Race Results

Race Results
I compiled a spreadsheet with all of my racing results that I could remember and find since 2004. Most have links to the race results as well as GPS data from the courses if available. It also has my racing schedule for the rest of the season.
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XTERRA Tahoe City Race Report

After nearly two months of not racing, I was excited about my second XTERRA race ever. I've been mountain biking a lot and was eager to improve on my performance at XTERRA Real in Folsom where I felt like I was in slow motion on the bike.
Summary: 3:06:13. 22/143 overall, 3rd in my age group.
Results
Pre race: I went to bed around midnight Friday night, staying up late packing for the race and cleaning the house since Megan was coming back Saturday. We got to Commons Beach about 7AM where I waited in line to check in while my sister and dad checked in for volunteering. I drank a Starbucks double shot on the drive up and had a Gatorade with a scoop of First Endurance PreRace mixed in about half an hour before the race. Checking in and setting up my transition took a little longer than expected, but I still was able to get in about a 10 minute warmup on the bike trainer in the parking lot. I wanted to warm up because the bike starts off with a 1.5-2 mile climb.
The Swim:
The water is low this year. At many tris, that just means a longer run up the beach or boat ramp. At Tahoe, though, this means that the first 100yds of water from the shore is 1 ft deep instead of 2 or 3 feet deep. They didn't announce the temperature but I would guess it was in the high 50s. I was comfortable in the water with my neoprene swim cap, ear plugs, and full wetsuit. We started about 150yds off shore where it just started to get deep enough to swim in. The long course did 2 loops and then headed in towards shore after rounding the 2nd buoy on the 2nd lap. I felt pretty good on the swim, although my lack of swim training the last 2 weeks surely didn't help. The last few hundred yards were tough because it was too shallow to swim normally but too rocky to be able to walk faster than you could swim. So I just modified my stroke to not go very deep an swam in until I was about 10 yds from the shore. I slipped on my Crocs and ran the nearly half mile which crosses a highway to transition. My transition was kinda slow, taking the time to put on socks and gloves. Next time I'm getting gloves that are easier to put on. Even though these ones don't have fingers or any straps, they still probably took me 20 seconds to put on.
The bike: I normally have nice GPS files to reference after the race as well as real time information about my HR and pace while I'm racing with my Forerunner 305. Since I lost it last Tuesday, I only had a watch for this race. Luckily someone wore their 305 on the bike course. This will definitely help anyone going up there to preride the course for next year. Just download it and have your GPS give you directions.
The first 1/3 mile was paved and pretty steep. Seems like a group of about 10 started the bike at the same time as me. I passed a few on that first climb which continued to 1.5 miles. I tried to keep a fast pace for the downhill section to the next climb where I felt I climbed pretty well. A guy that I had passed at the beginning caught me. I stayed with him for the rest of the first lap until we caught up with another rider. But then something happened and I started to slow down. I lost both of them and although the downhill section was OK, the rest of the second lap was terrible, getting passed by 2 or 3 people I had previously passed. After you finish the second lap there is a decent climb back to the junction where the run and the bike split. I had a bit of Perpetuem in T1 and 1 water bottle of watered down Gatorade on the bike so I think I had enough fuel and electrolytes. I guess I just went out too fast.
The run: I immediately noticed a tightness in my left gluteus as I started climbing up the hill. The run course was a lollipop with about 2 miles of climbing before a short flat section and then nearly all downhill to the beach at the finish line. I tripped on a root and nearly fell near the beginning of the dirt section. That is when I really felt that muscle in my butt tighten up. Not seeing anyone close enough to run down in front of me, I walked several of the steeper sections. Luckily the course was well marked because I didn't see a soul for the entire candy part of the lollipop (the loop at the top). Running downhill felt fine on my leg so I felt like I sped up quite a bit on the downhill. There is one last hill once you get back to the road that was definitely unwelcome. Running straight through the finish line and jumping into the lake is what kept my mind occupied for most of the run. And, man was that refreshing.
I didn't notice the smoke at all on the course but there was definitely a haze over the lake. You couldn't see across the lake when the race started. I hung out for a while on the beach while my sister and dad waited for all the racers to come in off of the bike. We left before they posted the results but I did win a 6 pack of Gu in the raffle. They had hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sausage, watermelon, beer and soda for the finishers. I drank my recovery drink and the beer but couldn't get down more than a bite of the sausage.
My next race is Donner. I'd really like to have a fast bike and run at that race not only because of this race but because the last time I did Donner Lake Triathlon, I was disappointed in my bike and run legs. My bike time was OK, but left me destroyed for the run. 2006 time was 2:45:39. I'd like to be under 2:30 this year. 3 minutes off my swim, 5 off the bike and 8 off the run and I'm there.
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Boca Race

I was having second thoughts about riding last night in the Reno Wheelmen Boca Race because of the smoke, but I decided to do it anyway with some peer pressure from Nate. This was my best Boca race yet. I raced in the B's, got 4th and won the KOM. I think my HR was higher than I've ever seen it on that hill and my legs felt like they were going to fall off. Unfortunately, my Garmin Forerunner 305 popped off of my handlebars going over the Stampede dam and I couldn't find it when I went back to look after the race.
In the past I've thought that starting a break from the top of the KOM hill was a great idea, but I was barely able to muster enough energy to hang with the 6 other riders that quickly caught me after the top of the hill. I think if we had worked in a better pace line we could have pulled further ahead. I know there were several times that I fell off the back and would have been screwed had everyone else in the group been working together. But the would usually slow down a bit and I would be able to rejoin the group. Next time I want to try to organize the group a bit better so that everyone is taking short turns in a smooth rotation. Somehow I ended up in the front with about a mile left so I was in no shape to sprint when the first person jumped. I tried but my legs failed quickly and I found myself looking back and being satisfied that 5th place wasn't going to catch me rather than accelerating toward 1,2, and 3.
Kat was doing well until one of the last hills where she lost her chain. Nate focused too much on regulating his power rather than staying with the group, which put him in a bad position for the KOM. But we all enjoyed tasty treats at Jack in the Box on the way home!
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Xterra Tahoe City Pre-ride

I got a later start than I wanted to but finally got up to Tahoe City around 4PM to ride and run the course for next weekend's race. I came armed with the topo map from the website (link). Unfortunately, I left my Forerunner 305 at home so all I had on the bike was my bike computer to tell me distance traveled and riding time. I'm not sure where T1 will be.
I parked at SaveMart and rode down to Common's beach. There is a bike path that runs parallel to the shore that I took but it ended in a staircase, which I carried my bike up to Dave's Board shop and then crossed the street to Grove street.
The next section climbing up to the start of the dirt road was pretty straightforward although there are several streets off of Grove and Pioneer that you could turn right on. Once I got to the dirt, it was about a mile climb to the junction where both the bike and run course intersect. There is about 100yds of paved road at this junction. I took the first right and tried to follow tire tracks for a while, checking the map every so often.
My first major wrong turn came at a T after passing the green water tower. There are bushes in the middle of the junction and I went right instead of left. So far the trail has been easily ridable dirt road with very few obstacles. Next was a right turn followed by a left turn. Since the 100yds of paved road, it has pretty much been flat or downhill.
The road to the left shoots up and the bottom part is somewhat rocky making this the most techinical part of the ride. It is a pretty steady climb starting steep and mellowing out a bit before 'T'ing into another road where I went right. Very shortly after that turn there is a left turn onto the first singletrack of the course. I would have probably missed this had there not been some leftover chalk on a rock at the turn. This single track climbs for about a mile before hitting another road where you turn right.
This next section is where I had the most problems. There was more chalk on rocks but it was hard to tell which way it was pointing and since at this section, the paths nearly cross, it was a bit confusing. The map shows one water tower that you ride out to and then turn left before passing it. Before I got to that water tower, I passed another water tower painted black with blue writing by the North Tahoe Cross Country team. The trail that I was pretty sure was the right one had a felled tree across the road shortly after passing water tower on the right. So thinking that that couldn't possibly be the right way, I backtracked and found another trail that went around the water tower and got me to where I needed to be up close to Dollar Creek. I rode down that road and stayed right. The road goes up for about 150 yds and then there is a singletrack trail that veers left so I took that.
It turned into a well maintained trail that was raised up a bit and looked to be made from type 2 base. This trail ended at a triangle shaped with wood suggesting that you could go either right or left. I chose to go right but later found out that the trail I wanted was straight ahead. Taking the trail to the right had me heading further North than I wanted to go and I'm guessing I ended up on the Tahoe Rim Trail for a bit. I finally turned around and really got myself turned around when I somehow ended up going straight or taking a left turn which put me back by Dollar Creek.
Once I figured out what had happened I finally got on the right trail to Antone Meadows. The trail around Antone Meadows was flat singletrack that was pretty easy to follow. I started to feel a little low on energy but by the time I got back to the spot to start lap 2 I felt okay so I did another lap. This could have had something to do with seeing a huge porcupine about 5 ft off the trail as I rode by. After the second lap, there is a pretty good climb back to the 100yds of paved road. I'll definately need to save a bit of energy for that.
Overall, the course has about 4 significant climbs and is not very techinical. There aren't any really sharp turns and there aren't any sections that go straight up and straight down like at XTERRA Real. I think that this course favors riders conditioned for steady-state efforts.
The run was basically a few miles up on road and singletrack followed by a few miles down to the finish. The bottom section is the steepest and it mellows out a bit after about a mile. I made a few wrong turns on the run as well which made it exciting because it started to get pretty dark. I think as long as I can move up the hills at a decent pace (10min/mile?) and have enough in my legs to coast fast down the hills (sub 7min/miles), I'll do well.
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