And the Mistakes Continue. Snow Mountain Ranch XTerra Part 2

Relieved to have my wet suit, I stood on the beach and promptly didn't think about anything but starting the race. Let's get the Party Started! If you race, you'll understand Mistake #4. If you don't, this is a helpful tip. Make sure your wet suit is fitting properly and you have given yourself extra room in the suit in the chest and shoulder area. If you put it on too quickly and zip it up, you might not have room to move. Or breathe. It might feel restrictive.

Swim Begins. And so do my troubles.

The race started and feeling confident, I began at the front.Three strokes later, I felt the desire to breathe. And I couldn't. My throat was swollen and sore, my wet suit was too tight in the chest, the silt from the bottom of the lake was irritating my lungs. The cold water and extreme altitude was making me take shallow breaths. I began to breast stroke knowing it would end soon.

The system of taking one or two strokes, then breast stroking continued to the first buoy. It continued half way around the course. I looked behind me (which I have NEVER done in a swim because I'm too busy swimming) I was fifth to last! There were only 4 people behind me! And they were surviving like me. Back stroking and Breast stroking. Weird thoughts went off in my head. Is this really what it's like for some people in XTerra? It's a desperate feeling. You wonder if you'll EVER get out of the water.

Turning the second buoy, I realized the need to put a consistent set of strokes together and began to do so. For the first time all morning, I had wondered if I should just stop and DNF. Was it a sign from heaven that I shouldn't race? Everything was going wrong.

I ran out of the water, circled the flags on the beach, and dove back in for lap 2.

Things went great the second time around, however.

Finishing the swim side-by-side.

As I neared the swim exit, I wondered how far back I was from my friends. When did they exit? Surprisingly, I ran out of the water side-by-side with one of my friends! It was a relief to know I wasn't already in a deficit when it was a sure thing the bike and run would put me way behind. The swim must have been short because I was a couple of minutes faster than last year. Awesome!

In transition, I took off my wet suit and began doing the things I should have done before the race.
Mistake #6 - Don't be late. Mistake #6 1/2 - Don't be late because you can't set out your items for the bike and run. Digging through my grocery sack for the right Gels with the correct caffeine amounts. Digging through my transition bag for gloves, helmet, socks and shoes. Nothing was laid out. The best preparation I had was to unzip my bag and that was only to grab my wet suit when the race began.




But the bike! Aw, the bike! I lose a lot of time on the bike, but I love it. I look forward to it. I enjoy every challenge, every flow-y moment, and the serenity of being on the trails, hearing my labored breathing as I climb. My legs felt good. Very good. I wasn't "pushing" it at all. I was completely comfortable and knew there were many hard climbs to come. Within the first few miles I caught and passed a couple of girls. I think this was the first time in any XTerra race when I caught up and passed on my mountain bike. The first 3 or 4 miles flew by and snap shots of the course were coming back clearly in my mind. Is it because mountain biking takes so much concentration, it can sear a picture in your mind so strong, it feels like yesterday?

First few miles of fun.

Looking ahead, I realized a group of 3 riders, 1 girl and 2 men weren't getting closer. But they weren't getting away. I was enjoying this new experience of being in a race. With people around, not just passing. I noticed one girl was growing increasingly closer. Slowly I caught her by around mile 5.5. Mistakes behind me, I was loving this race. Two other women and I were pulling one another through the course. I could tell I was feeling better than they were. Their breathing was growing labored and they would fall back, then surge to hang on. I knew I was feeling stronger and I was pretty sure they'd get more tired as the miles added up.

And then.... around mile 6, my pedal began to feel weird. Something was happening with my pedal. A couple of strokes later, the pedal fell off! Frantically, I got off the bike and tried to put the pedal back on. If I could get it on enough and begin to pedal, it is supposed to tighten. They are made that way. How did it come off? I'm still not sure. One girl went on. The other came up from behind and stopped to help. Some guy came by and tried to help and the lady left. Another guy came and the first guy left. This happened until the riders were coming further apart. Me and my problems were being passed on from rider to rider. After about 10 minutes, I knew I would have to DNF.

Mistake #7 - Know the course. In Ironman, I always study the course map and know where the aid stations are. For some reason, in XTerra it seems pointless. I don't know why. It's almost more important. Getting lost on the trails is not fun and wastes a lot of energy. As I stood there wondering how to DNF, I realized I didn't know the area at all and had no idea how to get to the nearest OUT where there might be people. It could be a very long walk and in which direction? I didn't want to go all the way back 5 miles. Was there a trail that crossed and would take me back quicker? And take me quicker to where? The dirt road? Would that even help?

One of the last men on the course came by at this time and told me the aid station was about a mile ahead. At least there, I could DNF without too much trouble. Mistake #8 - Always know where the aid stations are. They might not be completely accurate because that's the nature of trails, but they are usually close. Walking and pushing my bike, I climbed up the hill. The aid station was right around the corner at the top! If I had known, I wouldn't have wasted any time standing there trying to fix my pedal by myself. Happy to see people, they called to me and said a truck was coming. People who had gone on ahead told them I was coming and needed tools. I was overwhelmed. Knowing help had been called 10 minutes earlier meant my pedal would be attached that much sooner.

Water, a gel and two minutes later, the volunteer realized he had the tool and could help. With exactly a 17 minute delay, I was back on my bike. I wasn't last, but I didn't know that. At this point I had not seen another rider quite a while.

And I think that is a great place to end for now.