Race Report: State XC Championship

I was unsure how this race would go. I hadn't been feeling too good on the bike the past few weeks, unable to put out consistent power, and I haven't mountain biked much at all this year. I think the race was actually only the 6th time I've ridden my mountain bike all year. My roots are in mountain biking, but I haven't watered those roots since my devastating mechanicals in the ITU Cross Tri World Championships last May. Nevertheless, I pressed on and decided to do the race since it was in my backyard. The race would cap off my 6 week stay in Memphis this summer for an acute care rehab rotation for PT school.

I decided to not make the same mistakes I made in the first race of the season at the Pick Your Poison XC here in Chattanooga. The guy that beat me at that race would also be on the start line in Memphis, along with good friend and former co-worker Matt McCulley and one more racer.

We started hard from the gun, but I made sure not to be the first one to hit the trail, I did not want to lead everyone. I fell in behind Matt for second wheel. Taking an alternate route on a steep downhill section, I fell back one place and was now sitting 3rd wheel. A few miles later, I heard the guy riding in 4th crash. After a few miles of him not catching back on, I figured we had dropped him and he would no longer be in contention for the race. The 3 of us rode through the start/finish to start lap two. Matt attacked hard through the technical section of trail and stayed away for a few minutes. We caught back on after the steep section and continued to pedal on in our 3 man formation. The two lead riders gap'ed me a few times and Matt was even out of sight once or twice. I keep pushing on calmly and usually made up the ground when the trail went up.

In tight 3 man configuration.

About mile 6 into lap two, the rider in 2nd wheel attacked in an open section. Matt, who had been leading the entire race, sat up. He asked me if I was going to chase it down. I then realized Matt had no intention of chasing the rider breaking away. I had to jump. I closed the gap down pretty quickly and was on the lead rider's wheel by the time we dropped back into the tougher trail section. The pace had picked up. The trail was more fun and dangerous now. The two of us rode together through the start/finish again and started lap 3 together.

Railing a corner.

I had noticed this rider wasn't racing with a camelbak, but using one water bottle. I also noticed he hadn't been drinking much and he actually dropped his bottle at about mile 10 of lap two. I was expecting him to fad before the end of the third lap, especially if we kept up the pace we were setting. And this is exactly what happened. This is where I must credit and thank the people at BRL Sports for their awesome drink ENDURAFUEL. It kept me moving, hydrated, and fueled with amino acids and complex carbs in the hot and muggy woods of Nesbit Park. There was no fading or cramping for me. Anyway, riding through the steep section at the beginning of the 3rd lap, this rider went off course a bit and barely caught himself before crashing. I slowed up a bit and waited for him to get his feet back in the pedals and moving on the trail. Instead, he told me to go on, that his "leg had locked up." So I took off. I shifted up and darted down the trail trying to get as far out of sight as possible in case he was only sidelined for a few seconds. I rode the rest of that lap solo, getting to push myself as hard as I wanted and really enjoy the whole trail. I took a few more risks, and then would back off a bit. My riding was getting a little sloppy and I knew the most important thing was not crashing, not having a mechanical, and most importantly not flatting. I railed corners and hopped over roots praying not to hear that hissing sound that can and has deflated my heart in the past.

Up and Over.

Closing in on the finish, I finally felt comfortable about my position around mile 9.5. I settled in and railed the last downhill section and cruised across the bridge into the finish for the solo victory. It felt great to come away with the mountain bike state championship, something I wanted to achieve but hadn't fully committed to. Goal #5 check. And it also puts me in the lead for goal #1. A good showing in Memphis for the Chattanooga based road and cyclocross HUB Endurance Cycling Team. BTW, Matt came back to catch the 2nd place rider 50 meters from the finish and beat him for 2nd place in an awesome sprint finish with a bike throw. Awesome job and congratulations to Matt McCulley. Oh, and unfortunately I think somewhere along the race course I might have cracked my Niner Air 9 Carbon frame around the seatpost. Haven't heard anything back from them yet, but hopefully they work with me on this.

The next big challenge will be the State Road Race Championship. Thankfully my performance has been coming back over the past week and a half with some good power numbers for the times I think it will take to complete the climbs on the course. With 5 mid race climbs, it will still be a hard and challenging race. May the best rider win. I must admit that my real focus has already moved away from the road and is centered on the track. I've been enjoying my time in Atlanta and have a few big races and a training camp lined up for the rest of the season. I'll say bye to long endurance rides and pick up on all intervals of 5 minutes and less.

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 

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.

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: 3 Legged Dawg Mtb Race

The next day was the 3 Legged Dawg mountain bike race on the same course. I was going to race CAT 2 since I hadn't done any mountain bike racing and didn't have an annual license. The course was rough, but since I did well yesterday and I was already there, I decided to go for it. Some of the kids sprinted right out of the gate on the road to the trail. I wasn't all about using that much energy right out of the gun, so I settled into about fifth position as we hit the trail. One guy stumbled over the rock garden and I rode past him. Picked another one off pretty quickly too. Keeping on, I came up behind a guy and asked to get around. He said I was in his age group so he wasn't going to let me. So about 20 feet ahead I surged and passed his slow ass on a rocky section. Stubborn kid. There was one more guy in front of me and I closed in on him pretty quick and just followed him for a while. I yoyo'ed a bit but mostly set on his wheel for a while. I didn't want to use too much energy this early in the race to get in front of him and just give him a reason to go faster. We were starting to pass the single speed guys that started in front of us and some unusually slow CAT 1 guys. As we approached the back section of the course, my section of the course, I passed the CAT 2 kid and two more CAT 1's in a wide corner. We were on gravel path for a bit and I was keeping my lead. I gave the three of them the look back. I guess I really like doing this and giving people the challenge to follow me. While it wasn't intended to be a hard-ass move, it was. I wanted to check the guys number plate and make sure he was a CAT 2. He was. We hit the dirt single track and I was gone. I began pulling away and really establishing a lead. I came through the first lap well ahead of the entire CAT 2 field, dropped my bottle, grabbed two more, and headed back out for lap 2.

Lap two was more of the same. I knew I was leading so I didn't push as hard or take as many risk as I did on lap 1. I still had my lead and knew that I was the fastest on the back section of the course and could win it there even if someone did catch up to me. They didn't though. I was still catching and passing CAT 1's. That felt pretty sweet. I caught and passed Boomer who won yesterday's race. He was on a single speed, but he is seen as a great rider and one of the great Memphis Xterra athletes when I first started and I looked up to him. I was feeling pretty sweet and untouchable on the bike. I was closing in on the finish and getting ready and visualizing zipping up my jersey and riding across the line, hands in the air, dominating the field. I was also really looking forward to finishing so I could get some more water and cool off.

About half a mile before where the finish was supposed to be, I somehow got off course. I dismounted and trekked through the woods to where I thought the trail went. It wasn't there. So I trekked up to the road that I could see ahead. I saw a marshal and an entrance back to the trail. It was the wrong section though. As I started riding it, it looked really familiar. Too familiar. I came up on some more CAT 1's and asked if this was almost back to the finish. I knew it wasn't but I didn't want to face the truth yet. I was doing my third lap on the second half of the course. CRAP. I rode up to another section that I could see a gravel road from. I left the course and started trying to find my way back to the finish. Completely out of water by this time and really getting hot, this was hurting, both physically and mentally, searching for the trail that I had already ridden. I found my way back to the last section of trail before the finish and began to embark on the journey again. Little deja vu. I was approaching the finish this time and made the right turn. I don't know where it was or how I missed it the time before. It's just how it goes I guess. Really hurting by this time, but I found it in me to sprint past two guys in the finish line chute. After which, I collapsed and laid down under the sprinklers for a while. Very frustrating race, but for a while there I felt on top of the world. I felt fast, two days in a row!

Anyway, Live on to race another day and improve next year. Next race is in Gallatin on July 17th. I like that course so it should be a fun time. Look forward to that.
Finished 3rd in the CAT 2 19-29 age group.

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.