Race Report: XTERRA Ft. Custer

What a great race weekend. The trip to Battle Creek, MI was quite easy. We headed to "Team Active" bike shop to pick up the registration packets, get the race briefing and partake in the pasta dinner. For next year, I think I might skip the pasta dinner. Not much food for $8, not very good, and they had a band playing at volume 12. (I like music, but I just don't know why live bands have to have it cranked all the way up. I'd like to keep my hearing, thanks!)

Julie and my two boys came along. Cheers to Julie for managing the two during a weekend not exactly designed for kid friendliness. It was great having them around. I also recruited my friends Jan and Kate from Czech Republic to come to the race too. I met them at the Team Tree Farm relay race last summer, and I discovered they were XTERRA athletes between laps. They did the Blackhawk last August with me too.

So, that night Miles was extremely excited to stay at the Days Inn Motel. He thought it was the greatest thing ever, running around the room, jumping on the beds. He was quite excited that the bike got to stay in our room, too. Unfortunately, we couldn't get him calmed down to sleep until around 1am. Not real conducive to a good night's rest before a race :). I got up a little before 6am and hitched a ride over to the race with Jan and Kate. Ate a 3/4 bagel and some OJ.

We got set up in transition, and they had to rush a bit to get their wetsuit on and make the race briefing. The pros started a minute or so before the age groupers. Since they did two laps, the swim was set up so you had to exit the water and run 50 yards to get back in. That way you got to see who was in what position, etc. I saw Kate, but could not find Jan amidst all the black wetsuits, yellow caps, and goggles.

I saw them transition to the bike, and then decided to make sure I had my transtion area set up and ready for the Sport race. Oh, one other cool thing was the challenged athletes start. There was only one, but he was legally blind, so he was tethered to a guide during the swim, rode a tandem MTB, and then teatherd again for the run. Very cool, and he was fast. Dude took off a minute after the age groupers and ended up in the middle of the pack!

Got the wetsuit on and headed to the beach. (I did the half distance, "Sport" race) When I got there I saw a shivering Kate! She apparently hit a rock at the start of her second lap on the bike and bent her wheel. That sucks, she fell pretty hard, but she's OK I think. I was holding their keys, so I told her where to find them in my bag. Got to see Julie and the boys before the start, Miles was not in a good mood unfortunately. Not even my "Mater" voice could cheer him up. So, I went up to the waters edge and put on my cap and goggles. Running beach starts are fun! I like it better than water starts. Water temp was 62F.

The swim went fine. I kept telling myself to really back off on the swim so I wouldn't burn too much energy just getting warmed up. I didn't do any stretching or warmups before the swim, I figured I should really try to slow the swim down so I don't get in front of so many people just to get run over on the bike leg. So, I really slowed down, made sure I sighted the buoys frequently, and cruised the swim. Despite this, Julie says I came out of the water third. So much for that idea. The wetsuit kept me plenty warm, my face and hands got cold for the first 200 meters or so, but then I didn't notice anything. I think I didn't get the zipper all the way down in back, so I had some water sneaking in around my lower back, which actually felt kind of nice. I didn't feel as constricted and definitely not hot like when I tried it out in the pool.

Oh, and an example on how cool triathletes are, 20 seconds before the gun went off, the guy next to me broke the strap on his goggles. The guy next to him waved to a spectator and handed his spare set to him. Very nice.

T1 I took my time, I struggled a bit getting my team jersey on. Got the shoes and socks on, wetsuit off, etc. No major problems. One day, when I can bike well, I'll work on trimming a couple minutes off transition, but for now, it's the least of my worries. I chatted with Miles and Julie a bit as they watched from outside the fence. I went without the thermal since it felt warm enough and I had forgotten my MTB gloves, so I was bare handed.

Started the bike loop, the trail was in really good shape despite a lot of rain the preceding couple of days. I fell once, not through stupidity, just a fluke missed downhill turn. Front wheel slipped out and I thought I was going to get crushed by the two bikers behind me, but they managed to avoid me. I was really slowing the pace to make sure I avoided cramps. I didn't really stop to drink except for when I crashed. So, I can improve my bike time with fitness/endurance, and also familiarity with the race course. There were three times I stopped because I didn't know the course. Once after the first water crossing to get back up the hill (the water took me by surprise, I made it through the water, but I was a little dazed afterward, so I walked it up the following hill). Water crossings will trash the hell out of your drivetrain. I was squeaking and crunching like a rusty swing for the rest of the ride. There was a 3' log pile I could have easily gone over, but again, took me by surprise, and I bailed out on it. Finally, there was a very steep armored decline that you can't see until you're on top of it. If you don't take the right line, you're in the trees, so I bailed on that one too. (Next time, just aim for the middle!). I was babying the pace and enjoying the trail, but the thing that was missing was the rush. Since I don't have my bike computer anymore, I had no idea how far I'd gone, and when I got to the pavement, it was too late to turn up the intensity. Gotta get my computer back, since it's 50/50 whether you'll have mile markers or not on the course (this race had none). As I was passed by the majority of the field, everyone wished me a good race, etc. Gotta love the camaraderie.

So, T2 was again, an example of how to linger at transition. I tried to run my bike under the rack, but the handlebars were too high, so, instead of just tilting the bike so it would fit, I ran it around to the other side of the rack. I was on the end so not a big deal, but still, sometimes you just don't think clearly in the heat of battle. Got the thing racked and switched to running mode. Hat, running shoes on, helmet off. Grab a long drink of Heed and a GU pack, and headed out the gate. The run took you along the beach for 500 yards or so, but it's packed pretty well, so it's not difficult to manage. The trail was great, lots of fun features and hills, not too challenging. It took me .75 miles to get my running stride going, and by that point, I realized I probably took it too easy on the bike, so I upped the pace, and the run felt really strong. Again, no mile markers. Would have been nice to know how much further I had to set the pace right, but if I get the bike leg right, the run should just be survival :). I should pay attention or find out at what point on the course the aid station is for at least an idea how far along you are. I consumed one GU pack after I got out of the transition, and I was fine for the 3 mi run.

So, no cramps this time. I had a beer the night before, and Julie had me plenty carb'd up for three days before the race. I skipped coffee on race morning, and had been drinking a lot of water the few days before the race. It was a cool day, so I didn't sweat much. Maybe hydration helped. Today I can barely tell I raced, except my knees are a little sensitive going up and down the steps. I'd say I didn't push it nearly enough, I should be crawling if done properly ;-).

Swim (500 meters) - 8:29
T1 - 2:47
Bike (10 mi) - 55:05 (10.9 mph)
T2 - 1:41
Run (3 mi) - 24:53 (pace 8:18)
Total time - 1:32:53

Just for fun, here's World Champ and event winner Conrad Stoltz' times (notice distances are 2x):

Swim (1000 meters) - 13:33
T1 - 0:29   
Bike (20 mi) - 1:10:49 (16.9 mph)
T2 -  0:34
Run (6 mi) - 37:54 (pace 6:19)
Total time - 2:03:16

What a badass. I can barely do one lap in the time it takes him to rip out two.

Checklist for next time:

wetsuit

tri-shorts

body glide on wrists/ankles (to remove wetsuit easier)

goggles

spare goggles

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helmet

MTB gloves

jersey

glasses

socks

biking shoes

1 bottle HEED in cage
1 pack GU taped to top tube

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hat

running shoes
.5 bottle HEED on top of shoes

1 pack GU in shoe to have in hand out of T2
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light jacket and a warm hat for after the race

Suggestions for the race organizer:
- Race numbers written on forearms and/or calves instead of biceps. The wetsuit and the jersey cover it, so what's the point? They also write on your hands, but with biking gloves on, those would be covered too. Guess on the run they're handy (ha-ha, handy!).
- Skip the live band at the pasta dinner, or make it so you can get away from them while eating in case you want to talk. Geez.
- Let spectators buy in to the catered lunch/beer. It would make the caterer more money if you let them buy some, and the athletes can eat with their friends/family instead of being separated. If you want to plan out the amount, let us pre-pay for a plate when we register for the race.
- make the beer tent area larger with benches and/or tables
- more give-aways during awards. Couple camelbacks or bottles or XTERRA gear would be cool. GU is cool, but I'd raher have it at the aid stations than handed out after the fact at random.
- The announcing was great! Loved the "inside" information on the pro's strength/weakness, etc. Made it more exciting. The guy giving out the awards was great, too.
- Why is the mount line so far away from the T1 exit? It confused a lot of people, including the pro's. It was on a downhill off-camber too, so a lot of people ran into the flags/each other.
- Mile markers are helpful, but the course was really well marked.