Xterra Oak Mountain Off-Road Triathlon Race Recap (Karel)

 

On Friday morning, Karel drove from our hotel to the race venue at Oak Mountain state park (~5 miles away) for his pre-race workout while I stayed at our hotel (Homewood Suites) to do a run (and to not be gone too long from Campy). Around 9am, Karel did a ~1000 yard open water swim followed by a ~1 hour mountain bike followed by a 2 mile run. He said the trails were pretty quiet and he really enjoyed being out in nature. He did just enough movement to move some blood and test out the new gear. Karel was having so much fun on his mountain bike that if it wasn't for the race, I'm pretty sure he would have spent all morning out on the trails. As for my run, I ran around our hotel area (which was very beautiful) on the hilly roads for ~50 minutes and included 5 x 20 sec strides at the end. 

As for the rest of the day, we worked for a bit in our hotel room and then went back to Oak Mountain State Park around 3pm so that Karel could get his race packet and for me to register for the 20K trail run on Sunday. The overall race vibe was pretty laid back and was a refreshing change from the 2000+ participants at an Ironman branded triathlon event. We met new people and saw a few familiar faces. 

I was craving an open water swim in the beautiful lake and with the buoys set up for the race, I swam the 1500 yard race course (~21 minutes) that Karel would do for his race on Saturday. The water was the perfect temperature in the low 70's (wetsuit legal) and I loved being in the murky waters surrounded by nature. After my swim we made a quick stop at Publix so that Karel could pick up some chicken to go along with the rice that we brought from home and then we headed back to our hotel. We had a nice kitchen in our hotel room which made it easy to prep food. 

As for the rest of the evening, we got a bit more work done and then we were in bed around 8pm. 

Race Day

The alarm went off at 5:45am, which again, was a wonderful change from the typical 4am wake-up before an Ironman distance triathlon. With the race not starting until 8:25pm for Karel (Full distance of 1.5km swim / 33km mountain bike / 10km trail run), it was nice not to feel rushed in the morning. We left the hotel around 6:45am and arrived to the race venue around 7am. Karel did a short jog before an open water swim warm-up and as we neared 8am, it was getting closer to the race start. 

As a first-timer, this was the first time that Karel set up his transition area for an off-road triathlon. He did a few looks around to see what other people were doing. Karel was not nervous but instead, super excited. 

He kept telling me how excited he was that he gets to ride his mountain bike and run on trails for a race. It was refreshing to hear the excitement coming from Karel as I knew this change of scenery would be so good for him - mentally and physically. The athletes were so nice and welcoming and Campy even got a few butt rubs from athletes. Although Campy can get rather feisty and protective, he was very chill and calm (likely due to being a bit tired from all of the adventures). Still at 13.5 years old, Campy is staying strong and lives for his adventures with us. It was great to see our athletes Eedee and Josh at the race venue and to see a few more familiar faces. 

After the shorter distances went off, it was time for the professional field of men and women, and then it was time for Karel's race start. Xterra did a great job keeping athletes staff and following CDC guidelines. This was the first race back in the US after COVID so the race staff was really happy to be back and to welcome the athletes back. There's something about these smaller races that make athletes feel so welcomed and cared about.

1.5K Swim - 21:10 (1:25 min/100meters)

Karel was a little worried about how the trail situation would be with slower/faster riders and having to pass or be passed so he lined up near the front of the swim. Karel was able to settle into his race rhythm pretty quickly and felt really good in the water. With just three turn buoys, it was easy to keep that rhythm throughout. Karel got a little bothered as another athlete was swimming right next to Karel and kept running into him. After several minutes of this, Karel made a surge to get away and to get back to swimming in clean water without disturbances. The air temperature was perfect - cloudy and in the 60's. 

T1 - 1:38

After exiting the water, Karel ran into the transition area and to his bike (racks were first come first serve and not assigned by bib number. This transition was a bit new to him with his camelback, mountain bike shoes and cycling gloves. He opted not to wear the cycling gloves but put on his hydration back, shoes, helmet and sunglasses and then made his way out of the transition area. He buckled in his camelback as he was riding as the first few minutes were on the paved road before getting on the trails. He felt like his transition was a bit slow so he will practice it to get it a bit smoother.

33K Bike - 1:38.43 (12.03mph)

Karel had a blast. He was able to shake off the swim pretty quickly and get into his element of having fun off road on two wheels. Karel is loving his new Specialized full suspension mountain bike (which he picked up on Thursday at Bob's Bikes in Alabama) and he really enjoyed not having to be in the aerobars (and "only" riding for a little over 90 minutes). The course was technical and included some water crossings, climbing and descending. There was a very rocky section that Karel pre-rode on Friday but opted to get off his bike on race day and run down the rocks instead of riding just to be sure he didn't make any silly mistakes. Karel's worry was being too aggressive on the mountain bike (aka having too much fun) but after not really riding a mountain bike in almost a year, he minimized the risks as he wants to practice a bit more to get the feel of choosing the right line and better handling his bike on the sketchy sections. The course was really well marked and the volunteers were great. Karel never looked at his computer but just stayed hyper focused on the terrain. He was really happy that he had the camelback as it made it much easier to stay hydrated and fueled. He did have one gentle fall as he was trying to pass two riders and asked to pass a few times but they wouldn't move over for Karel to pass. So Karel tried to squeeze by but he slide and fell. He was finally able to get by. Karel was by himself for a while and then got passed by another rider who finished just in front of him at the finish line. Karel actually liked having the guy in front of him on the bike as he could watch the lines that the guy took on the bike. Some guys were riding super hard and Karel was very impressed with the competition ahead of him. After dismounting the bike, Karel was wondering what his legs would feel like for the run. With so much torquing on the mountain bike, his entire body was tired as he ran in the transition area. 

T2 - 1:26
The bike to run transition was a bit quicker and Karel put on his new ON trail shoes (and socks), grabbed his flask of his sport drink and stuck it in his kit pocket and put on his hat and he was out. As he made his way out of the transition area and then on to the pavement, he instantly felt his quads. He said he never feels his quads when he runs but this was an entirely different run-off-the-bike feeling. With no specific training for this event, Karel was just learning as he went along. 

10K Run - 48:46 (8:08 min/mile)

The run course had a bit of everything. There were some short steep climbs but overall it was rolling. There were some technical sections with rocks, trees to jump over and wooden bridges but for the most part, it wasn't rooty. Karel was focused on the ground under him but his legs were aching from the bike and his entire body was sore and tired. He totally underestimated the difficulty of running after mountain biking but he also had fun experiencing something new. Normally the run is where he is able to run down the competition ahead of him but this time around, he was just trying to not get passed. Some of the guys ahead of him were running really fast and again, he was in awe of the fitness and skills of the other competitors. The run course had about 600 feet elevation gain (the bike course had about 1500 feet) and it went by really fast. Aside from the first few minutes of running on the pavement and the last few minutes of the pavement, the entire run was off-road, tucked under the trees and one exposed section by the lake. 

As Karel made his way to the last off-road section before the finish line, he was relieved that he was about to finish his first off-road triathlon - but more surprised with how much fun he had during the race. He had no idea of his finishing place or time so he was shocked to hear that he won his age group and was 5th overall amateur male. Total time - 2:51.41. Full results here.

With no expectations or pressure, Karel found himself in his element - being competitive and having fun. This was a welcomed change from the road as he is normally in a world of hurt during a long distance triathlon but this was a different type of hurt. It was such a joyful way to be competitive and there's something special about racing in nature (and loving what you are doing in the moment). 

With his first place age group finish, Karel qualified for the 2021 Xterra World Championship in Maui, Hawaii in December!

Here's a recap video of the event:        

 After receiving his awards, we made our way back to the hotel (with an exhausted Karel and an even more exhausted Campy), a quick stop at Arby's for Curly fries and a Rueben Sandwhich for Karel and then to watch the Giro. It was then time for me to recover from the morning and gear up for my first trail run on Sunday.

My race report coming soon....