Let me start my report by saying how awesome it was to finally meet my MelRad team mates for the very first time. I could finally put a name to a face. We’re a pretty great group of talented people who share the love for Xterra racing. I hope that I get to see you all again at another race!
We decided to make our trip to Vegas less hectic by driving half way, staying at a motel in Bakersfield and completing the drive to Vegas the next morning. I picked Dave, my BF, up in Gilroy and he drove the entire time. I’m not fond of driving and I easily fall asleep at the wheel but I do make a great co-pilot. We got to Bakersfield in four hours and got up the next morning and arrived by 11:30am. Got some lunch and went to packet pick up. Great to see the Xterra folks…Janet and Ann were at registration and we gave each other hugs.
Met up with a friend there also to do a preride. I just wanted to check things out like the nasty downhill etc. I didn’t ride it but did look for a good line to take on race day. I did this race last year so had a pretty good idea of what to expect. There were a few changes and I’d say they were positive ones. Moving the transition to the parking lot was a big bonus and changing the run course made it slightly “easier.” Got back to our motel after some dinner. It’s hard to find “healthy” eating places nearby so we settled on Panda Express. Blah.
Race morning: Had my bagel with some of the yummy peanut butter we got from Justin’s as part of our team sponsorship. Arrived around 6:30am but Dave missed the turn towards the resort so we ended up driving an extra mile…oh well. Got body marked, found a good spot for my bike and went for a short run to get the legs going.
Swim: I really think that Dave Kahuna really enjoys blowing off that cannon every time! Man, was it louder than normal it seemed. I wear earplugs for the swim and it was still loud. I didn’t get kicked or swatted during the swim which is always nice. Only had one guy who kept swimming into me. I ended up having to slow down and pass him to the left to avoid the bumping. The first buoy was fine but the second was tough to see. I just swam with the group and finally saw it. I got the swim done and was happy. Heck, it’s always a good day to finish a swim when you’re swimming challenged.
Bike: The run up to T-1 was fairly long so that got my HR up. I got on my bike and tried to settle in. The course is just full of hills and the big one was such a hard hike/bike for most of us. It seemed like I was moving sooooo slowly. The dry river bed seemed looser on the second lap as I found my rear wheel fishtailing along. I felt a bit drained on the first lap, my legs were not opening up but lap 2 I started to feel better. I had the pleasure of seeing Conrad whiz by me near the end of the loop along the lakeside. You get a real appreciation for how fast these Pros are! Got off the bike and was ready to run. I wasn’t pleased with my legs but I got the bike done.
Run: The weather was pretty warm on the run. I think it was at least 89degrees or more near the end. I loved it for some sick reason. The heat makes me think of more suffering and a true test for those who hydrated enough and able to deal with it mentally. So, more hills! Of course, it’s an Xterra race. I maintained or at least tried to keep my speed up while running up the hills. I didn’t see very many women in my age group and had no idea what place I was in. Second lap and I look up and see a woman that I’m slowly closing in on. I see that she’s in my AG and rolled my eyes. Okay, I said to myself, I better dig deep again to try and catch and pass because you never know what place it could mean in the end. I finally got behind her and ran along for a bit. We got to the last hill towards the turn around and I made my move. It was now or never. I somehow found a spurt of energy and made a pretty good surge. I just kept going and as I got to the ridge and looked back, she was too far back to catch me. I pushed through towards the finish line. It was a joyous moment considering how hard I had to fight to pass her etc. I ended up in the med tent……again. It is not my desire to go there but I seem to end up there alot. I thought I could just walk off the pain but I started to feel dizzy also. I got a good splash of cold water over my head and an ice bag to cool my body. I sat there for over 30minutes. Mel and Alexia came over to check on me! I started to get up and had to sit down because my right arch started to cramp real bad. Marcus was so helpful and tried to massage it out. After that cramp, another one started in my toe. It was quite frustrating. I wanted to get up and walk but could not. I drank two Gatorades also. Dave finished and sat with me until I finally was able to walk w/o the cramps. Hey, better to cramp after the race than during, right? Marcus got my finish card and I took 3rd! I was disappointed that I didn’t qualify for Worlds here but I did earn 3rd place! If it were easy, it wouldn’t be Xterra. So onward and hope to get to Maui in my next race.
Thanks to Nathan, Profile Design, Bellwether, Avia and Justin’s for all the great gear/goodies we received at the race also. We are so fortunate. Thanks also MelRad teammies. It’s so nice to have each other’s support.