Running Springs, California United States Mountain Multisport 80F / 27C Sunny

Total Time = 2h 49m 24s Overall Rank = / Age Group = 40-44 Age Group Rank = 21/28

My Race Report:
Let me preface my race report by saying that I don't profess to be a mountain biker, and before this race, thought myself to be in pretty good shape. I have a 35-lb Diamondback mountain bike w full suspension, and low-level components, and platform pedals. I mountain bike on relatively hilly packed dirt fire roads around my house one day/week just to mix it up and because I'm really cautious, I go pretty slow down hills. My sessions are typically under an hour. So, this summer, I decided I'd give an Xterra a try. I picked the Snow Valley race because they advertised fire roads with no single track, and they mentioned it was a good course for first-time Xterra racers or road triathletes wanting to sample off-road tris. Perfect for me. Decided to make a weekend out of it with my family and stay in Lake Arrowhead.
So, ahead to the day before the race. I decided I'd take a trip to Snow Valley and pre-ride the course to get an idea of what to expect. I see a guy I know before I start my pre-ride, and he's got a nice scrape on his arm. He tells me there's some sandy spots and he went down going a bit too fast dowhill. This is a guy that's a top Xterra racer, but he tells me the course is pretty basic.
Right off the bat, 50 yards down the trail, I hit sand and have to get off and push. My biggest fears in this race are: 1. Embarrassing myself with my crappy mtb skills, and 2. Getting in peoples' way on the bike. 3. Eating it on the bike and getting hurt. So, the trail starts heading up hill, and it's fairly steep, and I'm sucking wind for 1.5 miles all the way up to the lake where the swim will be. I'm stoked to be off the bike at the lake and catch my breath. I was starting to think this was alot of effort the day before the race. I walked over the checked the water temp. Around 70, I'd say. No wetsuit for me tomorrow.
Back on the bike and the second half of the climb, probably another 1.5 miles was not as steep, but there was one rocky section that I had to get off and push. Finally the turnaround! The trip back down was mainly dowhill, but there were a few uphills that I had to walk the bike on, and some sandy spots, and rocky sections that I was just too sketched on to ride through, so I walked them. Now, I was envisioning being the last person to finish the bike course due to my cautious (slow) riding! Finally finished a lap and headed back to Lake Arrowhead feeling apprehensive about the race and thinking I was in trouble!
Race day: Out to the car at 6:30am, and my rear bike tire is flat. Uh oh...I have a spare and think maybe they have a wrench tent at the race site that can change it for me alot quicker than I can do it, but when I got there, no wrench, so the first thing I did was change the tube. There had been a thorn in the tire.
I was a bit lost figuring out all the stuff I needed. Hydration pack w/Gatorade (which was warm thanks to the hotel's ice machhine being broken), two seperate transitions, T1 bag, sunscreen, etc. Finally pulled everything together and took my race belt and hat to T2 and clipped it to the rack. Then, we had to hike uphill 1.5 miles with our bikes and swim gear to the lake. Fun stuff! Walked the bike mostly to save my legs. Took a good 20-25 minutes.
By the time I was up there, the racks were getting full, but I found a spot, laid out my stuff, and took a quick warmup swim across the small lake. Water temp was about 70 I'd say, but nearly everyone had wetsuits. I was chilly once out of the water in the dry, cool air, but the sun was nice, so I just tried to stay in the sun waiting for the race start. It was a 1 1/2 loop swim in the small lake, which was at 7,300 feet elevation. The race director is warning everyone of pacing for the elevation, watching for rattlesnakes and bears, and mentioning, jokingly, that Xterras are dangerous and we shouldn't be there! Great confidence builder for me.
So, finally, the swim starts, and I'm a decent swimmer, normally FOP in most tris, but 200 yards into the swim, I just couldn't catch my breath. I backed down my pace, and still couldn't catch my damn breath! For the first time in over 20 triathlons, I had to breast stroke to catch my breath. WTF?!!! I couldn't believe it! I could only think it was the elevation because every time I'd start swimming freestyle again, I'd get 25 yards and be out of breath. I was so bummed out! So, my swim was a mix of breast stroke and freestyle, but I didn't finish last and alot of others around me seemed to be doing the same thing.
Out of the water and on the bike, and I was blown away at how fast some of the riders in the earlier wave (who were already coming dowhill) were FLYING down hill! Just nuts! So, on the way up, fortunately I didn't get in anyone's way and I began the dowhill. Along the way, I saw one guy who passed me with blood streaming down his shoulder, and then another guy who was walking down the hill in his race clothes, but his arm in a sling. GREAT!
I had to get off the walk the bike on some sections of sand or steep uphills, but the others around me were doing the same, so I didn't feel too bad. Plus, fortunately due to my position on the course, I didn't get in the way of any of the frontrunners. I continued (slowly) down the hill going quite slow through some rocky zones and even still nearly eating it.
The thing that struck me as so different from road tris was the fact that you just can't relax on the bike. You are constantly either tense (downhill) or sucking wind (uphill), but you can never just lay back and relax. For those reasons, this 10-mile bike was like doing a 56-miler on the road, at least for me! The second lap of the bike was uneventful, but TOUGH, and I had to walk the bike up alot of the hills. I was feeling pretty beat and figured I'd be running pretty slow.
Finally, the bike finish and T2 was pretty full. My race belt and hat had bikes laying on them, and I had to squeeze to find rack space. I was in no hurry though. I was BOP in this race. The run started with nearly a mile of uphill through weeds, over ditches...full on cross country! I had to walk alot of the uphill as did the others around me. I was hammered, and couldn't believe how tough this course was. You'd get to the top of a hill and there'd be another uphill. Some of the uphills were so steep, I don't know how anyone COULD have run them. You had to "hike" them. I just kept my head down and kept putting one foot in front of the other. At one stage, I passed a guy who was wearing trunks and a tee shirt and commented how tough the course was. He said it was his first tri and I told him I had done a bunch of tris and if it was any consolation to him, this was the toughest one I'd done. So, the 4-mile run was nearly over and I ran the last downhill stretch to the finish in 2:49.
I think there were still about 50 people on the course when I finished, but I have to say I was completely humbled by this race. 2000 feet of climbing on the bike worked me good, and the hike/run was brutal. It was hot, and the race was all above 6,000 feet, so the elevation played a role too. I know that this was a short race by some Xterra standards and wondered how this course compared to other Xterras. I have never had to breaststroke, walk my bike, or walk on the run in any tri I've done, including 1/2 irons, but I had to do all that today. The winner completed the race in around 1:40, and I just can't fathom how he could have finished that quickly. Just amazing. A friend took 3rd overall and commented that since he's been doing Xterras, road tris are alot easier, and I'd have to agree. It's another level of fitness to be sure! My three fears were mostly never realized, with the exception of the swim, which was a bit embarrassing to me personally, but otherwise a great race and a very cool experience for me.