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Snow at Xterra Tahoe City race

Monday, June 27th, 2011

This was a first for me. I have never had a chance to run across snow in an Xterra race but alas, now I have. Thanks Tahoe City!

Our adventure started with a 1:15am departure on race morning. Yes, you read that right. Trying to leave for Tahoe on a Friday night from the Bay Area is not nice and a waste of motel money so we opted to sleep in our own bed and leave early. Fun, not really, but it happens.

We arrived and took a short nap. That felt really good. Got registered, racked up the bikes and time to get the Profile Design Gold cell wetsuit on! The walk to the beach is fairly long so you can’t mess around much gabbing with other racers.

SWIM: The water temp was a balmy 51 degrees….oh, not another cold water swim for me. All season it’s been like this. I opted to do a dry land warm up instead. I get cold too fast so this works for me. The race starts and yes, the initial cold was unbearable. Think about putting your body into a tub of ice cubes/water. The pain hurts until you get numb. The best part was not getting hit by anyone and enjoying swimming in a lake where you actually see bottom! So cool….in so many ways. We did a 2 loop swim with a beach run. I got out and headed up to our nice long jog to T-1. At least it warms you up.

BIKE: The bike immediately starts with a cruel climb on the road. It’s tough getting on your gloves at this time. I finally did. There were some nice slushy wet areas/puddles along the way. The course has it’s rocky sections too and I was happy about handling them pretty well this year. Also a 2 lap course so you get to do everything again! Heading back to T-2 is hard because it still involves a fair amount of climbing….and you thought you were done. HA! Nice to get covered with mud spots all over your face and uniform! You gotta love mountain biking!

RUN: The worst part of the race is the RUN! Why, you ask? Well, it’s basically all up hill, rocky, and covered with snow banks to run over. That was pretty cool and I’m glad my Avia Stoltz shoes handled the terrain so well. You then get to run back mostly downhill and get that quad crushing pounding to really add to the challenging misery. Alas, there are a few more hills to deal with once you get back to the road.

Crossing the street with the aid of some nice policemen and down the short stairs (I had to deal with a lady walking her bike down it this year). Run some more and cross the finish line!

POST RACE: Another great thing about this race is the BBQ you get. I opted for the chicken/apple sausage instead of a burger. It was yummy as I was so ravenous after the race. Gee, cold weathre and racing in altitude got anything to do with it? The joy of racing is the pigging out afterwards.

I got 2nd place in my age group and received a nice beer glass for it. Dave enjoyed his day with a 13th place finish too. Tough race but worth it! We took some time to chill, enjoy the great weather and scenery before heading home. Rigor mortis did set in so we made many mandatory stops to try and stretch out the legs. It didn’t work too well but we tried!

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The Journey Begins Towards Worlds 2011

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Yes, the season has begun and not without the usual drama. I started the Xterra season with the Xterra Real race. My pre season preparation was quite different from year’s past. I did less mtb racing and did alot of core work/strength training to prep for the season. Change is good and you really need to figure out what will work for you each year. I think doing the same program year after year gets boring anyway. I’m lucky to have Mel to help me plan my season. I always had the mindset that doing more volume was always the way to go. As I get older, my body doesn’t want to handle it so switching to “less is more” maybe better for me now. We’ll see.

Xterra Real race is always a challenge because Folsom lake is ALWAYS freezing! I think the temp hovered around 49degrees this year. It’s more of a mental preparation when it comes to cold swims than anything else. I heard so many people psyche themselves out before the race started because of the cold water swim. I’m a pretty small person with little fat so getting into extreme cold water is not comfortable at all. I literally turn into a popsicle. It’s so miserable but part of Xterra racing. I just don’t think about it and focus on swimming well and just do what I normally do. I came out of the swim frigid and getting out of my wetsuit and shoes in T-1 was pretty slow. Numb fingers, frozen lips….hmmmmm. The bike went well. Not much mud as usual. I felt pretty strong on the climbs. I was happy to get on the run to thaw out even more. The hill repeats I did helped me pace up the hill even better this year.

I ended up with a first place in my age group. It’s nice to start out the season with a win and points. It was great to have Mel racing there too. TBF always does a fantastic job with this race. Thanks all. I’ll continue this journey with Xterra West Championships……

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2011 MELRAD Roster Finalized!

Sunday, February 27th, 2011

Although the weather may not be indicative of it, the 2011 racing season is upon us and with that the 2011 Melrad Racing team has been set. The team will compete alongside and under the guidance of three time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid (www.racergirl.com) and hopes to have another strong showing at all the regional XTERRA competitions and the XTERRA World Championships in Maui. This year the team will also expand into the Ironman 70.3 series and select mountain biking events throughout the US and Canada.

Veterans Keri Grosse, Fred Smith IV, Meiling Yee, Tim Holland, and Jo Markham will carry the team of nine riders with newcomers John Belair, Lance Thatcher, Whitney Houck, and Canadian Katie Button rounding out the now international squad. Last year Meiling was Regional Champion and Tim, Fred, and Jo all achieved podium finishes in their age groups at the XTERRA World Championships this past October and hope to repeat again this year. Check out the rider profiles at www.melrad.com/team.

The goal of the MelRad Racing team is to foster development within middle distance triathlon including XTERRA and 70.3 racing. The athletes on the team have goals ranging from World Championship wins, Regional titles, future pro status, to general fitness and competitiveness. Together the athletes send a powerful message to “push your potential.”

The team will be supported by Melanie and her sponsors including Avia (www.avia.com), Nathan (www.nathansports.com), Profile Design (www.profile-design.com/), Powerbar (www.powerbar.com), Sundog Eyewear (www.sundogeyewear.com/index.php), USANA (www.usana.com), Justin’s Nut Butter (www.justinsnutbutter.com/), Squirt (www.squirtlube.com/), Genuine Innovations (www.genuineinnovations.com/), Cycleops (www.cycleops.com/), Titec (www.profile-design.com/titec/), and ESI Grips (www.extremesteering.com/).

Follow the team at www.melrad.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/melradracing, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/melradracing for fun stories and information during the season.

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For information contact Melanie McQuaid through www.racergirl.com

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Emma’s XTERRA USA Championship Race Report

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

Race: XTERRA USA Championships
Date: 9/25/10
Distances: 1500m swim, 30k mountain bike, 10k trail run
Place: 8th Pro Women
Products used: Profile Design Gold Cell Wetsuit, Specialized S-Works Era, Maxxis Larsen UST tubeless tires, Genuine Innovations Big Air, Avia Avi-stoltz trail shoes, Nathan Hydration Vest, Nathan number belt, Nathan Speed Laces, Blueberry Pomegranate Roctane GU, Vanilla GU, Lazer Helmet.

XTERRA USA swim start

PRE RACE: I consider myself a positive person 80 percent of the time but as I approached the XTERRA USA Championships, the season finale of the XTERRA USA Pro Series I’d had this feeling like I’d worked all year and wasn’t going to get paid. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t and can’t compete in triathlon for the money — but chances were I’d miss out on a much-needed payday.

I was injured and unable to run for almost six weeks leading up to the race, sitting fourth in US series points behind the international cast of Shonny Vanlandingham (US), Melanie McQuaid (Canada), and Renata Bucher (Switzerland). I needed to perform well to hold onto my spot in the series.

I wanted nothing more than to have a good race for the championships, especially considering the race was in my backyard.

Being a local for nationals also gave me a ‘cheering squad’ at the race I didn’t want to let down. Friends, old roommates, old teammates, neighbors and their family, family, boyfriend and dog to name a few.

GAME PLAN: I decided I wouldn’t try to run at all until I got off my bike in T-2. At least being injured took the pressure off a bit, I had a legit excuse not to have a good race…but at a cost. This meant I didn’t have to save anything for the run — in case I couldn’t.

The start

SWIM: Air temps were in the 30s when we woke race morning which always makes me question what I’m doing. Luckily the water wasn’t AS cold.

Two laps in Pineview reservoir, mass start of 300 racers. Looking into the sun for much of the race had me swimming off course. Swimming on my own the first lap left my arms tired and I took a break behind some feet for the second lap. At this point I’d figured out I was swimming behind teammate Sara Tarkington and Tracy Thelen. Running to transition was tough, perhaps not a good sign.

THE BIKE: I headed out on my Specialized S-Works Era on the road and then on the trails to Snowbasin. I was feeling strong and catching racers. It’s a steady climb with a few breaks up to the base of Snowbasin. Then the climbing gets much harder up the ski slopes. Making this a little less painful are those cheering on the sidelines. It always lifts my spirits when people know your name.

“Who’s that crazy girl yelling?” I thought as I passed by the Snowbasin Lodge.

It was my college roommate/teammate Kari Skinner. Kari and I were on the ski team together at the University of Nevada. It made me realize skiers have a different level of cheering and it was good to hear at a triathlon.

I got a few splits there were some other pro women not far ahead.

The top section was tough and somewhat lonely making it hard to stay focused and push the pace. We headed out on a loose, dusty, rocky climb up the ski resort before descending back to T2. I was glad to be wearing my Nathan Hydration Vest as it was hard to take my hands off the bars.

I got some awesome skier-sourced cheerers again coming into T2 — this time the voice of Katie Ronsee, another Alaskan Nordic skier who’s been training in PC with Team Canada (among others) and took a break to come to the race.

THE RUN: After a not-so-stellar T2 trying to find my Avi Stoltz amongst the pro bikes I headed out on the run. Amazed I could actually run with marginal pain brought a smile to my face.

Maybe it’s just the uphill…

Past my amazing cheering crew, I started to pass a few age-group guys. After a steep climb, we headed onto rocky singletrack. My legs felt surprisingly fresh as I tried to remember how to run. It was almost as if my legs were moving on their own as I tip toed around. I opted for a more sturdy pair of Avi Stoltz as I figured I may need the added stability to trail shoes.

Another pro woman, Suzy Snyder was not far ahead, and soon I could see her down the trail.

Besides wanting to keep my 4th place in the series I also hoped to be of the top four Americans so I had the option of going to the ITU Cross World Championships in Spain next April.

Honestly, I was really happy and appreciative to just be running. Not that it made it any easier.

I soon moved up to 8th place. There are a couple of steep hills before a long descent to the finish. Ronsee figured out how to catch me there and pushed me even faster still.

My strength in running has usually been on the descents, so I didn’t hold back, and still didn’t have the pain I anticipated.

Heard more cheers and a couple of barks from my beloved border collie Kip before crossing the line. It was my highest finish to date at the US Championships and I knocked four minutes off my time from last year. I also secured my 4th place finish by a mere two points — a huge improvement from 8th in 2009.

XTERRA USA Pro Series Podium

It was a huge relief to finish the series on a high note and not have my injury impact the overall results. Unfortunately, I’m by no means healed and have many more PT and ART sessions before Maui.

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NOW THE FUN PART: For me, the real highlight of the weekend was the showing off my backyard trails with post-race ride on the Crest Trail in Park City through fall colors.

Crest Trail Park City

Big thanks to my sponsor Melrad Racing, supporters and friends and family who made this race happen! Next up is my season finale the XTERRA World Championships in Maui Sunday, Oct. 24.

Posted in Athlete Blog, Emma Garrard, Race Reports, Uncategorized | No Comments »