Xterra Panther Creek Race Report

XTERRA Panther Creek /End of the “Regular Season” – Race Report(5^th Overall/3^rd AG)

Morristown, TN - July 28, 2013

800 Meter Swim/14 mile Mountain Bike/4.5 Mile Trail Run

This was my last of 5 Xterra Point Series Races in the 2013 Xterra American Triathlon Tour be before competing  at the Xterra Nationals on September 21^st in Snowbasin, Utah & at the Xterra World Championship on October 27^th in Maui, Hawaii.   However it was my first race competing for aLL3Sports.com!  In a season that started with a broken collarbone from a Mountain Bike Wreck back in January, I’ve managed to podium in my Age Group & finish in the Top 10 overall in my last 3 Straight Xterra Triathlons & one Olympic Distance Road Triathlon.  Since returning from my injury at the end of March, I’ve also Qualified for Xterra Worlds, Xterra Nationals, & Olympic Distance Nationals.  So despite my injury, I’ve already had my most successful of my 3 seasons of racing Triathlons & have achieved my primary goal of qualifying for Xterra Worlds for the first time! Going into Panther Creek, I was 2^nd in the Southeast Region/9^th Nationally in Xterra Point Series Standings in my 40-44 Age Group.   While first Place & Regional Champion Title was out of reach, I needed to podium and finish within one spot of the next runner up to hold on to the #2 spot.

Panther Creek, like most XPS races has a very grass roots feel.  It’s a smallish race in the middle of nowhere/NE Tennessee at a beautiful State Park.  Free camping & pre-race cookout the night before.   It attracts a mixture of locals, regular Xterra competitors from around the SE Region, and handful of Xterra regulars that travel down from the Mid-West Region.  It also has a special place in my heart because I competed in my first multisport race there as part of a relay back in 2009.  Back then, I thought that I was a badass mountain biker(just because I was faster than my friends) only to be humbled by the Triathletes there.  The bike leg nearly killed me & my bike split was barely middle of the pack vs. the Athletes that did all 3 disciplines at that race!  However, I was so impressed with the Athletes that did All3, that it motivated me to do my first Triathlon the following year.  Then I went back there in 2011 & finished 2^nd in my AG & 7^th overall for my first ever podium & earned a slot at Xterra Nationals!  Last year at that race, I finished 4^th overall & was only 20 seconds off the runner up & w/in 2 minutes of the overall winner for my highest overall finish to date!  So, I had really high expectations going the race this year! 

While I certainly wasn’t trying to peak for this, I felt really good going in!  As with just about every race this year, rain the night before made the trails slippery, though not horribly muddy or as bad as some of the other races.  My swim leg felt a little sloppy & I never found a set of feet to draft off of, so it was basically a time trial.  However, I still managed to be the 5^th person out of the water.   However, a sloppy T1 & fumbling with my gloves cost me valuable time & a few spots as I headed into the trails on the Mountain Bike leg. 

I was able to get into a really good rhythm quickly on the bike & was able to quickly pass a few of the folks that beat me out of transition & also caught up to one more person a little later.  After that, I was basically riding by myself until very late in bike leg when a competitor started pushing up from behind.  I was matching his pace & was doing some of my best riding of the day until loosing traction on a wet root on a climb cause me to lose him.  Another rider started pushing up on me after that, but I was able to stay just ahead of him going into T2 in 4^th place overall. 

A decent T2 had me running out together with the rider that had followed me in & he ran right on my feet the entire run!  I was feeling pretty good & was pushing right at my “cmfy HARD” edge” on the run w/him staying on my feet.  He was obviously just trying to pace me & not pass.  We talked a fair amount & was telling him to expect someone to come flying past us sometime at light speed.  I knew that one of the guys that had passed on the bike can cruise at sub 6 minute trail miles and had flown by me in the Southeast Championship on the run.  Sure enough, with about 1 mile to go, this guy passes us cruising a 5:35 mile pace on the Trail!  So now me & this guy are competing for 5^th place overall when he asks me, “Hey, What Age Group Are You?”  I tell him, “40-44”.  He goes “THANK GOD!”  (He  was in the 35-39 AG),  At that point, I could smell the finish & knew that my pace was breaking him.   Once I saw the finish line about ¼ mile ahead, I took off on a sprint & never looked back to finish 5^th Overall, 3^rd in my AG. 

Great Race & my 2^nd best overall finish.  However, it was the first race that I have EVER done that I did not PR over the previous year.  My swim was 1 minute faster than last year & my run was 11 seconds faster.  However, my bike split & overall time was slightly slower.  I will chalk some of that up to the slippery trails, but still was slightly disappointed on what was otherwise a great race.  If you would have asked me immediately after the race how I thought I did, I would have responded that my swim sucked, bike was Great! & run good.  After looking at the splits, Swim Great!  Bike not so good, & run pretty good.   My greatly improved swim split may have been aided by my new TYR Torque Elite Swimskin from ALL3Sports.com!  Also, post race one of my friends pointed out that if my transitions were as fast as the “Gazelle”  that finished 4^th, that I would have beat him.  Def. food for thought as every second counts when trying to compete for a podium!

Panther Creek has wrapped up has be a very good & consistent “Regular Season” for me.  Every race, but this last one, was faster than the year before and all have been solid!   Despite my early season injury, my improvement has been slow, but steady.  However, I have yet to have a “Breakout Race”, like I have had in past seasons.  With the “Regular Season” over & a 50 day training block before Nationals & Worlds at the end of September & October, I hope that I am setting myself up for a Breakout Race one of the BIG ONES! 

all3 in the Races - Fernandina Beach

 

Race Report: DRC Sports Olympic Triathlon

Location: Fernandina Beach, FL

Date: 6/22/2013

We planned a week-long family vacation in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, starting on June 22^nd.  Imagine my wife’s surprise when I ‘discovered’ there was a triathlon taking place just a few miles away.  Once I admitted to her that it wasn’t a complete coincidence, she gave me her full support just as she has always done – what a great wife!

The morning of the race was a ‘seasonably cool’ 80 degrees at 7am, with about 90% humidity.  You gotta love Florida in the summer, but at least there were some overcast skies to offer a little respite from the blazing sun.  I arrived on site about an hour before race start, and was impressed by DRC Sports’ ability to get about 500 athletes ready for two simultaneous events (an Olympic and Sprint triathlon) with such great efficiency!

The 1.5k swim was in the Atlantic Ocean, and the water was glassy and warm.  I started up front and sprinted out into the breakers at the gun.  I’m accustomed to lake swims, as most of my races are in Georgia, so the feeling of leaping over those breakers makes for a pretty fun start.  I quickly found some toes to draft, and settled into a strong pace.  I came out of the water in just over 23 minutes, putting me in the top 10 overall. 

The bike segment was flat and fast, which is a nice change from the hills of North Georgia.  I came out of transition a little fast, and tried to back off but was just enjoying the speed.  At about mile 16 my quads started feeling the effect of coming out too fast, so I backed off just a bit to be ready for the 10k run.  Despite my efforts on the bike, it was difficult to keep up with the ‘fasties’ in North Florida!  My average of over 24 mph (fast for me) wasn’t even good enough to get me into the top 20 overall.  But a strong swim and fast transitions set me up for a pretty good position going into the run.

The 10k run was probably the most beautiful part of the race, as it took place entirely within the shaded paths of Ft. Clinch State Park.  Shade was good, but the temps and humidity were taking their toll.  I have a bad habit of going out too fast on runs, so I consciously backed off the pace to something I figured I could maintain for the entire distance.  My strategy paid off, as I was able to pass several competitors on the run and finish with a PR of 2:06 and climb to 6^th place overall.  I can’t think of a better way to kick off a beach vacation.

 

 Thanks to DRC sports for putting on a great race, and a huge thanks to all3sports.com for all the support in helping me get to the finish line every time!

 

Clyde Watts Race Report/Mistletoe

Race Name: Mistletoe Sprint Tri (part of the Tri the Parks Series) 7/20/13
Place: 2nd Masters

The context here is I am training long course for Augusta 70.3 then Ironman Arizona 140.6 not short course like sprint triathlons. I generally have heavy legs from events like my TriCoachGeorgia.com Augusta 70.3 camp sponsored by all3sports.com the weekend before. Making matters worse I had a big training day the Friday before and learned that my legs were very fatigued and Coach Shanks was aggravated at me for overdoing it again. However, I do love to throw down on occasion and figured I could make things work for an hour or so.  I would just have get out pump myself up, take in some extra caffeine and go for it.

The Blade, TaxSlayer and I left Athens early Saturday, picked up packet, and set up transitions. This was the 4th time I was doing the race so I had some ideas on where to save time on transition and where to push it extra hard. I tried to mull around talking to all my peeps from the current and past all3Sports.com age group team and mechanical team, Tri-Augusta, solo racers and other teams and my coaching firm, TriCoachGeorgia. Soon we were led to the swim start for the national anthem and race start. Chuck always does a great job as race director and things were smooth like always.

My swim went well as ever in the 4 times I did this race. I found some feet to draft and did the best I could on this out and back in some hot lake water. I never know where I stand after the swim but figure the worst. So I sprint like a Banshee to transition.

Move Slayer...MOVE!!

T1 was tight. I grabbed my BONT tri shoes and ran up the little hill over the mount line to put them on. Then I mounted the "Sickle" and was transformed into The Slayer. Hooting and hollering and trying to encourage my fellow racers passing everyone along the way I could to one of the better bike splits overall and for myself over the years. 

DO YOUR JOB! #DYJ

As I returned into the park on this M type bike course, I had a mishap at dismount line that I quickly recovered from and grabbed my bike and quickly carried it into T2. I threw on my Zoot shoes and headed out into the early section of the trails and that short steep hill early on. I knew I had passed most of the masters but couldn't be sure and needed to keep on the pressure. I ran pretty strong considering a bad foot hampered run training most of the Winter and I didn't run an organized 5k all year. My slowest run in 4 years of the race at 21:12 but still proud of the effort. Great seeing everyone like Daniel H and Andy D. on the sections where we did an out and back.

Post race, I had some good times cheering everyone in and during the awards ceremony! The all3Sports team who did very well, got together for some silly pictures and I smashed a water bottle after I got my medal and trophy for tradition. I was glad to find out my teammate Andy D. was the one who beat me by around a minute largely on the basis of a better swim. Well done to him and everyone!

What a great group!!

Now I move on to the August Lake Russell olympic distance via Tri the Parks, but look more forward to my 10 year old's 1st adult tri in LaGrange this weekend. Also, there are plenty of other folks racing that I can't wait to follow.