“Finally!” and “It’s all about the run”

October 29, 2006 Maui, HI

1st place M30-34 (World Champion), 2nd Amateur Overall, 1st Amateur American, 24th overall

Coverage & Results: click here.
For Local Truckee News Coverage: click here.

This is the fifth time I’ve come to Maui to race the Xterra World Championship. Before this weekend, my best finish was 4th in my age group in 2000 and I haven’t been able to crack out of the top 5 since then. I’ve consistently finished the bike in great position; several times the top amateur, but always lost my position during the run. This time would be different.

Preparation
Since I had such a great spring, I was ready to finish the season with a strong result. I was convinced that I was near peak fitness for Nationals, but just hadn’t quite been ready. Therefore, I put myself through a training cram session for the 3 weekends between Nationals and Worlds to top off my preparation. Work kept me quite busy during the week, with time for only 1 run early in each week, so I was ensured adequate recovery time. On the weekends, I rounded up some friends and logged a few epic rides and runs around my Truckee home. Then I coordinated some informal masters-style pool sessions, where I brought out some tough workouts provided by my friend Kurt to ensure I suffered through some pain.

Back Pain
After trying to sleep as much as possible in a convoluted position on my flights from Oklahoma City to Denver to SFO to LA to Maui, I had some pretty sore muscles in my back. As race day approached, I went for a few short sessions to brush the dust off. While my legs felt good, I couldn’t get my back to loosen up. With two days to go before the race, I spent an evening on the foam roller and in yoga stretches and twists. As I got ready for bed that night, I realized something was very wrong; my muscle soreness was now complimented by a misaligned spine, limiting my range of motion.

The next morning, I called my friend Scott Williams, a PT in Truckee who’s worked on me many times. He explained that due to my muscle imbalances, I had popped two vertebrae out of alignment by rolling on the foam roller. Luckily for me, my friend and teammate Danelle Kabush was traveling with Heather King, a physiotherapist from Vancouver. After a brief exam, Heather laid me down on the floor and with a quick pop, adjusted my back. My muscles were still sore but at least I could move, so I took a strong dose of Advil and hoped for the best. As she predicted, I was sore that entire day before the race, but was amazed and thankful when I woke up on race day completely pain free!!

Swim Start – the perfect starting position
A small reef immediately off the beach caused the swim lineup to be a little different than normal. The most direct position was immediately next to the reef. The start line extended down the beach, gradually increasing the distance to the first buoy. I assumed the most direct line would be the roughest spot where the top swimmers jostled for position, so I moved down the beach. With a few minutes to go, I noticed that I was in the middle of a huge group. I realized I wasn’t the only one with this idea and jogged back to the best position, where the lead swimmers were lined up, with very few other racers behind them. I placed myself behind the leaders, and as soon as the gun went off, swam around the reef and put myself on the inside edge of the group. This strategy worked perfectly, and I was able to put myself into clear water all the way to the first buoy, allowing me to manage my effort and not go too hard too fast, a common mistake. I finished the swim in my usual position, but feeling stronger than usual.

No Problems on the Bike
The bike leg went well. I passed many competitors early on and put myself clear of “traffic” congestion. As a friend of mine (pro) passed me near the beginning, he gave me a few words of encouragement and advice that I would practice to the end of the race. He said “Don’t let anyone ride away from you,” so whenever anyone passed me, I did my best to stay with them as long as I could.

My tire pressure was at 30 lbs, which at first I thought was 2-4 lbs too high, as I had to struggle to keep my rear tire from breaking loose on the steep loose climbs. I rode my new Giant Anthem, with an awesome suspension design that remains active for climbing while minimizing pedaling feedback. I choose Michelin Dry2 tires, which have very low rolling resistance, many tiny knobs for grip, and a thicker casing to help prevent flats. When I began slamming into the sharp lava rocks on the descent, I realized that my tire pressure was probably just about right (this was later confirmed by my friend Chris Legh, who cracked a rim on a descent). I finished the bike in first place in my age group (2nd amateur) and headed out on the run fighting off cramp twinges in my quads.

It’s All About the Run
I kept my pace steady as I headed out on the run. I thought about the strategy Danelle had suggested the day before: 1) focus only on the immediate next objective (hill, etc) and 2) keep my eyes on the runner in front of me or even better, the runner in front of him. With that in mind, I focused on keeping my cadence high, and on attacking the immediate objective in front of me. Once that was accomplished, I charged into the next section. In previous years, I’ve always lost my position during the run. I’ve suffered problems with dehydration, energy and motivation. This year, I stayed focused and strong the whole run.

FINALLY!!!
Ignoring the pain in my feet (blood blisters under my toenails), managing my cramping quads, and maintaining my focus led me all the way to the finish line, where I was met by my beautiful, supportive wife Lisa. She was so happy for me that she almost couldn’t tell me what I already knew; that I’d finally won the World Champion jersey that had eluded me for so long.

Special Thanks
Special thanks for the best finish of my career go to:

• My wife Lisa for putting up with my training program. In the weeks leading up to the race, I have been focused almost 100% on my work and on training and preparation.
• Heather King for fixing my back the day before. I was not only in pain, but I had limited motion. With a few quick moves, Heather had me good to go and pain free for race day.
• Danelle for providing me with the running/mental tips. Her tips helped me maintain my focus and hold onto my lead until the finish
• Cyclepaths bike shop and Giant for my new Anthem frame
• SRAM, for completely outfitting my new Anthem with a Reba Worldcup, XO drivetrain and Avid Carbon brakes (and congrats to Adam and Lisa on their engagement)
• Clif Bar, for the Fast Freddie Espresso Clif Shot, giving me the juice to the finish
• Timex, and the Multisport team for ridiculous support: equipment, tires, etc

“Don’t forget to smile and wave at your friends!”

October 1, 2006 Lake Tahoe, NV
5th place M30-34

Results: click here for results
Photos: click here for photos
News: click here for news

After an awesome spring race season, with age group wins at Escape from Alcatraz, Xterra Granite Bay and Xterra Western Regional Championship, a 3rd place at Sea Otter mtb singlespeed and a 2nd place (singlespeed) at the Cascade Cream Puff, I took a much needed break for 3 months- June through August. I maintained a base level of fitness, swimming and running about once a week, and cycling up to twice a week.

I was planning to allow myself enough time to get ready for Nationals and Worlds, but somehow time and motivation got away from me. I ramped up my training, but not quite early enough to be ready for Tahoe. Knowing this, I tried to set my expectations low, but found myself still hoping for a solid finish. My best result was 3rd in 2003, and I’ve been 4th or 5th 3 times. I couldn’t help but think of how much I wanted first place, and the much-elusive National Champion jersey!

This race is one of my favorites. It’s practically in my backyard, so I definitely have a home-court advantage, plus a huge cheering section! It’s also fun since we host a few friends, making it a social weekend as well: Rich Blanco (Sycip Cycles), Danelle Kabush (Timex) and Adam Feltz (SRAM). We held a dinner at our house on Friday night, and 35 people showed up, including several friends from across the country in town for the race, and another Timex teammate Erin Ford, and her husband Dave.

The weather was perfect for race day, unfortunately no sign of the foul weather we had last year, where I excel. The water was calm and cold (60 degrees or so), and the air temp was cold in the morning but warmed up to about 65 degrees. The swim seemed rougher than usual- I found myself caught between two converging packs- one to my left and one to my right. I thought of my friend Kurt Oeler, a professional swimmer who after experiencing a few triathlons, sent me this note:

“Why you triathletes are so obsessed with being ‘rough and tumble’ at the beginning of open water is beyond me. Swim races generally aren’t like that; swimmers know that it’s better to draft behind people, not climb over them.”

I couldn’t agree more, but found myself “fighting” more than once, which frustrates me, as it’s such a colossal waste of energy. I came out of the water in about the same place as normal, but a little more tired than typical, partly due to the physicality, but more a simple factor of my lower fitness level, which I’d pay for soon!

As I headed out on the bike, I enjoyed a nice pull by my local friend Justin Thomas (Haverty Cycles/Saucony) to the bottom of the climb, where I bid him good luck as he climbed ahead up the hill ahead of me at a pace I couldn’t maintain. I rode strong for about the first half of the hour long climb before I ran out of fitness. When I reached the second half, I found that I couldn’t maintain the pace, and had to slow down to avoid popping. I was passed by 3 racers in my age group before reaching the top of the descent, which has never happened before, especially on this course! I was able to catch back up with to one right before transition, but he immediately passed me again as we began the run.

I suffered through one lap on the run, then decided to focus on having a good time and smiled and waved at the supporters along the course. I turned my grimace into a smile- it didn’t slow me down at all- and plugged away to the finish. One more competitor passed me during the run, so I ended up in 5th place in my age group. I’m not overjoyed with the finish, but not disappointed since it matches my preparation, and after all, it IS the national championship!

Next up, I’m busy preparing for the World Championship race in Maui on October 29th.

One of the highlights of the race was being featured on the national ad featured in Triathlete Magazine, City Sports, and other local publications.

Ever since I first heard about the Cascade Cream Puff in a blog several years ago, I’ve wanted to enter. This is one of the epic mountain bike races in the US, on par with the Endurance 100 in Park City. It’s often discussed in the same context as the Leadville and Vail 100 mile races, but it has its own quirks that arguably make it tougher than the rest. In 100 miles, riders spend more than 60 miles on incredibly fun twisty/turny single-track trails and climb a cumulative total of 18,000 feet. So naturally I decided to race on my single-speed.I recently finished building my new steed. With the help of Cyclepaths bike shop in Truckee, Chris Kelly of the unfortunately now defunct Kelly bikes in Grass Valley, CA (http://www.kellybike.com/), and my good friends at SRAM/Rockshox/Avid and FSA, I was able to recently pull together my dream bike. 

One of the hardest things about this race is simply registering. With a field limit of 110 riders and preference given to racers from prior years, only 50 spots were open to newcomers; but I was ready. To ensure I got in, I overnighted my entry form to Oakridge, OR, which is so remote that overnight express mail actually takes 2 days.

Preparation for a race like this is tough since it’s hard to recover from training rides of that length. Therefore to prepare, I tried to log one long mountain bike training day (50 miles) followed by a shorter day (20 miles) on the weekend. In addition, I tried to complete a ride of 2-3 hours during the week, made easier since I was working in Boise, with great riding minutes from downtown. It was on one of these rides that I almost ended my chances of even making it to the start line.

Three days before the event, I was out for a quick training ride in Boise to spin out my legs and make sure my technical skills were fresh, descending the “Hard Guy” trail (in retrospect my first mistake since I’m such a softy), and having an absolute blast. The trails are hard, not-technical and therefore extremely fast. I was descending one of these very fast sections of trail with big gently swooping turns at about 30 mph when I hit a drainage ditch. At slow speeds, these large ditches in the trail are easy to absorb. At moderate speeds, they’re easy to pre-jump. At high speeds, they’re just not easy to get over safely. I hit the ditch, got my front wheel over it without incident, but not so for my rear wheel. It was launched into the air and I nose-wheelied the landing for about 15’ (front wheel on the ground and rear wheel straight up in the air). I was so far over that my cell phone, wallet and Clif bars all slid out of my rear jersey pockets! I somehow managed to recover without crashing and decide that was arguably not the appropriate training technique for 3 days before a big race.

I traveled to the race with my friend Eric Russell from Clif Bar. We arrived a few days early and were ecstatic after checking out the course and having so much fun on the descent. The temperatures were in the 80s when we arrived and we heard it was going to be hot for the race, but had no idea just how hot it would get.

Race morning greeted us with 55 degrees at 5:00am in the dark. We met my friend Josie Beggs (Starbucks) and rolled out with a neutral start for 2 miles then hit the bottom of the first 10 mile climb. I was in 8^th place overall (2^nd singlespeed) at the top of the climb when we entered the first section of singletrack.

Gatorade is one of our primary sponsors, and at our team training camp each year, they present the importance of hydration, and the two main reasons behind a 30% carbohydrate mixed drink. Research shows that drinks made up of 30% carbs empty most rapidly from the stomach; more rapidly than both thicker mixtures, and thinner drinks including water. This faster emptying prevents the bloated feeling associated with a full stomach. Drinks with 30% carb mix also are absorbed better through the wall of the small intestine than any other mix. This facilitates not only hydration, but also electrolyte absorption. Gatorade’s High-Endurance formula utilizes a 30% mixture, and I’ve been training and racing with it for years with great results.

However, the race is sponsored by another drink company. I had used it in the past, and not had any problems with it, so when faced with the logistical challenges of preparing bottles for 12 feed zones, I opted to go with it. Unfortunately something happened with the mixture, and the bottles on the course were mixed with a weakened concentration. Even though I recognized that the drink was weak and tried to supplement with Clif Shot, after the first five bottles, at about 30 miles, I started to feel both bloated and low on energy.Nevertheless, I was having fun and picked off a few riders. The air temperature quickly reached 98+ degrees, and I started to suffer from my suboptimal fluid replacement. Several times on the ride, just about when I’d had about all the climbing I could take and I’d start feeling really lousy, the trail would descend an exhilarating section of single track I’d just smile and forget the pain. It was only a temporary mask; I was getting to be in pretty bad shape.

When I finished the first 60 mile lap, I dismounted, set down my bike, took off my helmet and told my wife Lisa who had a complete support area set up under our Clif Bar tent that I wasn’t sure I could go on. I knew I looked bad because she didn’t give me the words of encouragement and try to convince me to press on like usual. Instead, she handed me a Red Bull and a 24 oz Clif Shot recovery drink and I pounded them both. Then I asked for 2 more Red Bulls and another recovery, stuffed them all in my pockets and headed out.

I thought the first time up the 10 mile climb was tough? That time it was dawn and the coolest part of the day! This time, at just about high noon, it was ridiculous. At times I was pretty sure the gravel was melting before my eyes. I weaved my way up from shade on one side of the road to shade on the other. I was cooked! While I waited for the sugar to kick in, it was my mom’s words that kept me going- echoing in my head from when I’d get tired on backpacking trips when I was little, “just put one foot in front of the other”. I focused on one pedal stroke at a time and passed 2 more riders on the way up the climb to the aid station at the top.

At the top, I was met with a few friends who gave me a cold bottle of Clif Shot drink, a can of Coke, and poured ice-water on my head. I headed back out, and very slowly, started feeling better. I settled into my rhythm, one foot in front of the other, and hammered out the second lap of 40 miles. I finished 2^nd single-speed, and 5^th overall, pleased that I did well, but more so that I persevered through the heat; only 52 finished of the 120 who started.

At the end, I felt better and worse than I thought I would. My form was on, and I felt fit. My hydration was not, and made the day more miserable than it should have been. Immediately following the race I was certain that it was my first and last Cream Puff. That feeling only lasted about a week and I’ve already begun thinking about next year; hopefully it won’t be so hot!

My friends also had great races. Eric Russell from Clif Bar finished 10^th overall but required 3 liters of fluid IV in the ER that night. Josie Beggs’ wrong turn lost her 1^st place woman so she had to “settle” for 2^nd place. Josie reported that by the time she tackled the second climb, there was carnage everywhere; at least 10-15 riders lying down on the side of the road. Talk about a hard race!