Gatorade Ambassador + Trail running = Long Blog

  As usual I have taken a hiatus from posting on my blog, but I did want to take a few minutes to highlight a few exciting things that are going on in my life currently. Let's start off with my acceptance as a member of the Gatorade Enduralliance team. This is a pretty awesome deal, I sent out my application which asked for podium finishes, results and time not expecting much but only to be notified days later of my acceptance along with two closer friends of mine, Cody Angell and Billy Shue. We all found out that we are the only members in the south east, while there are about 30 members spread all over the country. Unfortunately I was unable to attend our big conference in Chicago but I did get to catch up via email, conference call and webinar.

  With becoming apart of this team, we have promised to do our best to promote the brand specifically highlighting Gatorade Endurance to our local community. You may see Cody, Billy and I at some of the brewery runs or store runs passing our some free samples so don't be afraid to come over say hi and grab some carb chews! One of the cool things is that we get free technical racing gear, so all three of us are going to have a sick compression triathlon gear made by 2XU but we have to wait another month for the customer order to come through. Being apart of this program is very motivating, they literally support us in the best way possible, with race stipends, free product, training gear, and most importantly they connect us to people who love endurance sports just like us.

   After my first batch of supply was shipped to my house, I was excited to try out the new Prime carb pouch which is used most effectively prior to workouts/races. It has some simple sugars as well as of course carbs which you body will be buring off during exercise. Since I knew Gatorade was going to assist with some race expenses I finally decided to sign up for the race #2 of the Riverbound race series at Fisher Farms Park. I have always enjoyed trail running but quite honestly have never done more than one per year even though this is actually my favorite endurance event. Luckily I have a pretty good track record at trail races, from my recollection I have only lost a trail race back in 2006 at the Uwharrie 8-miler which was 4 weeks after my first marathon and I was struggling to say the least. After a full month of continuous running with no real bumps in the road I felt confident that I could really push hard and hopefully break the course record, but with trail running you never know what the day can bring; mud, lapping slower runners, or course distance.

  The last trail race I competed in was on a very special day, the day I proposed to Karin, January 21st, 2012. It was a muddy day on the course but in the end everyone had a blast and I was lucky enough to break way from the lead pack and secure the 9-mile victory.

CRC Trail Race 9 Mile Results

January 21, 2012

Questions please email info@s2ftiming.com

Top Males Overall in 9 Mile division.

Place Bib # Name Elapsed Pace

_______________________________________________________

1 670 Chris Lamperski 01:00:13 6:41

2 676 Zack Kessell 01:01:33 6:50

3 651 Dave Mabe 01:04:16 7:08


Top Females Overall in 9 Mile division.

Place Bib # Name Elapsed Pace

_______________________________________________________

1 654 Joan Nesbit Mabe 01:10:41 7:51

2 582 Megan Lordi 01:18:39 8:44

3 539 Jamie Engel 01:21:07 9:01

Hoka Bondi B 2

    Since I had never ran at Fisher Farms Park in Davidson, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had heard that the course was rather technical in some portions. To be proactive in discovering the course, I decided to get there a little earlier and run the 1st 3 miles of the course so I knew what to expect and it proved to be very beneficial to me. I decided to it would be best to warm-up in my new pair of Hoka's, they are a bit heavy and maybe a little awkward but I knew they would keep my legs nice and fresh before throwing on my trail racers. The Hoka Bondi B 2 is the shoe that I was fortunate enough to sample, it is Hoka's lightest shoe to date and I find that with each run I am getting used to the platform more and more but the verdict is still TBD.

Rogue fly on the right

  After warming up solo in the woods I popped my Gatorade Endurance Carb Pouch to top off my energy levels 20minutes before the race. Kent showed up while I was lacing up the Montrail Rogue Fly that I decided to race in. This shoe is SWEET, very lightweight and flexible for a trail shoe, and it has amazing traction on the surface. It was between the Rogue Fly and the Rogue Race, but I thought the look of the Fly seemed to be the faster choice.



  As the race started I knew that I had about 1/2m before we hit the single track to get out front and hopefully never look back. Two guys shot out to the front immediately and one of them literally refused to let me pass as he kept throwing in burst. About 200m from the trail entrance I decided I just had to drop the hammer and pass this guy which proved to be pretty easy. I entered the trail at 1/2m in the lead with about 4 guys nipping on my heels. I managed to gap the 2nd group by the mile as I crossed in 5:39 and the rest of the guys were between 5:52-54 from what I was told. My goal was to nail the straight aways and downhills as hard as I could so I could make up for the twist and turns. In my opinion the trail does not have that many steep uphills to where I felt like " I want this to be over" but more turns than anything which substantially slows down the pace.

   Throughout the race I kept telling myself "Record, Record" to keep me motivated to not be content with the lead but to keep pressing the pace. This is something that I have no issues with on trails races but in road racing I often times wonder off in La-La land for a mile or 2 and loose precious time. The 10k and 5k trails crossed over a few times and fortunately my delay with the slower 5k runners was limited, I had to leap over a small creek off of the trail to get around several runners, but I figure it let me catch my breath and really nail those last couple miles. Over the last 2.5miles I was pretty much alone until the last 1/2m as I ran into the 5k finishers again, but it felt amazing, just running through the packed dirt lined with all kinds of tree's and the sun peeking through a bit. Fortunately there was a good stretch where I had a straight away and I made sure to really nail the pace down as fast as I could. I was a bit skeptical of my 4th to 5th mile split, I knew I was pressing harder than I had the entire race but when I hit 5:24 on the watch I thought either I am really on or maybe that mile was a bit short. As I crested the the last section of the race, they announced my name as the 10k winner and I had a chance to really look at the overall time on the clock as it was ticking in the 34's.

  34:29 was my official time, no way this was the full distance, after speaking to people who had worn their garmin's during the race, most people thought the race to be around 5.7 miles which was disappointing because I was really pushing hard to get a record. After the race I also found out that this was a new venue for the 10k race, so apparently the record will now be mine at Fisher Farms. Kent finished up about 2:30 back in 2nd place overall. TrySports represented well today on the trails in our new singlets that really make an impression.

   My ultimate goal should I get permission from my lovely wife is to race the Xterra national championships someday. Usually the trail championships are in oregon or Utah, both have some amazing trails and breath taking scenery, it would be an absolute dream to compete out west. If you qualify for worlds its in Hawaii which seems a bit more attainable for me than does qualifying for the Ironman world championships and quite honestly, I think I would enjoy going to Hawaii for a trail race as opposed to a full Ironman. So if you see Karin make sure you give her a nudge to help me pursue my dream. take a moment to check out the 2012 recap video, AMAZING! Xterra Run Championships

2009 World Championship Recap

The 2009 World Championship was an amazing experience to say the least. I had to buckle down and train on the bike and by foot for the first time ever really. After qualifying for worlds I gathered up $ to buy a new Kestrel Talon to train and race on which was a big chunk of change for me. After the outcome at worlds I was initially very upset because of my training didn't show on race day due to other outside factors.

I had the most support I have ever had for a race by family and friends it was amazing! I heard my name so many times while running and bike through the infield of lowe's motor speedway it certainly helped me push harder each time. Unfortunately for the spectators it was raining almost the entire time so it was a bit miserable, but it wasn't anything that beer and grey goose couldn't change.

10 minutes before the start of my world championships race, it hit me and i freaked. I left my ankle chip in the transition area as well as my cycling shoes were IN MY CAR!!! I was there for 3hrs socializing and not focusing that I forgot all of this. The transition area was closed but I convinced the monitor to please let me grab my chip and then to throw my shoes near my bike. Thank the lord I remembered my shoes and I got to the start line w/4 minutes to spare.

At the line, people were talking but in other languages, it was pretty cool. I was on the 2nd/3rd row from the front and then the gun fired. I wanted to be near the front of the pack because i knew i had good fitness but also because my fans would be at about 1/2m into the race cheering. We took off and at about that 1/2 mile I was thinking this is WAY to fast then I heard on the intercom, "if these guys keep this pace they will be running faster than the pro's, this is suicidal", then I knew I needed to back off a bit ha-ha. 5:05 was my first mile according to Cody. After a mile I began to have some very bad breathing problems so I tried to get my composure back so that I could finish solid.

Aubrey was in front of me the entire time, cody caught up at about 2.5 miles and I gave it all I had to stay w/him through the spectator area and just after that I couldn't do much more. at 2.5m when cody said "hey man they will start coming back to us" I told him to upzip my back because i could not breath at all, hoping this would open up my breathing, WRONG. That team USA one piece was just way too tight for me. I haven't had breathing problems like that in years, it sucks that it happened the day of the biggest race of my life!



Once the 10k finished it was raining really hard and my shoes were water logged. I hit the transition and noticed cody was already gone. I grabbed my bike and hit the road, with a slow mount and a slow start because there was a sharp curve and I was afraid to bust it. The 1st 2 miles I rode very conservative because I saw 5 people actually wreck it was crazy, we were riding through areas that were flooding. At about 4 miles into the ride my left leg began to get tight then I tried to stretch on the bike and it LOCKED UP. I had never had this happen in my life, it hurt so bad, i didn't know what to do because i couldn't pedal. I was going about 21mph, then i was coasting at about 11mph pedaling w/one leg.

At this point, i knew my race was way out of the window, with the goal not to wreck. Eventually after a couple miles the muscle lock released and I could pedal fairly normal. The 2nd loop, I finally decided to let it rip. 2 guys passed me with Disc and I said "F--k It, no one else is going to pass me and I am going to reel these 2 guys in" I went for it and rolled them up while maintaining a high cadence weaving through people. Catching guys in my division was a new thing for me, as the goal is to just not get passed by as many people as possible is the goal usually. When we hit one of the final climbs I clicked through my gears into the small ring real quick and BAM...the chain was on the ground 1/2 way up a hill, dammit!

After stopping and watching everyone pass me who I had spent the last loop putting ground on, it pissed me off. What a freakin day! I finally got back to my transition area and i realized when i went to mount my bike, cody's bike was in my place. I had a lot of trouble slipping into my shoes but finally hit the trail w/a roctane. I began passing people in the transition and knew I had a chance to roll up a lot of people, but it didn't happen like tri's or duathlons usually do for me. Mostly because I ran 18:19 for 5k which was the SLOWEST I have ever ran to close out a race. My breathing problems and cramping kept fighting each other, it sucked. with about 3/4m left, I passed one USA guy and said "come on we are almost there man", he jumped on my shoes and stayed there and tried to pass me going onto the last finishing straight away. We took 2 sides of the straight away passing numerous people in the middle and I knew I COULD not get out kicked in front of my family, so I gave it one big push and got 1 second on him in the end.

The experience is something to take w/me, knowing that the next big race, I need to get away from everyone 30minutes before the race to focus. I thought I was going to get hypothermia from the weather but i rushed from the speedway as soon as I could after giving congrats to aubrey and cody. What a race both of those guys had, i was proud to be apart of their group and a usa teammate. G$ was certainly the highlight of the race for most people, as he painted himself blue and had USA across his chest. After the 10k portion of the run, he managed to disappear and wind up asleep in a garage somewhere, PRICELESS....



Special thanks to all of my friends and family who came out, it meant a lot to me, thank you all for cheering in the cold and rain!!!