Xterra Four Corners 2011 Race Report

The week leading up to the race was less than ideal.  A month or so ago I found out I would be in Chicago for work a few days leading up to the race and thought about not racing.  I decided to go ahead and plan to race.  I spent the memorial day weekend in Traverse City, MI with my family--very smart of me to fly in at midnight with a 3.5 hour drive to the cottage where we were staying and a 7:30 10K planned in the am.  I was really run down from only 1.5 hours of sleep, but ran (another race report coming on this one) and then had a nice relaxing weekend with my family.  We were on the lake, but I did not bring my wetsuit and it was cold, and the nearest pool had limited hours and was a 1 hour drive away.  So no swimming for the weekend.  I made do doing short rides on my old full rigid mountain bike from 1994 and running a lot. I went straight from Michigan to Chicago for a meeting and once I was there, there was no time to rest.  Meetings all day and then fun events/dinner until 10-11pm at night.  Originally I thought I would swim masters in Chicago, but the logistics and getting up extra early was too much of a complication. So I ran.  With the lack of sleep and feeling sluggish and out of it from not training normally I was contemplating once again not racing.  But I decided, once again, that I could do it even if I was tired.

The race itself was in NM--I believe this is my first time in NM, one of the few states I had never been too before.  Adam and I and the 3 dogs took the long drive down and arrived around 3 pm.  I originally wanted to ride the course, but decided I would be better off staying out of the hot sun and resting.  I was so tired that I was asleep by 8 pm.

The race started at 7 am.  Thankfully the weather was not too hot yet as the forecast was for over 90's and there is not much shade on the course. Obviously after my last race I was most concerned about my bike.  I was also a little concerned about my swim since I had only swum once for 1200 meters in the last week.  I just start to feel blah swimming if I don't swim often enough.  My goal for the bike was to always make forward progress, even if it is slow. What I mean by this--no falling, no stopping because I am freaked out, no stopping so that people can pass me (yes I did this many times at Santa Cruz).

The swim was a 2 lap 1 mile swim with a short beach run.  They did a mass start and I got a little pummeled in the beginning and my arms felt sluggish. It opened up a little by the first buoy, but it seemed like there were so many people  in front of me.  On the drive down we drove through and area where smoke from a large forest fire was blowing through the area--I was coughing and having trouble breathing during that area.  I was having some difficulty breathing, and my throat was burning a little, which is not normal for me during the swim, and breathing the smoke yesterday is the only thing I can think that would cause this (or maybe being sick).  I chugged along through the swim, trying to get a rhythm and breathe calmly.

I was a bit disappointed when I came out a little slow on the swim in 27:15 and 5th out of 29 women.  I really should have been in the 25's, but it is what it is.  Into T1 and my wetsuit was not coming off well--it is a couple years old and is starting to loose flexibility and the webbing on the arms is starting to come off which makes it harder to pull off--may be time for a new suit.  I got to my rack and there were 3 guys there already.  My transition was better than in Santa Cruz ( how could it not be?!) but still needs work.  2:25 and 8th out of 29 women--definitely needs more improvement.

Onto the bike and I passed a woman right away!  The course started off uphill but was not too technical.  I was getting passed but making good progress.  The first really sandy section my bike weaved around and I had to unclip my right foot to stay upright.  But no fall and I was back to riding quickly.  When it came to the sandy sections it seemed that it was better to ride through them faster and to keep my weight back.  I was having fun and moving at a decent pace.  Still getting passed, but it was by mostly men.

And then I started to catch up to another girl.  Seriously!  I was getting close to passing her but was slowing down a bit on more technical sections so I wasn't quite there.

Then, a couple miles before the aid station,  I came around a turn and saw two people on the ground.  The man was just getting up and the girl looked like she couldn't move.  I stopped as he was helping her unclip her shoes from her pedals and was trying to figure out what I could do to help.  I'm not sure how long I was stopped there. She seemed to be hurt pretty badly and so going for medical attention seemed like the best idea.  I knew there was an aid station coming up, so I started to ride there while he stayed back.  It made me think that maybe having a cell phone along to call in case of emergency might help--but would we even get service there and  how would we describe where we were?  I rode a little faster now--for some reason riding to get help made me ride faster than I would on my own.   Of course, by the time I got to the aid station, a few people had passed me and they already knew.

I was a little slow on some of the downhill twisty turny sections and managed to turn off course and lose a little time getting back on track, but for the most part it was a good ride for me. Eventually I caught and passed the girl.  Other than the few hills that were so steep I was huffing and puffing just walking up them, I didn't get too tried riding the course.  I was definitely not going all out since I was riding tentatively.  I was happy to be done with the bike, but thrilled that I made it through with no falls.  My time was not terribly fast at 1:27:35 and 14th out of 28 women means I still have a lot of work to do, but it is much better relative to my ride in Santa Cruz, so I was very happy with my bike.

I came into T1 ready to fly out on the run.  There was no room to rack my bike as a bike had fallen.  I tried to maneuver to get the bike on the rack, but no luck, so I put my bike down on the ground and then was off. 6 out of 28--needs work.  As I exited transition I grabbed a cup of water and started to dump it on my head-but it's gatorade.

Off on the run I felt good.  Until a couple hundred meters and I hit the sand.  Not long after I hit the sand I made a wrong turn and went off course, but only for a few seconds.  After backtracking, I reminded myself to pay close attention.  The course had a lot of markings, but if you didn't pay attention, it was very easy to turn the wrong way.  It was hot and there was not a lot of shade.  The course was twisty and turny, so it was hard, running all by myself not seeing anyone in front of me.  And then, as I trudged through the sand, I saw someone.  I passed him and saw another person. I passed 3 people fairly early during the deep sand phase of the run.  Then all alone again.  With the heat I was really looking forward to the aid stations.  They did not disappoint with their ice cold water.

After a long stretch by myself, I saw a few more people up the road.  One was a relay, but the other was a woman with more in front of her!  Yes!  Time to move up in the standings.  I got really close behind her just before the really steep uphill.  I took my time, walking up the hill.  Then just over the top I passed her and bombed the downhill passing 2 more people.  I then moved on to pass another girl and the momentum kept going from there.

The run course was very challenging--it felt like we were either running in sand or uphill the whole time.  I was so relived when I was done and heard I was 6th overall.  The overachiever in me wishes I was higher up, but I'm still learning and improving on the mountain bike.  My run was second fastest on the day, so I was happy with that. Overall I was very pleased and I'm happy I raced even though I was tired.

Things I learned (or already knew but reinforced)

-I need to work on mountain biking.  I plan to do this through more experience and through either a clinic or personal instructions to work on skills.

-I need to work on transitions--in the grand scheme of things, since I have so much time to make up on the bike they don't seem like a big deal, but it is free time that I am wasting.

-I need to get back to normal training and a normal schedule.  I don't like being tired and missing training!

-I need to make a few equipment changes

I can't upload any photos, so those will have to wait for another post.