*Lohi means “slow” in Hawaiian
Back in May, I traveled to Las Vegas for the Xterra West Cup in hopes to qualify for the World Championships. I had a good race that day placing 8th amateur and 2nd in my age group clinching a slot for Worlds.
We arrived in Maui few days before the race, which gave me plenty of time to get ready.
The day before the race, I got caught under heavy surf while going for a swim, and hurt my lower back. Basically, my movement was restricted, and could hardly bend over to put my shoes on. That afternoon, I went to the local medical clinic and got a prescription for painkillers. I had huge hopes for this race (age group podium), and it seems they were just slipping away…
Race morning: I woke up not really rested after a bad night a) in pain, b) stressed over my back pain. It was not exactly a good combination for race day. However, I did feel a little better, and not as stiff as I was on Saturday.
I got body marked, #216, and proceeded to set up my gear. One of our awesome Melrad sponsors, Profile Design had sent us some prototype speed suits to try out in Maui, which was really cool.
About an hour before the start, I did some stretching specifically to loosen up my lower back. I also made sure I got my Hawaiian blessing …
The Swim:
This year, the swim start was very narrow, we couldn’t fan out on the beach like I remembered. I stayed away from the huge pack as I didn’t know how my back would react. The ocean was rougher than in 2006, and I had a difficult swim. I never got into a decent rhythm, couldn’t find a good pair of feet to draft from, and kept running into traffic. While running on the beach between loops 1 & 2, I looked at my watch and saw 16 minutes, I knew then that today wasn’t my day. The beach run felt long, and the second loop even longer than the first!
Swim: 32’ (just over 2’ faster than in 06… I was not impressed by my performance).
T1 went fairly fast, the Profile Design Mako speed suit just peels off quickly. M back was stiff so it took me few extra seconds to put on my bike shoes. After a short run to the mount line, I was off on my awesome Specialized Epic.
The Bike:
Once on the bike I started pressing, I knew this was the place to make up time, it was now or never. Unfortunately, my crappy swim meant more people on the course and more traffic on the hills.
Hills I can normally clear, I had to walk because there was just too many people in the way walking their bikes. I never got into the groove, and I knew I wasn’t making up any ground. The course was also very dusty, it made for some very difficult riding, there were times where I couldn’t see 2 feet in front of me.
The lava rocks are everywhere, and I just didn’t want to know what it feels like to crash on this lovely trail. I think at the end, I ended up being too cautious.
The bike course climbs and climbs a total of 3000 feet before plunging down “the plunge”. After all that climbing, I welcomed “the plunge”, I was ready for some good downhill and some fresh air! Unfortunately, “the plunge” is only a mile and half, so you’re back into climbing way too soon. My Specialized Epic performed great on Hawaiian soil, in comparison to the hardtail I rode 3 years ago, this ride was just amazing. It’s really too bad that the “engine” wasn’t working well today.
Side note: no crashes, no mechanicals… I lucked out!
Bike: 2h19 (28 minutes faster than in 06 … not bad, but slower than I was shooting for)
T2 went ok, as usual.
The Run:
By the time I got to T2, it was almost noon, the temperature was freakishly hot (mid 90s). I had 7 more miles to go. One thought was going through my head: run, no matter what, keep running. So I put on my Avia Stoltz and headed off for the run.
The run started nicely enough, with the neatly manicured grass of the golf course. Then the course took us to a section of road before attacking the climb to Haleakala. Once on the dirt road, the slope became steeper, the heat was oppressing and there was no shade to be found. I kept on running, but I knew I was slow. I reached the first aid station with a sight of relief and poured as much cold water on my head as I could. I kept on running (slowly) for most of the climb until I reached Cactus Alley. Once again, I welcomed the downhill section, my speed went up, and I passed 2 women from my age group. The lava rocks were omnipresent, reaching the end of Cactus Alley meant getting rid of the lava rock and saying hello to the deep sand of Makena Beach.
Makena Beach is beautiful. I have always loved Makena Beach. As a matter of fact, I even got married there, but this is a hell of a place to run! The sand was deep, and it stuck to my wet shoes, making them heavier. On Makena, I caught up with another woman from my age group, I stayed with her until we reached Spooky Forrest, and passed her at an aid station.
Spooky Forrest has always been my favorite part of the run course. I gained some speed and ran well there, until the sand of Black Sand Beach slowed me down again. One more section of lava rocks, then I emerged onto the golf course and down the finish chute… done!
Run: 1h08 (15 minutes faster than in 06, but again slower than I was hoping)
Race: 4h04 (8/23 AG, 34th amateur)
To sum up, I wasn’t as well prepared as I thought. Having hurt my back the day before really didn’t help. I know I can race better and faster, I even beat the woman that won my age group earlier in the season…
I have a lot to work on this winter, my number one priority is the swim.
I will be back next year as a stronger swimmer, a etter mountain biker and a faster, leaner runner. I will be on the Xterra World Championships podium in 2010.
Before the race, ready to go
the narrow swim start
heading out on the run
happy to be done (and alive)
