So this is my race recap . . . .
Following an okay showing in Ogden at the US Nationals last month I managed to place 10th in my age group thus receiving a roll down slot to the World Championships in Maui. A few weeks later we were on a plane headed toward Maui with bags, bikes and Stan in tow.
Day one we chose to do a little exploring island style which meant drinking, eating, relaxing and catching up on lost sleep from our long travels the day before. We opted to stay near the racecourse in Kapalua, not far from the Ritz. The condo proved to be a great benefit. We found a Safeway and a Costco and were able to save some cash by making some of our own meals.
On to day two we did some speed sight seeing running all over the resort and nearby pineapple plantation. Whoa are there hills in Maui! You'd think I would have learned from Ogden that climbing is a mainstay in the world of XTERRA. We ran the "Lake Loop" along the old golf course in Kapalua and decided to take some photos along the way!
We chilled the following day and decided to pre ride the bike course the Wednesday before the race. Al had full intentions of riding the entire 18 mi course where I had thought an hour would suffice. Two hours and 45 minutes later we finished. Notice my muddy legs. I had long finished my one bottle of water and was one crispy critter but I survived. In hindsight I am super duper glad Al tricked me into riding the entire course mainly because I knew I could handle what XTERRA was gonna throw at me on Sunday. Turns out XTERRA was forced to take the most technical aspect of the course out due to concerns from the DNR that 700 racers would cause undue erosion along a small section of the course. So, no worries....course just got a little easier (I say this totally tongue in cheek). I'm kicking myself now because I didn't take any pictures during the pre ride. At one point there was a ridge line we rode across with 500' drops on either side into a Jurassic jungle!
Bookending our ride and run was site seeing along the famed road the Hana, running down and back up the Haleakala Volcano crater, and snorkeling at Molakini. we hydrated with Kona Longboards and Mai Tais.
The course pre run was much of the same, hills! I think there was actually more climbing in Maui but it was divided up over several long ups. Whereas Ogden was up up and away into outer-space!
Skipping ahead to the night before the race. Driving back to the condo from the Night of Champions dinner Al and I heard an announcement over the radio warning Maui residents of a tsunami scheduled to hit the island later that night. Are you kidding me, a freakin tsunami? Yep, following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Canada the Hawaiian islands were bracing for a 7' wall of water that could potentially cancel the race. Come to find out the following morning dozens of athletes including Ms. Leslie Patterson reigning US Champion and 2011, 2012 World Champion had to sleep in their cars after being told to evacuate their hotels. We were pretty lucky and didn't have to seek higher ground. Oh did I mention the 10' swells that were predicted for the weekend of the race?
Skipping ahead to the night before the race. Driving back to the condo from the Night of Champions dinner Al and I heard an announcement over the radio warning Maui residents of a tsunami scheduled to hit the island later that night. Are you kidding me, a freakin tsunami? Yep, following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Canada the Hawaiian islands were bracing for a 7' wall of water that could potentially cancel the race. Come to find out the following morning dozens of athletes including Ms. Leslie Patterson reigning US Champion and 2011, 2012 World Champion had to sleep in their cars after being told to evacuate their hotels. We were pretty lucky and didn't have to seek higher ground. Oh did I mention the 10' swells that were predicted for the weekend of the race?
Race morning, now the good stuff! BTW, the tsunami didn't cause any significant damage.
The race officials opted to go with wave starts this year. Pros first, age group men then age group women. Pictured are the age group men, can you believe the waves...hence the term rough water swim!
Although I didn't set any records with my swim I was happy that I didn't have a freak out mimicking Ogden. The coolest part of my swim was the dolphin I spotted on my second loop shortly followed by the sea turtle sighting on the sandy floor below.
The race officials opted to go with wave starts this year. Pros first, age group men then age group women. Pictured are the age group men, can you believe the waves...hence the term rough water swim!
Although I didn't set any records with my swim I was happy that I didn't have a freak out mimicking Ogden. The coolest part of my swim was the dolphin I spotted on my second loop shortly followed by the sea turtle sighting on the sandy floor below.
Transition was a long long run up hill to the bikes then more uphill. I think the first 3-4 miles was all up. Check out my Garmin data for all the deets.... I think my favorite part of the ride was the ridge line I mentioned earlier the one with 500' drops on both sides and sweeping views of the valley below.
Unlike Ogden, in Maui what goes up must comes down. The downhills were fast, potholed, dusty, white knuckled riding. I checked my bike computer after the race and I saw a max speed of 27 mph....holy snappers! I remember at one point the dust was so thick I couldn't see my hand in front of my face not that I would dare peel my fingers from my grips. Besides Maui's finest dirt, the bike course had two bottle exchanges, a definite plus in the hot tropical weather.
Unlike Ogden, in Maui what goes up must comes down. The downhills were fast, potholed, dusty, white knuckled riding. I checked my bike computer after the race and I saw a max speed of 27 mph....holy snappers! I remember at one point the dust was so thick I couldn't see my hand in front of my face not that I would dare peel my fingers from my grips. Besides Maui's finest dirt, the bike course had two bottle exchanges, a definite plus in the hot tropical weather.
The bike course was relentless. I think a lot of my problems stemmed from the extra weight I'm carrying. I'm 10 lbs heavier than I was in Ogden. I blame meat. I failed at Paleo, I'd be a horrible caveman! So what I thought would be a pleasant vegan vacation backfired tremendously. Having to pedal with the added weight was rough. So, lesson learned for next year's season, this gal is powered by plants!
I was pretty stoked to get off the bike if for no other reason than to shake my legs loose. So, the reoccurring theme in this saga was all of the up hill grinding. Again, we started the run going up. XTERRA placed aid stations nearly every mile with water, ice, gatorade and gels to help us along. i felt pretty good on the run except for a small blister I developed earlier in the week (a result of my epic volcano run d'oh.) you know how the small things nag? this blister was a bitch. i was actually hoping for something else to start hurting just to deflect the pain elsewhere. ask and you shall receive right? about 4 miles in I got an awesome side ache....I think I'll blame meat again, cause it's easy. I managed to breath through the side ache and picked up the pace, my mantra "the faster you run, the sooner it's done" going through my mind. The final third of the race was a long decent toward the shoreline. With a quarter mile to the finish XTERRA funneled the athletes onto the beach with another up hill to the end. Ahhhh relief!
It wasn't the finish I had hoped for but I know what I'm up against next year. I'm pretty proud to say that I raced amongst the BEST racers in the world and came out on the other side a "warrior" as they say in the world of XTERRA.
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