Xterra USA Championships, Ogden Utah

Week leading up to the race:

The Sunday before the Xterra I did the Capitol Forest XC race. It was 18 miles with lots of uphill and lots of downhill. It was a great race and a lot of run. It started with a Le Mans start where we had to run around for a bit then jump on our bikes. I won! Which was an added bonus and Eric told me last night that my time would have placed me in 5th among the Sport men.

Then started the week before the race. I was super busy at work with a new employee starting and another new employee from an outside office visiting and needing training. I was happy to have a lighter training load because if this. I did bail out on the cyclocross race on Wednesday because I was feeling the start of a sore throat happening and despite some good rest that night, I did not do the short swim I was supposed to on Thursday. I did manage to do the run.

I was a little nervous about heading out to Ogden but mainly excited and it really affected my sleep on Thursday. I don’t know why I was so anxious but I could not sleep and maybe got about 4 hrs.

Travel day:

Woke up early. My swim coach, Matt, and his dad picked me up and we headed off to the airport. Once there we met up with my mom and my sister. We boarded the plane but then sat there for a long, long time due to a mechanical of some sort. With each passing minute my anxiety about getting everything done went up. 45 minutes later we were in the air and in practically no time we were on the ground again in SLC. We rented a sweet minivan and headed up to the race site to pre-ride. But alas, there was road construction and we were stopped. Matt called and said they were going to registration first, so we made a quick change of plans and decided to do that instead, too. Packet pickup was easy, I was #107! They used the big giant numbers for body marking and the guy asked me if I was a pro before marking my leg. I thanked him and said no. I stopped by the LUNA tent and had a quick chat with Chris Mathis, mechanic extraordinaire and then we loaded up again and headed up to Snowbasin.

Shonny had given me the inside scoop as to where to pre-ride but we took a wrong turn and went up the wrong side of the mountain. We saw some trail markings but none of it made sense so we kept going. This was good because it took us up to Snowbasin and then over and down the road we were supposed to go up. We found the trail head, which was quite obvious because of all the other cars and bikers there.

I started to unload and put my bike together. What a mess. As I was doing this pro racer Damien Gonzales and his buddy David rolled up and started chatting with us. Eventually I just flat out asked them to help me. Thank goodness I did because I had messed up my headset and would have never gotten it figured out. They also gave some advice about the pre-ride and suggested I not do the top part since I was starting out so late. They also said to look out for the moos but I didn’t understand what that meant.

Finally I was off and riding. I jumped in at about the 7 mile mark and the trail was all downhill. It was really beautiful. I came across some people on horses who asked me to take their photo. I was pretty sure the horse was going to bite or kick me but it all worked out ok. The guy saw the giant 35 on my calf and asked if it was a tattoo. I was like just like, dude, if I was going to have my age tattooed on my leg, it sure wouldn’t say 35. I met up with Matt who had also gone up the wrong road and was putting his bike together. I rode on, and saw some cows right on the side of the trail, just chilling. The reference to moos now made sense. Matt caught up with me not too long after. And then the trail started heading up. Nothing too bad and we both said that wow, if this is what the whole course was like, we should be ok. After 4.5 miles we were at Snowbasin and I headed over to meet up with my mom and sister, and Matt went on to do the rest of the course. His dad was doing the run and he said he’d give me the scoop later.

We drove down to Ogden and checked into the hotel, got cleaned up and then went to the Dinner of Champions. I was starving. While waiting in line I saw Jamie Whitmore. I have been reading her blog about her battle with cancer and how she is now pregnant with twins! She looked great and had a very cute belly. I was across the buffet line from her and wanted to let her know I had been keeping up with her blog and congratulate her on her pregnancy, but at the same time, I wanted to respect her privacy and leave her alone. Since I don’t know her, I wasn’t sure what she’d prefer.

We sat at a table with April and Geoff and Matt and his dad joined us later. The food was good and although I cleaned my plate, I still felt a little hungry. Matt told me about the rest of the bike course and how it went straight up and how the run had 3 major climbs.

We stuck around until Matt was called up as regional champion so we could take his photo with his lei and regional champion shirt, and then we headed to the hotel. I can’t remember what time we actually turned off the lights.

Day of:

I slept horribly. I was awake every hour and was pretty much just miserable. I wasn’t really nervous, just not sleeping. I was up so early and not going back to sleep so I hid under the covers and played with my iPhone a bit. I was so happy when my alarm went off at 5:30 so I could turn on the lights and just get going. I had brought the fixings for a peanut butter sandwich with me – I had to pack the peanut butter in my bike box since I think it’s a liquid? But no jelly. Christie and I discussed if I should put a Clif Shot on there but I decided to pass on that idea. I got dressed, we packed up our stuff and we headed out the door.

We headed up to Snowbasin to set up T2 first. As we were headed by the lake the wind was blowing like crazy. I started to freak out a little because it gave me flash backs to Idaho.

It was pitch black out still when we got to Snowbasin. We found the transition area and I was excited to see that my space was in the same row as the pros. Not many people had been there yet and it felt so weird to have just my shoes, my hat and my race number there. So I left a Clif Shot, too. Just in case. I then saw Conrad Stoltz set up his area. After he left I went to check it out and he had everything all spread out, so I decided it must be ok to just leave the stuff there like that. It was weird.

We got back in the car and drove down to the swim start and T1.

The sun was starting to come up but it was cold. The crazy winds didn’t seem to be happening so I was happy for that. I thought it was odd that they didn’t have the racks in T1 marked and as long as you weren’t a pro, you could rack anywhere you wanted. So I picked a rack two over from the entrance and set up. They did limit it to 6 bikes per rack which was nice since that gave us lots of room.

At registration they gave us a bag that we had to put all of our stuff into when we were done in T1 and they would transport it back to the race finish for us. This whole two different transition areas and bag thing was new to me but I went along with it. It seemed ok. I then went to go get my swim cap and over the loud speaker I heard that there were no timing chips for the event. I hadn’t even noticed that I didn’t have one but when I heard this, I did think it was odd that at a national championship event there were no timing chips. I figured they must have it all under control and didn’t give it another thought.

After I was set up I went and sat in the car. I was on the verge of falling asleep. Those two nights of no sleep were starting to catch up with me. As we sat there we saw Matt and his dad drive in, and in the back of their truck was the guy who helped me build my bike and his buddy. That was kind of funny to us.

With about a ½ hr to race start I went to the bathroom one last time and then put on my wetsuit. Chris Mathis, the LUNA mechanic stopped me and said he’d be out there cheering for me, and that made me super happy. I then asked him to guard my $1 flip flops that I was leaving at the water exit. He laughed. I had no intention of stopping to get them on the way out of the water, so I hope someone is wearing them with pride now.

I met up with Matt and we went in for a warm up swim.

The water was on the chilly side but wasn’t too bad. We spent maybe 5-10 minutes in there, probably closer to 5 and then jumped out. Christie took some photos and then we went our separate ways as we lined up for the start.

I staged next to an older man completely on dry land. A bunch of people were already in the water up to their knees and we discussed how we both thought it was supposed to be a dry land start. He said that they would probably all be disqualified and then at the same time we both went “whoopee!! We win!” and we congratulated each other.

Then we were off!

Swim (0.93 mile)

The swim was a clock wise, triangle shaped, two loop course. I really didn’t know what to think because I was very afraid that it would be super aggressive and I really didn’t want to be near anyone. Probably 20 strokes in I saw someone turn around and head back to shore. I didn’t bump or get bumped by anyone except the occasional foot that I touched. I was happy with my spacing and even managed to draft! I got all the way to the first buoy and did a little breast stroke around it and then started up again. I saw a guy next to me with no goggles and wondered what that was about. I later found out that Danelle lost her goggles not even 10 seconds into the swim and swam the rest of the way with the concern about her contacts floating away.

I came to the 2nd buoy and did a little bit of breast stroke around it and started up again right away. I was swimming along and feeling really good. I don’t think I was going necessarily fast, but I was swimming and holding my own. The drafting was also a lot of fun and helping me quite a bit. At one point I looked up to site and I saw crazy waves. I stopped and panicked right there, having flashbacks again to the Idaho swim. All I could think was I still have a long way to go, this is terrible. Then I got my act together and realized I had already been swimming in it for quite a while before I noticed so I just started up and lo and behold, it was way easier to just swim in it than to just float in it. I was super proud of myself and also super excited that I could pull it together.

I got to the turnaround buoy without getting lapped which was super exciting for me. Floating right there at the buoy was a camera man who looked miserable. I think he was treading water or something and I don’t think he had on a wetsuit. I don’t know how he managed but I swam right by him.

I kept swimming along and at the next buoy when I stopped to do a little breast stroke to get around it I realized that breast stroke really kind of sucks, it doesn’t get you anywhere and I was more likely to choke on the water splashing in my face, so I started swimming again right away and swam for real around the last buoy and the rest of the way in. At some point during this time I was caught by the swimmers in the Sport race who were doing one lap and who had started 20 minutes after us. I was a little afraid of them since one of them did give me a giant shove and I was kicked by one, too. None of it was too bad but still a little unsettling since I was just swimming along so happy with my race.

I was pretty darn happy with my overall swim but especially that I got through those waves and that I came to this whole breast stroke realization. It had always been my crutch, but I am ready to give it up. Hooray!

I jumped out of the water and ran up the boat launch. I saw my flip flops there but just ran past and I waved at my mom. I found my bike right away and was excited to see a few other bikes still on my rack. A volunteer was standing right in front of my bike and didn’t move as I came running towards it. It actually took him quite a while to move so that was weird.

My transition was sooooo slow. Although I had totally lubed up with body glide, I couldn’t get my left foot out of my wetsuit. Then I had some trouble getting both socks on. The shoes went on fine, and the gloves were only so-so. Helmet was on and out I went.

The swim and T1 times were combined into one time: 38:33. I wish I knew what my swim time was because I know it wasn’t 38 minutes. I thought my watch said 34 but Christie said she timed it at 32. Both of those times meant I had really, really slow transitions so who knows.

Bike (18.9 miles)

I was off on the bike! I ran to the mount area and once I was on the grass my Clif Shots fell off my bike! I couldn’t go on without them, that would have ended in disaster, so I laid my bike down and back tracked. Christie later told me that there was a woman standing next to her getting very upset wondering why I had laid my bike down. I picked them up, quickly realized they fell off because I hadn’t taped them on the right way and then for real I was off on the bike.

Since I had only pre-ridden a very short portion of the bike, and knew that this first 7 miles or so was up hill, I wasn’t sure how hard to go. I didn’t know how steep it was or if it truly was all uphill or not. I would say I rode conservatively. We started out riding on the dirt shoulder of the road for maybe a mile as we crossed the dam. I saw Matt’s dad stopped in traffic! Then we went right onto the course. I wouldn’t say that the trail was technical, but it was different since there were so many people on it. By now, plenty of people from the National race but also the Sport race were on course so I had several people in front of me, next to me and behind me the whole time. It was actually pretty fun, since I was passing a lot of them. Some would pass me, too, but I kept passing people, too. The trail had one good line and then lots of other lines that weren’t so bad either so it made for good passing. It was a little weird though because everyone was dead silent. I wanted to chat with some people to lighten the mood (clearly I wasn’t working as hard as I possibly could have) but I stayed quiet and just kept going.

About 3 miles in there was a particularly rocky patch that was a little bit steeper, too. A bunch of people were off their bikes or falling, but I managed to get a good line and make it through them. At the same time my left calf totally cramped! AAAK! Only 3 miles in and I am cramping? This could be a very long race if that continues. I settled back in and the cramping subsided. I was going to be ok!

Eventually we got to the 4 mile mark that we had driven by when we tried to find the pre-ride route, and then we made it to the aid station around the 7 mile mark. I was happy here because I knew there would be some downhill and that the trail was a lot of fun.

I did get passed by quite a few people who are better descenders but I was still happy with how I was riding and working hard to get to the next part of the trail. This was also the part of the trail where I noticed some really bad rider behavior. One rider in particular kept yelling at people to get out of the way and to let him pass. Then something would happen and he’d fall back again, so we had to deal with him a few times. One time in particular he was directly in front of me, with two riders in front of him. The girl directly in front of him went to pass the guy in front of her on the right, and at the same time, the sketchy guy tried to pass them both on the left. It was horrible to watch. The girl wound up backing off and the guy being passed said something to the sketchy guy who then yelled back “I don’t know what your problem is, I’m not even in your class.” Ugh, it was so aggravating and totally dangerous. Then again, not too long after that something happened and he was behind us all again.

At one point I passed an older guy who was wearing some super fancy bright white Sidi shoes. I told him I really liked his shoes when I passed and he looked at me like I was crazy.

Eventually we got to the part where I had ended my pre-ride so I knew there were some hills coming up. The sport riders turned off and then for the last 6 miles it wasn’t quite as fun anymore. As I was riding up through the ski area I saw Victoria and Mary cheering on the side. I was so happy to see them! A few short feet away from them I bobbled and had to get off my bike to start the long steep climb up.

As I was pushing my bike up, I thought about Geoff who was originally planning on riding his free-ride bike but managed to get a fancy Specialized bike to race on. A little later I heard Matt call my name as he was coming up behind me since he was already on the run portion. Not too long after that I saw the men’s leader, Nico Lebrun, come running down, followed not too much after by Conrad Stoltz. I also saw Ashlie headed down the course on her bike and I had hoped to see Shonny come running down, too, but apparently I was just too fast and we never overlapped. ha! The hill eventually got a little less steep so I started riding again and rode the rest of the course.

With less than 3 miles to go I was getting pretty excited. I came up on a girl who had just endo-ed. She said she was so excited to be almost done that she lost her focus and went over the handle bars. The fact that we were almost done and that the views on the course were so amazing had me almost lose it a few times, too. This descent was more technical than anything else we had ridden and there were some switchbacks, too. I rode everything except a little dab on one of the switchbacks so I was pretty happy.

Overall on the bike I had 3 Clif Shots and almost two full bottles of LUNA Sport Electrolyte Splash in Pink Grapefruit.

I rolled into T2 and heard Christie cheering for me. I saw her standing there with some LUNA girls from SLC and heard them quickly introduce themselves for a moment then they all started cheering.

I ran up to my rack and stopped dead in my tracks.

Where were my shoes? I had left them right by the sign, right on the edge and now all that was there was empty space and bikes and helmets. I panicked a little and then looked one rack down – there they were! I backed up and started with my helmet and shoes and everything. I think T2 went ok, it was definitely faster than T1 but who knows for certain.

Total time for Bike and T2 2:30:33. I was happy with that!

Run

I already knew what the first part of the run was going to be like since I had already pushed my bike up it thinking how it would be considerably easier without the extra 20+ pounds of bike. Yeah, so it was still pretty hard and I walked a good portion of this first part of the race. A volunteer at the bottom even said to me “it’s a nice day for a hike!” Not sure if he was dissing me or not, but whatever.

Whenever the trail flattened out for even just a few steps I tried to run those few steps but as soon as it started up again I walked. I saw the photographer on the side of the course and told him I would run just a little for him. He laughed as I ran and then let me know when he was done and I walked again. Can’t have photographic evidence of the walking!

I got through that first climb without too much trouble since I was walking most of it but knew there were two more substantial hills to get through. I ran when I could, but on the flats and even on the down hills my heart rate would spike. So I walked a lot. I passed a few people and got passed by a few. I was struggling but having fun anyway. I mentally prepared to be out there for 1:30 so I took water at the aid stations. The Gatorade, even when diluted with extra water was making my stomach slosh. I had one Clif Shot at some point, too. It was probably over kill but whatever. Once again the views were beautiful and there was a funny bridge that when you ran over it, it bounced up and down like at a kid’s playground.

I came up on a guy and we discussed how we thought we were on the last of the hills. I was a faster walker than him and got to a flat spot that then turned into more of a hill. Right before we got to the top of the hill and the last aid station, I was passed by a woman in my age group. I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t have it in me to chase her down. She wound up beating me by 28 seconds! At the aid station, the medic there asked me if I was on my 2nd lap. I was like, what?

The rest of the run was downhill. You make a right turn and it was down down down. I was so happy to be almost done and happy that I was able to run that last mile and ½ or whatever it was. I crossed the finish line and felt like a super star with all the photographers and tv cameras there.

Once across the line Christie found me and I was like, hmm, Ok, now what? While I was happy to be done, I was also kind of sad.

I hung out for a bit, met up with the SLC LUNAs, April, and then also with Damian who had put my bike together. I met up with Danelle and gave Shonny a big sweaty hug. We met up with Ashlie and Matt, and ran into Jeff. It was fun to hear about everyone’s races and just to see everyone knowing they had accomplished something great that day.




Evening

After the race we went back to the hotel and cleaned up. We had dinner at a little Italian place along the main street. I was starving but couldn’t eat my whole dinner. I knew I’d want it later but I couldn’t take it with me. Later there was the awards ceremony where they announced the pros and the new national champions. Not many of the actual winners showed up which was kind of disappointing, but whatever. We stood in the beer line for forever and determined that 3.2% beer actually works because we had some rowdy drunk motorcycle dudes in line behind us invading our space.

We joined up with the LUNA crowd to listen to Savage Henry, the very loud band that was playing. I sat next to Danelle and we talked about her race and Worlds and the Canadian speed skating team. She was so nice and answered all my questions!

Finally they played the slide show of photos from the day followed by a video highlight, too. I love those kinds of things and it was cool to see it on the big screen outside like that.

Shortly thereafter we headed to I-Fly for some indoor sky diving! I was nervous because I had seen it on America’s Next Top Model and they weren’t very good at it. We all got suited up and then it was time to fly. It was nuts!! You go in a minute at a time and the instructor is in there constantly adjusting your positioning. They say to keep your chin up and stay still and I made sure to do that as best I could because they didn’t really say what would happen if you didn’t. I kept falling to the floor because my hands and arms were too close together or something, but he kept pulling me back up. At the end, he grabbed me and spun me around and that made me a little sick. I sat on the bench with the rest of the group waiting for my next turn. This time you go in, they work on your positioning a little and then he grabbed me by the handles on my suit and we flew way way way up the silo! It was crazy! And then bam! We flew down super fast, going round and round the whole time. We did that two more times and then he had me stand there and helped me do a flip which was crazy and threw off my balance totally. And then!! He had me on the far side away from the door and told me to walk across to the door! It was so hard! I couldn’t do it! I took a few steps and he pulled me back, joked that I had been drinking then sent me again! My legs kept catching air and he kept trying to push me but it was so hard. Finally I reached the door and used all my might to pull myself out of the wind. It was so crazy!

Travel Day

I was starving when I woke up on Sunday. I still had to put my bike in the bike box, which proved to be scary and frustrating because I forgot to put in my wetsuit and couldn’t fit my helmet. My jar of peanut butter fit though! I couldn’t get my pedals off either. Oh I really started to panic then. Luckily Eric had packed the long handled alen wrench set so I was able to take advantage of the extra leverage!

Once we were all packed up we went to Jeremiah’s for breakfast. I had some crazy huge helping of eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and French toast. It was so good. I probably could have kept eating but there was no more there. We saw the drunk motorcycle gang there, too, which was funny.

We jumped in the car and went into Salt Lake City to see Temple Square and visit the Mormon Tabernacle. That was all fine and dandy but not something I would have probably gone to see on my own. After all, this was my 4th time in Utah and I hadn’t ever gone before.

Then airport and home.

I want to thank my mom and sister for coming to the race with me. That was super great of them to make the trip and it was great for us to have a girls weekend. It was pretty hectic but at the same time, it made it much more relaxed. Also, it was super cool of eric to be totally supportive and let me go to the race without him! I am sure he would have kicked some ass had he gone and raced, so hopefully next year he can come too!