Xterra Syracuse race report
jacksonpt
Posts: 10,413 Member
Since xterra races don't get much love around here, I figured I'd post a race report.
First, for anyone interested...
http://www.xterrasyracuse.com/
and
https://www.facebook.com/xterrasyracuse
1k swim
20k mountain bike
10k trail run
The race started with a 1k swim broken up into two 500m laps (rectangular, clockwise) by a short beach swim. It was perhaps the calmest water I'd ever been in, so the swim was actually fairly easy. I almost said it was fast, but at 14:26, it clearly wasn't fast.
I took my time in transition, as I always do, getting my HR down, my breathing under control, my wetsuit folded up and out of the way, helmet and bike shoes on, etc etc. 3:19 later, I was out on the bike.
An intermittent rain overnight and through much of the morning made the course really wet. The course wasn't very technical, so slick roots/rocks weren't a big concern. But it was greasy and muddy and slick in several places. There were 2 hike-a-bike hills, but otherwise the course was VERY XCish - lots of wide mowed double track made passing easy and constant rolling hills made passing frequent. The sections that actually demanded bike handling skills were a lot of fun and were clearly where I excelled. Any time I lost slugging through the grassy paths I more than made up for in the woods.
All in all, the course was decent, but I would have preferred more trail and less mowed path.
After grinding out the 20k distance in 1:30:37, I was off the bike. I racked the bike, changed my shoes, grabbed my bib and was off for the run.
The run course was a lot of fun. A good mix of technical trail, challenging hills, and flat walking path made for a good final leg of the race. Again, I would have preferred a bit more technical trail, but I thought the run course was very well suited to the location and to the event. The more technical sections forced you to be alert and tested your agility, endurance, and strength, while the flatter sections allowed you to settle into a nice rhythm. My quads were tight through most of the run, but I felt like I did pretty well. An official 9:05 pace for the 10k trail run was even better than I had expected.
I finished in 2:46:26, which was about 16 minutes slower than I had guestimated, but the course was slower than I expected, so my finishing time was in the ball park of my goal. I was 24 out of 75 overall and 4 out of 13 in my age group (35-39).
For the gear heads:
swim: aquasphere goggles, TYR Hurricane sleeveless wetsuit
bike: Waltworks steel HT 29er trailbike, 1x9 (32, 11-28), 120mm Fox TALAS
run: Inov8 TrailRoc 235
First, for anyone interested...
http://www.xterrasyracuse.com/
and
https://www.facebook.com/xterrasyracuse
1k swim
20k mountain bike
10k trail run
The race started with a 1k swim broken up into two 500m laps (rectangular, clockwise) by a short beach swim. It was perhaps the calmest water I'd ever been in, so the swim was actually fairly easy. I almost said it was fast, but at 14:26, it clearly wasn't fast.
I took my time in transition, as I always do, getting my HR down, my breathing under control, my wetsuit folded up and out of the way, helmet and bike shoes on, etc etc. 3:19 later, I was out on the bike.
An intermittent rain overnight and through much of the morning made the course really wet. The course wasn't very technical, so slick roots/rocks weren't a big concern. But it was greasy and muddy and slick in several places. There were 2 hike-a-bike hills, but otherwise the course was VERY XCish - lots of wide mowed double track made passing easy and constant rolling hills made passing frequent. The sections that actually demanded bike handling skills were a lot of fun and were clearly where I excelled. Any time I lost slugging through the grassy paths I more than made up for in the woods.
All in all, the course was decent, but I would have preferred more trail and less mowed path.
After grinding out the 20k distance in 1:30:37, I was off the bike. I racked the bike, changed my shoes, grabbed my bib and was off for the run.
The run course was a lot of fun. A good mix of technical trail, challenging hills, and flat walking path made for a good final leg of the race. Again, I would have preferred a bit more technical trail, but I thought the run course was very well suited to the location and to the event. The more technical sections forced you to be alert and tested your agility, endurance, and strength, while the flatter sections allowed you to settle into a nice rhythm. My quads were tight through most of the run, but I felt like I did pretty well. An official 9:05 pace for the 10k trail run was even better than I had expected.
I finished in 2:46:26, which was about 16 minutes slower than I had guestimated, but the course was slower than I expected, so my finishing time was in the ball park of my goal. I was 24 out of 75 overall and 4 out of 13 in my age group (35-39).
For the gear heads:
swim: aquasphere goggles, TYR Hurricane sleeveless wetsuit
bike: Waltworks steel HT 29er trailbike, 1x9 (32, 11-28), 120mm Fox TALAS
run: Inov8 TrailRoc 235
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Replies
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great race report man. i really want to do this race next year.0
