Morning:
Good grief I slept horribly. Eric and I slept in separate beds but I blame my poor sleep on worrying all night that Eric was going to suffocate in the compression tights he was sleeping in. Alas, he did not. I had my normal PB&J at 5:30 and then we just sort of hung out. I was totally parched and drank a bottle of water (maybe 2?) but still felt dry. Being right at the race site made for a very relaxing but also sort of nerve-racking experience. Everything was already done, there wasn’t any driving or organizing to do. Just waiting. At 630 we took our bikes and everything down to transition. We got our bodies marked and luckily we lined up with the person who was not putting the 3s on upside down! Then back to the room to hang out some more. With about 40-30 minutes to go we headed back down.
Swim:
I got in the lake and did a short warm up. The water was cold but felt good. I had picked up some new ear plugs (unfortunaetly from wal-mart, some sketchy US Dive brand) and was happy that I did. Next thing ya know, we were all on the beach getting ready for the start. First the pros, then Eric’s wave and then mine. Cori and I wished each other luck and then we were off.
The swim started off pretty well, I was moving through the water, feeling like I was keeping up. I was pummeled a few times but nothing that threw me off or made me panic. I was drafting off a guy for quite a while but finally had to give up on him because I kept creeping up on him and getting kicked. I wasn’t ever able to find anyone else after that. The time passed pretty quickly but I did stop a few times to do some breast stroke and to look around. I felt pretty good about the swim.
After exiting the swim you had to run for like, almost forever. At least it was pavement and it was flat, but it was far. I had to pee so bad so I ran right to the porta potty, finished taking of my wetsuit and took a little break right there. I am so glad I did because apparently I really had to go. While I was in there I heard the announcer say that Shannon was coming in and then went on to talk about beautiful Las Vegas Colorado and how not too long ago there was an Xterra in Saipan Colorado. At least that is what I heard but maybe I was already starting to lose it?
T1 was terrible. Not just because of the potty break but also because every time I bent over my abs would cramp up. I’d have to stand and bend backwards to stretch them out. I got my socks and shoes on and then had to fiddle with my gloves. I would have just waited until I was out on the road for the gloves I think but I have that wrist brace I have been wearing because of my gimpy wrist and I really needed to make sure to get that on. While I was in there fiddling around, I heard the announcer say “oh take your time – a slower transition will make for a faster race overall.” Again, did he really say that? Finally I was out of T1.
Swim time, plus T1: 35 minutes and some seconds.
Bike:
I had been thinking a lot about this race and how I was going to come and race the bike portion like I would a mountain bike race, not worrying about the run or anything else. Yeah, that was until the pre-ride when I started to doubt riding abilities and got freaked out about the gravel. The gravel bummed me out but I was also disappointed in myself for being so worried about it all. I went up the hills quickly but was in my 22 for a lot of them. I probably should have tried my middle ring more but that 22 was so nice. I had to push my bike up some of the hills because they were so tough but did manage to hop right back on at the top without resting despite all the huffing and puffing. I got lapped by Conrad Stoltz right at the top of the canyon section I described earlier. And I chatted with the blind rider and his guide, both of whom I had chatted with out on the course in Maui. I was still working pretty hard and concentrating on my riding, and other than the pros lapping me, I wasn’t getting passed but I was passing people. There was one hill where someone lost an Eddy Merckx water bottle. For some reason, on both laps while passing that bottle Balls the cat and his giant cat balls popped into my head and I had a chuckle. The one thing I did learn although I had heard it before was “look where you want to go and not where you don’t want to go.” I felt this was super important on this course and once I actually did it a few times I started trusting it more and feeling better about the course. To give you an idea of how steep some of the bike portions were, my garmin stops if I am going too slow. My garmin said my bike time was 13 minutes faster than the results. That’s crazy talk right there!! I drank two big bottles of discontinued LUNA Sport Electrolyte Splash in pink grapefruit and had 3 Clif Shots.
Eventually the bike was done!
Later we found out that Kris had the fastest amateur bike time and 8th fastest overall – way to go Kris!
T2 was better than T1 but you had to dismount your bike and then run almost ½ way around transition before heading in.
Bike and T2 time: 2:03 and some seconds. I should have been faster.
Run:
Oh the run. A few steps out I realized I had forgotten my back up Clif Shot. Oh well, I had just taken one towards the end of the bike and there would be drinks available on the course (I hoped!) so I should be ok. I kept going. I ran out of transition and felt pretty good. I was parched though so I got water at the first stop but kept running. I didn’t get to do a pre-run so I wasn’t sure what the course would be like. It was ok, with one major big climb that I can remember. There is a part that you head out to a water stop and then back around. Then there is a big long fun descent and changes into a kind of single track section. That part was fun and it is where Shannon caught me on her 2nd lap. I also met up with a guy from Redmond who works at MS and we wound up chatting and running for the rest of the race together (his gf won my age group!). He had been cramping really badly but my combo of running and walking some of the hills helped him out. Then we headed to the turn around. One of the best parts of the run I thought was that Kahuna Dave was out at that main intersection directing runners. I thought that was pretty great. By the time we got to the far water stop I was really dehydrated and a bit later got some chills. They didn’t last for long but still were a warning that I was out running in the desert. Finally down to the last mile and ½ or so and my Redmond running buddy was off the front. I was running pretty well, feeling good, probably since it was at the end and downhill but at the same time I felt like I was going to throw up. There was a tiny 20 ft patch of thick, green grass and a hint of shade that we ran through right before making a tight turn and up, up, up onto a ridge. At the end there I saw Eric and then down the hill, around the corner and to the finish line. Fantastic!
Run time: 1:06 and some seconds
Overall time: 3:45, 11th in my age group
Eric came in 4th in his age group which was amazing, I am really proud of him! Cori came in 9th and took something like 40 minutes off of her time from last year. Shannon came in 4th in her 2nd ever Xterra and Kris came in 5th. Nice work!
And Shonny won! How awesome is that?
1 comment:
Nice job!!
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