "taper" with some short efforts, my legs were feeling good, and my nutrition and sleep were great. Friday I skipped school and drove down to Pelham for packet pick-up, pre-race briefing, one last look at the course (which got changed the day before), and the opening ceremonies. The course change shortened the bike course by a few miles which was to my disadvantage because I knew if I was going to beat these guys, I was going to do it on the bike. More distance on the bike gave me more time to make up time. Anyway, I scouted it out and heading back to the hotel to relax and take an ice bath.

I fell asleep relatively easily and was set to get almost 8 hours of sleep. Everything went accordingly race morning: breakfast, coffee, transition setup, body marked, timing chip in place, and swim warm-up. I was ready to rock. I couldn't wait to get the swim over so I could rocket the amazing trails of Oak Mountain. Not only was it going to be a blast, but it should feel emotional to pick people off one by one on the trail.

It was one of my better swims coming into T1 in under 25 minutes. It was the most congested swim I've ever done: getting hit in the head, ankles grabbed, pushed aside, and at one point I kissed someone's big toe. I guess that's what you get when you swim faster and stay with a bigger pack. Running into T1, my mom informed me I was in 4th position. Not what I was looking for, but hey, my part of the race was just starting. I spent the short time on the road tightening my shoes and putting my gloves on so I'd be ready to hit the trail as soon as I got there. Fifteen feet after diving into the trail, my chain dropped and got wrapped around the crank and jammed up against the frame. I stood on the side of the trail pulling and yanking on it trying to free the chain so I could continue. After about 2 minutes, it came free and I could start riding again. My time on the side of the trail put me further down in the race which means I have to pass more riders on the bike. Not an issue for a road tri, but here in the single track, it was going to take time and slow me down even more trying to finagle pass people. I took some dangerous and really aggressive lines to pass people, but methodically I was making my way up the field. I passed one guy in my age group who I'm pretty sure must have passed me when I was on the side of the trail, so back to fourth position. A little bit later I passed Ian King who was repairing a flat on the side of the trail he sustained from crashing into some briers. 3rd position. As I exited the single track to start the climb to the top of the mountain, I passed the Mexican, Bobadillo. 2nd position. I hammered on the climb. The riders behind me disappeared. I kept pushing and didn't realize when I had made it to the top; I was still looking for one more steep incline. I had completely zoned out and destroyed it. I knew I had been climbing better on the road which I accredited to my new supplements from Biomedical Research Laboratories (http://www.brlscience.com/SERVICES.html) and was thrilled to see it carry over for this race. I rolled along the top of the mountain for a bit before I saw him. I was catching Seavey. My heart jumped, increased its rate, my body released a massive amount of adrenaline and my emotions soared. I almost teared up. Passing him this early on meant I was killing it on the bike and no one was going to be able to touch me, let alone catch me. I still had several miles to build up a substantial time gap. The rest of the trail was more technical which favored me immensely. I was on my way to a World Championship victory. I passed him with force to discourage him from jumping on my wheel. I continued to hammer and dropped back into the trail towards Blood Rock blazing. I rolled through Blood Rock like a champ taking the perfect line. Now it was time for fun on the wicked descent. I had just caught another rider and told him he better be ready to rocket it if I was going to be behind him, to which he responded with a go ahead as he pulled to the side. I let it loose. Launched over the first set of rocks and continued on. I think it was the third set that I didn't come down on too well at which all my fears became reality. I heard the hissing of my rear wheel pouring air. I tried to deny it and say it was just the freehub clicking and spinning. Bump, bump. I was flat. Dead flat. It was the feeling you get when you just finished a 12 pack and the blue lights start flashing behind you, when you're 6 weeks in and she's 3 weeks late, when the phone rings in the middle of the night and your child still hasn't made it home, when the doctor himself calls to give you the bad news. I wanted to cry, I wanted to throw my bike down the side of the mountain, I wanted to bang the wheel on a rock until it was properly broken, but most of all, I wanted another chance. I pulled the valve stem and put in my spare tube. I could see the rim was bent in a few places which made me question how long I would make it on this tube. I didn't even look for the hole in the tire. For all I know it could have been a big gash in a sidewall which the tube would poke out waiting to get punctured. I fiddled with my canister of CO2 and finally got it to work. Enough air in the tube and I packed everything up to get back in the saddle. While I was on the side of the trail, Seavey and Bobadillo passed me. I started back down the mountain and made it probably 3 miles passing Bobadillo again and moving back into 2nd position. Then my fears became reality again: another flat. I was SOL for this one and just started walking and running it out, having to stop and move off the trail every time a rider still on his bike came pass me. I was devastated. I never imagined this race would go like this. I was not going to DNF though. I'm not sure how many miles I had to walk and run in my carbon mtb shoes pushing my bike, but I'm guessing it was around 4 costing me close to 25 minutes on the bike leg. Another guy in my age group passed me about a half a mile before T2, 5th position. I continued running my bike in and the officials at the dismount line jokingly said there was no need for me to dismount. I'm glad they found some humor in my misfortune. As I changed shoes, my Dad told me I was over 18 minutes behind Seavey and almost 3 behind 4th place. I was running mostly to finish at this point and just wanted to complete my two laps and be done. My legs didn't feel great, but not bad either. Coming around for my first lap my Dad told me 4th place was only a 1:30 ahead now. I wanted to catch him, but I wasn't going to kill myself to do it. It was only racing for 4th place after all. I kept progressing and was actually passing people, something I rarely do late in the run portion of a race. With about a 1.25 miles left, I spotted the 4th place guy. I was feeling good and running pretty well actually so I knew I was going to take it from him. At first I couldn't decide if I wanted to sit on his heels and wait til the end to jump or just storm on past him. He wasn't looking so hot and I sure wasn't going to slow down, so I flew on past him and some other racers. I took a glance back to see if he tried to pick it up to stay in contention with me, but he was gone. I came around the lake and finished strong for a sub 46 minute 10K. Not great, but given the circumstances I'll take it. So, probably my best chance at a world championship ended like that. This race is in the Netherlands next year and Xterra Worlds is always in Maui; terrains that aren't my backyard and suited for my strengths. There will probably never be a world championship in the Southeast again in my lifetime. A chance well wasted.

I can't forget about this race because there is plenty to learn from it and take with me, but there is a lot I'm trying to put behind me. I have to let it go and focus on what's next. This Saturday is the TN state time trial championships and then Sunday is the first crit of the year. Really would like to bring home a win, especially after the disaster of last weekend.

Coming out of the swim strong

Beaten and broken, doing all I can to not give up

Found something in the legs to pull back 4th

The future of Xterra elite men

With my biggest supporters 

Race Report: Berry Peddler

Last week I finally decided on a cycling team to join. I am the newest member of HUB Endurance Chattanooga. So this past weekend was going to be my debut in the team colors at the Berry Peddler road race and time trial. I wanted to do well as my first team showing but also for myself as usual. I recently found out about the BAR point series that TBRA does which basically allocates points to riders based upon finishes in sanctioned TN races. BAR stands for best area rider and the rider with the most points at the end of the year in each category gets awarded the state championship jersey for best rider. Well, I am currently in first place for the cat 4 racers so the places and points at each event I enter just became that much more important to me now that I know what is at stake.

I knew the RR would be hard since there was a Cat 2 climb 7 miles into the 32 mile race, but I wasn't sure the tactics that would be employed since the climb was so far out from the finish. I raced based on the assumption that there would be a rough regrouping of the top riders after the climb so I didn't go completely all out in the climb. I didn't hold back a whole lot either though. As soon as we hit it, one BPC rider went solo up the road. I wasn't too worried because the wheels I was watching were still close by. Climbing continued and people fell off from behind. With about a mile left in the climb, the group of five I had been climbing with started pulling away, 3 of which were on the same team. I didn't want to explode, so I just continued on in a steady fashion. The gap only grew. I finished the climb and could still see them up the road a bit. I tried to close in, but it just wasn't going to happen with who was in that break group. So I rode 17 miles alone. It was a hard, lonely 17 miles, but I kept pushing on especially once I began to see some riders up the road after being in no man's land for 14 miles. I was able to spot two riders who seemed to have popped from the 6 man break. If I could catch them, then I would be back in the running for 5th place. New goal. Well, I kept struggling to bridge the gap, and I could see a line of four riders approaching from the rear that were making up ground. Edging closer and closer, I finally put in a big effort to bridge the gap to the two riders up the road. Mentally, I knew it would be better for me to get to the front group before the back group bridged the gap and I definitely didn't want to sit up, wait for the 4 man group, and have them fly by me without me being to latch on. Once we were all together, things seemed calm. We were under 10K to go and I was rotating down the line. Once I saw that the two lead riders were on the same team and not rotating, I made my way back up to them and sat in third wheel. The pace lifted as we edged closer to the finish. When I saw the 500 meter sign, I jumped. I didn't notice an immediate reaction in my periphery, but it was hard to tell. When I saw the 200 meter sign, I stood to launch my sprint. A few revolutions in, I took a quick glance around to see if I was going to have to fight it out. Nope, I was clear. I sat up and cruised through the finish line for 5th place.

I cruised back to my car and began switching wheels to my TT bike for the time trial later in the afternoon. I was set to go at 1:40: five minutes after the women and the first cat 4 racer. I went out hard and quickly found my acceptable pain level to sustain for the 7 mile TT. Going into the turn around, I didn't quite slow down enough and missed the cones. My rear wheel eventually locked up and skidded out as I tried to correct. A little scary, but once I was up and rolling again, it seemed to be fine. I buried myself and enjoyed having the wind mostly at my back now. I really dug deep over the last 500 meters because I knew how close the race in Sparta had been. I didn't want it to be that close again, or if it was, I wanted to be on the winning side and knew that I left it all out there on the course. I came across the line in 16:24 which was a 25.7 mph average: a lot faster than I was at Sparta. Once the results were calculated, it was only good enough for 3rd place here. I was 10 seconds behind first and 7 behind second.

So, overall not my best showing, but I guess I shouldn't have been expecting too much. I've been overtrained and taking time off. I'm tapering and trying to prepare and focus all my energy and time on ITU Cross Worlds. Three days and counting. The big race is this Saturday. I've done everything I can and can only hope I have recovered and tapered properly. I will go out and race my best. The top 2 from last year's national championship will be there along with a few others. It is pretty much a preview of what nationals will be like this year except it is on my home turf and not at altitude. If I can't beat them here, then I don't belong on the start line in Utah.

Bar Standings: Cat 4

I See Cardinals

I really didn’t want to admit it, but I think I have to face the facts and accept it. I am overtrained and my peak workouts for ITU Worlds are getting thrown completely out the window. Recently, I’ve been getting fatigued a little too early in my workouts, I’ve noticed lactic acid building up earlier in my efforts, and my heart rate has been about 15 bpm lower than normal during my intervals. This is one of the things all athletes fear, especially right before their biggest race of the year. This news sits right alongside stress fractures and, for me, ACL tears. I had this week off school too, so I had the extra time to put in the extra efforts. Well, now those efforts would only hurt me and set me back even more. My body needs to recover and rebuild. My progress and fitness for Worlds is already determined and I can’t gain any more. I just have to hope that I’ve put in enough, I fully recuperate for the race, and everything goes as well as possible.

However, some hope hangs on previous articles I’ve read about people experiencing injuries or different travel complications that required them to take off a complete week before marathons or other big races. Surprisingly, some of them set PR’s and raced extremely well. Often we forget how important and beneficial rest is. I can only hope that the results for me will be similar and my legs show up ready to race in Alabama on May 19^th. Until then I guess I just have to design a 16 day taper for an Olympic distance off-road triathlon. If it doesn’t go well at least it will be an experience of a lifetime. And I’ll have the Time Trial State Championship to race in the following week. Man that will be an hour of hell: 40 kilometers to push yourself into the pain and sustain it all alone on an out and back course. Should be fun.

Even when I combine this with all the previous bad luck I had with my bike and equipment, I still have faith in what I’m doing. I still believe in my training and my racing. Either the southeast TN region has the highest population of beautiful male cardinals I have ever lived in, or God is definitely on my side telling me everything is going to work out and be all right. I couldn’t imagine trying to count all the cardinals I’ve seen over this semester on my rides and runs. I’ve used them as a sign from God ever since my old Pastor preached about it one Sunday many years ago. It seems to still be working, so why question it.

Also, I won the Sparta time trial and took second in the road race with only biking twice a week. School takes up a ton of time and then multisport training limits me even more. It scares me to think what I could accomplish if I devoted all my focus to road racing. I’m also in the search for a cycling team. I’m trying to decide between two different teams: one local and one in Knoxville. It’s a tough decision because both offer great, but very different benefits. This will be the first team I’m really a part of too. Furthermore, once I looked back at the Xterra Ft. Yargo results, I should try to not be too tough on myself. The times say I ran a 7:17 average mile for the 5 mile run at the end of the race. That’s great for me especially compared to last year. Those results would satisfy my goals and aspirations for Worlds. Maybe everything will work out.

On another note, if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations on recovering and tapering for the upcoming race now that I’m 14 days out, I’d be thrilled to hear from you.

Race Report: Xterra Ft. Yargo and SERC #4 MTB Race

Three weeks out from ITU Worlds, I decided to test myself and see what condition I was in at the Ft. Yargo race in Winder, GA. I’d never done this race before, so on Friday after I finished my last final exam for the spring term I headed down for a pre-ride. Atlanta traffic delayed me a bit so I missed packet pick-up, but I still got my pre-ride in before dark. The course was fun and fast. It included a lot of diving in and out of trees, semi-banked corners you could thrash, and some gnarly, deep double jumps. It was going to be a fun day. I packed back up to head to Athens where I was going to stay with some UGA friends for the night.

I didn’t make it to the race site as early as I wanted, but I also didn’t plan on standing in the packet pick-up line for 15 minutes. The longest I’ve ever had to wait outside of the Ironman venue. By the time I finally made it down to transition, I was scrambling to find any spot left in the cramped 175 racer field. I then scrambled to get my wetsuit on which I’m not sure if it occurred in my haste or because the suit was stuck together with residual water, but two spots on the right leg tore. Getting into the water, I saw Craig Evans and said hey to him. It was good to see a familiar face, but now I knew I didn’t have a chance at winning. My goal now was to take the 2 or 3 spot and make it on the overall podium with him.

No warm-up included, the race was underway. I felt tight and like all my mechanics went out the window as we dashed for the first buoy. I just kept pushing forward and finally felt decently good and like I was in some rhythm with about 300 meters left. Perfect timing, right? Maybe it will work out in my favor at ITU, or if I were to warm-up first. Going into T-1 I lost it. I was fidgety and panicked. I put on my bike shoe before taking off my wetsuit. Fail. I then had trouble getting the suit off making it just an overall crappy transition. But it was time for the bike; time for me to shine. Trying to find my groove, some old guy passed me. WTF? I don’t get passed on the bike! At least not at a non-championship race. Who did this guy think he was? About a mile later, I passed him back and left everybody else behind; I wasn’t going to depend on my run game for the win. Closing in on the finish I was still in 5^th place. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Was my swim really that bad, and who were these guys that were leading the race? I knew Craig would be sitting 1^st, but I wasn’t sure who was sitting 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th. I caught 3^rd and 4^th right before entering T-2. The three of us started the run together until I got left about .75 miles into the 5 mile run. I wasn’t feeling good on the run, but I wasn’t feeling like total crap either, which was an improvement over all except one of last year’s runs. About 3 miles in, another set of two runners passed me after a little hill. I was hurting. Heading back towards the finish, I got passed again with one mile left. I was stuck with 8^th place overall, 3^rd fastest bike split with less than a minute behind Craig’s, and a sub 37 minute 5 mile trail run. (Results here) Not terrible, but not exactly what I was expecting or where I was hoping I’d be by this point. I got my age group points and for the prize I got a Maxxis Ignitor tire and a Cannondale jersey. Pretty sweet swag for a race. Too bad I forgot to pick up my biking gloves from where I threw them off on the run course. I looked for them the next day, but no luck. However, someone did turn one in. Who the heck turns in one lost glove and keeps the other?

Somehow I got convinced to do the MTB race the next morning instead of going to the Braves game that night. So the plan was to rest a bit, hit up the Athens Twilight Pro Crit that night, and then race again in the morning. The crit was amazing. I’ve never seen a race like that with such a huge strung out peloton and amazing speeds. Past and present Olympians were in attendance as well as the reigning USA National champion, stood by his mom for most of the race. With over 30,000 other spectators, it was definitely an event not worth missing. Although, I might have spent a little too much time up on my feet and not hydrating enough. The situation was made worse once I got back to the place I was staying to find out they were having a party; I mean it is college. I was trying to sleep in the back room on the floor on top of my sleeping bag and in my tights. It wasn’t a great night’s rest and I sweated my butt off leaving me pretty dehydrated in the morning. The race was fun though: fun in the sense of hurting a lot, pushing myself, and of course the super fun thrill riding of catching air, diving around trees, and railing sharp corners. I hung with the front group for the first few miles of lap one then faded back as they attacked on a hill. I was sitting 5^th and there was one position change where I passed 4^th and then 6^th passed me so still sitting 5^th. Towards the end of the lap, I went down in a corner I took too aggressively and then had to wait for the riders coming in hot to pass by before I could remount my bike and carry on. For lap two, I latched onto on the guys in the 39 year old age group and rode with him for a long time. Shortly into lap 3, I had to leave him though. I was feeling better and really wanted to pull that 4^th place guy back in. It didn’t take long and he was back in my site, as well as many others that had passed previously. Lap 3 was going great for me. I got a second boost of energy and was back to railing the course and having a blast making up tons of ground. I finished 4^th and closed the gap to 3^rd down to just 24 seconds. I’ll take it I guess (My results on page 10). I didn’t make my money back for the race, but it was a good experience. One thing I would like explained is how the Cat 2 riders get better prizes and awards for their entire podium than I did for getting 4^th in Cat 1? I’d much rather take a free Maxxis tire and some HEED over $20. Cool Racing Photo

My original plan had been to do the racing there in Georgia and then head over to Pelham for some more training on the ITU Worlds course, but after those two days, I didn’t think my body could handle it or that it would be worth it with the state I was in. My gooch was pissed at me for forgetting to grease up two days in a row, my lower back was killing me from the 32 mile mtb race, my shoe was soaked in blood again from a nagging heel abrasion, and I had developed a few more blisters on my feet during the tri. I wouldn’t have made it to Pelham until almost 7 o’clock too, so I just decided to bail on the whole plan and just head back to Chattanooga. Once home and unpacked, I tried to go for a run. My body quickly told me no in the .5 mile that I made it. I’m glad I didn’t waste my time in Pelham. Monday I went out for intervals and bonked before the end of the ride. Tuesday morning I went for a run and bonked before the end. I ended up drinking from a house’s water hose and sitting in someone’s yard just chilling for a while before I made it back home. Tuesday night however, my legs decided to show back up and I had a killer mountain climb on the road with the Tuesday night Red Bank group ride. I peaked second over the mountain and felt really good about my performance on a blind course and without my computer to tell me any data. Seventeen days and counting. Let’s hope everything works.

America

America: The first team to ever pick me up.

I guess I can deal with that. Hopefully, it won't be the last team though. I'm honored to get to wear the Team USA kit in a race. It should be an amazing experience. I've also bumped up training ever since I got the news in order to better represent; and you know, kick ass for myself. I took a camping trip to Pelham last weekend to do some training on the course. The run course has changed to eliminate the last of the death march hills. That's good for me and my running game, but it helps everyone else too. The trip was two days of ups and downs. I planned on doing two laps of the bike course and then a full run through of the run course for a solid brick workout. Two-thirds of the way through the first bike lap I noticed my crankset was loose; therefore, sliding back and forth on my $220 ceramic bottom bracket. The trail included a few creek crossings too which is great for it I hear. So I found a road out and back to the car where I got out my tools in an attempt to fix the issue. Satisfied with my work, I headed back to finish the course. Once complete, I wasn't really feeling another lap since I was still a bit tired from road intervals the day before and still needed to set up camp and get wood before it got completely dark. The post-ride run went decently well and I could tell some of my weight training was paying off on the short, steep hills.

Rain during the night made for a muddier trail system the next day which was topped off by rain at the beginning of my run and the end of my bike. I swapped up the order to get a better quality run on the course. Overall, I wasn't really thrilled with the trip or my performance. I expected more and was a little down about not living up to it. It made me question my training and progression towards my goal. It made me question my ability, skills, speed, and the qualifications for making Team USA. I wondered why I go through all of it if it's not ever going to really amount to anything; why I sacrifice the things I do in pursuit of this dream. I know I am doing damage to my joints, especially the ones I've already damaged and continue to hurt. These are some of the things I think about on long rides and runs. They get emotional and have extreme highs and lows. Not emotional in the way that I'm going to break down and cry, but that feelings towards people and objects come from nowhere and I feel I must express them and talk to people about it. Thoughts race through my head more during those long rides than any other aspect of my life. It's one of the reasons I do it, and love it. Then once I step off the bike or out of the shoes, the conviction fades. Things go unsaid and feelings just sink back down; the words that say the ideas and feelings so perfectly simply disappear. If I could dictate my thoughts during my rides, I'm sure most people would think I'm crazy, but in an oh so eloquent way. On the other hand, some rides I feel awesome and think I'm flying through the trail or on the road. I think I could win any race and am practically uncatchable on the bike, especially in a sprint. Those are good rides.

So coming off this low, I looked through my book of notes and saw some stats from last year's training trip in Pelham. This year my average speed on the bike was up over 1 mph and the max speed was up over 5 mph. I also saw a note saying that my shoulder didn't bother me when I swam down there. I didn't remember having any shoulder problems last year and was now curious if it was the same issue I've been having this year. I couldn't find any other notes in last year's training log though. When I was scrolling through the log, I saw some impressive runs. I was running much faster last year posting a 46 minute 10K after a 26 mile road ride and a 44 minute 10K during an 8 mile run. I also weighed 178 four days before the Southeastern Championship race. I am nowhere near those times or that weight, which might not be a bad thing since I am still so far out from the race and last year's runs pretty much all sucked except for the one Casey Fannin and I did head-to-head the whole way at Xterra Lock 4 Blast. Plus my weight is different this year. I've been hitting the weights like I never have before. I've put up some serious numbers and feel stronger than ever. Ultrasound analysis says my body fat is only at 9.2%, making 178 almost unachievable. I'll get further testing done over the next few months since I'm signed up for some research studies that include BodPod body composition testing and several VO2 max testings in various environmental and hydration conditions.

So, some positives and some negatives. Overall I'm going to assume it's a positive, which could be reassured with a dominating and definitive win this upcoming weekend. It will be the first race of the season and will be a collegiate cycling race at Dalton State. So I'll take advice and perspective from a more seasoned veteran in the ups and downs, Andrea Wilson, and "cheer up emo kid." I mean it's not all bad.

The technical section of the course: Blood Rock. Crazy fun to rock on the 29er.

I now have a way to make coffee when I go camping at races.

Great scenery. Unfortunately to see most of the good stuff, you have to actually go yourself.

Albino Turkey Vulture

Red-Tailed Hawk. I think he wants to eat me.

Turkey vulture eating food court Chinese, I mean chopped rat. Sorry

I don't know how this came out so well. At the campsite as I was packing up.

4 Day Weekend

It's 30 degrees outside. Might as well go mountain biking. A quarter of a mile into the ride, mostly uphill, I could tell my legs were still pretty shot from the 100 miles Thursday and Friday and the all day snowboarding Saturday. So, what do I do? Put in a two and a half hour brick workout. First one of the year. That will show that scar tissue in my foot who's boss.

Since I had deleted my iHeartRadio app, the ride was done in complete silence. Not originally how I wanted to do it, but I think it was better for it. I got to pay more attention to the trail and immerse myself in it. I've noticed that sometimes when I get going, my vision blurs and I have to back off the power. I wish my eyes could see and process the trail as quickly as my legs and bike want to ride it. Come on Brodman 18 and 19. Can't you work a little faster back there?

On the last leg of the ride, I dropped into the pump track. I made it around 8 times without pedaling before my arms started to get tired. Pump track for the win! A lot of the trail has big humps and jumps like that so integrating it on the trail was fun. I felt like a moto-cross or a downhill rider. It sure was a lot of fun, and of course some of them I just launched for air to have even more fun. Overall, it was a wonderful ride. It was great to get back on the mountain bike and fly by trees, roll over rocks, splatter mud, catch air, and fish tail in some corners.

It's sad to say that I enjoyed the 2 hours of riding on Sunday more than the day of snowboarding on Saturday. Although, I guess if it were the other way around, then I've been investing all my time and money into the wrong sport. It's fun to mix it up though. It's not often that you get frostbite on your face or the chance to put on snow chains for a commercial van.

After the ride, I went to walmart to get this week's lunch meat and nutella. Can't function without that. To entertain the people, and just because I didn't want to get my sweat pants dirty with the mud from the trail, I went in with my Under Armour tights on over my chamois. I got some looks, but they got the show.

So this nice four day weekend left me with 13 hours of training for the week. It's a nice little precursor for what I have planned for spring break. The chance of being on Team USA is motivating me even more right. I hope they make the right choice and I get the chance to wear those stars and stripes in Alabama this May.

And as always, P.E.M.D.A.S.

Troubles

While some things have been going great, I am still me and I will always get hurt. I'm already dealing with quite a few injuries and setbacks this year. So in no particular order:

I am trying to get back into running shape, which is hard having taken off for such a long time after the end of last season. To make matters worse, I have developed a big lump of scar tissue in my left heal from when I landed on a piece of steel last August. I was trying to mount bike hangers in the walls of my new apartment. The mount was sitting in the floor and I was up on the dresser drilling into the wall. I was done and jumped back off the dresser and my left heel hit first, right on the 2mm wide piece of backing steel for the hanger. The steel bent, the drill bit snapped off in the carpet, and my heel wrenched in pain. I had to walk on the ball of my foot for the next few days but eventually the pain subsided and the radiographs showed no fracture. Now, the knot of scar tissue is making it very difficult to stretch my plantar aponeurosis and heel striking is just about completely out of the picture. I'm slowly working it out with some painful massage though.

A week and a half ago, a few friends and I went snowboarding with the UTC Outdoors program. It was a great trip, but I didn't realize until the next day that in one of my high velocity falls I injured my left shoulder. I was scared it was a rotator cuff issue. I couldn't swim at all last week, but my stroke is coming back this week. I haven't been able to do my power cleans in the gym either. It is still painful, but the progression and the presentation of the pain leads my professor and me to believe it is more of a deltoid or impingement issue that I hope will work itself out soon.

Since I've been back at school, I have not had a pain free bike ride. My lower back has been giving me problems with most of the pain coming from the right side around L4/L5. I usually get about 30 minutes into the ride before I start noticing the pain. I can make it to about 40 mins before it peaks and I usually give in and dismount the bike to stretch and give it a little break. It subsides rather quickly and I'm back on my way. It usually comes back around 1:45. Sometimes I make it back, sometimes I have to get off and stretch again. I adjusted my fit some after I videoed myself and saw some issues. I was hoping this would take care of my issue and that the pain was just from over reaching by rocking my hips to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke. This past Sunday was the best ride I've had all year. I started out a little faster than usual so the pain started coming on at about the same distance but a little earlier, around 28 minutes. I wiggled around a bit and somehow overcame it. The ride was going great. My legs were flying around the pedals and the pace was not dropping. I was making my way the furthest east I have gone since I've been riding in Chatt. (My goal is to find a reasonable route to North Carolina. I think I can make a 7 hour trip there and back. Spring Break training camp?) I was at 19.7mph at my turn around point of just over an hour and a half. I wanted to keep going, but I really wanted to get back in time to watch Brandon wrestle App State, the last regular season home match. So, I made the U-turn and started heading back. The legs began to fade a bit and a third of the way back I had dropped to 19.5mph. I tried to keep pushing on as I grabbed a bite of Clif Bar. Carefully retracing my path to make sure I didn't get lost on the new roads, I came soaring back to my normal routes when the back pain started to hit again. I was too close and too pressed for time to get off and stretch. So, I just tucked and pushed through. I suffered through the big climb near the end and kept pushing the pace to try to maintain my average speed. I had made it back up to 19.7. With a screaming back and legs, I pulled into my apartment, stripped the chamois off and headed to the arena to catch the match. I kept the 19.7mph, but the change in bike fit and stretching had failed to alleviate my back pain.

So, I set up a time to meet with one of my professors and go through an examination. We found that my right multifidus was grossly atrophied. It was mush and weak compared to my left side. We're not sure why, maybe a strain from last November when I missed the hook for the barbell at the end of squat session, but some type of inhibition is going on and I need to wake it up. I hope it is not from anything more serious such as joint or bone trauma. I'm working on strengthening it and firing my transverse abdominis to see if that might bring it back.

In order to win the Xterra Region, I have to race four races including one championship distance race. I've done the southeast championship twice and planned on doing it again this year to help me clinch the jersey for the third time, this was one of my goals for this year. However, I got an email today saying the championship race has been cancelled in order for Xterra to host the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship. This is awesome, but it also means I have to find another race to do. I can either travel to Richmond in June or Louisiana in May. I haven't heard too many good things about the Richmond race. They have even had issues of vandalism and competitors getting lost on course because of it. I've experienced this at the Colorado State MTB race in '07 and don't really want to do that again. Louisiana is a great course, but that would be a far drive and it's not technically a championship race. It might have to do though. This is in fact if I don't make the Team USA which will be racing in the world championship. I applied earlier this week. Fingers crossed, sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for that email.

Alberto Contador also ran into some trouble this week. His positive test for clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France finally caught up to him. He has been stripped of his 2010 Tour victory, his 2011 Giro victory and is banned from racing in either this year and from competing in the London Olympics this summer. Harsh stuff especially when you factor in the fine he will receive. The board is pushing for $3 million. Most have been saying this is bad for cycling, but I don't understand. The positive test was already exposed. Everyone knew about it. They only change is the punishment. This affects Contador and not necessarily the sport as a whole. Maybe I'd be more upset if I liked him, but I personally think he's an ass. I'm glad Andy gets the win now for the 2010 Tour. Sort of like retribution for Contador attacking on the slopes when Andy dropped his chain. Karma's a bitch isn't it, Contador? It's also pretty lame that Contador said he thought he was supposed to be protected and untouchable "like Lance" since he had spent so much money on lawyers. What a load of crap. Lance never tested positive during Tour.

Since this week is the Combined Sectionals Meeting for the American Physical Therapy Association, our classes are canceled for the rest of the week. Hello four day weekend. So tomorrow I'll be back on the bike and see how the back is feeling. I'm also going on another snowboard trip this Saturday with the UTC Outdoors program. Wish me luck.

I'm saying those are the mountains of North Carolina in the very far distance. 

Ambitious 2012

Just like everybody else, the new year brings new goals and ambitions for me. Unlike everybody else, I will actually follow through with them. Heck, I've already made progress on three of them.

So here are a few of them:

#1 Win Xterra Southeastern Championships, this is largely dependent on a good run which is where goal 2 comes in
#2 Put up a sub 45 min run split at Southeasterns

Now goal three is a little tricky. Yes, I want to just go ahead and commit to it, but I don't want to show up and be embarrassed and waste the money and time and time away from school. So goal three is dependent upon completion of goal 1 and 2

#3 Race (WIN) Xterra USA National Championship
#4 Claim the Xterra Regional Championship Jersey
#5 Race at least 3 crits
#6 Win the TN crit state championship
#7 Take a girl out on a real date, not just hang out at some party
#8 Eliminate irresponsible nights of mayhem
#9 Under social obligations I guess I must include do well in school and my first rotation coming up this summer

I found this article/list of pretty good resolutions too. Not saying I'm shooting for all of them, but I think numbers 4, 9, 11, and 15 are pretty good ones that I have incorporated into my life. (Supposedly there has been some confusion. I do know my math and that I haven't listed 15 goals here. The numbers are a reference to another article that you can find by clicking the hyperlink at the beginning of the paragraph, "article/list".)


There. So now that they are down on paper and displayed to the public, they are real goals. I can be held accountable and will hold myself accountable.


Forgot to put the goal of riding 5,000 miles. I did a rough collection of my actual miles from 2011 and came up with 3,125 miles ridden. I didn't set up my training log to tally this so this is what I could come up with retrospectively. It had to be at least this much. Should make for some fun time in the saddle.

Old Hickory Classic MTB Race

What a great weekend of racing. The course at Lock 4 is so fast and fun: several rock drops, switchbacks, amazing single track, burbs, and a few jumps. It's quite a thrill. I knew after the Lock 4 Blast triathlon that I was definitely going back to do this mountain bike race, and it lived up to my expectations.

Saturday, we did a 2.4 mile time trial. I won the CAT 2 men's category with a 9:26. I would have gotten third if I had been racing CAT 1. I probably would have had a faster time too if I hadn't dropped my chain on the start line. I still have a cut and bruise from where my right calf smacked the big chainring. Oh well, it didn't take too much time to get it back on and get to racing.

Later that afternoon, we came back to the park to do the short track race. A .75 mile loop around the end of the peninsula with lots of turns and climbs. It was fun and I quickly jumped out on the front. I kept building my lead the rest of the race. After 20 minutes and my third lap, the race was over. I took home the gold medal again. Under pressure from the race director and Craig Evans, I was contemplating trying to ride with the CAT 1 guys. They had already given me a hard time about racing CAT 2 and both thought I could hang with the CAT 1 guys. I didn't think the USAC official would let me CAT up that quickly with this being only my second mtb race, but in between the end of the CAT 2 ST and the beginning of the CAT 1 ST, I CAT'ed up and was now racing CAT 1. I jumped back in the field and was ready to race another short track race. Only about 15 to 20 minutes of rest and no calories in between, I knew it was going to be tough. The race started out quick and I was surprised with my position. I was sitting third for the first two laps right behind pro Craig Evans. I even asked him what he was doing at one point, because I knew he should be way out in front. He was looking for Omar who was having shifting problems and took off quickly after he figured out what was going on. I held on for what I could having already raced all out for 27 minutes. Going into the second to last lap, a guy passed me. Halfway through the last lap, I hollered to some other racers on the sideline to watch this: I told them I was about to pass him back. Coming into the last bend I sprinted past the Biker's Choice guy. We took the 180 degree turn hard and I was back up out of the saddle giving it all I had. I beat him. Sprint finish. That gave me 6th in the CAT 1 open ST race. Just missed the money in 5th place. That would have been cool.

Sunday morning, we headed back out to the park for the main event: the cross country race. Now racing CAT 1, I was set to ride 3 laps totaling 27 miles. The race was going great. I have never railed corners so fast and hit burbs with so much momentum. They say the yellow jersey in the tour makes a man ride like a beast and like two men. Well, racing CAT 1, I was riding like a beast. I don't remember any time when I have ever raced that smoothly or fast. I was having a great time.......and then....I took the jump at the end of lap two and burped my rear wheel on some rocks. I tried to keep riding it, but it was getting lower. I was sliding and hitting the rim. I had to stop to fix it. The CO2 cartridge wouldn't work with my air chuck. Not sure what was wrong, but no air would come out. I had to run and walk it out as I was getting passed by all my other competitors. That sucked. Once I broke back out of the woods, the official confirmed what I had suspected. I can't take any assistance, so my race was over. I was somewhere around 3rd or 4th in the Men Cat 1 15-29. I was set to podium and make some money. Things just didn't work out. It sucks. That's the second xc race that I've had trouble finishing properly. Oh well, looking for more races to do now that I had to buy an annual license to be Cat 1. Haven't found much so if you know of anything let me know. I'll be in the Chattanooga area by the middle of August so NC, SC, GA, AL, and TN races are welcome.

The results page

Cat 2 TT Podium

Cat 2 ST Podium

Race Report: XTERRA Dawg Dayz

Venturing over to Little Rock for my fourth race of the season was a little rough. I had gone out the night before and was still feeling it on the car ride over. Thankfully my mom was driving and I could "rest" in the passenger seat. The effects were obvious when I was pre-riding the course. It was a sloppy ride, but I also wasn't the biggest fan of the trail. It was really dry and dusty and had many off camber sections with loose rocks. Combine this with the dust and mountain sides and it gets a little hairy. I slide out a few times and dropped my chain twice. The ride could have gone better.

Pre-ride done and packet picked up, I was headed to Luke Porter's house in Conway. He so graciously offered to let my mom and me stay with him for the weekend while we were racing. What a house! His family was very welcoming and made the trip a really good time. Everything I needed was taken care of and it was great. Dinner was awesome and the concoction of powdered peanut butter, almond milk, agave, banana, and oatmeal was a delicious post dinner/ pre race snack.

Up at 5:15 and we were ready to race. I managed to still get a good spot in transition even though I only got there an hour before the start. Having set up, kitted up, and hydrated, it was onto the warm up. I started by pre-riding a section of the run course. There was a pretty good hill at the beginning that would later come back to haunt me. Anyway, it was race time. Treading water for about 7 minutes while the race director talked wasn't the best way to start out, but I still managed to get off a good swim despite my lack of swim training since Southeastern's over a month ago. I came out of the water right behind my friend Steve Coal. I gave him a pat on the back and helped push him up the boat ramp so we could get out and onto the second part of the race. Running into transition, I saw Boomer Leopold putting on his shoes and getting ready to ride out. As I ran passed him, I gave him a slap on the butt and told him "Let's get after it." He made it out of T1 before I did, but as he went to mount his bike, his shoe stayed on the ground. He had to stop and re-lace the strap. I was off. When I covered the mile on the road and was hitting the trail I could see two people behind me and I asked the marshals how many were in front. Only One. Sweet deal. I started the ride out pretty hard and settled into a good pace. I had sections of fast pumping and sections of recovery. I could see the dust fill the air on the corners and knew I was closing in on the guy in front. I passed him before half-way through and was then just building on my lead. I knew the guys behind me were gunning for me though. There were several sets of switchbacks and I could hear and see people closing in at different times. It didn't matter. I kept them at bay and managed to have the fastest bike split of the day. More importantly, I accomplished my objective. Mission: keep the bike tire side down was a success. Amazing how fast you can go when you aren't stopping on the side of the trail to put yourself back together. I came into T2 by myself and headed out on the run in first place.

Starting out on the run was rough. It was hot and I was getting dehydrated. When I approached the first aid station at the top of that long climb, the person working the station was sitting in his chair across the road telling me which way to go as I was yelling at him where was the water. I had to grab my own cups and fill up my own water. The same thing happened at the next aid station too. Wasn't very happy about that. I kept trudging along though. I was suffering though and stopped at all the aid stations and dunked my head under the coolers and drank a good amount of water. I was over-heating and crashing. My lead was dwindling quickly. About 2 miles in, Boomer passed me. He was running well and I couldn't. I was starting to have to take walk breaks. I hadn't had a run this bad since Southeastern's. As I continued to get passed by more and more runners, my hopes kept dwindling. After I got passed by three people and I knew I wasn't going to podium, I really started slacking. It was hot and this was just not my race. I killed it on the bike and it killed me on the run.

I ended up finishing 5th overall. Not my best, but not terrible. I had a 36 minute run. That was pretty awful, but I felt like crap. I really have to focus on that if I want to be a contender in the future. This year just wasn't a good year running wise for me. I need more winter base miles and to not have surgery that takes me off my feet for two months in January.

After treading water for about 7 mins...

Not too shabby on my form

Riding side saddle

Host and competitor, Luke Porter

Race Report: XTERRA Lock 4 Blast

Lock 4 BLAST is absolutely right. I feel pretty confident saying this was the most fun I've had doing a race. Mostly because of the thunderstorm that occurred during it, but also the great trail systems and just having an all around good race.

Saturday I got off to a late start and didn't leave Cordova until 3:30 pm. I was pushing it to get there by 7pm for packet pick-up. I made it. Barely. I almost peed myself twice. After packet pick-up, I changed in the porta potty and headed out for some pre-riding. I felt kinda bad because it had been raining and I was expecting the trail to be pretty muddy. It was, but not as bad as I was expecting. It was fun to slide out in corners and in switchbacks. The few rock drops were a blast and super cush riding on 25 psi. I rode the bike course and the run course so I could refresh myself of what to expect. I rode up to my car at about 8:15 and was ready to load up, clean up, and grub. Damn.....I checked my saddle bag and it had come unzipped and my two gu's and my keys were gone. I usually carry my keys in my jersey pocket or leave them under the car, but I figured to be safe I should zip them in the saddle bag. Wrong. I started riding around the peninsula and looking for the white rubber keychain that held only two keys. It was quickly getting dark and I was getting desperate and about to panic. No luck, I headed back to the trail to start riding the first part again in hopes of finding them. About .5 mile into the trail I found my first gu. My hopes grew. I kept riding and searching the ground. About a .25 mile later, I found my other gu. Hope is rising. At this time it is too dark to ride and look, so I begin walking my bike leaning over the bars so I can see the ground as best I can. I kick or touch everything that appears white on the trail. I'm not going to miss them. As the music goes off at the race site and he is packing everything up, I finally find my keys. I am thrilled and so relieved. I start biking back out which at this point is night riding without a light; somehow, I was successful. I got back to my car just after 9 and began to load up. I washed the ridiculous amount of mud off my arms and legs with the water from the spicket of the water buffalo the director brought since there is no running water on the peninsula. Having done this, I stripped down by the car, dried off, and put my clothes back on. That was my shower, and I was off to Subway for some dinner.

My great pre race night of sleep was going to consist of whatever hours I could grab sitting in the front sit of my car at the entrance of the park. I had a friend I could have stayed with, but I didn't realize he lived an hour away from the race site. It just wasn't going to be worth the drive and getting up that much earlier for a real bed. I brought my camping stuff, but the place I was at had high grass and was already wet, more thunderstorms were supposed to be coming in too. So I leaned the seat back and turned on the ipod. Sleep didn't come easy. Between the heat, uncomfortable position, car headlights that tried to get into the park after hours, the storm that came through and having to get out and pee twice, I somehow got enough sleep to still race well.

I was up before 6am with the sunrise and the director coming into the park to get things rolling. I loaded up my stuff and headed down that way. I was the first one in transition. SCORE. Huge perk of sleeping right there at the race site. I took care of my pre race business and was set to go. About 30 minutes before the start, the director announced that the swim was going to be wetsuit legal. Score again. I hurried back to the car and grabbed my wetsuit. The rain was good for something at least. As the morning storm was approaching, the director hurried through the pre race meeting and got us into the water in hopes of finishing the swim before the lightning and rain started. It worked. I had a pretty good swim with the wetsuit. Saw just a few people beat me out of the water.

Now it's on to the bike. Being a wet trail and trying to ride too aggressive, I went down....quick....hard....and several times. I laid my bike down pretty hard 3 times within the first 1.5 miles. I would pass people only to crash and get passed right back. I eventually passed them all back except for one, supposedly he's going to be racing for the US team in Switzerland for World's. Who knows. So, after that last crash that moved my shifter and brake lever to the underside of my bar as I hit a tree and almost fell down into the lake, I decided to cool it and not break my bike, save something for the run. Well, I still went down two more times on that lap, but not quite as hard and mostly just because of the water and mud. On lap number two the storm was really hitting. And it was AWESOME. It was like being a kid and playing in the water and mud. The trail was flooding in some sections and it was just a blast. I went down once on the second lap in the same spot I went down the last time on the first lap. It was a tight, slick corner.

Anyway, coming into T2 I see another racer right in front of me. He enters before I do and I can hear him talking as he is changing shoes. "You're moving slow. You're moving slow." I'm pretty sure he was talking to himself. I hope. I beat him out of T2 and lead him on the run to the trail. At which point I expected to start losing it and watch him run on by. He didn't We kept running and splashing through the mud and twisty trail. As we exited the first lap, I was shocked that he was still right behind me. I don't run this well. How am I pacing this guy? We are side by side on the pavement to transition when I asked him who he was. Casey. Yes! I was hoping this was the famous Casey Fannin. I was pacing a great Xterra athlete the whole way on the first lap. I didn't expect it to last though. I figured he would run off around the peninsula and leave me behind. He didn't. We stuck together. We saw Craig exiting the woods and heading for the finish as we were heading back up the hill to hit the top of the trail for lap two. He was pretty far ahead. Casey and I chatted a bit and decided we were running for 2/3 behind Craig. What a race. Somehow I was still pacing him and he never made a move. I tried to play it smart though and hit some parts hard, climbs some hills fast on the balls of my feet, free fall down some hills, and slack and recover on certain sections. I wanted to have enough to out sprint him at the end. We splashed through puddles all the way out of the trail. I was beginning to feel confident. I had felt my quads starting to go towards the beginning of lap two and thought that was going to be it. It wasn't. I felt my right pinky toe begin to blister and the skin rip off. I thought that was going to be it, but it wasn't. I was running awesome. As we closed in on the finish line I began to pick it up. I looked back and asked him if he was ready to go. He didn't have it. He said go on and take it, so I did. I sprinted up to the finish and was uber stoked.

The final results: I won, well not really. I thought I was going to be, but Craig beat me. Officially he is a pro and doesn't race in my category, but not having a pro cat at this race, I consider him winning. On the podium it was Craig, me, and Casey. Great podium. I'll have to wait for another race to try for the ever fleeting overall win. Second for the second time this season. It's okay though. They didn't end up having a cash purse or even any special awards/plaques for the overall winners. I did win a free pair of Xterra trail shoes though. All in all, it was a great time.

Shout out to Blake Amos and his family for hosting me for the afternoon and feeding me. It was some great family time with someone else's family for the Sunday afternoon.