here’s a rough draft of my race report from Xterra Nationals. enjoy, and congrats to everybody who finished that race…
Xterra Nationals – Race Report:
10/2/2005
Phil Gregory, M20-24
Man, what a race! I’ll start off by saying that this was hands down the most mentally difficult race that I have ever participated in. Physically, my body handled life relatively well for the almost four hours I was out there, but my mind definitely got a beating.
I was fortunate enough to travel to the race with my parents a few days early. We got into Lake Tahoe on Thursday afternoon, and I could not have been more excited and confident about the race. I had spent all summer traveling around to various regional points series stops, and finished up winning the regional age-group title. This trip was the culmination of A LOT of hard work and commitment (not only on my part, but also from my super-supportive girlfriend, as well as from my parents). Thursday, I started out my mental prep for the race with a quick swim in beautiful Lake Tahoe. The water that day was absolutely incredible. It seemed to appear as if you were looking through a clear, liquid version of air. This was the only time that the water would appear so tranquil for the rest of the weekend…
Friday started with a self-guided tour of the Lake Tahoe region. I drove with my folks along the coastline from our hotel at Incline Village to Emerald Bay. It was amazing some of the homes and scenery that Lake Tahoe encompasses. Friday afternoon, I continued with more race-prep and pre-rode some of the bike course with a friend I met out there. The only regret I had about this was that I didn’t take pictures. Being from the East Coast, the single track we rode was something that I lie awake at night dreaming about. The views were wide open, and the course was challenging, but not something I would consider technical. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and enjoying my vacation.
I awoke to a very harsh reality Saturday. I realized that, unlike most races I had competed in, I was definitely going to be one of the also-rans at this race. Walking around, it was simply amazing how fit my fellow competitors appeared, and how focused and ready everyone seemed to be. I started the day by watching the start of the Xterra Nevada race. It looked to be quite a difficult day for many, due to the 2-3 foot swells that occurred during the whole portion of the swim. This was not made any easier by a water temp around 58 degrees. Not being a swimmer, this made me very nervous for the next morning, as we were told at the athletes meeting that evening that seas would have to be much more difficult for them to cancel the race.
Race day dawned much calmer than the day before, but the swim looked to still be challenging. I arrived at the transition early to set up my bike and get comfortable with the upcoming race. I felt as nervous, but as ready as I had possibly ever been. This calm focus was quickly shed as the race began. We were not told what signal would start the race, so many entered the water with the playing of “boxing ring bells”. It was too late to call every one back in, so they started the race. The swim was nothing short of brutal. The water was around 56 degrees that morning, with a steady chop of about 1-2 feet. I heard that they had to pull somewhere around 20 people out of the water (from a national championship)! I survived the first 750m loop, barely. Going in to face a second round of the swim was destroying. Around me people were just standing in the water, not wanting to take the beating that was sure to come. About halfway thru the second lap, I got terribly seasick and returned all of the previously consumed Lake Tahoe back to its original habitat (aka: I puked). Finishing the swim was a victory in and of itself.
From there, it was time to begin the real racing. Being my strongest leg, I had some serious time to make up on the mountain bike. The 32k course started with a dirt-road climb of about 1600’ to an elevation of around 8200’ (recorded from my altimeter). This road led to the much heralded Flume Trail. This was the most gorgeous piece of singletrack that I have ever had the pleasure or riding. Excepting the two mandatory dismounts, it was relatively non-technical and flat. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fully enjoy the view, as one wrong turn would send rider and bike thousands of feet below into Lake Tahoe. Because of this, passing was made difficult along this section of trail. To further complicate things, those that were being passed seemed to only want me to pass on the OUTSIDE of the trail. That caused some very interesting moments on the bike. Once done with this section, the trail climbed further up to around 8700’ to where it then began descending. This descent can only be described as EPIC. There is nothing like flying over 30 mph on a mountain bike to make both your brakes and lungs scream for joy! This section ended with descending the road we had climbed previously, where the bikes reached some incredible speeds.
Off the bike, it was time to run. My legs felt tired from all of the climbing on the bike, but they also felt ready to roll. The run consisted of two laps of a 5k course. Coming from the bike, the run course was not that exciting, as it wound through the grounds of the Hyatt hotel, and various parts of the town of Incline Village. The difficulty factor was greatly increased by the fact that my body had over 3 hours of physical effort already expended from it. The run, for me, can only be described as a war of attrition between my legs and my mind. Fortunately, my legs lost and were pushed to a relatively respectable time. There was no feeling that could have been compared to hearing my name called at the finish that day.
To sum, my race was blown on the swim. However, I was able to make up substantial time on the bike and hold on during the run for a respectable sub-4 hour finish. I could definitely improve many aspects of my day, but I am still happy with the result. There’s always next season to improve…