Xterra - Appalachia 2008

After a week of long days at work and minimal to no working out, this race came up a little fast. It had been a week since I was on my bike, and that ride ended up as a crazy adventure. The Markeys picked up Fortmann then got me around 10:30 on Saturday and we were off. It took about 4-5 hours to get out to the race site, a PA state park just east of Pittsburgh. We got a glimpse of the transition and noticed there were no standard bike racks, just pvc pipes screwed to wooden boards. We picked up the packets and headed back to the hotel. No camping this time, we are saving our time off for a camping vacation in September. Unfortunately, that means there were only three legs of this Xterra instead of the normal four. Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, Wal-mart for breakfast supplies, Shark-Week on the Discovery channel, then snuggling with Fortmann for a good night's sleep topped off a long day. I wish it was a good night's sleep... some teenagers had the room next to us and were partying and smoking up all night. Shawn actually moved down to the truck for some better sleep.

We woke up around 6:00, had some oatmeal and coffee and were off to the race. The weather was cool and foggy. The rolling hills and eerie fog made for some beautiful views. It was still a little cool when we setup for our transitions. I made an effort to claim a good spot early on since there were not that many. This worked out great and it proves that it really does pay to get there early. The four of us swam the entire swim course as a warm up (we were the only ones out that far). It was fun just hanging out playing in the water. In that moment, I really didn't care about the race, It was just fun being there with friends.

The race started, chest-deep, in the water. We positioned to the front and sprinted off for the start. We all pushed hard in the beginning to get ahead of everyone and put some space between the swimmers behind us. There was another guy in a wetsuit that stayed out in front. He got tired at the end and Shawn and Alicia passed right by him, Fortmann and I were just behind. A quick run to transition and I could feel the pressure to rush to get my gear together. Since this was the first race where I wore a one-piece trisuit, this transition was definitely my fastest ever. I hoped on the bike and rode after Shawn and Alicia. I quickly sped in front of Shawn in the first 200 yards, then caught Alicia on the first hill. I always seem to go out fast in the bike and usually get passed by the Markeys in either the bike or run, so I figured this would not be the last I saw of them.

This bike course is really short, but the climbs in the first half are insane. Usually, the beginning of the bike course has some flat sections and some gradual climbs. This helps me recover from the swim and get my body used to the bike. Not this time. We went right into the pain. There was a lot of walking/jogging the bike up these hills, then there was a lot of just walking the bike, then a lot of hoping that my heart rate would drop below 180 - even just for a bit. With vision fading, I survived those climbs and continued on some semi-technical downhills. It was amazing that Shawn hadn't passed me by then, I was in bad shape. The rest of the bike went much better. I recovered more and even passed a few riders. The end of the bike came up quick and I made a relatively fast transition into the run.

I immediately regretted taking the water bottle with me for the run. It was heavy and I filled it with HEED. This stuff is disgusting! I wanted to puke after every sip. I think the cliff blocks helped since I only took 1 cliff shot on the bike and none in transition. The run was similar to the bike - some steep climbs in the beginning then some wide flat trails for the rest. After recovering from the climbs, I felt strong on the run and passed a few other runners. At about 30 minutes into the run, I asked a volunteer how many more miles were left. He said the finish was only a few hundred yards away. I was happy that I was almost finished, but was also upset that I still had so much energy left over. I lengthened my stride and ran hard to the finish. A lady at the finish said 1:52 as I crossed, but I still don't know the official results. The biggest lesson for me for this race was to make sure I know the distance and how much is left so I can properly pace myself. It felt like I could have run another 3-4 miles after the finish.

Alicia finished soon after me and told me that Shawn had some major bike problems. Once she caught her breath, she told me that he crashed within the first mile of the bike, then another racer crashed into him, ripping off his back tire. Since he has tubeless 29" tires, he was out of luck. He refused to get a DNF and ran with his bike the rest of the course... 10 miles of running through technical terrain in bike shoes while pushing a bike with a flat tire. Once he got into transition from the bike, Fortmann, Alicia and I had finished the race and were waiting for him. Alicia and I decided to go with him for the run and carried water to support him. We thought he would need some support after already running with his bike for so long. At the first hill into the run we realized that he still had plenty of energy as we watched him take off ahead of us. Maybe this was a bad idea. Luckily, we found some shortcuts through the trees and fire roads to meet up with him on 2 different spots on the trail. We finished the last 1/2 mile with him so it looked like we ran the whole thing twice.

The swag was nice at this race, 2 wet suits, 2 pairs of trail shoes, a transition bag, misc. clothing, and a bike! The Markeys won 2 pairs of socks and Fortmann and I left empty-handed. Weak! After a quick shower, we were back on the road, stopped at Chili's to stuff our bellies with chips and beer, and continued on to Delaware. This ranks near the top for my favorite race venue; short and not too many people. Racers do have to pass through Hell at the beginning of the bike, but overall it's a great race. Maybe next time we'll plan for some camping.