Xterra Bama
Race morning was calmer than usual for me. No real nerves but rather out for a day of business. I did my usual routines, checking and re-checking equipment. I had earphones plugged in while enjoying some upbeat tones when Dan approached me with a look of dismay on his face. With the question to rent my wetsuit as the Pros had been given the nod on a wetsuit legal swim. I knew I had my speed suit in my bag so with no hesitation I prompted him to take the suit. I lost a about a minute 10 seconds on my swim but it was ok, it forced some more focus on form and technique.
1st 25-29
4th Amateur Overall.
Happy to type the details above. With race memories subsiding in mind, having taken the last few days to regenerate I can now build on the confidence that has come from Bama. I arrived on Tuesday evening before the race, having road tripped with a fellow Texan some 12 hours east from Dallas. We made a brief stop in Mississippi to stretch the legs with a casual 3 mile jog. Since my last blog/vlog I shifted the focus greatly onto my run and I am starting to reap some benefit.
The rest of the week I was told by Boo that making sure I hit my run volume for the week was priority .So with no real taper for this race I tried to stay off my feet whenever I could to ensure some kind of worthy performance but made sure I hit my target run volume for the week.
Dan Hugo and I in transition pre race.
The morning was slick as rain sucomed to gravity and steadily fell on us. I knew the bike course would be a challenge for most on the day and I also knew that I had the wrong tire setup. It was too late to change Orange Seal and setup new tires so I stuck with it and dropped my tire pressures lower than usual. My plan was to conserve on the technical sections and drive hard on the sections I could. I came into transition as 2nd amateur overall and in about 15th place overall ahead of several Pros and began opening up my stride on the flat road section before entering into the thick canopy of trees. Somewhere around mile 4 the stride changed to the "Kansas city shuffle" and I fell to 4th Amateur and 19th overall. With two weeks focused on running I have definitely found some improvements. Im moments away from having that ideal race where everything aligns like Orion or better known as the 3 sisters.
Because thats how we roll in Xterra.
So for now I continue to increase the volume and focus on the bigger picture. I want to thank everyone for all the race morning messages and support. It fuels the performance more than you know. To my Sponsors thank you.
Next Race Xterra Richmond, East Coast Champs 8th of June.
