Going Local…

Its that time of year for LKN YMCA Triathlon. I really like this race, a fun course in my back yard with plenty of familiar faces…Casey Roadcap below…

  
I woke early race morning to get ready for the 730am start. Feeling a bit tired I dragged a little in the morning and arrived later than I wanted. Maybe something to do with my recent start of Ironman training. 

  
When I arrived I had to quickly get ready and get in my warmup. Which I did, then got to the water for a short swim before the start. They called my wave, the gun went and we were off. I had put myself at the front and was quickly engulfed in swimmers. This last lasted for about 2min…then it began to thin out. By the first turn about 5min in there was about 6 of us, then by the end I came out of the water 2nd in my group and was feeling great. I ran into T1, got changed quickly and was out on the bike. I passed a couple of people near the beginning of the bike, then spotted another at the halfway point which turned out to be an open competitor. I passed them and didn’t see anyone else. I came into T2 to a near empty transition area. I changed quick and was off onto the run. I passed another open person early in the run  and then at mile 1 I was passed. I tried to hold on but could only keep him in sight. It was then a lonely run until I spotted a person ahead just after mile 2. I kicked it up a bit passing him who I saw was another open person while I went by. I pulled away then shortly after was the finish line.

A good race but not much drama. Result was 1st Age Group and 11th Overall. Now it’s back to Ironman training.

A little bit of drama did happen after the race though. Putting in a few miles on the bike post race I got a little lost. Thinking I was almost back and having reached my goal distance, I spotted a sign ahead. When I got it within sight, it read City Limit of Kannapolis. Needless to say, I got in a few extra miles.

  
 

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#brlsports #schwabletires

On the road, to the mountains…

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• I headed up to Lake Logan this past weekend for an International distance road Triathlon. It was a new race for me that was suppose to be very scenic. I arrived a few days before with my family because it was not far from where we stay at my mother inlaws Mtn house. The day before the race I went to register and pickup my packet, the area was gorgeous. I did a short swim in the lake, with my wetsuit as the lake was 72 degrees making wetsuits legal to use. It was strange putting a wetsuit on in the middle of August but it would be a speed advantage. The next day I woke up super early due to the 7am start time, and headed to the race site with Alex and Kristen who were staying at the house for the race.
• Halfway there I realized I had forgotten my torpedo(hydration unit) that was premixed with Trifuel and sitting in the fridge. I texted Leigh-Ann who was also staying at the house from her race that had been completed the previous day. I had hoped she could bring it seeing that she planned to come watch our race. Arriving onsite, I got my gear together and headed to transition. Then setup my area, went for a warmup run, put on my wetsuit and headed for the start. I didn’t see Leigh-Ann, so I put a regular bottle on my bike. 
• I got in a quick warmup swim…then took my position. The gun went and were we’re off. 1500m swim was the first leg, I felt fairly strong through the swim and came out of the water 2nd in my group…then made the long run to transition, which went well. While I was running out with my bike I saw Leigh-Ann who had to my surprise, brought my torpedo. I quickly changed it out and was off on the bike. But due to the exchange a couple of riders had gotten ahead of me. I took a mile or two to settle in, then I went about trying to hunting them down. I steadily gained throughout the bike passing one at the halfway point, then catching the other a few miles from the end. In the process a few others were caught also during the 25 mile bike leg. Now, as some of you may know, I have been dealing with a knee injury…it didn’t seem to bother me too badly on the bike but I wondered how it would fair on the run, especially because I hadn’t been running much lately while trying to let it heal/rest. So into T2 I went, a quick transition and I was out on the run.
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• It was a 6.2 mile course, 3.1 up the hill, then 3.1 back down(actually turned out to be almost 6.4). I came out just behind a fellow competitor, who I stayed with for a mile or so, then he began to pull away. Nearing the turnaround I found myself looking at the leaders now going downhill as they passed me and counting the distance until I would turn and head downhill myself.
• I made it to the turn and saw two people on my heels…pushing on the downhill now I held them off until about a mile to go. My knee had began to give me some signs it was at its limit as they passed me. I tried to hang in there but it wasn’t happening. With about a half mile to go I made a final push…and finished well. 
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• The final tally was an age group win and 12th Overall. I will take it!
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• Now the big question is…What’s next as my late season plans might be changing…

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#brlsports #schwabletires

Walking wounded at home…

This recap really starts months ago, when I separated my shoulder, missed the Xterra regional championship and decided to focus on a local Mtb championship. That being said, I raced Mtb on Wednesday to stay in the points, knowing it wouldn’t serve me well for Xterra Whitewater 2 days later.

  
  
Ok. Now with that out of the way it’s back to Whitewater. Weather race morning was great, a little warm and humid but dry. This would be my first Xterra race here, having missed before for injuries and other conflicts. Upon arrival, I picked up my packet, setup my transition and got in my warmup on the way to the swim start. Then jumped in the water for a quick swim before the start. Now this swim was slightly different as I will explain, the gun sounded and we were off, 800m in the river, some upstream and some down. Then we got out onto the dock, slipped on shoes and ran uphill and over two bridges totaling 1/4 mile before flipping off the shoes and swimming another 200m in the actual whitewater center. I did ok on the swim but could already feel the fatigue from earlier in the week and thought to myself this was going to be a long day. I made it out of T1 approx 10th and was looking forward to a good bike. I passed a few people and was told 7th was my position. Then my chain dropped, I stopped to fix it and lost all of those positions. I pushed as hard as I could for the rest of the bike but feeling tired, I didn’t gain any positions.

I came into T2 to see my family cheering me. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling well and communicated that fact to them. So out onto the run I was now 10th. My knee from a previous injury had started bothering me on the bike but once I started running on it the pain increased. I still pushed all I could with being careful. Passing one person on the run and putting time on another that I could no longer see behind me. We exited the woods with approx 1 mile to go and there were two people behind me. I pushed again but 1 of them I couldn’t hold off as he ran past me…the other I held off right until the last turn only a few feet from the finish. He cut the corner and got ahead of me…I tried to sprint back past him but he made himself very wide on the bridge before the finish.

So the official result was 2nd AG and 11th Overall…until a spectator told me and the Race Director that the person ahead of me had cut the course. But unfortunately the RD didn’t act on it.

It was a great event and even better venue. I look forward to transitioning into some more road triathlons in the second half of the season as the Mtb series will be over soon and I will be singularly focused.

  

A little banged up but still ok…let’s go!

6/27/15 – It’s been a rough few weeks with injuries. But with a break in the season after Xterra Clemson, I thought I would give it a go and rest/rehab after.

So it was to Clemson I went this past Saturday. I arrived Friday to pre-ride the course, skipping my usual run because of the current knee injury. Hopping into the water afterward the lake felt like 100 degrees…tomorrow’s race was going to be interesting I thought.

  

Later that night it rained quite a bit with some passing thunderstorms. This would make the course a little better the next day because it was so dry and loose. 

  

I arrived the next morning, took care of logistics, got in my usual warmup and was ready to race. Everyone lined up in the water waiting for the start. Luckily the rain had cooled the lake somewhat. This swim was slightly longer at a long 1000(more like 1100). With everyone ready, the horn sounded and we were off. There was a lead group that started to break immediately, I thought for a moment about trying to stay with them but there was no way. I swam strong and steady and ended up 7th out of the water. Transitioned quickly and was off on the tough climb heavy bike course. Quickly I caught and passed a person on one of the first big climbs…then someone came by me in a more technical section. But that didn’t last, pushing my knee a little harder, I re-passed him and pulled away, not seeing him again. I rode alone passing a few others on the ride while being careful not to push my knee too hard though. It was ok on long steady efforts, but I couldn’t accelerate out of corners. I was passed by 1 person late in the bike during another technical section and I couldn’t stay with them due to lack of acceleration. Coming into T2 I was in 5th. Transitioning quickly I was off on the run having no idea what to expect from my knee…seeing that I was only able to start walking down stairs a few days before. But still my goal was to not get passed. The run was much like the bike course, lots of turns with roots, steps, severe uphill/downhill sections and was slightly slippery…I was careful with my knee and just thought to myself to keep steady. I was running alone, not seeing anyone behind me with periodic checks but then I caught a glimpse of someone ahead. Could I be gaining on someone? After running a little further I realized I was…and in the next few minutes I caught and passed. This had me looking forward for others, but I ended up running alone into the finish.

The final result was 1st AG and 4th Overall, my best overall finish so far. Definitely worth driving down. I will rest up now with a small break in the schedule and hopefully come out stronger for the second half of the season.

#precisionfitness #liveitxtreme #brlsports #schwabletires

 

That was a Latta effort…

First thing I have to say is…I borrowed that title from my wife…thanks for that…ok now let’s get to it.

This race I knew was going to be tough coming off a MTB race only 2 days before(that I have committed to doing)but I couldn’t miss it. The venue is great and very close with so many familiar faces competing.

I arrived at 5:30am due to the super early 6:30am start…turns out the early start time didn’t scare many because the race sold out.

I went about my usual routine of transition setup but was a little hurried due to picking up my packet that morning. The Roadcaps were just a few spaces away from my transition spot. 

  

Once set, I headed for a short run then one last transition check and it was down the the water for a quick warmup.

I was slated to go off in wave 3, so I knew there would be some traffic to contend with out there on the course.

Our wave was called up…the gun went and we were off. I felt pretty good through the beginning of the swim, there were still some concerns with my shoulder. During the second half of the swim where my pace would usually increase it didn’t due to tiredness in my shoulder…I still wasn’t quite back up to speed but it was much better.

I exited the swim in 4th…made the long run up to transition, grabbed my bike and got on my way. Putting my head down on the bike I made up some ground on the leaders. At one point I came up on a small group of cars waiting to pass a few bikes…after slowing to see what was happening, I made a quick decision(notice how I did not use the word “smart”) to pass around the bikes and cars using the opposite lane. During the ride I did pass a few athletes in my group. I finished up the bike on the long driveway into Latta…dismounted the bike, transitioned and was out on the run. I was passed In the first few minutes by someone in my group…putting me in 3rd…I tried to stay with him but my legs had no spring after not fully recovered from Wednesday.

I pushed on nonetheless and passed the 2nd place person near the halfway point. I thought he may try to stay with me so put forth some extra effort to get separation.

It must have worked because I didn’t see him again. I neared the finish line and with one last push I was done.

Final results were 2nd AG and 14th Overall. I will take it seeing I had no idea how I would perform after racing days before. My run might need some work but pleased with the result.

There was some more fun though on my cool down run in the woods. All by myself, still in somewhat of a daze from the race, just running along peacefully, I looked down to see a copperhead snake right in front of me…I could only leap and pray. He didn’t get me but that was a little extra excitement I could have done without.

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Back to racing…

this past weekend I competed in Xterra Tsali…it was unusual because of an alternate format of swim, run then bike. I arrived at the course the day before race day. I did my usual pre-race activities and then went to packet pickup where I was informed the bike course had been switched for this year. Not usually a problem but I had never ridden the new trail which put me at a hefty disadvantage. I was not able to ride more that day so I would just have to deal with it.

The next morning I arrived onsite, setup my bike transition and then heading down to the water to setup T1 which was in a different location. Then did my usual run warmup and was ready to get on my wetsuit to swim. Now I had not expected a wetsuit swim and was unsure how my still healing shoulder would react. There was only one way to find out. My plan was to not go to hard in the swim in order to protect my shoulder. I did a quick warmup swim and it felt ok.

Then, we awaiting for the race start which was delayed due to the late arrival of emergency services. Anyhow, a whistle blew abruptly to start…surprising many people including me…but we were off.

I was feeling pretty good through the swim, shoulder pain was at a minimum and I looked to be in good position. Upon swim exit I was in 6th. I transitioned quickly and was off on the run which started straight up a hill. My legs were not feeling especially fast which showed by being passed by at least 4 people…this was unusual for me on the run. I pushed harder at the end thinking that this race was getting away from me…and passed 1 back going into T2.

I quickly mounted my bike…now it was time to makeup some ground but I had no idea what lay ahead having never ridden this trail…I thought to myself…this should be interesting.

I passed a person within the first mile, then began catching and passing some others on a couple of climbs. There was somewhat of a yoyo effect as they would catch backup momentarily on the more tech part due to my unfamiliarity then I would pull away finally on the next climb.

  

I caught and passed one final person toward the end of the course…pushed hard on the last climb to get separation and held them off into the finish.

In the end I wound up 1st AG and 6th Overall…although it wasn’t my best swim or run performance, the result was good coming back from injury.

Looking forward getting this shoulder back in shape and improving more this season.

  

White Lake…

First thing I must say that anyone who has been to this venue, is that this lake is amazing. White sand beach around the whole lake and shallow water for 100ft or more from the shore.

I had travelled to the race with Alex and Mark who were also set to compete on Sunday. We picked up packets, checked in our cottage and went for a quick swim to loosen up after the drive. We cooked dinner at the cottage in our old timey stove which matched our accommodations perfectly, ate and got to sleep early.

  

The next morning we rode the 2 miles to the start…setup transition, went through the usual warmup and was ready for the start. The gun went and we were off. It was a wetsuit swim and I thought I was doing well until near the end of the swim I noticed a group exiting the water well before me, not good. I got to transition and Mark was already leaving with his bike. I quickly changed and followed in pursuit. The bike course was 2 loops around the lake. Knowing I was back from the swim there was some ground to makeup. As I approached Mark he appeared to be going well and I gave him encouragement as I passed. It took me until the second loop to pass another but I ran out of time and couldn’t reel in anyone else. Coming into T2 I had hoped there was enough of a gap over the person I just passed to give me a cushion on the run…this was not the case. As I was putting on shoes, he was racking his bike. Then I made a big mistake and ran the wrong way in transition. Realizing my mistake I quickly turned around to head toward the exit, seeing now that my 10sec advantage was now a deficit…he was already exiting. Now onto the run course seeing him just ahead I tried to close the gap immediately but couldn’t…it stayed the same. I decided to wait until the last mile to push and try to close and overtake. As much as I tried the gap remained the same until the finish…10 seconds behind.

I saw Alex and Mark out on the run course and both were looking strong. 

In the end the result was 12th Overall and 4thAG. This race was somewhat frustrating but the result was good but definitely not great as I expected coming off a race the previous weekend. Improvements will be made though and will give it another go at the Xterra Southeast Championship.

 

Back to the Fort…

It had been 2 years since I raced at Xterra Ft Yargo…I remembered really liking the course for its fast bike and long run course…now it was time to see if my memory was correct.

We arrived on Friday to pre-ride and check out the course. I had driven down with Tyler and we enjoyed great weather to check out the course.

We took care of picking up our packets and went to the motel to get some rest for race day.

  

The morning brought much different weather…it was pouring rain and the forecast was for it to get worse before it got better. We went about setting up our transition and I managed to get in a warmup run in the rain. It was then time to get on the wetsuit and head down to the water. A quick warmup swim and I was ready for the start…the only problem was that I didn’t expect a guy on shore to say go because all info and announcements had been coming from the PA on the hill. In my moment of hesitation I was engulfed by the pack…I tried to accelerate away but couldn’t. It was the worst start ever for me…swallowing water multiple times while being hit from every side…after a few minutes I finally found some open water, then looked up and saw 30+ people ahead of me. I put my head down and worked on making up ground. When the swim was over I ended up 6th out of the water behind Tyler. I transitioned quickly and took off in pursuit. The bike course was much different than the previous day, there was standing water and mud which made it much more difficult to negotiate. After a few miles I caught up to Tyler…he seemed to be going well…then he must have come to grips with his newly mounted mud tires and he was gone. Note to self: Next time I will have some Schwable mud tires ready to go. I passed a few people and was passed by another but the bike was somewhat lonely. I came into T2 where I saw Tyler leaving. Just as I was heading on the run my friend Sam was coming in completely covered in mud and dirt. On the run I felt ok but not great, I think my cold was effecting my performance even more at this point. I caught and passed a few people including Tyler, giving him encouragement as I passed. It was super slick on the run and as I approached the finish, there was nobody in sight. I crossed in 10th Overall and 2nd AG. Not bad considering conditions and the way I felt…I will take it.

  

Here we go…

So it’s been a while but this past weekend marked the start of my triathlon season. It was delayed by the worst flu I have ever had. So this race was a makeup for it. 

Xterra Tiger was the race in Auburn AL…quite a drive but that’s what you need to do sometimes as Travis Beam said during the drive.

We arrived a little late on Friday, so the usual ride/run was replaced by a short night trail ride made possible by a great local lending us lights to use. The trail looked fun and we were looking forward to the race. After the ride was a quick dinner and off to bed.

  

The next morning Sam Chalk had joined us for this race and we all setup our transition areas. Then went out for a quick warmup before the start. This race would be a wetsuit swim so after double checking my transition area I was putting on my wetsuit and heard a weird noise, I looked over to see Travis trying using a foam sealant on his rear tire…foam was everywhere…only moments before the start! He was having trouble with a recent tire change not getting his tire to seal properly. I asked if I could help but he said he had it under control. I headed for the start after a last drink of Trifuel. I did a quick warmup swim and waited. The gun sounded and we were off.

This being the first race I didn’t want to go excessively hard on the swim so I settled into a comfortable pace. I swam beside Sam almost the whole way…we came out of the water nearly together and ran into transition where we saw Travis leaving for the bike leg with his foam laden rear wheel.

Sam and I left transition together, him leading me on the bike. I followed him for a while until dropping a chain. I stopped and fixed it quickly, got back on but Sam was gone. I rode solo the rest of the bike leg passing one person and pushing hard, my new Schwable tires working great. I finally got into a rhythm the second half of the bike but didn’t catch anyone else. I came into T2 hoping to see someone but everyone was already gone. I pushed hard on the run hoping to see someone to catch but ran by myself not seeing anyone. I crossed the line and quickly found out the results.

2nd AG and 9th Overall.

Travis finished 7th overall and Sam got 8th overall.

It was a good start to the season, not exactly the result I had hoped for but still a solid beginning with one of my best run splits ever…I’ll take it.

Quick thanks to Sam for lending me a kit after mistakenly I brought the wrong top.

 

 

  

One more time…

So I had decided on one more race after Pinehurst…The Turn and Burn Offroad Duathlon. This was a local race and would be a fun way to finish up the season. Well getting to the prerace drama, I was doing a very easy ride  2 days before the race and pulled a hamstring. I didn’t think it was too bad at the time but later that night it hurt really badly. I took care of it as best I could and it didn’t feel too bad on race morning but I was still feeling it now on race morning. It had rained the day before and was very windy leading up to the race so I decided to check out a short portion of the trail on my bike…bad idea. I crashed twice on wet roots…I thought to myself “this is not going to be fun”

I finished my transition area prep and went down the hill to toe the line…the gun sounded and we were off on the first portion of the race, a trail 5k…straight uphill. My strategy was simple because of my leg…take it easy on the 5k, go hard on the bike and give everything on the last portion, a 3k trail run. This changed a bit with morning crashes…I didn’t want to crash again. Anyhow, I was 6th into transition after the run, leg feeling ok. I had an ok transition except my helmet and gloves had blown away and I had to retrieve them before putting them on. I passed a couple of people immediately on the bike and then road by myself until near the end when I caught two more…we went into transition together after they had hooked onto my rear tire for the final portion of the bike. I had a great transition and got out well ahead of both of them. Neil told me I was in 3rd place at the start of the 3k…I ran by myself until just under 1 mile to go when I heard footsteps…it was one of the guys I had passed at the end of the bike. As he came past me I tried to stay with him but couldn’t …as I watched him slowly run farther away from me I thought my only goal was going away also…podium overall. I pushed to the finish line with nobody else in sight. As I crossed, shortly after I was told I did get 3rd…great, mission accomplished!

It was a great season with a improvement throughout. Looking forward to next season and starting where I left off.

Big thanks to LiveItXtreme Sports, BRL Nutrition, Precision Fitness, various coaches around me and my family for all the support. It is truly a combined effort.