Racing in a foreign country is always interesting. You have to stay flexible and keep an open mind so that little things don’t get you off your game. Language and cultural differences can often create minor issues which, taken the wrong way, can lead to huge distractions. I was reminded of this once again this past weekend at the Baja 70.3 race in Ensanada, Baja Mexico.

Andrea and I traveled down to the race early in the week with the idea of getting in a few days of rest before the big day. We wanted to pre-ride the course and get a feel for the topography, weather and road conditions. Our trip down proved relatively uneventful and, aside from a long delay at the airport in San Diego waiting for our ride, we arrived in good shape.

Working with a smattering of Spanish we managed to check in and find our way around Ensanada arriving back at the hotel with enough supplies to last us a few days. We got our bikes together, ate dinner and collapsed into bed.

The next day we headed out early to check out the course. Our Spanish once again proved sufficient for us to decipher the map and find our way through a loop of the supposed 2 loop bike course. Fish got a few whistles and I got a near death experience as a bus passed within inches of me on the highway. Aside from some heavy traffic on the highway the roads were good, the weather fine and the hills great.

We returned to the hotel to discover that the two loop bike course was now 1 big loop. The race organizers had been forced to make the change because of permitting issues along the coastal highway and the new change was anticipated to improve the course in many ways. Shrugging off the change we decided we’d just drive it in the morning to investigate the rest of the route. We finished our day with a swim in the harbor and discovered that the water was not as cold as advertised and that swimming in the harbor was not allowed J.

The bulk of our Texas Iron group arrived that evening and we spent some time reassuring them that the new hills were not as bad as the profile seemed to indicate. We neglected to mention the number of wrecked cars lying at the base of the cliffs figuring what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.

Day three dawned beautiful and we were able to head out to investigate the remainder of the course. The new hill was impressive with wonderful open vistas that had us looking out over substantial drops. We stopped at one particular outlook to peer over and count the number of wrecks lying at the base. We lost count at 35 cars, 5 vans and 1 boat!

There was nothing we could about the situation except laugh and joke about what we’d be doing on race day as we made the descents. Everyone returned to the hotel nervous but in good spirits. Fortunately, upon our return, we were whisked away to one of the more memorable welcome dinners in my racing career.

We boarded buses to dinner not really knowing where we were headed. It turned out we were destined for one of Mexico’s premiere wineries complete with Bull Fighting ring and sunset pavilion. We toured the winery and then jumped feet first into the competitive weekend with a grape crushing competition that pitted some of the Pros (Kate Major, Fish and me) against Texas Iron athletes and some of the local amateurs. The competition was fierce and we all learned the importance of a good stick man to keep your juices flowing from the bottom of your barrel. We enjoyed a wonderful sunset, a fine meal and a warm welcome from local politicians and cultural dancers.

                                                                                                                                  The rowdies from Texas Iron (Photo courtesey of John Lewis)  

Race morning came and things got a little chaotic. There was a huge line to get into transition as people waited to get body marked prior to being able to enter. One of our athletes (Katherine Dean) managed to pilfer a marker and expedite the process for all of us. Without too much further trouble we were all assembled at the swim start ready to begin warm-up. We then got word that the start was delayed because of a bus full of athletes stuck at T2. The official story was a 15 min delay but I hunkered down fully expecting a 30-45 min wait.

Foregoing my usual warm-up in light of the delay, I sat on the boat ramp as the other pros entered the water to begin their day. As the minutes rolled by, I watched them come back to shore shivering and I congratulated myself on my decision to delay my routine. As it turned out, the 15 minutes turned into 45 and I was feeling particularly pleased with myself as the final 5 minutes to start came down and I readied myself for action.

The swim started out well and a lead pack of four exited the harbor together. A mild swell made sighting interesting and helped us add more time to the group of athletes chasing. I was positioned well and swimming effortlessly at the back of the pack.

Historically, good swims have meant bad races for me so I was playing an interesting little mind game trying to convince myself that the swim wasn’t going as well as I thought. All too soon, I was exiting the water and looking back, realized that I couldn’t explain away the solid swim. There was no one in sight except the four of us and there was nothing to do about it now but soldier on.

I hauled myself up the long climb to T1 and quickly headed out on the bike. The first 20km (12.5miles) was flat and, with only a couple of exceptions, smooth. Perfect for my style of riding! I put my head down and concentrated on riding strong. I quickly caught and passed Brian Rhodes (NZL) and began to make headway into Paul Mathews (Australia). We came through town with Terenzo Bozzone (NZL) in the lead, Paul in second and myself in third. The roads got rougher and the crowds bigger. I made the turn to head out and finally caught a glimpse of those chasing us. Chris Leigh was about 20 seconds back and closing fast. I also caught glimpses of Rene Rovera (France) and Leon Griffin (Australia) riding strong.

Right after the turn-around, Brian came flying by me, glued to the wheel of one of the Motorcycle Police Officers. In the space of 5 minutes he disappeared up the road, moving from left to right and back again based on where the motorbike was. I tried to let go of my anger and focus on what I could control. Chris Leigh caught and passed me and we exchanged a few words regarding Brian and then it was back to business.

We hit the hills 25km into the race and the fun began. As we turned off the main highway, Brian lost his “escort “and was soon falling back like he was riding with two flats. I passed him within 1 km and soon put him out of my mind for good. Halfway up, I got passed by Leon Griffin and on the first switchback was surprised to note that I was alone. There was nothing real steep on the course but there were two good sustained climbs (10 km & 4 km) that were going to slow everyone down. My plan was to ride the first part conservatively so that I’d have something left for the return trip. With this goal in mind I settled in for the long haul. The only surprise came when I made the turn at the halfway and I was still in fourth place.

The second half of the bike proved interesting. Aside from the 2 major climbs, I discovered a host of other nasty little inclines that killed my speed and kept my quads begging for mercy. Rene caught me on the big climb and we leap frogged each other all the way back. I would catch and pass him on the flats and he would come flying by on the descents giving me a free clinic on descending. The two of us caught Paul Mathews before the last big descent and I made sure I passed him with authority. When we hit the final flat section along the coast it was only the two of us. Rene passed me for the final time as I sat up to remove my HR monitor strap heading into T2.

I hit the run in good shape. My legs were feeling fresh and the temperature was ideal for fast running. The only problem I had was keeping things under control as I came through the cheering crowds in town. Soon enough I was out on the highway heading for the turn-around. I was running right behind Rene and felt comfortable. The first leg seemed to pass quickly. I entered the hotel grounds marking the turn-around and was mildly surprised when I was directed down hill to the swim exit. At the bottom of the hill everyone disappeared. There were two roads and no one seemed to know which direction I was supposed to go. With some misgivings, I turned right, thinking the run would take me around the hotel and out the other side. Within 200m I knew I had chosen incorrectly. Rene was nowhere in sight and the street was deserted. I retraced my steps and soon found some spectators who belatedly directed me the right way.

Cursing under my breath, I tried to put the episode out of my mind but it was difficult when I found the time split to Rene now over 2 minutes. Worse yet, an unknown quantity in Paul Mathews was less than a minute behind me.

I headed back to town determined to run as best I could and see what happened. The gradual downhill felt great and I continued to run well. At the halfway point, I was pleased to see that I was reeling in Rene and the gap back to 6th was widening. I headed out on loop 2 determined to catch the flying Frenchman.

People kept telling me that I was catching Rene but unfortunately he got a good look at me at the last turn-around. The downhill back to town and the hounds breathing down his neck kept him running well and I never could close the gap. I had to settle for watching his white uniform get bigger and bigger until we entered the finish chute. I crossed the line shortly after him in 5th place having posted a run split of 1:16.06 even with the wrong turn.

Inaugural races are always interesting. Regardless of how well planned the events are there are always unforeseen events that affect what was expected. To me this is part of the excitement of racing these events. In Baja, I was able to focus on the task at hand, avoid distractions, and enjoy the race with all its various quirks. I am pleased with my performance and happy that my fitness and racing edge continue to improve as I work back to full form.

Baja 70.3

1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile Run

 Pro Men

1. LEGH , CHRIS                                           AUS                           3:56:50.0
2. BOZZONE, TERENZO                                NZ                              3:59:44.0
3. GRIFFIN, LEON                                         AUS                           4:04:18.8
4. ROVERA, RENE                                        FRANCE                    4:10:30.3
5. CLEVELAND, JAMIE                                 CAN                            4:11:43.9
6. MATHEWS, PAUL                                     AUS                            4:14:19.4
7. LOVATO, MICHAEL                                   USA                            4:19:05.6
8. RHODES, BRYAN                                     NZ                               4:20:38.7
9. VALDERRABANO WEBER, UZZIEL            MEX                           4:22:12.8
10. BIEGEL, MARCUS                                     GER                           4:25:30.8