Vince Partridge Xterra 2010 race report
I knew the day before the race that this XTERRA thing was going to hurt a little bit, I had already crashed (ok fallen over while trying to get shoes unclipped) twice on the pre-ride with Jason Jablonski. This pre-ride by the way was one of the smartest things I have ever done before an unfamiliar race. Jason’s instruction and willingness to answer any question was invaluable for an XTERRA newbie like me. I was just hoping the 9 miles of mountain biking the day before was not going to blow out my legs.
Morning of the race was amazing, I have never been so relaxed and I attribute that to the RTB team members, volunteers and race directors. I also had no real idea of what I was in for. The water was warm and the swim was off, then things began to change when almost 160 athletes tried to get out of the water half way through the swim and run across a mysterious “XTERRA Island”. I figured I was already dehydrated when I saw Trev in a grass skirt and “Wilson” from Castaway fame sitting on the ground. My plan was to be steady and save energy for the bike and run. (Swim 24:43) Once back T1 went as well as expected, just had to focus on task at hand and don’t fumble with equipment. (T1 1:06)
Here comes the bike, or should I say specifically Mountain bike because they are not the same. In my opinion 15 miles on this course is about the same as about 43 hilly miles on the Tri bike at race pace or more in terms of feel and fatigue. I only crashed two more times on this day but a little faster this time and trees and stickers were my pillow. But who can feel pain when those endorphins I crave so much mask all. By about mile 12, I had a case of white line fever so bad I was talking to myself in my “outside” voice, but at least they were words of encouragement. The mental effort and focus involved in a mountain bike race of this nature is beyond anything I had ever experienced. I am sure this will come as no surprise to the mountain bikers out there as this is the reason people with mountain bike experience do so well in this type of venue. It really is amazingly fun to jump roots, rocks, streams, and other riders at race pace. Oh and race pace for a mountain bike rider can be around 2-3 mph for extended periods of time. So for a road Tri guy, my time on the bike made me ask myself what have I become? (Mountain bike 1:52:24) Really? For only 15 miles? You had to be there. (T2 0:59) Yeah baby!
Running time…aka leg gramps-r-us. Yes even with 4 gel packs and almost 2 liters of fluids I still cramped horribly after the first loop hill out of transition. Took me about the first two miles to work into what resembled a pace. It was much slower than I knew I was capable of but the muscles were angry. I hooked up with another competitor who provided huge amounts of encouragement. He even stopped with me when I had to stop and stretch after cramping on about mile 4. We continued talking and pushing ourselves harder each mile. He had the goal of finishing in 3 hrs 15 min or less. I took on his goal as my own and we finished side by side. He was a true testament to the character of the people who do these races. (Run 58:18) (Overall 3:14:26.8)
I finished sore, bloody and slower than I had anticipated but I gained a mental toughness that only competitors will truly know. Plus, I now have a goal to beat 3:14:26 next year. Thank you to RTB volunteers and race staff, now I totally get why XTERRA BD is #1.
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