I just got back from racing in Maui for Xterra World Championships! We enjoyed a wonderful 5 days there and I turned out a good race.
This year Xterra moved the race up North in Kapalua a new venue for the first time in 15 years. There has been alot of hype about this new course and I was excited but not really sure what to expect.
The swim started a little crazy with a mass start of 670 people and the worst part was the chaos at the first bouy! The ocean was very calm on the day of the race without the big swells they had two days prior and were expecting to move back in. I felt like I had a descent swim but found that it was actually pretty slow once I got out on the bike course behind everyone. It seemed from feedback I had gotten from people and then from my pre-ride that this course would suit me a little bit better than the old one. This bike course was a lot of fun with so much variety. Once I got past the bottlenecks in the first 3 miles of the course I was able to start to push the pace and gain some ground on the bike and especially on the long fast descents (a strength of mine). I had no idea what to expect on the run because I was unable to get out and see it. All I knew was that it went up for 3.5 miles with some difficult steep climbs in there and then down through some twisty tight trails. As I came in from the bike I tried to get myself ready and positive for the run. As I got into it I found that I was feeling pretty good and I just kept passing people through the run. This is new for me and it fueled me and helped me to keep pushing through! It was a difficult run course but I really enjoyed it (besides the terrible grassy climb to the finish)! This was the best run performance I have had in an Xterra yet. I actually moved onto the podium during the run portion and gained ground!
This is the short version of my race report, please go read the full race report on my blog.
The day went pretty well! I ended up on the podium taking 3rd in my Age-group, 8th Amatuer woman, and 21st woman overall. Huge improvement!
You can also check out the course in the highlight video.
This is a wrap for my 2011 season and I am so thankful for all the support and encouragement this season.
MORF this year it has been great. Thank you to all our sponsors! Newton, I have loved racing in the shoes this year! Wouldn't trade my Maxxis tires for anything. First Endurance has some great race and recovery fuel! Thanks to Dave at Redstone Cyclery for your help.
This year Xterra moved the race up North in Kapalua a new venue for the first time in 15 years. There has been alot of hype about this new course and I was excited but not really sure what to expect.
The swim started a little crazy with a mass start of 670 people and the worst part was the chaos at the first bouy! The ocean was very calm on the day of the race without the big swells they had two days prior and were expecting to move back in. I felt like I had a descent swim but found that it was actually pretty slow once I got out on the bike course behind everyone. It seemed from feedback I had gotten from people and then from my pre-ride that this course would suit me a little bit better than the old one. This bike course was a lot of fun with so much variety. Once I got past the bottlenecks in the first 3 miles of the course I was able to start to push the pace and gain some ground on the bike and especially on the long fast descents (a strength of mine). I had no idea what to expect on the run because I was unable to get out and see it. All I knew was that it went up for 3.5 miles with some difficult steep climbs in there and then down through some twisty tight trails. As I came in from the bike I tried to get myself ready and positive for the run. As I got into it I found that I was feeling pretty good and I just kept passing people through the run. This is new for me and it fueled me and helped me to keep pushing through! It was a difficult run course but I really enjoyed it (besides the terrible grassy climb to the finish)! This was the best run performance I have had in an Xterra yet. I actually moved onto the podium during the run portion and gained ground!
This is the short version of my race report, please go read the full race report on my blog.
The day went pretty well! I ended up on the podium taking 3rd in my Age-group, 8th Amatuer woman, and 21st woman overall. Huge improvement!
You can also check out the course in the highlight video.
This is a wrap for my 2011 season and I am so thankful for all the support and encouragement this season.
MORF this year it has been great. Thank you to all our sponsors! Newton, I have loved racing in the shoes this year! Wouldn't trade my Maxxis tires for anything. First Endurance has some great race and recovery fuel! Thanks to Dave at Redstone Cyclery for your help.
 |
| Long, hot, slow beach run nearing the finish! |
Incredible effort Debbie! Way to go!
ReplyDelete