Xterra Pacific Championships

Xterra Pacific Championships was held in one of the prettiest race venues I've been to -- the ocean swim is next to the pier and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the bike has frequent views of the ocean and includes sections of singletrack through redwoods. The run offers almost continuous ocean views and a little bit of beach running.

I placed first my in my age group and qualified for Maui, which was my goal. I felt strong during my race, but I also identified some areas I want to improve on. I started training late this year due to other commitments and a snowy Colorado winter, and then promptly injured myself by trying to start training too aggressively, so I hadn’t run much in the past few months. This was also my first race of the season, so being in peak shape wasn’t my goal -- that’s what later is for!

Heading out to the race was a little hectic -- I decided to bring my own bike (instead of borrowing one) about a week before the race, and decided to change my tires the night before flying out. I used a Maxxis Ignitor on my front tire and and a rear Maxxis Crossmark, which worked well for both the sand on the course during the pre-ride and the muddy sections on Sunday. However, this last minute adjustment led to a bit of a Stan's ordeal... and on Saturday afternoon, after 3 attempts and some adjustments to the tape I use for Stan's, I was good to go!

I was slightly concerned with the cold ocean water, so I attempted to acclimate to the cold temperatures just before the swim, but was still a little concerned with how the swim would feel. Luckily, once the horn went off and everyone was into the water, I felt comfortable, and settled into a steady pace. I was honestly enjoying the chill of the water and the calm of the ocean (welllll... relative calm. it was a little choppy). Then, after a quick run up the beach to the transition area, the bike started with several miles of road riding (along the ocean) before reaching the trails of Wilder Ranch. Santa Cruz had a bit of rain Saturday night, so I was a little concerned about the course, but it ended up beng perfect -- there were some muddy sections, but overall the course was in great shape! The run was very flat for an Xterra course, but was right along the ocean -- I settled into a steady (read: not fast) pace for most of the run, but with about 2 miles to go I saw some girls about a half mile behind me so I picked up the pace and really started to test my running legs (and they worked! yay!).

I stuck around for the awards ceremony and got to catch up with Xterra friends, including a group of us who had traveled from Colorado for this race, then ran to catch a flight back to Colorado!

I have lots of people/companies/forcesbeyondmycontrol who helped me out with this race --

Big thanks to Newton Running! I am loving both their trail runners - every time I wear them I get people telling me they like my shoes - and the racers, which are my go-to race shoe. Thanks to Zeal Optics for making some fantastic sunglasses! This would’ve been the perfect course to try out their new photochromatic lenses, with the bright, sunny climbs and dark redwood singletrack... but I brought my Airstreams with dark lenses, and they ended up working out fine. Thanks also to Verge Clothing for our new kits and my awesome arm warmers, which allowed me to both stay warm and rock the race in prom-dress fashion. Thanks to Mark Rise, who worked with me on short notice a week before the race to help me figure out what was going on with some injuries I was having and gave me some exercises to work on to fix muscle imbalances I was having (the good news: I can run again!).

And thanks to a few others who made this weekend possible!
Thanks to L for volunteering S for the Stan’s help :-)
BIG thanks to Lauren & Matt for hosting us and lending us a car!
Thanks to ABS - Another Bike Shop - in Santa Cruz - for being both convenient and helpful in my quest to buy [more] stan’s, and for the free brake inserts for traveling home :)
Thank you to mva for sherpa duties and thanks to cliffy for being my personal gear-lender and letting me borrow a race belt, CO2, and a floor pump :-)

A big thanks to THE WEATHER! It started raining Saturday night but by Sunday morning the clouds lifted and the temperature warmed. The ocean was cold but not frigid and with my sweet new arm warmers, I was the perfect temperature all day.

AND - thanks to Xterra for putting on a great race!

Xterra South Central Championships

I decided to do an early season championship event this year for two reasons. I wanted an early season race to get me going and also I wanted a championship race to have the opportunity to qualify for world championships earlier in the season. South Central Championships in Waco, TX made sense for my choice race.

Being from Winter Park it has been a long winter and I had only been on my bike about 3 times. So, the week before Waco I decided to do one of the Mountain States Cup bike races just to get into race mode and actually get on my bike! I won my category which helped me feel a little more in race mode.

I arrived in Waco on Friday before the race so I could pre-ride some of the course. I was pretty excited after getting on the course. It was all single-track with tight twisty turns through the forest short steep climbs, perfect. But, I knew I would have to swim hard to get out on this course early since passing would be slightly difficult.

Saturday morning I was feeling good a little nervous but excited. I headed out for a short run and that is when things turned. Things like my ankle! I rolled it out on the trail I was on. I was really upset at this point as I tried to make my way back to the race venue. I made it back and found ice and the medical person for Xterra. He was very friendly and helpful. He told what to do for the evening and said to give it an extra stretch in the morning that was going to hurt like crazy and then said as long as I won it wouldn’t hurt.

Needless to say, I was feeling a little down.

Race morning I arose early went and set-up transition and tried to get my ankle as stretched and loose as possible. Then we began. Swimming was feeling pretty good but it was in the river which was new to me. I found myself way inside everyone on the upstream part which meant that I was in the current. So, although I felt pretty good I think this slowed my swim. I went through transition smooth and jumped on my bike for my favorite portion! I only had a few of what I call “stupids” including a quick trip over my bars. This being only my 5 ride on trails this season it is bound to happen. I had passed some people but felt like I was kind of alone on the last half so I had no idea where I was in the field. Turned out I had the 9^th fasted female bike split of the day. As I slipped on my Newtons I tried to prepare for what is normally my weakness but I knew would be even more challenging today. As I ran I felt surprisingly strong for how I normally feel and only wished my ankle wasn’t killing me. I limped through the finish and headed straight for the med tent for some ice. I had a nice surprise when I saw my time card. I had finished 2^nd in my age group which means I qualified for worlds! I ended up 12^th Overall and 4^th amateur.

Big thanks to everyone who helped.

• Newton, the shoes felt great even with a sprained ankle, light and fast.
• Marie, my reflexologist who helped with oils on my ankle.
• Jared, my coach, obviously all the run training has paid off so far.
• Dave, at Redstone Cyclery, thanks for the new bike parts it felt great!
• My support crew, my mom and niece Alyssa who not only take care of my crazy two-year-old but help me out a lot.
  

Tomac Supermatic

Rocky Mountain Endurance Series Starts this weekend

I hesitate to say that mountain biking season is upon us, as I believe mtb season is 12 months long, however, I guess the racing season is here. With several MORFers already displaying their midseason form, we're hitting the time of year where you'll see at least one MORF jersey at a local event every weekend, and some weeknights too. I'm planning on racing the Rocky Mountain Endurance Series this year, with five endurance mountain biking events this season. http://www.warriorscycling.com/home/home.php
I believe the races range from 60 to 100 miles, with the grand daddy being the Breck 100 in July. The first of this series is coming up this weekend down in Pueblo, CO, with 35 and 70 mile options. It's called the Voodoo Fire and the trails have been dubbed the Fruita of the east. If you're free this weekend, head down there. Should be a good early season test.

Xterra South Central Champs (the quick version)

MORF-er Debby got 2nd in her age group at Xterra South Centra Champsl today and qualified for Xterra Worlds today!

Xterra West Champs - Vegas

Big props to MORF's Josh Vaughn for a strong performance at Xterra's early season opener in Vegas yesterday. Josh has apparently been logging some quality training over the cold months. He's also been working his tail off to get all the other MORFers set-up with a new kit for 2011. Hard work has been much appreciated. Although the kit hasn't yet arrived, some early season form apparently has... and Josh made it into Xterra's photo coverage of Vegas:
2011 Xterra West Championship Photos

Looks like fun!

Is it Summer Yet?

Before my 2011 season starts... a look back on 2010:

MORF opened it’s season this weekend with fantastic performances at Xterra Las Vegas and the Mead-Roubaix race. However, I’m not racing for a few more weeks -- so I thought it’d be a great time to give a quick 2010 recap! The race reports I never got around to writing! I raced A TON last summer, at least for me -- almost every weekend found me packing, driving, and racing. Needless to say, I had a ton of fun, and raced fast!

I raced the Boulder Stroke and Stride Series, the Boulder Tri Series, several XTERRAS, I filled in as a last minute replacement for an injured friend in a relay at the Firecracker 50, and I raced as much as I could at the Winter Park Series. I was super pleased by my performances -- this was my second season working with Jamie Whitmore and all of our hard work showed! I started the season with a 2nd place age group finish at Xterra REAL in Califonia, and then ran a 1:35:59 in the Colfax Half Marathon -- just meeting my goal time of 1:35! The weekly Stroke and Strides were great -- I found my run getting faster and faster, and I learned how to push myself during these races. I had a lot of fun racing each Thursday night and trying to run faster than I had the last week.

As I prepared for my first road tri in over a year, I was not sure how I would do going into the Boulder Sprint and I was ecstatic when I placed 2nd in my age group at both the Boulder Sprint and Boulder Peak. I had a long-time goal of breaking 5 hours in a 70.3, but leading up to the Boulder 70.3 I decided I really wanted to break 4:50 and podium. That lead to an initial disappointment in my 4:50:32 performance and 4th place finish -- but then I learned that 4th place was a podium! YAY! The girls who placed ahead of me were both great people and fast racers -- I raced against most of them at each of the Boulder Tri Series and we really pushed each other to do our best. It’s thanks to them that I was able to race so fast! I also couldn’t be too disappointed in my time because I had been focusing on XTERRA and mountain biking and hadn’t exactly been training for this distance. My longest ride on my tri bike that summer had been a 50 mile bike two weeks before the race. And, I achieved a 19 minute PR for this distance... So it was a finish of “YAY! .... but I could’ve...”. As I guess many races are.

I also competed at the XTERRA Mountain Championships at Beaver Creek, and for the first time podiumed at an XTERRA Regional Championship!! I was so pleased! I had some great competition this day, and was really pleased with the outcome!

After a heavy season of racing I was a little burnt out by the time XTERRA Nationals came along and did not feel as strong as I hoped going into the race, and I was not as excited by my 4th place finish.... I had really hoped to podium. But the competition was good, and my good friend and new-MORFer Debby placed 3rd with an incredibly strong bike, so I was happy with the overall outcome!

I have a new plan for next year with lots of fun racing but a bit more rest, so I can be as strong at the end of the season as I am the rest of the summer!

A BIG thanks to Jamie Whitmore, who coached me last summer, to Newton Running, whose shoes I have been running in for YEARS, to Gu for their tasty and energy-providing nutrition,and to Dave at Redstone Cyclery, who is super helpful and has a great shop in Lyons, CO.