A forgotten post...

XTerra West Championships was a crazy race. I'm not 100% certain of what was happening out there, but I'll do my utmost best to write a race report!

I chose this early-season race because I need to do four XTerra series races to qualify for Nationals in Ogden, Utah, which is my goal. Even though I have done a lot of Compu-Trainer riding and even had a few outdoor rides, very few have been mountain biking. Weather, snow and mud make mountain biking difficult this time of year.

AND, I just began Mountain Biking last summer. So, I checked the course out ahead of time on Strava. I certainly didn't underestimate the difficulty, but at the same time, I certainly didn't understand the difficulty.There was about 1500 ft of climbing over 18.6 miles. I do THAT every time I ride out my door....

As a family, we spent the week mountain biking and swimming about 2 hours from the race. This helped me acclimate. I went from 50 degree weather to 90 degrees. At the end of the week, my kids went back home and the Computer Guy and I drove to the race.

At the pre-race meeting, Josiah Middaugh and Shonny VanLandingham described sections of the bike course to watch out for. Since I hadn't pre-ridden, it was a little foreign but I tried to keep some things in mind: watch out for the off-camber sections, gear way down for the sandy washes. Ride with really low tire pressure so you don't pinch flat on the sharp rocks. Got it.

Fast forward: I met Luke McKenzie, 6X Ironman Champ. He stopped by my car and asked for sunblock. I am sure this was a pathetic excuse to come over and meet me...

That night I slept better and more than I have in months. With a band playing very, very loudly down on the hotel plaza, I was thankful. I awoke ready to GO!

I love open water swimming so it was hard to wait until my Wave was sent off. And we were the last Wave. This was going to be the first swim where I had to run on the beach, past the flags and do another swim lap. For some reason, this was something I couldn't WAIT to try. It was FANTASTIC!

The Mountain Biking was unexpected. Lots of sand and climbing. The climbing was straight up. No switch backs, trees, and roots like I am used to. It was a ride of all guts and very little glory! Every couple of minutes I was riding in something new and eventually, the frustration of not knowing what to prepare for subsided and I just began wondering what would come up next, enjoying the variety.

Transition 2 was smooth. I grabbed a gel, some water, changed shoes and headed out. For the first 1/2 mile or so, it was along the lake side. Smooth, grass and fun. All too soon, we turned onto the bike course of dirt, sand, and rocks. Again, the same climbs I pushed my bike up found me walking up one more time. For the last time, thankfully. As I rose to the top, I looked behind and noticed a couple of people falling further behind. I kept my eyes on one man in front that I could see.

As I approached, we decided to walk/run the rest of the course together. I was tired in a different way than I was used to. The last mile, I left my new friend and cruised down to the finish line. A welcome site.