It started shortly after my Rev3 race in Maine: Too much travel, too many late nights, too much post race body and mind stress- too bad. I picked up flu. Or something which made my body ache, left me with no appetite (the real warning light) and anchored me to the bed without even the will to do my taxes or new website. Liezel calls it “Man Flu”.
Anyway, I was man down, missed about 2 weeks in training and ended up getting dragged to the doctor, and going on a 10 day antibiotic course, which ended just a few days before XTERRA USA Champs. Not the best prep, but other than staying calm, there was nothing I could do about it.
Training Peaks diary. Click here for interactive Training Peaks profile on Caveman. 3hr47min of training the one week, and 2hr30 the next. And seriously spikey ATL and CTL graph…
After much searching, we found the only real cure for “Man Flu”: Much wine and love… Being nestled (5 weeks) in San Luis Obispo- heart of the Central Californian wine lands- we fortunately had both ingredients on hand.
With the Man Flu better, I managed to squeeze in about a weeks’ training before it was time to taper again.
Took Black Beauty for a canter on Central CA coast cattle trails.
But before going to Utah, we had pack all our belongings in the US into one tired “new” minivan and park it at storage. (Mailed the road bikes and the “box with stuff for South Africa” to Kona) They say moving is one of the most stressful thing you can do. I’d say it’s THE most stressful.
Just ask Liezel! Here we are in the airport taxi.
People often presume the wife of a pro athlete lives a life in the lap of luxury- traveling the world etc etc. Umm, no. (Its not rugby or NFL- no private jets) Often its “grin and bear it”. A good sense of humour is key.
Surviving another near fatal flight when the props turned to rubber over LA. Flying in the US is like taking the bus in other countries.
Hectic travel is made considerably easier by quality luggage. Of the Thule veriety. Life is too short for bad luggage and weak coffee.
Once in Ogden Utah:
Pre ride the bike course:
The fall (autumn) colours are stunning. Ride slowly and hopefully legs will come round by Saturday.
It is the most beautiful course on the continent- in terms of scenery.
Too bad its all uphill. By the time one gets to the top of the 3400ft climb, (starting at 4900ft) , the altitude sickness is so bad, I dont care much for the view of the swim course down theeere. If the downhill would be an equal 3400ft, it would be a fair race, but unfortunately a quick, uninspiring drop “down” to T1 at 6500ft is not worthy of a National Championship event. 6 years in a row…
Press day: The good folks at XTERRA.TV promised to make me look good, but mumbled something about “it wont be easy”…
Live Pro panel discussion on the internet from ENVE Composites HQ. Social media is the hot item nowadays- got to stay with the times.
On the way home from press day I spotted an Old Car Show in the parking lot of a fast food joint and quickly convinced Liezel we should go check it out. “You only live once…”
The plaque above the wheel says: “Beware of the attack waitress” My Princess Hotstuff will crush the “Attack Waitress” like a Bud Lite can.
Everything on this plate is home made- in the garage- not the kitchen. Even the fries are carefully hand made from foam. And the “Attack waitress” has a $1 000 000 bill in her money belt. Gotta love the leopard skin hat.
Spider Monkey (in the back ground) and Paddy Behan drove the Specialized Racing Support truck all the way from Morgan Hill outside of San Francisco for this race. Spending time with these guys is such a treat. We all shared a house and much laughter was had. Its the first time I worked with the tall Irishman – thats obviously Paddy- and found him a treat. Full of energy, very enthusiastic, always eager to learn and especially work. And to ride his Stumpy after work. Most importantly, Spider Monkey (aka Joe Devera, used to be a pro rock climber- hence the nickname) was all over my bike, and needless to say, it was in showroom condition before and after every ride. If I rode till dark on Wednesday and my TV appearance is Thursday 9am, Joe and Paddy would be up at 7 polishing the bike. Bike care is just the obvious part of the job, but it goes much deeper:
The level of professionalism Joe brings to the team:
– When I cross the finish line, Joe is there with a wet towel to clean up with, a choice of drinks, Clif Bars, food and warm/clean clothes and a smile.
– He knows exactly how I like every part of my bike. The brakes- how much pull distance and the angle of the levers, he knows my tire pressure (but double checks at each race, just to be sure), he knows what I take in my saddle bag, he knows not to fiddle with my suspension settings, if there is a piece of equipment I should try, he would make a tactful recommendation. (Like not using road shoes & pedals for climbing races)
– When I get a new bike, Joe rebuilds every bearing, bolt and cable before shipping it – my saddle height, handle bar, which setting the Rotor Rings go, how I like my Squirt Lube chain stay sticker, Spider Monkey sticker etc. It comes already dialed in and marked for rebuilding after travel, every bolt tight. Whether it’s an Epic, a Shiv or a Roubaix- each bike has its own set up- Joe knows my measurements.
– When we rock up at a race town, he would ask for a grocery list and go buy groceries. But he only cooks after the race- he’s worried about poisoning the riders?!
And I’m just ONE of “his” riders- Todd Wells, Rebecca Rusch, Max Plaxton, Jesse Thomas, Ben Hoffman, Lisa Norden, Flora Duffy, Rasmus Henning, Melissa “House Child T” like he would say- to name a few.
These 2 bike pictures above and below were taken less an hour after my race. Although I suspect my bike was being washed while I was running…
More pre race day stuff: At the Paul Mitchell XTERRA University I teach “the Art of XTERRA”- giving tips and inside advice to age groupers the day before the race.
Race morning cold and crisp. High- and low five-ing the young fans. ie fellow pro Josiah and Adam Wirth’s kids.
Fixing the ejection seat on my Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit.
BOOM! the pros (in blue and pink) are off.
During my usual pre race pow wow with my coach Ian Rodger we discussed tactics: Ian said something like: “Well, with the 2 weeks you were down with the virus, we fell behind in training a bit and maybe you are dragging ass a bit with the antibiotics. (during training) So judging by the only quality bike ride you’ve done since then, its obvious your bike power is more like 420W instead of the usual 450W. So you’re going to have to ride the initial steeper parts more conservatively, and bargain on the less steep parts to roll on the power.”
I started the steep rocky climb up Wheeler Canyon more conservatively then in the past (like when I rode 1.40 into Lance) and understandably this time it took longer to catch the leaders, and instead of blowing by, they rode along for a while. Like Branden Rakita “the Hair of XTERRA” on his way to 5th place above.
Soon Josiah came flying past on a steep climb, but I latched on and on the flatter sections we reeled the leader Ben Allen in.
Well, at least there was nothing wrong with my Bike Kung Fu and on the short little descend in the middle of the 2 big climbs I aced (tied, actually) the Strava record (in training) and made some time on Josiah and Ben. (in the race)
For me to win on this course, I have to be 100% fit. At “normal” XTERRA races I can still fudge it a bit, relying on my skills With “only”420W under the hood, a 185lbs engine and 22lbs chassis, this course will always be tricky to win on. The last down hill on the profile looks good, but its pretty easy and high speed – not much room for creating time.
Profile borrowed from theterribletriathlete.com. Worth a read!
I started the run 45″ behind Josiah, but he was on form and crushed the run as well. I slipped to 4th, behind a much improved Aussie Ben Allen, who was only 10″ up on Nico Lebrun- the mountain man from France.
Much thanks to Nils Nilsen for the great pics. The ones with the NN in corner. And the unmarked ones by Trey Garman from XTERRA. Or the Caveman or -woman. It should be pretty obvious.
Josiah Middaugh cleaned the mountainside with us. Even had time to bring half the family home. (some more impressed than others!)
Since the day I beat him on his home mountain at XTERRA Beaver Creek CO in June, he has not shaved. His kids wore “Fear the Beard” t-shirts but I think that is where he carries his gels.
With Spider Monkey stoic in the back ground, (wet towel delivered) I ask Josiah (and apparently the whole world) “How long would it take me to grow a beard like that?”
My 10th XTERRA USA Series Championship title. What a ride.
2012 USA Series overall podium: 4th Craig “The Thighs of Belville” Evans, 2nd Josiah “Quickly shaved part of the beard before prize giving” Middaugh, 1st Cave Forgot to Smile man, 3rd David “Speedy Crocs” Heterosa and 5th Branden “The Hair Of XTERRA” Rakita.
The US Series had a lot of inside stories: I came in with 4 out of 4 wins so the Series win seemed safe, but if I finished only one position lower than 4th at this race, Josiah would have taken the Series and the $10 000 first prize. ( I didnt know this during the race) David is a really really fast mountain runner and was within striking distance on the top the climb, but flatted and stopped to repair. Craig was having a great race, but also flatted on the top and rode the flat wildly down the mountain to try save his 3rd place in the Series. In the end, Craig and David (both with flats) drew for 3rd, but David placed higher in the finals, so he took 3rd over Craig.
Further there were some inspirational performances in the Age Group races:
The overall age group winner (and 12th in pro race) was (barely) 16 year old Neilson Powless and the overall women’s winner (8th in pro women’s) and already a familiar face at XTERRA, was 16 year old Hannah Rae Finchamp.
Read the full XTERRA race report here.
After a few beers with friends and the Specialized crew, we packed up, headed for the airport and got on 4 different planes to land in Kona. Home of the Ironman. Below is a sampling of Fine Airplane Dining a la Liezel…
Heavy XTERRA Worlds training has already erupted. But no beard growing. A beard would seriously interfere with the romance of a location like this…
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