Xterra Appalachia Triathlon

I ran the Xterra Appalachia triathlon at Yellow Creek State Park for the second time in three years. The Xterra is a .5 mile swim, 15 mile mountain bike, and 4 mile trail run and is the only off-road triathlon around here. It is really well  organized by the team at American Adventure Sports and enthusiastic volunteers (including one woman who took these pictures.) I did this race two years ago and even though racing really isn't my thing (ask my wife....I'm never in a hurry), I found that having a goal like this keeps me biking and swimming throughout the summer to stay in 'relative' shape.  If I didn't have something to train for ...I would just, well ....only fish.

Pre-race.  I'm at the far right...hands on hips...serious mode.

The race started with the swim, which is my least favorite part (until you get to the run then that is my least favorite.)  No matter how much I train for swimming, you cant factor in getting punched and kicked in the pack of swimmers as you try to mow your way through a garden of lake weeds.  This year I thought I did the swim much better by staying on the outside of the pack and actually swimming a few hundred yards for a warm up before the race - two lessons I learned from two years ago.  The one thing I cant get over though is how crooked I swim without lane markers in a pool.  I completely veer to the right and probably made a .5 mile swim closer to .75 mile. I finished this leg in 23 minutes.



The mountain bike was next up and I can say I truly love to ride.  I have done this course a few times, so I remembered most of it including some previous crashes.  Two years ago, I got caught up in the race and turned a relatively small bump in a downhill into a launching pad for an endo into a jagger bush.  This year, I dialed it down some and didn't have one 'bad' wreck.  However, about mid-way through the race, we had torrential downpours, which made the single track greasy and technical, but racing in mud is fun and I finished in 1:57.





My favorite part....the mountain biking

 






















The last leg was a hilly trail run over roots, rocks, and logs.  With a bad ankle and knee I dont run anymore, so my plan was to just grit it out and plug through the 4 miles.  Good plan.  After the first hill, my legs were tighter than a snare drum and my knee felt like it was going to explode.  But I've been here before and just pushed through.  The 38 minute run was pretty slow, but I did finish that last .5 mile strong. My overall total time was 3'06 and a little slower than two years ago, but at this point, I was truly happy to finish the tough race and enjoy the fun day.