I didn't quite know what to expect going into the weekend, but any expectations I could have set wouldn't have measured up to how well things turned out. The Gator Terra Xterra in Ruston, LA is the oldest Xterra branded event and has quite an illustrious past. The bike course is my favorite in the series. I'm not alone in that preference, none other than Ned Overend listed it as his favorite back when he was competing in Xterras. The famous camera-friendly "Tomac" hill is a close simile to a ski jump and always draws a crowd.
The Gator Terra is a tradition for me and my good friend Joey Guajardo, we've competed for the last four years with varying degrees of success. Last year neither of us were really in top form coming out of injuries and lags in training. This year we had no excuses. We'd done the training. We were injury-free. We were both sporting brand new no-expense-spared hardtails. Everything was lined up. This year was a chance to redeem ourselves.
There was some hard rain on Friday night, but the sandy course soaked it all up and on race morning the course was perfect. The weather was beautiful, sunny and in the 70's. The water temp was 74 degrees, wetsuit legal. I put in some warm up strokes and my swim felt strong. All winter I'd worked on building up my shoulder strength. I been training to develop more of a "wetsuit" stroke (more glide, more upper body power, less kick) since almost all my races are wetsuit legal. It seemed to have paid off, I felt great about the day.
At the start I positioned in the middle of the pack right behind the course favorites. The race starts, I feel good, and about ten strokes in, my wetsuit pops open in the back. I'm cursing myself and giving it my all to stay with the group as I drag what feels like a parachute through the water. I'm debating whether to strip it or try to fix it on the beach. I opt to strip it and confuse quite a few spectators and competitors as I quickly strip the wetsuit on the beach run between swim laps. Back in the water and I'm on a mission. I come out of the second lap with Joey right on my tail. I know I've lost time because I always beat Joey out of the water, but I know I'm not too far down because he puts in a good split.
I'm quick out of transition and on to the bike course. About two miles in, Joey passes by me at a fast pace, and I know he's going to have a good day. He's found some serious mountain bike speed in the last couple years. In our history on this course, he is usually chasing me down on the run. If he passes me on the bike, I know that our mano-e-mano race is over. I've become a faster runner, but he's become a seriously fast runner. After that I reel a few bikers in and swap places with another in a black jersey, and feel great. The pace feels as fast as I've ever ridden, the legs are solid, and I only dab once. About 7 miles into the bike a volunteer yells out "You're only four and a half minutes back! You're in the top ten". I'm doing the math in my head, and realize I usually finish 15+ minutes back and place in the teens. This is going to be a good race! Me and the black jersey swap places a few more times. He beats me at the end, but I pass him in transition. I'm out on the run quick and the legs are solid. I'm keeping a pace that is fast enough to feel unfamiliar on dirt. Can I keep it up? My heart feels good, legs feel good. The black jersey is chasing me down. He's flying. I'll let him pass. He's a couple age groups up. Usually, I always get passed on the run. Running's never been my strength, so I'm running scared. I want to leave a little in the tank in case I have to turn it up when I hear footsteps, but I also want to keep those footsteps from coming. A mile left and no other runners in sight, I turn it up a little. I sprint to the finish in a time of 1:37 and change. I finish 8th overall and 1st in my age group. My time is ten minutes better than last year with most of that gain coming on the run. Joey had a phenomenal race. He placed 3rd overall and had the fastest run split. Keep in mind that neither of us had ever placed better than 17th before. This was a breakthrough year.
While the Xterra was the focus, we both did the Rustman triple which consisted of a 2 mile run on Saturday night and a Sprint triathlon on Sunday morning. I ran a 12:29 in the hilly 2 miler and placed second in my age group in the sprint tri. I ended up 5th overall in the triple challenge. Joey won the 2 miler in 10:59, took 3rd overall in the sprint with a smoking 17:39 5k to close it and won the Rustman triple overall. Go Joey! It's going to be a great year. I'm looking forward to the next race.
1 comment:
Solid race and great way to start the season. Looking forward to Last Stand next weekend.
-T
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