October 2015: Training Ramblings....The Final Prep for Xterra Worlds

Much of this is now obsolete as the run up to the Xterra World Championships was pretty much chronicled in previous posts. As such this post is really just a brief outline of the training numbers for the month for posterity's sake.

I did race a few cross races which were planned as high-intensity workouts that are tough to mimic in training and to give a little bit of additional motivation. Having races and goals on the calendar are always a good idea to ensure that you don't skimp on workouts or simply mail them.  Always have a long-term goal and some closer near-term goals.  Those cross races went well, a 35+ 123 race at a very muddy Hyattsville ended in a top ten finish and then two races at ABRT's own AACX race saw me get two 5th place finishes (and in the money!).

The podium at AACX 123 race

Prior to Worlds in Maui, the rocket ship arrived in the form of the Orbea Oiz mountain bike.  Getting to partner with Orbea is awesome and not only gives me a huge boost for Xterra Worlds but also for the 2016 season of Xterra and endurance MTB races.  Only getting to ride it a few times before Worlds was a little worrying but after the first ride those worries went away. The fit was dialed in by Stu at Parvilla Cycles and it was perfect! Now I wish I had had a full suspension bike the whole season :-)

The inaugural Oiz ride!

And with that it was off to Xterra Worlds in Maui and you can read all about the build up to the race and the race itself in the posts.

What I am drinking this month:
Ritual Coffee Roasters:  Hermes Calderón's Los Crestones, Costa Rica

The people of La Piedra de Rivas grow these Caturra and Catuaí variety trees on their various small farms, 1600-1800 meters above sea level, in the Chirripó mountain region. Previously, their coffee had been brought to a nearby mill and bought and sold at low, generic prices.

Feeling that they had better than generic coffee, they bonded together to open their own mill, Los Crestones, and appointed Hermes Calderón as the micromill manager, producing exceptional coffee ever since. When we last visited with Los Crestones, we were excited to see that the mill was running efficiently, the drying tables had been expanded, and the coffee this year is better than ever before!


Full of fruit, this coffee exhibits flavors of Seville orange, tropical mango, and cherry.


October Total: 463miles/44hrs 32mins/2665 TSS
Swim: 11.88m/5hrs 58mins/ 317 TSS
Bike: 351m/26hrs 26mins/ 1383 TSS
Run: 100m/12hrs 08mins/ 965 TSS