Damian Gonzalez, Michael David Winery Cycling Team

XTERRA East Champs. Sun June 10

XTERRA East Championship - This Sunday, June 10, 8:00am EST

This is one of my fovorite XTERRA courses and very tricky.

A river swim with current and shallow sand bars and rocks to watch out for. Preswim and planning is a good idea.

The bike is 20 miles of tight and technical single track. Lots of rock gardens and big roots. To top it off the terrain is ungulates with short steep climbs requiring lots of power.

The run is tough only in the fact that the bike section is hard and you will have to muster any remaining core strenght for the tough 10k trail run. There is also a river crossing over a large granite rock field to "the ladder" which puts you back on Belle Island to continue the run. This section has no particular trail or set route and you can end up at th bottom of large boulders unable to reach the ladder. You must practice this or you will end up getting lost.

But most exciting of all this year is the athlete tracking XTERRA will be using for people to follow athletes around the course online or on your phone:

WATCH IT LIVE AT XTERRA.LUCKSTONE.COM

Luck Stone, a presenting sponsor of the XTERRA East Championship, has a comprehensive slate of coverage planned for Sunday’s pro race at 8am EST, that can be found at http://www.luckstone.com/xterra-world-tour-2012

On one screen they’ll bring you live video feeds from eight spots around the course. On another they’ll showcase a social media (GIS) map of the course with detailed positioning and tweets from strategically positioned spotters and finally, in a first for XTERRA, they are equipping every elite with a GPS tracking device that will allow followers to see their every movement. The “myathletelive.com” device reports location, speed, distance, and elevation.
Google Chrome seems to be the best browser for viewing, but fans can use any web enabled cell phone or handheld device such as an iPhone or Droid. Just go to the website xterra.luckstone.com, and follow the various links. Home viewers can do the same from their computer. Our suggestion is to open up multiple browsers and have fun.

And, for those on-site at Brown’s Island Luck Stone will have four 70-inch big screen TVs broadcasting the coverage. Those on-site are encouraged to share their experiences, from here and afar, via twitter with hashtag #xterraRVA
On Sunday, click on the name of the athlete to go directly to the specific URL for that racer.

What I Eat: GF, DF, SF PIZZA

Udi's GF Pizza Crusts
Sauce: boil tomatoes, peel, smash and simmer them in herbs (oregano, basil etc) and garlic
Daiya non dairy cheese
Organic crimini mushrooms
Olives
Fresh basil leaves optional
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

XTERRA Real

Apr 1 2012
XTERRA Real, Granite Bay CA
Photos by Leslie Miller

Our race team had a great showing with Paul Dimas, Nick and Nate Diaz, David Miller myself and even David Philips, owner of Michael David Winery. Dave Phillips is somewhat new to mountain biking and this was his first XTERRA. We pre rode a couple times leading into the race and he made big improvements after every ride. He had a great race and was happy with his first XTERRA finish. Paul, Nick and Nate took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their 25-29 age group, David Miller took 2nd in his and 5th overall and I took 3rd overall.

I had several kinks in this race but it is always good to work them out in the early season races rather than in bigger races. Here are the kinks :)

1. Switched wheelsets so I should have switched cassettes too. Cog teeth skipped the entire time despite my test ride a couple days before. It's hard to simulate an actual race.

2. I ran non-tubeless tires tubeless. I burped a bunch of air and tire was nearly rolling off the rim near the end of bike course. I've done this in the past with success but with a full suspension bike. This time I rode a hartail so the dips were really putting entire body weight on the rear tire. I should have compensated by running higher pressure or tubeless ready tires.

3. Water was below 50 degrees so I didnt get enough of swim a warm up. I tend to need a long easy warm up and stretch but was tough to do so in such cold water.

4. I took a tumble in second half of run and I'm pretty certain it cost me one place. When I fell, Tim Helms closed his gap and had me in sight at that point. He didnt know I fell but at that point my focus went from catching 1st place to fighting for second. He got me by a few seconds but this is a good example of how every second counts and how you cant ease up on the run until you cross the finish line.

Aside from my drivetrain and tire issues, I rode a new carbon hardtail frame from Leopard Cycles. We have confirmed a sponsorship, but before I committed 100%, I wanted to really test the bikes ability. I normally ride a FS bike, but this carbon hardtail was amazing. Ideally you need to have both a hardtail and FS in the arsenal. I will also add a carbon hardtail 29er into the mix as well which sits in between the two. For this course I definitely rode the right bike. For the XTERRA West Championship in Vegas I think the 29er HT would be the way to go. It's wide open fast course. Its rocky and no tight and windy turns so a 29er would absorb and handle this course perfectly. Heres a shot of the setup I rode at XTERRA Real.

What I Eat: Carob Macca Choclate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup of Bobs Red Mill Organic Brown Rice Flour
1 cup of Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
3 TBS Carob Powder
2 TBS Macca Powder (optional)
1 TBS Mesquite Powder (optional)
1 Tsp of Baking Powder or Baking Soda
1 Tsp xanthum gum
1/2 Cup of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (optional)
Wet Ingredients:
1 Cup of Organic Brown Cane Sugar
2 TBS Cacao Nibs or cacao paste (optional)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1TBS Brown rice syrup
1 Organic Egg and 1 Egg Yolk
1/2 cup of Coconut Oil (you can do half coconut oil and half raw butter for non vegans)
1-2 TBS of Almond or Rice Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 TBS Raw Almond Butter or almond flour (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
Mix dry ingredients in bowl.
Melt oils w low heat in saucepan and mix in wet ingredients. Avoid Microwave.
Mix all ingredients together
Let batter cool a little and then drop spoon fulls of batter onto cookie sheet
Bake for 15 min. then let cookies cool before enjoying.

What I Eat: Heavy Beet Salad

Got some fresh produce from my race sponsor Michael David Winery and olive oil and vinegar from our other sponsor, Bellindora. Michael David has a produce farm and cafe at their winery on hwy 12 and ray rd.

Michaeldavidwinery.com
Bellindora.com

Spinach or Arugula
Beets (raw or oven roasted in foil w olive oil)
Avocado
Goat Cheese (otional)
Raw Sunflower Seeds
Dressing
Bellindora Olive Oil
Squeeze a wedge of Orange
Dash of Bellindora's Balsamic Vinegar
Celtic Sea Salt (a pinch)
Whip in a bowl and pour over salad.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2012 Pre-Season Recap

Snelling Road Race
Feb 25, 2012
5 laps of 12 mile course
Place: None :P

This is an early season race and very popular as everyone is itching to race. I did the 35+123 with some teammates. The winds increased as the day wore on. Peleton was not letting any breaks go. On the 4th lap crosswinds increased and the fast pace strung out the field. I was in the second half of the field and I was chopped meaning someone in front of me let a gap open up and the field separated into two. A couple of my teammates continued in the front group so I was pretty much not racing anymore at that point. Teammate Andres Gil finished 2nd though :)

TBF Down and Dirty Duathlon
Mar 3, 2012
2 mile run - 6.5 mile road bike - 2 mile run - 6.5 mile mt bike
Place: 1st Overall

This was a fun event and first off road race since my injury last June. (wow its been a while) It was short and fast. Was neck and neck with Dave Hackett I knew it would come down to a mistake on the MTN bike so I kept it together for the win.

Cool Mtn Bike Race

Mar 11, 2012

3 laps of 10 mile course

Pro/Expert division: 5th

Photo by Kirby Photography

Originally was signed up for the Madera Stage race but was coming down with a cold on Friday. So I held out to see how I flt Sunday for the Cool race. After resting all day Saturday, I felt much better Sunday although not 100%. This was a super fun course and the light early rain made the course real soft and grippy but not really muddy (aside from a couple mud pits :D) I suffered tremendously during the race but glad I didnt get sicker (I know that is not a word) the next day. Actually the cold never really went into my lungs and ran its quick course the following week.

Folsom Prison MTB Race

Sunday, Mar 25

3 laps of 6mile course

Pro Open Division: 5th

Was pretty sore from squats and lunges but still posted a competitive time for the 18 mile course. We were expecting cold and rain but actually got great trail conditions and sunshine. I think my training is coming along nicely and credit my coach Jamie Whitmore (gutzytricoaching.com) for what hopefully be a great racing season.

Next Up: XTERRA Real in Granite Bay on Apr 1st. And that will pretty much signal the start of my race season. I am super pumped for 2012!

2012 MDW Cycling Training Camp

Jan. 26-29

Had a great 4 day training camp in Santa Cruz with my Michael David Winery cycling team. Lots of steep climbing, intensity and gorgeous routes. The strong Cat 1 teammates I train with made for a good workouts. If your curious what type of training I did during camp here's a broad outline.

Thurs 2.5hr ride/1hr swim
Fri 4hr ride/30min run
Sat 5.5hr ride
Sun 1.5hr ride/45min run