XTERRA Appalachia, Penn Run, PA, 8/2/08

As Paul and I headed out to Indiana that morning, we both sat in silence listening to the pounding of the rain, wondering if it would stop. It had rained all night and relentlessly the entire way there. We wondered if the event would be cancelled. Upon arrival, however, the rain let up and there was no mention of cancelling or eliminating any leg of the race.

My preparation for my first open water swim was meager at best. I had attempted to swim at Crooked Creek Lake a couple weekends prior but that experience left me feeling even less confident than I had been before. The water was completely brown and I could barely see my hand in front of me. I could only swim about 20 yards before freaking out, having to return to the beach. All my swim training so far had taken place in the pool, and even that training was limited; I could count on both hands the number of times I had actually gone down to the pool to swim. I hoped that on race day I would leave all my insecurities behind and my competitive spirit would take over.

Needless to say I felt underprepared for the race, but there was nothing else that I could do at this point but to dive in. We started with a passive start and I walked out to the front of the pack. I knew I would be passed, frequently, but I needed as much an advantage as I could get. I started out strong for the first 20 yards or so and then I blew up…I couldn’t believe it was happening so quickly – how can I blow up after 20 yards? I couldn’t get a rhythm and was just thrashing about in the water. I’d swim a few strokes and then have to bob around to catch my breath. I’d like to say that I was doing the breaststroke in between my crawl, but that would be, as Paul says, “polishing a turd”. I was keeping myself from drowning while slowly moving forward, and I think even that was debatable at times.

By the time I exited the water I was nearly in last place with only about 3 people behind me. With my poor performance on the swim, you’d think I’d be anxious to hop on the bike, but I wasn’t. I knew what was in store for me next; at least, I thought I did. I knew that I would work the hardest during the race on the bike because that’s my strong suit and where I can make up some time. The first part of the course starts out on a gravel climb. Immediately I began passing people. With each person I passed, my spirit lifted and confidence crept up. I entered the single track and thinking back now may have even started to enjoy myself, until I got to the first climb. There are really only 2 or 3 tough climbs in this race – I knew that coming in since I had pre-ridden the course with some friends and the race director. The first major climb is incredibly steep with few switchbacks, not really providing any reprieve to the steepness of the climb. During the pre-ride I made it nearly to the top but had to dab on one of the switchbacks, and once you touch down, it’s nearly impossible to jump back on. I was dreading this climb but knew that once it was over it was “mostly downhill” from there.

Nothing could have prepared me for the conditions of the bike course. We’ve had a pretty muddy racing season but this was by far the worst. Being that I started the bike leg so far back, with about 70 riders tearing up the trail in front of me, it just made it that much worse. I didn’t get far on the climb before my legs and tires were spinning but I was going nowhere fast. I had no choice and had to jump off the bike. This was going to be a long hike. I would much rather ride my bike up any hill than hike it up. Give me the burn in my legs any day rather than the aching in my back. I pushed, and pushed, and pushed my bike, and then I pushed some more. Even after the big climb was over, what I thought was going to be “mostly downhill” was not and any slight increase in grade required 50 times greater effort in these conditions than it did dry. I could not believe the amount of effort that was required for me to pedal my bike. At least 3 different times during the race I had to clear out the mud that had clumped up in between my front tire and my fork, as my tire would get jammed up and refuse to move.

Even still, I was passing people. I had to seize every opportunity I had and go as fast as I could on the descents. Mud was flying up in my mouth and in my eyes, since I had broken my glasses and didn’t have any eye protection, but a little mud in my eye wasn’t going to stop me. I came to a flat section and came barreling through, still passing people. I passed one guy and came up to a 90 degree bend shortly after. There were big ruts in the bend and I took it too fast, and face planted right in the mud – great, just what I needed. I don’t know what it is, but that seems to be a reoccurring theme for me this year – pass someone, get ahead, gain some speed, lose control, face plant, humiliation, repeat.

I quickly hopped back on and flew back down the gravel road, again, mud flying in my eyes. Towards the end I was riding with one eye open since there was so much mud in my eyes. Fortunately the transition area wasn’t much farther and I hosed my eyes out with my water bottle once I got there.


Starting out on the run I felt pretty good. I knew that I just had to make it another 30-40 minutes and I would be done. I threw in my ear buds, put on my XTERRA race mix, ate a Hammer Gel and was on my way. The first half of the course was the most difficult with some really steep climbs, some I ran up, some I walked up. I’d like to think I gained some time with my unique downhill running style …you just let your body go and run like hell. Hopefully you don’t have to stop because there’s no controlling your body once you get going! About half way through the run, I was going through a grassy field and took my second face plant of the race when I tripped on a root that was disguised by the grass. It didn’t hurt really, just knocked the wind out of me. After about 35 minutes, I came out onto the road to the final stretch, picked up some speed, and sprinted to the finish.

Race Stats: 4th Overall, 1st in Age Class
Course Length: 15.5 miles
Finish Time: 2:14:40
Splits: Swim 24:28, Bike 1:15:15, Run 34:57
Heart Rate: No data for this race 