That’s a Wrap…

            My best memories of my Xterra days do not center around the race courses or the place I finished; instead, they revolve around my overall experience.  I have always said that in addition to the wonderful gift of allowing me to push my physical limits; the greatest gift I have received from my years of racing are the friendships I have made.  Those friendships have paved the way for six years of the most fun a girl can have, at least legally.  This past weekend was my last point series race in Fort Collins.  As I have watched the Xterra field grow over the years, it has experienced some growing pains.  Throw in a bad economy and the loss of Nissan in the mix and those pains were a little more severe.  There was a certain magic that you experienced as you walked through the “village” and watched the kids play and race beneath your feet.  People were smiling and shaking hands with each introduction.  The pros intermingled with first timers and were never too arrogant to wish you luck or share one of their “race secrets.”  Missing was the arrogance and the anxiety that was in the air at other triathlons.  That is what I loved, I felt welcomed, embraced, and part of the family.  I wanted to do my best, for myself.  As the roadie triathletes have learned more about our secret gem, they have begun to invade in masses.  I am always happy to share why we have so much fun and why Xterra is so hard; but yet, so fun at the same time. 

            One of Paul’s coworkers, Taylor, was one of these roadies.  He had raced as a junior elite road triathlete and wanted to dip his toes in the Xterra experience.  Paul tried to warn him.  I mean my husband can ride 100 Miles, fast, but when he speaks of racing Xterras, he describes it is “a whole new level of pain.”  Triathletes can be stubborn and steadfast in their resolve though; I have raced hard, how hard can it really be?  Taylor and I had preridden the course the weekend before the race.  He tagged along as I did hill repeats up the climbs, alternating between easy and hard gears.  He was right on my heels and make no assumptions, this kid is fit.  He is a fast swimmer and runner as well, so I knew he would be a threat on race day.  I was happy to be on the trail, because Paul had the boys were busy almost killing themselves at the jump park.  As I rode up, I noticed that my nine year old was hitting the big jumps.  He gets that skill from his Dad, as he cleared line after line with minimal effort.

 My husband just happens to work in a pretty competitive atmosphere in the outdoor industry.  Everyone runs, bikes, and races, so there is more then a little friendly competition on a daily basis.  Friday night I got to meet a number of Paul’s coworkers as we said farewell to one.  It did not take long for people to realize that both Taylor and I were racing on Sunday.  Do not get me wrong, I have beat my fair share of men, but poor Taylor was adamant that he was not going to be chicked, especially by an old lady like myself.

When my alarm sounded at 4:30 am on Sunday, the room filled with some rather colorful language as I was woken from a deep sleep.  I groggily got up, grabbed my race bag, and waited for Taylor’s car to appear in my driveway.   By 6 am we were entering enemy territory, both of us are CU grads, and in serious need of a nap.  I am always like Santa on race day; I gave an extra race number belt to a racer that had forgotten his, never saw that again, thanks Nathan!  I also made sure that Taylor had enough GU and encouraged him to try the Roctaine, thanks GU!  Then I grappled with the same decision I had struggled with my last couple of races, wetsuit or no wetsuit.  Although it was technically legal, a 74 degree water temperature made the decision easy, no wetsuit for me.  The wave starts had Taylor out of the water before I even got wet.  It was a quick 800 swim and I was out in front before the first 100 had passed.  I knew I was going slower then normal, but with swimming through other races coupled with attempting to sight with the sun blinding me, that was just how it was going to be.  It did not help that I had no men to pace off either. 

Now the fun begins the bike.  The course was fast, middle chain ring climbing followed by a quick descent and a flat section that can only be described as, go as fast as you can.  I have to say it was a strange day for me.  First, I had no idea where I was in the pack and I actually was doing the passing.  It was much more confident aspiring then getting passed every other second.  Only one woman passed me on the bike.  I expected more, but none ever showed up.  On to the run, I know what you are thinking, there goes that great race.  I just kept putting one foot in front of the other as I slowly climbed up the hill.  Around mile two, I began to be passed, but I just kept going.  Remember how I said how much fun my first memories of Xterra were, well as I crossed the finish line there was a water slide in front of me.  Everyone was eating, laughing, slipping, and sliding.  I ran into Taylor who looked toasted.  He looked at me and just said a few words, “Paul was right.  That was the hardest thing I have ever done.”  I just smiled and we walked over to look at our finish times.  I ended up 3^rd in my age group, out of 14.  Poor Taylor’s face glazed over as he realized I had beaten him by 10 seconds.  When I got home, Paul could not stop laughing as I begged him to take it easy on him.  Even with all of the heckling he endured at work that Monday, he is hooked and is looking forward to his next Xterra.  For him a new chapter begins and for me one closes.  Just Ogden stands between me and my Xterra farewell, see you there!

Becky

What the heck am I supposed to do with myself now?

            The last month has been a whirlwind to say the least.  I have no one to blame but myself really.  I am the one who put together my schedule, but it always appears much simpler on paper, then when you are sitting in the car for eight hours straight right after running your legs off.  Between my job, training and racing, and family, I have had about 20 minutes a night to myself, before I drift to sleep.  The last three weeks were filled to the brim with three states, three races, and thousands of miles in between.  In addition, one of my coworkers had a week off which translated into even more workload, stress, and hours for me.  Did I mention that the boys just started school last week?  No problem, Paul and I have been so busy we even messed that up; school started on Tuesday, not Wednesday.  All of this chaos has left me completely exhausted, mentally and physically and just reaffirms what I already know; I can not do it all.  It is time to take a break from racing and slow things down.  As much as my husband needs a fit wife, my boys need their Mom to be around for a couple more years. If I keep at this pace, I am liable to end up with a heart attack or a serious breakdown.  When Paul was home full time, it was not that hard, he did the cooking, cleaning, and making sure the boys were where they needed to be.  Since he has been at Pearl, the chaos has engulfed our lives and we are just holding on attempting to survive the day.      

            Back to the least three weeks, the weekend after we got back from South Dakota, I had a weekend’s reprieve from traveling.  I headed up to Eldora with three friends for Xterra Indian Peaks.  The drive left me in stitches as I listened to them all heckle me for 45 minutes.  I ran into a bunch of Xterra regulars and noticed how many new faces were in the crowd.  The race is a swim TT and you never really know how you are doing, because figuring that out would require some serious math.  When you are sucking air at more then a mile high, the last thing you want to do is compute start times.  The Bike was super fun and actual trail, versus the typical Xterra hill climbs.  The run was up and down and had a deep water section that made you feel like a kid playing in the woods.  I ended up ninth, but once again, the 35-39 was the biggest woman’s field by far.  Nationals should be interesting this year if the Colorado races are any indication of depth and speed. 

            The next weekend I was off to Nebraska.  Last year I had to do this race to secure a Nationals spot, but this year I had already received my invite.  I wavered on going, but had so much fun last year; I decided to give it another go.  I have to admit, about half way to Lincoln, I missed my family and almost turned around.  When I finally got to Lincoln it was around three and hot.  I suffered through a preride with two fellow Coloradans and when I got to my hotel, I noticed the heat warnings and the index, which was at 110.  Race morning gave us some reprieve until the run.  I opted out of a wetsuit once again deciding that it would be better to give up speed over comfort.  A new state found me once again fighting to get to the front of the line, but not for long.  I had a seven minute lead heading out onto the bike course.  I was all alone and felt great until we hit a long road section and I regretted being alone.  I knew if the women behind me were working together, I was toast.  I was right and as we reentered trail, I could see them.  I fought as hard as I could to keep my swim lead, but heading into T2, the EPC ladies had managed to catch me and I knew the run would leave me hanging on at best.  I left it all out on the bike course and as my legs attempted to run, but they trembled with every step.  It was almost like they were screaming at me with every step.  I was just stumbling from aid station to aid station, my body was in serious heat shock and dehydration began to take a grip on me.  I stumbled towards the finish delirious and disoriented.  I managed a fourth overall and only third in my age group, but once again, Colorado racers swept almost all of the categories.  It is funny,  although the numbers by my name have not reflected my efforts this year; I am pretty happy with how I have been doing.  The fields have been huge and fast and I am happy just to be able to be out there.  It has been a super fun, nonstressful year; at least as far as racing is concerned.  I headed back to colorful Colorado as soon as I was finished, hoping to be home in time to kiss my boys good night. 

            This week, I am back in Colorado gearing up for my last weekend of Xterra point series racing followed by my brother’s wedding.  I will be saying goodbye to summer with about 50 of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  The Batizy clan is about to invade Colorado again and there is a turquoise dress hanging in my closet eager for me to slip it on.  Always a bridesmaid, right?  Paul is the smart one in our family and is escaping to South Dakota  just in time to spend our anniversary with his one true love, his mountain bike and 50 miles of trail.  I only have four weeks until Nationals and since time seems to be passing at the speed of light, I am certain it will be here before I know it, signifying the end of my Xterra days.  Not sure what am I supposed to do with myself after that, but I am sure I will figure it out.  Right now I am just attempting to keep up appearances pretending that I have it all together.  If you only knew…

See you Sunday, the race is Sunday, right?

Becky

The curse of five words

            Since I started racing six years ago, there are still five words that haunt my very existence, first out of the water.  Do not get me wrong, I am not downplaying my swimming prowess.  I agree 100% that my freakishly long arms and hands give me fish like speed in the water.  It is more that I have always had a love hate relationship with the water.  Right now, it is leaning more towards hate then love.  First, I swam because my Dad made me, not because I wanted to.  Even today swimming is more of a have to then want to.  For the record, I would not step a foot near a pool for eleven years.  When I became pregnant with my first son, they told me that swimming was a good idea and I responded that I would rather gain 50 pounds.  I hear people all the time tell me how much they love swimming, but how they are just no good at it.  Sorry, but I do not love it.  In fact, I dread it the night before as I pack my things.  I stare at the pool floor before I jump in, wondering if anyone will notice if I just turn around and go home.  My dislike of swimming is so strong, it is one of the reasons I am not going to race anymore.  I just can not stomach another year of chlorine. 

            So back to why I dread those five words.  For the last six years, no one ever comments on my biking or running, I am known as the girl who swims like a fish.  If I had a dollar for every time this conversation happened, “What’s your name?”  “Becky”  “Oh you are that crazy fast swimmer.”  Then comes the barrage of questions; how much do I swim, 45 minutes, 3 times a week, with masters, no by myself, college swimmer, no quit when I was thirteen, miler, no 200 and 100 fly, not possible, what???  Look up the race reports, even if it starts with first out of the water; it never says first across the finish line.  You have to be pretty strong mentally to hold it together as 100 people pass you on the bike, even when they do say nice swim and are very polite.  For once, just once, I do not want to be known as the girl who can swim fast, how about the superstar Mom instead? 

In high school, my nickname was Pez which is Spanish for fish.  Even though I quit swimming during my freshman year, I was always known as the girl with gills. 

It is a little ironic that after 20 years, I still can not escape that silly nickname.  My husband finds the whole thing very amusing.  He loves to watch people fight to line up behind me on the start line or watch them duke it out to follow my toes in the water.  He loves to go to different places and watch people stare in shock as I emerge out of the water before most, if not all of the men.  I have to say I do love it when I am next to some guy in transition who says, don’t worry; I will be long gone by the time you get here.  Joke’s on him when he gets out of the water and my bike is long gone.  Or when there is a mass start and one of the guys heckles me for getting in the front of the line.  Someone always comes to my defense by telling them that I will be done with my first lap, before they even get to the first buoy.  For me, I just hope my whole time in Xterra does not boil down to just those few five words, because although swimming is my strength; I have had to work so much harder on the bike and run.  For now, I am eager to hang up the goggles again and only frequent pools when it involves a drink and a tiny umbrella or a water slide.  Although the sport has been pretty darn good to me, I have had my fill.  I am ready to be known for all the great things I do out of the water.

Do Not Quit your Day Job….

            The summer is flying by at the speed of light.  The days are shorter, the nights are cooler, and my boys have only two weeks until their summer vacations come to an end.  I love Colorado summers and I am enjoying the last breaths of summer before fall sets in.  One of the things that I have really enjoyed about racing Xterras is all of the amazing places that I have visited over the years.  Places that I may have passed by, had their not been an Xterra there.  I could talk for days about all of the amazing trails that I have been lucky enough to ride.  When the schedule came out this year, I noticed a new race in South Dakota.  I love the Black Hills and asked Paul about taking a trip up there.  He took one look at the word Aberdeen and said no way.  “Do you have any idea how far away that is?”  I mapped it and I was shocked when I read a drive time of almost 13 hours.  I hate riding in a car and thirteen hours would push me to the outer limits of my sanity.  Not another word was said regarding the race until I revisited my suggestion two weeks ago.  We only had two weeks until the boys returned to school, to soccer, and our lives return to chaos.  We had not had a family vacation since last Christmas.  Unfortunately for our boys, our work schedules leave little time for days off and long family trips.  I did some research and discovered Rapid City was half way between Boulder and Aberdeen and there was a hotel with an indoor water park attached there.  All I had to say was Water Park and the boys were jumping up and down with excitement.  Paul was excited to have some time with the family and away from Boulder.  Since I have to ask for all my days off months ahead, I already had the days scheduled as off, so I finalized the plans and off we went.

            Day 1 had us in the car and South Dakota bound before 7am.  After a six hour drive we landed in Rapid City.  We started with a quick trip to Storybook land.  After Paul reminded me that our boys are no longer toddlers and the boys showed no interest, we decided to hightail it to Acme bikes to inquire about the best trails in the area for the boys.  IMBA has done of work in town on their trail network and there is an extensive trail system right in the middle of town.  By the time we got to the trailhead, it was nearing 100 degrees.  Paul and I packed extra water and set out.  The boys rode like troopers.  Even with the heat, they were smiling and riding up things I would have never thought they would.  By the time we finished their little faces were beet red and we were all wet head to toe from sweat.  We cooled down with a couple of laps through the jump park and pump track.  After a quick bite we headed to the hotel and jumped into our suits.  We were all laughing until our sides hurt as we took runs down the toilet bowel and on the other slides.  By the end of the night, we were all chlorine logged and exhausted.  The next day we slept in and headed out to Aberdeen. 

            As we pulled into the lot we noticed Will Kelsay’s van and started to smile.  Any race where Will is, there is guaranteed to be fun.  He has an infectious level of enthusiasm for the sport that will make even the most serious athlete crack a smile.  After Paul drew a portrait of Will in the dust on his rear windshield professing his love for Xterra and Shelby, we suited up and headed out. The course was two seven mile loops, so we decided to take the boys on one loop.  They had a blast except for being eaten alive by the mosquitoes.  Mason left with huge bites on his face and ears, but only managed to complain after he took a spill.  We headed over to the hotel and Paul took the boys to explore the pool, which happened to have another huge water slide.  I drifted to sleep, until the boys returned to tell me all about their water adventures. 

            The race had a late start of 10 am, so we got some extra sleep and headed over to the swim start.  It had rained the night before, so I was stuck in a dilemma.  My bike is great, but neither my drive train or my bike are fond of mud, as I had discovered last year in Nebraska when my rear wheel stopped spinning and my shifting was limited to a couple of gears in my middle chain ring after a deluge of rain.  Instead, I opted for Paul’s 29er which would give me greater clearance in the mud and the SRAM 2 by 10 shifts like a champ even in thick mud.  The only issue was that I had only ridden Paul’s bike once, so it could be a shot in the dark. 

            The race was a sharp contrast to my previous Xterra.  At Beaver Creek there were hundreds of us, here there were less then one hundred athletes total and only six of whom were women.  At the same time, there was no pretense, no posturing, just a bunch of people excited to go play in the woods.  A quick prerace briefing stated the water temp at 78 degrees, wetsuit legal.  I decided that although I may loose some time, I would wear my fast skin.  I would rather loose a couple of seconds then risk overheating in a wetsuit.  I was mesmerized by how clean and clear the water was as I warmed up.  We lined up and Jen Marsh sent us on our way.  Will took off like a shark and I was smiling with excitement as I got to see how much his swimming has improved.  Before the second buoy, I was swimming alone.  I got caught in the moment enjoying the warmth of the water and the feeling of swimming; just me, my breath, and the feel of the water.  You can not dream moments like that.  I got out of the water and headed up the hilly run to transition.  Will caught me and we set out on the bike together.  It was not long until I heard Will laughing.  He had forgotten to take his speed suit off in transition and had to stop to stash it under our truck.  I think we have all been there.  It was not long after I turned into the woods, that the lead men caught up to me.  They were very sweet and all complimented me on what they considered an amazing swim.  I knew I had to ride fast to maintain my swim lead as I have been in the same place so many times before.  I struggled with Paul’s bike and went down in a sharp mud filled turn within the first mile.  The course was a blast and kept us popping in and out of the trees.  The boys and Paul ran around the course cheering me on.  As I approached the first tight section, I really began to struggle with Paul’s bike.  I kept hitting the bars on the trees and not taking the corners wide enough and I could see the second and third place women nipping at my heels.  I knew I had to kill myself to open the gap on the flats.  I managed to pick up some time on the open sections, but another tight section had them coming into transition right after me. 

            We all headed out on the run together.  I knew I had to run my legs off, if I wanted a chance at being in the top two.  I managed to hold one woman off, but the other left me in the dust.  I struggled in the humidity to just keep pace, but finished in second overall.  The best part was that I had managed to win $300.00 and a set of Xterra DVDs.  I gave the DVDs to Will and took the boys and Paul out to dinner.  There is no way I could have done as well as I did without them there and their encouragement and support.  The next day consisted of more water park time and a trip to Bear Country.  The boys were in awe as we drove inches from black bears, wolves, and lions.  Although they all live right out our backdoor; it is rare to actually see them.  It was obvious some of the people had never been around bears as we watched the inquisitive bears remove pieces of their cars looking for food.  The boys thought this was one of the highlights of the trip as we watched a poor women in her car realize that one of the bears was chewing on a piece of her car.  Of course upon my return everyone asked me if this changed my mind about quitting racing after this year and no, it has not. If the reason for my quitting was my lack of winning, I would have never even started.    It has just left me with another fond memory of my Xterra days to file away with the many others.  I have a crazy month ahead of me with a couple more Xterras and my Brother’s wedding, not mention soccer and school for the boys.  As I am sure it will all fly by, I am just trying to take it all in and enjoy my final days of Xterra. 

Be safe and have fun!

Becky

Just take a Step Back……

            Yesterday as I was sitting at my desk, phone ringing off the hook, and once again assisting someone in solving their latest financial catastrophe; Paul called.  He rarely calls me during the day as he knows I barely have time to use the restroom, so I was a little concerned, my head filling with all of the things that could be wrong;  the boys, his Dad, our dog, the house.  Frantically I grabbed the phone, “What is wrong?”    “Nothing,” he responded calmly.  “We need another person to run for Pearl at the corporate challenge tonight.  Can you do it?”  After my fear subsided, my mouth spoke before my head had time to process my response, “Sure, whatever.  I am really busy and in the middle of getting a trade done for a client.”  As soon as I hung up, I was regretting my response.  After I made it through my typical crazy workday, I headed home and as soon as I walked in the door asked Paul if I had to go.  He looked up and said yes and off we went.  In typical Paul fashion, he arrived less then 15 minutes before the race started and as I glanced over at the winding registration line, I knew a warm-up would not be happening.  Since, this was a corporate challenge and the start line was full of weekend warriors, like myself, that exercise our minds all day and our bodies in the few minutes of spare time we can muster in our hectic days.  As it is Boulder, there were more then a few people that looked like a walking Ironman ad.  As I sat there and pondered if they were wearing Ironman underwear, the horn sounded.  Now as everyone knows, running is not my strong suit and my hope was just not to be the last person across the line.  My fears subsided and I crossed the line right over 25 minutes.  As Paul and I were leaving, he told me how proud he was of me.  I was quick to respond that 25 minutes for a 5K was slow, did you see all those women in front of me.  Then he said something that stopped me dead in my tracks, can you just be proud of yourself for once in your life?  When you look back on your racing career, I want you to be proud of all you accomplished.  You managed to race with the best in the World as a swimmer, as a triathelete, all the while holding down a full time job and having two kids.  It is okay to be proud of yourself, you deserve it.  In retrospect he is right.  My first season racing, I could barely run a 5K without stopping and now I was clipping at the heels of a sub eight minute mile. 

            I know I am not alone; most of us out there racing are high strung type A personalities that expect nothing but perfection from everything we do.  It is not a bad quality to have most of the time and if more of our fellow Americans shared our drive, we would be a much healthier, slimmer, and motivated nation.  The problem is that sometimes in our strive for perfection, we get so caught up in what we have not done, that we fail to see all  we have accomplished and it takes an outside voice, be it a spouse or a friend to bring us back to reality.  They can force us to take a step back and see ourselves from an outside point of view.  As you go out this weekend and race or train, remember to take a quick second to realize how amazing you really are and how important you are to so many people around you and smile.

Have fun and play hard.

Becky