Xterra in Richmond seems to get bigger each year. 2008 brought a 21k trail run event companion to a shorter run & 2 different mountain biking events held Saturday. These events kept many of my friends thoroughly entertained as they were able to compete on Belle Island, while I pre-rode Sunday's Championship Xterra course. Two others from New Mexico and I casually took to the trails to get a feel for the terrain; I hadn't ridden the course since the National Off-road Duathlon in June. The pre-ride proved fast, so I followed up the ride with a pre-view of the swim course before heading home.
Race day, Shawn and I drove up from Cville with Tucker (the St. Bernard) in the back. I set up for transition and headed to the water for the swim. The forth wave, I found myself swimming next to my friend Kate across the James. We both headed out of the water about the same time for the short run before swimming back to the start. The water was about bath temperature and shallow in parts. Although I got off course, I felt strong and was able to catch up to Kate from the exit to the transition.The bike ride was fun; my mantra seemed to be pass, pass, pass. I was able to pull big gears in the flat and ride the single track, passing faster female
swimmers and the male heats that started before us. There was an excellent female cyclist who I saw multiple times and grabbed my wheel whenever possible. She passed me once on the course, but I was able to get by her after she got stuck behind a rider having difficulty on a rooty hill section. Shawn and Tucker were found a couple of times just off of the singephotos cheering along the way, so were a number of Richmond locals on the course. Encouragement was greatly appreciated. After the half way mark, I saw one other female competitor and had no clue what place I was in... nor did I heading into transition.Transition from bike to run was quick. Running shoes on, I belted my number into place, put on my hat and grabed a drink before heading out.
The first steps felt awkward. I'm so used to my Garmin helping me to gauge my pace and speed; I had no clue how fast I was moving. All I knew was that there were no more women to be seen. Twenty five minutes into the run I saw a woman ahead of me in the distance. My friend Scott cheered me on and guarenteed that I was putting down a faster pace than she was. As I got closer, I recognized the woman as the strong female cyclist. I have no idea how she passed me. All I knew is that I was closing the gap between the two of us. One foot in front of the other... one foot in front of the other... my concentration on closing the gap didn't prepare me for the pint-sized speed demon in full Timex gear that passed me right before I passed the female cyclist. Smiling, the Timex girl cheered me on and headed to the finishline as the first place amateur. I passed the female cyclist and beat her
to the finishline with room to spare.All in all it was a good day. I finished first in my age group and #2 amateur (even beating the time of one of the pros and 1 second behind another)... hooray. The best part of the race was celebrating with my mom, fabulous boyfriend Shawn, oh... and of course Tucker. Kate also placed first in her age group... qualifying us both for Xterra World's in Hawaii and solidifying our standings for the regional point series.
My friend Maggie had major difficulties on the bike when she lost her seat; she still managed to finish. Mark R, Scott and Michele C were all amazing; this was Mark's first time beating me this season (maybe the last?)... This
was the first Xterra for Scott and Michele (I'm so excited for them!) Congrats to all. Great race.Final time and splits:
Swim: 21:45 35:04 min/per/mi
Bike: 1:35:16 11:33 mi/per/hour - 2nd fastest
Run: 50:11 8:05 min/per/mi
Overall: 2:47:12
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