Xterra Training

The Xterra Triathlon is next Sunday and I must say, I am feeling under trained. My training intensity and frequency has fallen off slightly in the last several weeks. I've fallen off the ab workout bandwagon and I have not been putting in any long run miles. Also, after the Riverrock mountain bike race, I did not get back on my mountain bike until last Tuesday evening. I felt pretty tight in the legs and did not seem to have much power to get up the more difficult obstacles. Granted it was super hot which is always a factor. I have been riding my road bike but ideally I would have ridden the mountain bike course downtown many more times before now just to get to know it better and to work on my skills.

Given all of this, the other day, I decided I was officially under trained for this upcoming race. Most of what I read says that it is better to be under trained than over trained so I am not terribly dismayed but rather just cognizant that I could be in better shape and more ready for this difficult race. This race will be the longest Triathlon I have ever done on a tough course all the way around.

On Saturday morning I met up with the Richmond Triathlon Club to swim, bike, and run the Xterra course. We met at 9:30 AM at the swim start, had a brief chat, and then took off across the river. The swim was difficult. I decided to wear these little river shoes to protect my feet from the rocks and other debris that is always found in an urban river. Plus we would be swimming across the river to Belle Island where we would be getting out of the river to run about 20-30 yards before returning to the river to swim back across. The Xterra web site recommends shoes when swimming in the James River so I thought it best to wear them. However, not only was I the only one out of 11 swimmers to be wearing anything on the feet, the shoes did seem to slow me down. At least I think the shoes did. Who knows for sure as the current was very strong and despite the other people saying they were slow in the water, they obviously have different definitions of slow than I do. I was pretty far back from the field but it was not a race and we had planned to stop at a few spots in the river to regroup and discuss the water current and strategy.

The swim back across the river from Belle Island was difficult as the current was very strong. I tried hard to stay as far up stream as possible but the current had different ideas. During the race I will have to be sure to aim way upstream in order to make it around the final turn buoy. For the training swim, I did not make it far enough upstream and had to go below the rock we had been aiming for. I was pretty close to the rock, sort of floating around it, when I saw a very big water snake up on the rock. It had its head cocked like it was slightly annoyed. I am no snake expert but it looked like it could have been a poisonous snake by the shape of its head and all the markings. I moved away as fast as possible.

The rest of the swim was rather easy although I was very tired and did take a few breaks. The water was shallow enough that I was able to stand up here and there. The swim is going to be very difficult and taxing because of all the current. Plus since it is a mass start, there is always the chance that someone will swim over me or I could get kicked or punched in the mouth, gut, or other unfavorable place on the body.

Once we got back to the shore, we all mounted our bikes and rode the one loop of the two-loop bike course. This year's Xterra course is going to be different than in years past. We are basically doing the exact same course as the Riverrock bike course except in the other direction. I am used to riding most of the course in the direction we will be racing except for Forest Hill Park. The guys from the Tri club said it was easier to ride in this direction and after riding it, I have to agree.

I felt pretty good on the ride. We were taking it easy for sure. And since we had a big group, we stopped a few places to regroup. Also, I learned how to ride down this one particular obstacle that I have never ridden down. The guys in the club gave me some pointers on the proper line to take and after watching a few guys go down, I attempted it. My heart jumped as I went down it but I made it and realized that it is not as bad as it looks.

After the ride, 4 of us went on a run. We ran about 4 miles of the 6.2 mile course. We ran pretty fast-much faster than if I had been running on my own. But I kept up and felt pretty good. I was trying out some new shoes which seemed to work out pretty well. All in all, it was a good workout and I think I learned that although I may not be properly trained for this race, I should be able to do OK.

I am predicting that it will take me about 3.5 hours to do the course. I won't be anywhere close to the leaders who will finish in just over 2 hours. Of course they are pro athletes who do this sort of thing for a living. The best thing I can do from this point forward is to rest, stretch, sleep, eat right, hydrate and on race day-do my best and forget the rest.