Having never done this type of event before, I was very thankful that the Xtreme Tri staff provided us with hotel suggestions (and discounted rates) which made it easy to plan out where to stay. Although we typically don't stay in hotels when we race (we prefer an Airbnb for the kitchen and space), the hotel option made the most sense for an easy check in and check out (and less effort searching for a place to stay). Since we stayed at our final destination until Tues after the race, I booked an Airbnb for our final two nights instead of using the host hotel.
I created an itinerary to help us and our crew (Alvaro) so that we always knew where to go and when. This helped tremendously so that we didn't have to search for addresses and start times/locations. The Xtreme Tri staff also gave each athlete a binder with all course maps and other information. This binder was super helpful for Al as he was crewing for us throughout the entire race.
Pre-Race
11/11-11/13 (Wed-Fri):
Lodging: Holiday Inn Crystal River
1203 NE 5th St, Crystal River, FL 34429
(Race start ~2.5 miles from the hotel)
- Athlete briefing was online.
- Packet pick up on Thurs late afternoon (near race venue).
- Hotel had a fridge and microwave - I brought most of our food (snacks and non perishables in a big Tupperware bin and a cooler for the rest of the food) but we also purchased some items at Publix grocery in the area. I also brought dishware so that we could eat anywhere, anytime.
- We brought a large variety of sport nutrition products. Although we each had an idea of the products we would use for bike/run (and pre race), we had a lot of other options just in case. We had Infinit, NBS carbo-hydration, Skratch, bars, chews and gels, Gu amino pills and Tums. We prepared our bottles the day before with powder and added water on race morning or just prepared the bottles with powder and water and kept in the fridge.
- We packed our transition bag (and run bag - provided from the race) the night before each stage. We also had a post race bag with cleaning wipes and towels, and a fresh set of clothes.
- With this being a smaller field race, we allowed ourselves ~45 minutes before the race start before arriving to the transition area/race venue.
- Race morning nutrition included waffles, nut butter, syrup, banana, yogurt and granola for me and oatmeal mixture for Karel.
- Karel brought his travel nespresso machine. I use instant coffee (Nescafe Gold) and brought the electric kettle for hot water.
- We used two huge bins (with a handle and wheels) to transport most of our stuff and also kept our clothing in duffle bags. I also prepared smaller Tupperware bins for easy-to-grab items throughout the race.
- We reviewed the course maps and loaded the course maps into our Garmin bike computers. The courses were marked with arrows and signs in most places. Because of COVID, this event was called a "gathering" so they could not put signage on trails or have port-o-johns at the venues (there was always the use of a public restroom).
- We went to bed around 8:30pm and set the alarm for 5am.
- We planned out our "official" SAG stop with Al (mile 66 of stage 1 on the bike) which was also a SAG stop with the event. There were several aid station opportunities along the course but we did the race self-supported on the bike (only relying on Al who kept our filled sport nutrition bottles in a cooler with ice and also had extra snacks/items for us if we needed it at our SAG stop).
- We set up our transition area like any other triathlon race.
Swim 2 miles in Crystal River. Bike 102 miles to Carney Island Recreation Area (Ocala, FL) and run 18.6 miles in Carney Island rec area.
Lodging:
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Silver Springs-Ocala
5360 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488
(Race finish of stage 1 was the same location as the race start of stage 2. Hotel was ~20 min drive away.)
- Having just raced for ~9 hours, it was nearing 5pm when we got ourselves ready to head to the hotel. We started the recovery (Skratch protein powder and milk from the cooler) immediately after the race and also snacked on salty chips, pretzels, cheeze-it's and anything else that appealed to us.
- We cleaned up with disposable "towel" wipes and dumped our dirty kits and towels into a laundry bag at the race venue.
- It was nearing 7pm when we finally settled into our hotel room after transporting all of our gear from the car to the room, unpacking, cleaning bottles and preparing some type of dinner for the hotel microwave (I had soup, tempeh, some romaine lettuce and tomatoes and bread and then a bowl of granola w/ milk. Karel had a veggie burger instead of the tempeh). We had a lot of energy dense snack food like bagels, breads, fig newtons, granola, dried fruit, etc. Of course, I had chocolate for Karel.
- We then spent the next 30-45 minutes preparing everything for the next stage - filling bottles with sport nutrition powder, charging electronics (our Garmin Varia bike radar, Garmin bike computer, swim/run watch, laying out gear and going through the course maps for the next day. I purchased an electronic organizer bag that came in handy for helping us charge all of our gadgets. I also brought an outlet power strip so we could charge multiple devices all at once.
- Each morning I would foam roll (lightly) for around 10 minutes and do the same before bed to work out any kinks (thankfully, Karel and I didn't have any niggles or issues throughout all 3 stages). We also had a recovery bag w/ trigger point gun, balls, foam roller (2 of them, one as a vibrating foam roller) and the Normatec boots. We would both use the boots for 45 minutes before bed (Karel would start first and then I would go). We also used MG12 cream to help with the recovery.
- We tried to get to sleep as early as possible. On stage 1 we went to sleep around 8:30-9pm but it was a restless night of sleep (never getting into deep sleep and waking up around 4:30am pretty exhausted and tired).
- We packed up the car again around 6:15am and made our way to the race venue to do it all over again.
Stage 2
Swim 2 miles at Carney Island rec area. Bike 73 miles to Camp Keystone in Starke, FL. Run 18.6 miles around Camp Keystone.
Lodging:
Camp Keystone
6581 SE 9th Ave, Starke, FL 32091
(Positive: staying in the same place that we finished and started stage 3! Negative, no microwave/fridge in the room).
Swim 2 miles at Carney Island rec area. Bike 73 miles to Camp Keystone in Starke, FL. Run 18.6 miles around Camp Keystone.
Lodging:
Camp Keystone
6581 SE 9th Ave, Starke, FL 32091
(Positive: staying in the same place that we finished and started stage 3! Negative, no microwave/fridge in the room).
- Our SAG stop to meet Al was around 50 miles into the bike. Karel and I were never more than ~10 minutes apart so it worked well for Al to drive to the SAG stop that we planned and then stay there until he took care of both of us with our bottles.
- Stage 2 was the most difficult (physically and mentally) as we were carrying around a lot of fatigue from stage 1 and a restless night of sleep.
- It was nice to only drive only a minute to our room on the camp site of Stage 2. We started our recovery with nutrition, a shower and after racing for 9 hours on Friday and almost 7 hours on Saturday, we were in need of a hearty meal. We called in a vegetable pizza from a local place (around 10 miles away) and Al picked it up for us. It was hard to eat it as our digestive system was starting to slow down from all the racing but we did our best to eat a few slices. We tried our best to refuel but it was tough this evening.
- Since we didn't have a fridge, Al also picked up some ice for our food.
- Karel went to sleep around 7:30pm as he slept really poorly after stage 1 and I went to sleep around 8:30pm. Al stayed out until 8:30pm to cheer for the athletes still out on the course. It was another light night of sleep but better than the day before.
- We went through the entire process again of refilling bottles, charging electronics (our bikes stayed charged throughout the three days but we had chargers just in case), preparing our gear/clothes for the next day, reviewing course maps and planning logistics of stops/bottles with Al. Oh and packing the car again.
- We "slept in" until 5:20am on Stage 3 and made our way to the race start around 6:45am (race started at 7:30am each morning).
Stage 3
Swim 2 miles at Camp Keystone, bike 68 miles to Marineland in St. Augustine, FL and run 13.1 miles to Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, FL.
Swim 2 miles at Camp Keystone, bike 68 miles to Marineland in St. Augustine, FL and run 13.1 miles to Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, FL.
Instead of staying at the Hammock Beach Resort, I booked an airbnb around 2 miles away (we stayed there until Tues). It was so nice to have a kitchen and a little extra space.
- Al met us around mile 44 on the bike for our SAG stop.
- Each stage Al would have a cooler for us with our filled bottles (or for the run, our running flasks), cokes (with twist off tops), ice and water. Although there were aid stations on the course, we kept this race pretty self-supported thanks to Al. We also reapplied AMP performance cream during the bike and always had extra nutrition available for the bike and run. During the run, Al strategically put the cooler in a place where we could access it several times throughout the run (twice each loop).
- The aid stations were well stocked for the athletes and the volunteers were incredible and so supportive.
- Karel and I wore our cooling towels for stage 3 as it was really hot (80's).
- For stage 3, the transition area from bike to run was located at a different place than the finish so Al met us around mile 6.5 of the run with the cooler. We could also access the cooler again around mile 10.5.
- The first thing I did when we arrived to our condo (after taking a well needed shower) was wash our big bag of dirty clothes and eat all the salty foods we could find (along with a hearty meal from Moe's).
- The awards ceremony was the next day at 10am, outside at a BBQ restaurant (limited vegetarian options).
Additional notes:
- Throughout the entire race, we had to follow the rules of the road and had to stop at all lights/stop signs.
- Al was not allowed in the transition area but he was able to hand us items outside of the transition area and get our gear (ex. wetsuits/goggles/caps) after we each left the transition area. The race staff would transport our run gear to T2 so it was there before we arrived.
- Al was allowed to run with us anytime during the race. Al ran with me for 12 miles during stage 1, 11 miles during stage 2 and 3.5 miles for stage 3. Because each run was 3 loops, Al was also able to take care of Karel (helping with his flasks) and also see Karel finish each stage (Karel was often 45+ minutes ahead of me on the run).
- Al would pick up ice from the gas station and anything else that we needed as we were out on the bike.
- We had to wear a bib number on the bike and during the run.
- No listening to music but we were allowed to carry our phones in the case of an emergency.
- The courses were well marked, although Karel would often be on the run course before they had finish marking it (speedy ;). Karel and I did get confused on day 2 and day 3 on the bike and run courses but we blame it more on being tired.
- The Xtreme Tri staff was incredible. They would build a transition area and finish line for each stage and have the entire bike course marked for the next stage. I can't explain how incredible the crew/staff was to put on this type of event and they always kept a smile on their face and had lots of cheers for the 17 participants.
- Logistically there was a lot that went into this race but that just made it more of a challenge - which is exactly what an Xtreme Tri should be. We didn't account for the changes in our appetite, sleep issues and all the packing and packing but we just stayed flexible and adaptable and never complained or got frustrated. And Al was a huge help - we could not have done this without him!
