Xterra Scales Lake

Wow. This race course really kicked my ass.

Xterra Scales Lake is a sprint distance event - .5 mile swim/11 mile MTB/3.4 mile Trail Run - in Boonville, IN. I've done other off-road races, both triathlons and trail runs, and I've never been so surprised by the difficulty of a course.

The swim was standard enough, a half mile in a lake. I was happy with my swim, my time, and my place coming out of the water. I thought the bike would be my strong event, as it has been in the past - both on and off road. But within a few minutes of starting the bike leg it was clear I was going to struggle.

The course at Scales Lake features many, many short severe uphills. It's a two loop course of 5.5 miles, so at least I knew what to expect the second time around (I didn't have time to try to pre-ride the course). There were some downhill sections, but certainly not enough to match the uphill sections. Many people passed me on the first loop...I felt like I my exertion was through the roof for the first 2.5 miles. The second loop was hard, but I had my effort under control and finally got off the bike...I usually love the MTB.

The run course was a mixture of more up and down hill sections interspersed with some road sections. It was also very difficult terrain (it would have been nearly impossible if wet or muddy). After my effort on the bike I had to walk the hills and try to run the flats...there weren't enough flats so I walked quite a bit.

I finished in 2:23. I don't have my splits yet, official results haven't been posted. But I didn't do anywhere near what I hoped for going into this race...hopefully the next one is better.