Race Report: XTERRA Georgia Ft. Yargo Trail Race

Last weekend Amanda and I drove out to Winder for the second race of the 2013-14 XTERRA Georgia Trail Series at Ft. Yargo State Park. I was looking forward to this race ever since seeing it announced by Dirty Spokes during the summer. Ft. Yargo is one of my favorite places to run and the course that Tim set up did not disappoint.

 

We got there a little later than I would have liked but our plan to park at the A entrance and walk over to the start at the B entrance worked like a charm. I grabbed my number and exchanged a few pleasantries with all of the usual suspects. Amanda pinned my number on, which has been good luck, but for like the third race in a row she put one of the pins all the way through the jersey, pinning the front to the back. Thanks. I did a short warm up over the first mile or so of the course then talked to Matt McNamara (who I’ve now roped into two of these races) about what the course would be like.

 

The 8.5 mile trail course had a little bit of everything, fast sections of hiking trail and fire roads, twists and turns, up and down, everything. It started out on the inner loop hiking trail with a gradual climb before hugging the lakeshore until we reached the man-made dam. From there we were treated to a wide open flat section that led back into the woods and onto the main mountain bike trail. The first two or 2.5 miles were straight forward and relatively flat, which allowed for some fast racing early on. Once we hit the mountain biking trail things got more technical with more twists, turns and roots. Around the halfway point the course straightened out a bit that again allowed for a faster pace before we started dealing with some late race climbs. Like I said a little bit of everything.

 

Tim did a great job of making the course different from the half/full marathon course while still utilizing the same trails. Big shout out to the YABA (Yargo Area Biking Association) for maintaining a great trail system. Okay, now onto the race.

 

I didn’t see any of the normal front runners milling around the start area, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of the field. Going into this race, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold up the pace that I ran a few weeks before at Harbins for 8+ miles, so I planned to run more conservative and try to use my knowledge of the course to my advantage.

At the start I went right to the front to make sure was clear of any traffic and tried to settle into a fast but relaxed pace. I felt pretty strong early on and ended up building up a good size lead, probably 50 meters or so, but I was running comfortable. Once we hit the first mile marker, I felt like I was running well, but within myself. I tried to use the early part of the course to run in a good rhythm and stretch things out without getting in over my head. When we hit the mountain bike trail I tried to focus on maintaining a good tempo and working the course, running fast in the sections that allowed for it and using some of the other sections to recover.

 

By this point, I was all alone by a good amount, but I never really had a good idea of the kind of gap I had built up. For most of the race I figured it was probably around a minute or two. I’m not sure where that time came from, but I think it was mostly just me telling myself not to relax and to keep racing. I didn’t want to get caught, so I just kept telling myself to keep racing. I had a few spots where I slowed down more than I would have liked, especially late in the race, but it was probably for the best that I didn’t know how big the gap was. That way I just tried to keep pushing. Hopefully that mentality will pay off the next time I am close race.

 

Three races this fall and three wins. From here, I’m going to run the USATF Georgia 15k Championship on Saturday at the Peachtree City Classic then I’m planning to run the remaining XTERRA Georgia trail races before taking a little bit of time off to recharge before ramping back up for the winter and spring. I’m hoping to start working some more biking into my repertoire this year, we’ll see how that goes.

Here is the Strava data for the race:

A Look Back: September

September marks the end of training camp and the beginning of the NFL regular season, which means a slightly more normal work schedule. With that, training becomes easier and the possibility of racing returns. Surprisingly, I managed more miles (207) in August than in September (170), but I chalk that up to having road trips to Baltimore and Nashville that allowed me to run 10+ miles and the fact that I took a few more days off in September.

 

September was definitely successful for me. My mileage may be down substantially since the summer, but I still ran nearly every day (I take a day off either on game day or the day after depending on schedule, travel, etc.) and ran two solid races.

 

The first race was a road 5k down in the city, the Back to Football 5k presented by the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Track Club. I got a free entry for this race through work so I figured why not go down and run it. It was a pretty standard 5k, except for the fact that it finished inside the Georgia Dome at the 50-yard line. Amanda and I headed down the Dome early for the 8 am start, grabbed my number and set out for a short warm up. I warmed up about two miles, a little shorter than I would have liked, but enough to loosen up a little bit. I caught up with a few people from the office who also came down for the race before hand, stretched and then made my way to the start.

 

We started at Falcons Landing between the Dome and Phillips Arena, then ran around the Omni Hotel and CNN Center out towards Castleberry Hill and Morehouse College then back down Northside drive to and into the Dome for the finish. At the start, I surged to the front. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of competition, so I just planned to go out and try to run between 5:05 and 5:15 in the hopes of trying to run under 16:30 and maybe make a run at sub 16. I had control of the race pretty early on and as we climbed the slight rise past the CNN Center and Phillips Arena I started to stretch things out. By the mile mark I had gapped the rest of the field, coming through in 5:05.

 

At this point, I felt like I was going to be able to cruise to the win, but I really wanted to try to get under 16. I tried to keep pressing the pace, but slowed down a little on the second mile, running 10:14 (5:09) through two. I relaxed too much during the last mile and slowed down to 5:18, hitting three miles in 15:32 then crossing the line in 16:01 on my watch, 16:03 officially. Damn! So close. I miscalculated the finish a little bit, not realizing how close the 50 yard line is to the service entrance of the Dome. I held just a little bit back, wanting to really rip coming onto the field, but what I thought was a good 400 meters was really only about 200. Once I hit the loading dock ramp I started sprinting. I knew I was close to getting under 16, so I didn’t really take in much of the fanfare except for the fact that I knew I had to make sure the mascot, Freddie the Falcon, didn’t out kick me in the final sprint. On second thought, for the sake of the story, let’s say I got distracted by the cheerleaders and let off the gas too much and that’s why I didn’t get under.

 

After crossing the finishing line, I got a few high fives and cheers from co-workers that were helping to run the event on the field. I cooled down with a couple of laps on the turf then walked up to the stands to meet Amanda. We waited for the majority of Falcons employees to finish before heading out to Falcons Landing for the awards. Amanda was quick to correct someone that said “The Falcons president ran and none of his staff beat him.” Her response was, “that’s not exactly true.” We hung around for the awards, four tickets to the Falcons-Rams game and a Julio Jones signed ball. Amanda took the ball as a birthday present for herself and I was able to give the tickets to a friend, since I work every game, so overall it was a pretty good haul for a Saturday morning trip to the city. We headed home, stopping at Whole Foods for some pumpkin and apple spice treats, because I was ready for Fall to officially start.

 

Here’s the Strava data from the race:
 

 

I was impressed my Garmin worked inside the Dome. Kudos to Garmin on that one.

The next weekend it was back to the trails for the first race of the XTERRA Georgia Trail Series, my de facto cross country season. I roped a few friends from work into doing this one since it was on the relatively easy trails at Harbins Park. I conveniently “forgot about” the half mile climb in the middle of the race and that the second half was steadily uphill when I told them about it, but they still had a blast and are now hooked.

 

Once again Amanda and I set out early, getting to Harbins about an hour before the race. I warmed up on the first mile of the course then met up with our group for a bit before the start. I ran into Jesse Rappole, Brennan Pratt, Matt Shechtman, and Woody Dover at various points before the race, so I knew it was going to be a battle. All of those guys have the ability to win on any given day and that led to everyone being on the gas from the gun.

 

My plan was to stay relaxed and see how the race panned out, so early on I settled in behind Woody and Jesse. Once we started making our way downhill towards the main trail I moved to the front. I hit the trail with a small lead over Matt, but Jesse made a big move early to get up on my shoulder. The two of us ran together trading the lead and working together to stretch the race out. We were able to string things out a little bit because the wide track allowed us to run a little more compact, similar to a road race. That helped with trading off the lead and kept us from running into each other in some of the turns.

 

I tried a couple of short accelerations out of turns to see if I could stretch the lead at all, but Jesse was up for the challenge and stayed right with for most of the first half. Once we had gotten away from the other leaders, I wanted to make sure we stayed on the pace to try and make it a two person race. I wasn’t 100 percent confident in my fitness going in, so I was hoping that the fact that we strung the race out would give us a better chance at surviving until the end. We hit the main climb in the middle of the race together, but as we started to crest the hill Jesse let a small gap open up and I decided to try and use that to jump away. I was able to get clear at the top of the hill and that move ended up propelling me to the win. I probably went a little too early and the fact that I didn’t allow myself much time to recover at the top of the hill came back to bite me later in the race, but I was able to build up a big enough lead to hold on for the win. I kept repeating the Jens Voigt mantra in my head for the last 2.5 miles “Shut Up Legs!”

 

I think that the fast early pace probably helped as much as it hurt because no one really seemed like they had much left in the tank at the end of the race. Brennan ended up catching and passing Jesse, so I was definitely trying to keep an eye out for him over the last two miles. I had this grand plan of really hammering the final paved section, but by the time I got there I was just on a mission to get to the finish first. I was fortunate to hold on for a really exciting win. Going into the race I wasn’t sure how well I could run because my training has been mostly maintenance miles. Once I got into the race I just went for it. Anytime I am fortunate enough to win its special, but to be able to win against such a deep field was really exciting and it was a great confidence booster. Also the 12 pack of Terrapin Recreation Ale and the Rudy Project gift certificate were pretty sweet. 

 

Huge win for me and a big confidence booster for the rest of the series this fall. However, it was a little rugged the last few miles. With the next race being 8.75 miles, I’m definitely going to have to run a little smarter.

 

Here’s the race video, featuring a sweet commercial for Saucony for the first minute or two of race action.
 

 

I also was interviewed by XTERRA for getting the win. Here is a link to XTERRA’s race coverage:
http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/dsp_content.cfm?id=3705

 

September wrapped up nicely with two solid races coming off of training camp will hopefully lead to a successful fall season. On the upcoming calendar, I’ve got XTERRA Georgia races at Ft. Yargo, Big Creek and Little Mulberry parks and I’m toying with the idea of running the Peachtree City 15k, and possibly the Georgia Cyclocross race in Marietta in November.