Xterra Mountain Championship Beaver Creek, CO

This past weekend Abbie and I traveled to Avon Colorado so I could race in the Xterra Mountain Championship. I have done this course before and I was excited to race the course again. Abbie and I stayed in a place just at the base of the Beaver Creek Ski Resort which had a spectacular view from our balcony, I felt like I was in Europe!

I woke up early in the morning and Abbie was already awake (due to her watching Dateline the night before) hehe. I suited up and ate a good breakfast and drove down to the lake to get ready.

As the swim started I felt real good around my first lap drafting off of a few people, I guess I got a little too close and someones foot smacked my left eye causing my goggle to fill up with water. I stopped for a second trying to seal the goggle but it was no use so I just kept going squinting my left eye till I got out of the water.

The bike ride was awesome the first climb I felt I had a lot in me passing quite a few people on the 3800 foot climb. The trail descended and finished on a 2000 foot climb which wrapped into the ski resort which I kept pushing on the the final downhill. As I jumped off my bike I ran into T2 and took off onto the run.

The first part of the run is directly uphill for the first 2 miles and then stays pretty consistent till the end. I loved the run due to the fact that we had one long loop. I ran with two guys from my age group and we all came in within a few minutes of each other. I was happy with my run, I have been focusing on core exercises lately trying to strengthen my core so I could reduce my left side ache which frequently comes during any run I do. All I can say is my training is paying off, I ran the entire time pushing through the uphill and pushing my stride on the downhill. I came into the finish line a little over 3 hours.

Overall I was happy to see my training payoff! I was 45 min. faster than last year on the same course! I finished 8th in my age category and came in within the top 100.

Our view from our hotel room

Warming up

Leaving T2

Park City 50

This past weekend Abbie and I had a great weekend with a few friends up at Deer Valley. Saturday I raced in the 1st annual PC 50 which I thought would prepare me for the Park City Point to Point in September.

The PC 50 started at the base of the Park City ski resort and wrapped up on the mid-mountain trail and connected into Sparow. Within the first 8 miles I was already feeling the pain due to 2000 foot climb. Finally when I hit mile 23 which was the second aid station I was able to regain my energy and keep pushing forward. The trail was awesome and the temperature felt perfect, the only draw back was the fact that some locals in Park City moved the flags which led a handful of people in the wrong direction, I was one of the lucky ones that got lost which extended my race an extra 4 miles trying to figure out where I was. Finally I could see the Canyons ski resort which gave me a second wind to finish out the race strong. 8500 feet of climbing and 50 miles later I finished the race 9th in the expert category and feel a little humbled for the Point to Point in Sept!!

Moab Xterra

This past weekend Abbie and I went down to Moab to compete in the TriUtah Festival with a few friends. We left Thursday night and spent Friday 4X4-ing in Canyonlands which was a blast, minus the new scratch I put on my truck. On Saturday morning we headed to Ken's Lake where both the Tri-Utah and Xterra were holding their events. I warmed up on my trainer and was feeling ready for the race. The first 200m of the swim was hard to get moving due to the cold temperature of the lake, but I got into a rhythm and came out of the water somewhere in the middle.

The bike ride on the famous "Steel Bender Trail" was difficult, but I felt ready for the ride and by the time I hit mile 6.5 the volunteer told me I was in the top 15 overall. As I hit a little over mile 7 I saw a few people in the distance already making there way back and I knew the turn-around was coming up. The spacing between the top 15 people were pretty scarce on the way back and I only passed 3 more people till I got to T2, and thats where my race disaster happened.

I drank an FRS, threw on my running shoes and took off on the run. The first 5K went pretty smooth; my time was around 30 minutes for the first lap and then it felt like someone had punched me in my right side. I literally could not move my side or breathe. I tried every possible way to get rid of my side ache and nothing was working. I slowed way down and had about 35 people pass me which got me down, but I still ended up 2nd overall in my age group.

Abbie (my wife), Wes (brother-in-law), and Lauren (friend) all placed in their age groups. The triathlon festival was a blast!

Coming into T2

Podium finish!

Lehi Showdown Intermountain Cup Series Race #3

The drive to the Showdown race throws you off due to the race being 23 miles west of Lehi. I barely made it in time to pick my packet up and jump on my trainer to get my legs warmed up. I just started taking CarboRocket a bike supplement drink which is amazing and I finally found something that doesn't destroy my stomach.

The race is 34 miles for the expert category which made me excited cause I like the longer races, but halfway through the ride you have to dismount and hike up a very long steep hill. After the first lap I realized I had to hike the hill two more times which made me save some energy.

The weather was great and I finished in 3rd place! The race was fun and the weather was perfect! Thanks Abbie for coming and taking pictures!

Jess my Sister-in-Law raced as well.

I had to pee so I ran behind a truck during the countdown.

3rd place!

Cholla Challenge, I-Cup Hurricane UT. Apr. 2011

Over the first week of April my brother and I drove to Cedar City to sale a building that we own and to mountain bike for a few days. That Saturday I met up with my buddy Dane in Hurricane and did the second Intermountain Cup race of the season. Dane and I raced in the expert 19-29 category, I tried a few different products for energy during the race. The first two laps I was in 4th place riding with the top three, and during the last lap my stomach was hurting so bad due to one of the products not setting well that it made it hard to keep the same pace. As I slowed down eventually (due to my stomach) a few riders passed and I finished in 7th place and my buddy Dane finished in 9th place. The Cholla Challenge was a great race to open with this year, I enjoyed the heat and it actually felt like spring. I wasn't thinking but this photo is the only picture that I took down in Hurricane, I totally spaced it.

New Whips..

I signed up for the Xterra Moab Off-Road Triathlon which is the second week of May. Abbie signed up for the Tri-Utah Sprint as well. The trails look fun and I am excited to race.

2010 Superfly frame with all Sram XX Components

2011 AR5 Felt Race Bike

I am excited to start racing. I am also signed up for the Cholla Challenge Mountain Biking Race in Hurricane UT on Apr. 2, 2011. Bring it on 2011!!

V02 Testing

Last Monday Dane and I went and got our VO2, lactate threshold, and our peak aerobic power tested. Dane and I were both extremely exhausted throughout the test, I literally felt like I was going to pass out towards the end. We got our results back and it is good to see some of the grey areas to work on for this coming year. I highly recommend getting this test done to see what you need to do to become a stronger cyclists/tri-athlete.

Good news I got into the Park City Point-to-Point race, but unfortunately last night Willie, Dane, Dan, Jamie, and I all got news from the Leadville 100 in CO that we did not get in the lottery for the 2011 season. BUMMER!! But we always have next year :)

Cameron pricking my finger.

I was about ready to fall over.
Go Dane Go!!