Clement PDX Tubular Tire Review

After a couple seasons of pinch flatting clinchers and burping tubeless tires, I decided to go all in with tubular wheels and tires this Cyclocross sesaon. I'm running Clement PDX tubulars and so far I'm extremely impressed with the performance and reliability. It was my first time gluing tubulars and I used the Belgium tape from Cyclocross World and three coats of Mastik One glue on each surface. Some people argue that this is overkill, but my theory is that overkill never killed anyone. As you can see in the picture, it's not the prettiest glue job, but I "rode em like I stole em" during three races without a hint of rolling off the rim. I even felt the tire roll onto the sidewall on a fast grippy corner where I had to lock up the rear wheel to avoid running over a downed rider. None of my previous tubeless setups would have survived that scenario without burping. Besides increased reliability, the other benefit is the ability to run extremely low pressures without pinch flatting. So far, the sweet spot for my 80kilo is 36psi rear and 33psi front. The low pressure makes the tires feel extremely smooth on grass, and combined with the aggressive tread of the PDX, the grip is outstanding through mud and loose gravel. They do howl a little more than some other tires on pavement, but there is far more time to be lost in mud and loose gravel than made up on paved sections during a CX race, so I'll take the tradeoff. Four Momentum teammates are also using the same tires. The overall consensus is positive, but two of them did manage to puncture both front and rear tires during the first CX race this season. Three of the punctures are holding well with superglue and Stan's sealant, but the other had to be replaced. None of the others have had issues after 3-4 races, so it might have been something on the course. Thanks again to Cahaba Cycles.I'll post an update at the end of the season. Omar

Adventures in 1x10

After 4 months and over 1000 offroad miles, I'm really pleased with the 1 x 10 drivetrain that I’m training on this year. My main goal was improved reliability over a standard mountain bike setup with front shifting. I'm riding a Niner EMD with the following setup: -Shimano M785 Crank w/Homebrew 32 middle Chainring and BBG outer bashgaurd -Sram XX 11-36 Cassette -Shimano HG-94 Chain -Sram X9 shifter mated to a short cage X7 derailleur -N-Gear jump stop chain guard. So far, the aluminum frame and crank have proven stiff enough to provide a drama free riding experience. The middle ring chainline and heavy duty Homebrew chainring continue to provide chainsuck free riding in the worst conditions, even when starved of chain lube. The short cage rear derailleur combined with the jump stop and bash guard continues to provide snappy and accurate shifting without any chain derailments, even when descending rough singletrack at over 30 mph. There is some audible chain rub between the inner plate surfaces of the chain and the chainring teeth when using the low and high extremes of the cassette, but it’s worth the added simplicity and reliability. So far, I haven't missed the extra gears, but I could see it being an issue on rides with fast pavement sections or extreme steep/long climbs. The chain made it about 3 months before stretching beyond 1/16th of an inch. This is about the same life that I get with chains on standard double ring drivetrains, so the wear rate is about the same. Thanks to Jonathan at Cahaba Cycles for helping me get everything sorted out.

Strollin

Last weekend, I loaded up the family and drove over to some of the newest trails in the Birmingham area at Red Mountain park. It was a great opportunity to spend some quality time hiking with my wife and daughter, and scout new cycling trails. Most of the trail open to cycling is wide, flat, and gravel, but their is at least one relatively long (~1/2 mile) and smooth singletrack climb open to bikes. The more technical trails are mostly closed to cycling. Overall, the park has a lot of potential as a cyclocross training area within riding distance from home. This was also the first time I really pushed the limits of the Bob baby stroller. The big wheels and suspension system made quick work of the rough stuff. I was skeptical that I could push the stroller through the rocky descent in the picture, but I was able to make it without any issues.

Superfly 100 Observations

This was my first year riding a full suspension bike since making the switch to 29″ wheels in 2008. It took a while to get my Trek Superfly 100 to my liking in terms of fit, shock pressure, and drivetrain issues. But once there, it quickly became my favorite mountain bike of the half dozen or so that I have owned over the years. The most noticeable differences between my SF100 and my last hardtail, are that I’m able to descend rough terrain with more control and speed and maintain momentum through rock gardens with greater ease. I’m notorious for damaging wheels and spokes on hardtails, but my wheels seem unphased this year under the full suspension. In my opinion, a large percentage of the extra weight associated with full suspension can be made up by getting away with a lighter rear wheel.

Most of the questions from other riders are about the modifications that I made to my SF100. In particular, I added the following:
1. Custom chain keeper that I made out of a K-Edge chain keeper and piece of metal from a handlebar basket mount
2. Seatpost water bottle mount
3. Zip tied pieces of innertube to make sure bottles only exit the cages when I grab them
4. Spare lightweight tube in space between seatube/toptube

I also used a Nokon full length housing cable to keep the rear derailleur shifting like new. My only complaint about the bike is that I sometimes accidentally knock the pro-pedal lever to the off position when grabbing waterbottles. I hear the solution is to simply turn the shock around, so that’s on my to-do list in the next few weeks.

Fontana Dam Jam

This past weekend I competed in my final major XC Mountain bike race of the year at Fontana Dam. The rain held off all weekend, but the humid 90+ degree temperatures still made it into the western North Carolina mountains. It was my first time racing Fontana, and it was truly an epic XC race course. The climbs were absolutely brutal in both steepness and technical difficulty, and the descents were blazing fast and technical. Given the difficulty, the race organizers let each of the CAT1 expert waves of riders vote for 3 or 4 laps. The under 30 crowd voted first and came out almost unanimously in favor of 3 laps. When the 30-39 vote came up, I quickly threw my hand up in favor of 3 laps. Unfortunately the 30-39 age-group is overrun with bicycle masochists who favored 4 laps. At 35-40 minutes per lap for top amateurs, that worked out to very long XC race. I tried to stay relaxed and bounced between 3rd and 4th positions for the first 3 laps. Despite being well hydrated, the fatigue set in on the last lap. Fatigue quickly escalated to leg cramps so brutal that I was forced to walk several climbs and even stop for a minute to rest. I cramped out of podium contention in 5th place, but gained a lot of insight into my weaknesses and race preparation. It was a humbling race experience that I look forward to improving on next year. Even though the race didn’t go as well as planned, I had the loving support of family with me, and it was a great excuse to drive the Dragons Tail!

Bumping and Grinding

This past weekend was a weekend of firsts for me… 1st-born child came home from the hospital, 1st Bump and Grind Expert XC Race win, and 1st Super D Race win.
Sydney entered the world at 10am on Thursday June 2. Fortunately we had great support from our parents over the next few days in the hospital. I ended up spending the nights and mornings in the hospital and loosening up or racing in the afternoons. It's all a blur now, but getting away and riding for a few hours each day definitely helped keep us all from overwhelming each other.

Once again, BUMP put on an amazing Bump and Grind Mountain bike race weekend. I can't help to think how lucky I am to have the biggest XC race in the Southeast right in my own town. BUMP added the Super D to the events this year, and it consisted of about 70% downhill and 30% climbing. I focused on minimizing braking, holding the quickest lines through the single-track, and hammering the short climbing sections. In the end, I managed to take the win by over a minute on the 4.5 mile course. It certainly helped that I've been riding the course on a regular basis for the last 4 years, but I also give credit to my Trek Superfly 100. Compared to the hardtail that I normally ride, the full suspension felt like I was cheating on the fast and rough downhill sections. The Super D was a reminder of the high adrenaline downhills that made me fall in love with mountain biking as a kid.

The weekend of racing ended with the XC race on Sunday. With near 100 degree temperatures, and over 31 miles of trail, it was more about energy management than anything else. I had to dial my pace back on the climbs to keep from overheating. Fortunately, I was able to make up for it by staying focused and railing the twisty single-track with few mistakes. In the end, this strategy worked to hold on for the race win. It was a truly memorable weekend!

Omar

2011 Xterra SE Championship

What does it take to beat a top professional Xterra Triathlete? This past weekend, I attempted to find out the answer to this question by forming a relay team with 2 other Birmingham locals. Right now I’m focused on XC mountain bike racing, so I figured with two other single sport focused local athletes, we could easily shake up the professional podium.

Since I’ve recently spent more time on cycling podiums than in the pool, I decided to go with another former college swimmer for the swim leg. In addition to swimming in college, he still swims 2 -3 times per week and competes in road triathlons. The runner was a local distance runner who ran in college, and regularly runs 10k’s in the low 30 minutes range.

The 1500 meter swim started off with a mass start and the lead field of professionals quickly gapped all of the amateurs. At the end of the swim, we were about 4 minutes down on the top pros. With fresh legs and no equipment to fumble with in transition, I took off strong on the 20 mile bike and managed to pass a number of amateurs and a handful of pros. Unfortunately, the gap was too big to close, and the top 5 pros still managed to out split me by anywhere from one to six minutes! Our runner faired a little better, and managed to hang within a minute of the fastest pro run splits in the 5.5 mile trail run. At the end of the day we ended up behind the top five pro men in sixth place overall, and 9 minutes off the lead.

So what does it take to beat a top professional Xterra Triathlete? Maybe I’ll figure it out next year… One thing I did learn is that the top professional Xterra triathletes are phenomenal athletes who can outgun most single sport amateurs (and some professionals) at any of the three disciplines.

Omar

2011 Ft. Yargo XC Race

This past weekend, my wife and I headed over to Georgia for the annual Ft. Yargo XC Mountain bike race. The race wasn't until Sunday, but we decided to head over to Atlanta on Saturday to grab some great seafood at Six Feet Under (Yes it's across from a graveyard!) and head over to Athens to watch the annual Twilight Criterium. The criterium is combined with a street festival and turns out to be one of the biggest cycling events in the country year after year. Needless to say, we had a great time watching the racers dive into 90 degree corners at speeds exceeding 30mph. Check out Brian Toone's race report here for more on the Twilight Criterium.

I was still feeling the excitement from the twilight on Sunday. Despite having to rely on a demo bike, I managed to ride a strong race. I started the first of three laps staying towards the back of the lead pack of five riders. I was sitting comfortably in 4th going into the second lap when the two leaders got tangled up in a crash. As the other riders regrouped I pushed hard going into the singletrack on the second lap. I kept the pressure on the pedals until I knew I was comfortably in the lead with a few miles to go on the last lap. Everything came together in the end for my first race win of the season!

Omar

Xterra Ft. Yargo

Despite downpours, the annual Xterra Ft. Yargo took place this past Saturday in Winder, GA. The Ft. Yargo course is a notch down in difficulty compared to the longer Cup races with intense climbs. This makes it a great way to start off the Xterra season. After a long winter of short course pool swimming, my arms started screaming for mercy about half way into the 800m lake swim. A few more weeks of long course swimming will help my open water form. I spent a lot of time on the bike this year, and it paid off when I finished the muddy 10 mile bike course within a minute of my time last year in the dry. My effort on the bike resulted in the fastest bike split of the day and 1st place overall position going into T2. Unfortunately, my extra time on the bike this year meant less time running, and it showed when I ended up in 3rd place overall (1st place AG) by the end. Despite the inclement weather, Xterra Ft. Yargo was a well run event, and I had a great time. Time to run...

Omar
www.ozonexterra.com

Tsali XC Race Weekend

Leading up to this past weekend, half of my attempts at mountain bike races this season were tarnished by mechanicals and horrific weather. I enjoyed a great change of fortune on Sunday after successfully completing the annual XC race at Tsali. It was my first trip to Tsali, and it was well worth the 6 hour drive from Birmingham. The trails were in great condition and lived up to their legendary speed and flow. This years course started with an 1/8 mile climb up a jeep road to the first section of singletrack. After getting stuck in eighth position behind a small pileup at the entrance to the singletrack, I managed to battle through the field for a second place finish. I’m still trying to get my Xterra legs used to fast paced XC race starts.

After the race, my wife and I left Tsali and drove to Asheville NC for a short2 day vacation. It was our first time visiting Asheville, and we had a great touring the Biltmore, visiting Mt Mitchell, and enjoying great food in the surprisingly Bohemian downtown area. We capped off the awesome trip by taking the scenic route home through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.

Omar
www.ozonexterra.com

Stans Crest Wheels

High quality wheels are one of the biggest bang for the buck bicycle upgrades. I recently purchased a wheelset built with Stans No Tubes new Crest 29er rims. Cahaba Cycles built the rims with an American Classic front hub and DT 240 Singlespeed rear hub. Check out my last post for why I’m using a singlespeed hub on a bike with gears.

Standard black rims were out of stock, so I got a set of the powder coated white version. Even with the powder coating they were 370 grams each out of the box on the shop scale. As a reference, typical high quality 29er cross country rims are ~100 grams each heavier. This is my first experience with No Tubes rims, but they have noticeably short sidewalls. In fact, the sidewalls are so short, I was skeptical that a tire would stay on securely. However, just the opposite is true. I tried several tubed and tubeless setups with various Bontrager tires and a Seguaro tire and had excellent results. Tires emit a secure popping noise when seated properly on the rims. The only setup issues that I had were when I omitted the soapy water step and blew a tire off. Apparently the soapy water does help seat the tire bead! Notubes has extremely detailed and helpful setup videos on their website.

So how do they work on the trail? Acceleration is noticeably quicker. I managed to pinch flat one day when I hit a large rock while riding with a tube. I’m ~190 lbs geared up and the rim survived without any damage. The short sidewalls provide less leverage so this makes sense. After about 12 hard rides, neither wheel has required truing. Best of all, my bike is a pound lighter over the stock wheels set up tubeless. The majority of savings are from lighter rims and the lack of rubber rim strips required with No Tubes rims. So far, the rims are living up to their hype.

Omar
www.ozonexterra.com

Xterra World Championship

This past weekend, I competed in the annual Xterra World Championship in Maui Hawaii. This year, I finished the course over 40 minutes faster than my first and last attempt in 2007. My final time was strong enough to finish third in my age group and complete my goal of making it onto the podium. I credit my successful performance this year to several factors, not least of which was focusing on improving all of my weaknesses from my 2007 attempt.

Starting with the swim, the 500+ person field made the Xterra mass start complete mayhem. If you're trying to get out towards the front, its almost a certainty that you will either get hit, kicked, or possibly even dunked as everyone charges for the first buoy. Unlike the Xterra U.S.
Cup races, which utilized calm lakes, the swim in Hawaii took place in the ocean. The waves added another layer to the excitement and difficulty. After loosing time in 2007 due to poorly navigating the rectangular course, I made sure to do pool drills this year that involved sighting. By swimming in a straighter line I was able to improve my swim time by a few seconds and also save valuable energy for the rest of the race.

The transition to mountain biking occurred after a short run up from the beach. The bike course started out on flat pavement and turned up a fire road that zigged and zagged along the south face of the dormant volcano, Mt Haleakala. Besides the 2500+ ft of climbing in 19 miles, the bike course was littered with sharp loose rock to make things more difficult. The weather this year left the course a little smoother than past years, but the lack of shade and multiple steep and rough grades still made the ride incredibly strenuous. Going into the race, I spent a lot of time this year incorporating intense climbing in my training... something that was missing from my training the first time around.

The first 2/3 of the 11k run was very similar to the bike course. Once through the hilly rock strewn portion, the run dumped out onto a beach for close to a mile of running on the sand. In 2007, I was so fatigued after the bike that I suffered from serious cramping issues that slowed me to a walking pace for a good portion of the run. However, by including more intense runs and hills in my workouts, I made it through the run without any issues this year. Overall, I was extremely happy with my final result. Every completed Xterra is a learning experience for the next time. Maui was no exception, and I look forward to more big improvements the next time around.

Xterra South Central Cup - Arkansas

This past Saturday, I battled the 95+ degree heat for the top amatuer title in the Arkansas Xterra Cup Race. Instead of the typical two lap format of most Xterra Cup Races, the 1500m swim was one big lap around a waterski slalom course. The combination of 20+ minutes of swimming with no break and 85+ degree water temperature made the swim noticeably more difficult than usual. After leaving T1, it took a full 20 minutes of riding before the fatigue in my arms wore off. The bike was a fun 2 lap course through mostly shaded rolling singletrack. I managed to stay cool during the bike by following Pro Will Kelsay's advice, and stuffing a ziplock bag of ice down my jersey in T1. I also decided to wear a Cammelback to ensure that I took in enough fluids to get through the entire race. With the lead secured after the bike, I hit the run determined not to let anyone by. Most of my recent training focus has been related to running. Luckily, it paid off in my ability to maintain a consistent pace and hold on for the ameteur race victory. Next Up, Racoon Mountain SERC Mountian Bike Race...

Omar

http://www.ozonexterra.com/

29 " Wheel Comparison - Shimano vs Bontrager

Occasionally I get to demo new products. Over the last two weeks, I have been riding and racing on Shimano's latest 29" MTB wheelset. My reference point consists primarily of my season old Bontrager Race-X Lite Wheels that came with my Gary Fisher Superfly.

After over 100 aggressive MTB miles, the Shimano wheels have held up extremely well. I removed the tires and valve stems and weighed the two wheelsets back to back. Both had stock skewers, tubeless rimstrips (Bontrager wheels only-Shimano doesn't need rim strips for tubeless), stock 160mm rotors, and Shimano XT 11-34 cassettes attached. Amazingly, both wheelsets came in at 2lb 5oz front and 3lb 4oz rear. Although they won't win weight weenie contests, they are light by 29" standards and within 1/2 lb of similarly priced 26" wheelsets.

The hub quality and engagements of both rear wheels feels nearly identical. The Shimano uses a straight pull spoke design (no 90 degree bend at the hub), which supposedly allows higher spoke tension and greater stiffness. Although the spokes are laced noticeably stiff, I was unable to tell the difference in stiffness while riding. The Bontrager wheels require a rimstrip to run tubeless. Shimano seals the spoke holes, so no strip is required. Both systems work flawlessly with tubeless setups. However, Shimano's system seems to make spoke nipple replacement a factory only procedure. In my 20 years of riding bicycles, I have never had to replace spoke nipples, so this shouldn't be an issue.

There were really only 3 noticeable performance differences between the two wheelsets. The bearing drag is slightly higher on the Shimano hubs (possibly due to the relative lack of miles). The closing mechanism feels less stout on the Shimano skewers than the Bonty's. Finally, the Shimano's use centerlock brake rotors instead of 6 bolt. Fortunately the 09 Bonty's now use the lighter and easier removal centerlock design. At $700/set, the Shimano's retail for $200 less/set than the new Bontrager wheels. In conclusion, the lower price and equally performing Shimano's are a great buy for a no fuss high performance cross country wheelset.

Omar

www.ozonexterra.com

A Long Weekend

After two days in a row of racing, I finally regained enough energy to blog about it...

Saturday morning's Xterra triathlon in Winder Georgia started off with a half mile lake swim. After training in pools all winter with the luxury of walls to rest between laps, the first lake swim of the year was a small shock. Luckily, I have been swimming consistently this year, so it wasn't as bad as past years. Although I was third out of the water, I had a great T1 and started the 10 mile mountain bike leg in first. Friday's wetsuit emergency didn't leave any time to pre-ride the course. Fortunately, I had luck on my side as I safely navigated the bmx style jumps through one of the most technically challenging Xterra courses that I have ever ridden. I gained a sizable lead on the bike course, and despite recently overcoming a running injury, managed to comfortably hold form for 4.5 miles and take the race victory.

Sunday's 30 mile mountain bike race followed the same course as Saturday's Xterra bike leg. Once the horn went off for the 3 lap hammer fest, the lead group started off in a punishing pace. The fatigue from the previous day's triathlon set in before the end of the first lap. As the lactic acid quickly started to build, I slowed to a more sustainable pace and switched into training mode rather than race win mode. Although the mid-pack eighth place finish won't do much for my race resume, I added a thick layer of toughness that will pay off this season...

Omar
www.ozonexterra.com

Snake Creek Gap Time Trial

This past weekend, I competed in the third and final 2009 Snake Creek Gap Mountain Bike Time Trial . Compared to my last few attempts, I was far more prepared. I decided to use an underseat tool bag and three 24 oz waterbottles instead of my heavy camelbak. The three bottle decision was based on the sweat test I completed last year, which basically told me that I sweat like a horse. I decided that 72 oz was the minimum amount of fluid that I could take in over a 3 1/2 hour race effort in 70 degree weather. Luckily, I nailed it exactly by finishing without any cramping issues. I also made sure to order my custom Infinit Nutrition formula for hydration.

I decided to wear a HR monitor for this race. I don’t normally race with one, but for a race this long and intense, it was vital in helping time my fluid intake and ensure I didn’t push too hard in the first half of the brutal 34 mile course. Finally, thanks to Jonathan Robins at the Cahaba Heights store, we figured out that I was riding about 1.5 inches too low on the saddle. Riding with a low saddle has the same effect as trying to get up from a one foot stool vs a three foot stool. Although the additional height made some of the technical downhills a little scary, I more than made up for it in increased pedaling efficiency. Thanks to the additional preparation, and near perfect riding conditions, I managed to knock over 20 minutes off of my best time and take a podium finish in my first competition of the season.

The 3 series Snake Creek Gap offers a great pre-season training alternative. They also give out great swag to participants. Last year included a Snake Creek Gap top cap for threadless headsets. This year's memorabilia is pictured above.

Omar

www.ozonexterra.com

Xterra First Coast by Omar

Now that the sand & dust has settled, I can recap this years Xterra First Coast triathlon. My wife Kira and I drove down to Jacksonville on Friday before the race. With close to 500 miles separating Jacksonville from Birmingham, I’m glad we made the trip more than a day in advance. Since this was my first time at Xterra Jacksonville, I was lucky to have Xterra veteran Cahaba teamate Casey Fannin for the Saturday preride. This course is the mountain bike equivalent of the Dragons Tail , without the hills. Although it provides more grins than a rollercoaster ride, it is extremely difficult to master all of the lines in one weekend.
As the only Xterra on the US circuit with an ocean swim, and reports of a shark attack the day before, I was a little more tense than normal at the start of the swim. Fortunately, I overcame the tension (and the Jellyfish kiss to my shoulder) to put over a minute gap on the rest of the field coming out of the water.
I mounted my bike and put in a strong 1st of three laps. Still in the lead going into the second lap, I started to catch the tail end of the 200 competitor field. Although I managed to maneuveur through the traffic without much incident, I must have yelled “ON YOUR LEFT” close to a hundred times. Local mountain biker Sean Crichton caught and passed me on the second lap. As I came into the bike to run transition after lap three, I got a look at Sean still in transition. I decided to forgo my socks, threw on my shoes and blazed out of transition like an escaped convict. Although I managed to regain the lead, pro mountain biker Drew Edsall, managed to come from third and pass me in the final mile for the win. Casey dominated his age group, as usual, and finished a couple spots back in 4th overall.
Although one of my goals was to win, you never know who is going to show up on race day. In the end, it was a well run race and I had a great time. One other note: I won a small battle in my seemingly endless fight with cramping! I finally narrowed down the right combination of prerace and race nutrition to get through without serious cramping issues. Stay tuned for more details…

Xterra Lock 4 Race Weekend by Omar

My wife Kira and I kicked off the fourth of July weekend with Xterra pro Craig Evans and family in Spring Hill TN. After a fun Friday evening watching Dara Torres make swimming history and ducking the neighborhood fireworks shrapnel, the rest of the weekend focused on racing. Craig and I met up with local triathlete Bruce Gennari for a Saturday morning road ride. Since we were all racing the next day, I figured it would be an easy 2 hour stroll through the countryside. Unfortunately Bruce and Craig's idea of a stroll ended up being a 3 hour 60 mile sweat fest. Although it was a stronger training effort than I intended, I got to ride on the beautiful Natchez Trace parkway, and still had enough fuel in the tank for Sunday's Xterra.

Despite being down for a few weeks after crash out of the Buster Britton, I still managed to put together a pretty strong race. Weather and course conditions held up beautifully and I rolled across the the finish line second overall behind Craig and over 5 minutes faster than last year. Although I felt strong for most of the race, the lack of running over the last few weeks really made the 4.5 mile run hurt. I managed to make it through the run with slight abdominal muscle cramping and achilles pain that would have been debilitating if I pushed it any harder. It turns out that the achilles pain, which I thought was plantar fasciitis, is actually achilles tendonosis. With three weeks until my next Xterra, the JCC will consume more of my training time than usual. Core work and physical therapy on my bum foot will suplement running and most of my cycling time in the immediate future. I also have a Strassburg sock on order to try and speed the healing...

Xterra Southeast Race Report by Omar

It’s always satisfying to put together a solid race after months of training. With an age group win, 2nd place overall amateur finish, and a hand-full of pro’s in the wake, yesterday was no exception. Although I placed well, I was most thrilled about my huge improvement over last years’ performance. Even with a slightly longer course and hellish water and air temperature conditions, I managed to knock 8 minutes off of my time from last year.

Unfortunately, my overall improvement was not reflected in the swim. Although the 81 degree water temperature didn’t help matters, I still ended up over a minute slower than last year. I have three theories about this:
· I have no way of verifying, but the first swim buoy looked a whole lot further out than last year.
· After averaging less than 10,000 yards a week for the majority of the year, including a few weeks completely out of the water, my total time devoted to swimming was less than adequate.
· Increased muscle mass from additional cycling and running is turning my legs into anchors in the water
Since most of the elites were slower than last year, I’m leaning towards my first theory. Regardless, more time in the pool to increase core and upper body strength should help to offset any added leg mass, and restore that torpedo like body position from my college swimming days.
I felt very strong on the bike this time around. Although having home course advantage definitely helped, I had a much stronger engine this year. I was able to maintain a much quicker and smoother pedal cadence. This was a result of more than doubling my saddle time since getting on a road bike last year. I also have to give credit to having one of the fastest mountain bikes for the course.

While the majority of my improvement came from a much stronger bike leg, I also had a better overall run. After leaving transition, I got an immediate side cramp. This slowed my pace considerably for the first 3 miles. After mile 3, it finally went away in time to tackle the infamously technical and steep yellow trail. Additional attention to hill repeats in training this year gave me the capacity to actually run the entire course without stopping or walking.

Although cramping while on the run continues to be an issue, I feel like I have gotten much more control over it. Through better conditioning, a more dialed in prerace diet, and better race nutrition, I am finally getting a handle on it. Next up: Buster Britton…

Check out the race photos at http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/press_article.cfm?id=2215 (I’m in #19)

Bump and Grind

Sometimes a race just doesn’t go your way. That was the case for me this past weekend at the Bump & Grind MTB race at Oak Mountain State Park. 45 minutes into the race, I was drafting two other riders on a smooth fast section of fire road. While traveling at over 30mph, a brick sized rock was kicked up by the wheel of the rider in front of me and slammed into my rear tire. Even the tubeless tire was no match for the impact. The result was an immediate flat, a bent rim, a long walk, and a big DNF next to my name on the results.
Although I was disappointed, I wasn’t angry (like when I was once directed the wrong way on a course). This was just a freak accident that can’t be blamed on anyone. Bad draw. In hindsight, it’s probably a blessing. Since my focus is Xterra triathlons, and the Southeast Championship is this coming weekend, the 45 minute effort last weekend was probably the perfect event from a training standpoint. I even made a point to go ahead and get a 5 mile trail run in afterwards. I am soo ready!

Omar Fraser