Well, Xterra triathletes might have me one-upped. They tell someone they are doing a triathlon and get asked "a regular one?" Nope, an irregular, unregular, not-so-regular, off-road adventure that resembles a road triathlon, really, only in the swim, maybe.
I've been following the Xterra Portland Triathlon on Facebook since the group's inception. And, despite my ill-advised first-ever Xterra tri (Crested Butte, CO 2006, swore never to do another Xterra again), I've been gaining confidence on my mountain bike after moving to Oregon (go figure that one) and felt it was time for another go at this format. And to those of you following along, I've been eagerly anticipating the healing of my PF, which finally started happening two weeks ago (yeah!)
So, last Wednesday morning... I make the decision. I'm doing it. But, it's been so long since I've done a multisport event. In my nervousness, I actually packed my stuff on Thursday night (not my usual MO) in preparation. Friday night, I put everything in the car except my uniform and warm-up clothes. Set my alarm for 5:30 am (gasp), and went to bed happily.
Fast forward to race day, and you would find me in bed at 6:30 am!!!! What?! Yeah, slept through the alarm. Classic.
No worries, I actually built in an extra hour to get there and get situated. No time for coffee brewing and breakfast, though. Not to worry, again. I called in a phone order to the Starbucks as I was heading out the door. "Get me a latte with one raw sugar and a perfect oatmeal with all the stuff." They put me on hold for a second, then came back to ask when they should have it ready. I told them to start making it right then and I would be there. Awesome. I walked in the door as they were putting the lid on the latte. I guess they weren't sure if it was a prank or a speed test from their manager (can I get a Mr. Potato Head on the side?).
Light traffic on the early morning backroads meant I actually got to Hagg Lake with plenty of time to set-up and warm-up (so much for teaching myself a lesson). I reunited with friends Cory, Marissa, Paris, and Dave from Corvallis (Cory, Dave and Paris were racing, Marissa was acting in her official capacity as super fan). Even bumped into current Xterra Pro and former flame Will Kelsay for a little Boulder-ite reunion.
Pre-race
Clearly, someone (me) has not been reading the manual, or subscribing to the yahoo group, or following the twitter (not sure there is one) about the changes made to water temperature and wetsuit legality. Long and short... I was swimming in my sports bra and bike shorts. No wetsuit for pros. I took about 5-seconds to complain... then I put on my "I'm a Winner not a Weiner" (or whiner) swim cap and headed down to the water.
The swim
I started way off to the left on this one. Out of the way of kicking, wetsuit-clad swimmers. Knowing I was going to be much slower than my amateur counterparts owing to the buckets of water that would fill my sports bra as I swam around the buoys. If there was ever an argument for bigger knockers... I actually swam much faster than I anticipated, not that I wouldn't have appreciated having one of those slick one piece speed suits for the race (ahem.. wetsuit sponsors... I may not swim super fast, but I LOOK like a swimmer!).
The mountain bike
My transition was slow, mountain bike shoes with mechanical closure, and a snaffoo with getting jersey top on wet body. I was off on the first leg, the biggest extended climb of the race and also the longest bit on concrete. It started off a lot like a road triathlon. But as soon as we hit the singe track, that was where the similarity ended. Mountain biking is so much more about the finesse than the speed, power, and endurance factor. After about 20-minutes of rolling twists and turns, roots and rocks, I was enjoying myself, but realizing that in all my practice, I was riding my mountain bike and not racing it. Oh well, I was still having a blast. The single track was similar to the best Oregon has to offer. Tacky pine-needled trails, slick bridges, off-camber roots on uphills and downhills, short steep "gulps". My two favorite parts: A section through a lake-weed field where I couldn't even see my bike beneath me and a stream crossing followed by a nearly straight-up embankment that required you to get off your mountain bike and climb cyclocross-style. And I don't know if this was intentional... but as I got more tired toward the end, the trail actually got more technical! With mud and slick ascents and descents. At one point, I almost missed a turn and was in danger of careening straight into the lake!
Somewhere along the line, two of the women pro racers passed me, but I barely noticed for all the fun I was having out there.
The run
What can say? It's trail running. My favorite. The footing was great in some places, terrible in others. I rolled three ankles (ha!). A few jaunts on the road, and a double loop in which you saw other racers. And a fun fast finish bursting out of the woods in time to run a 1/4 mile across the boat parking before finishing in front of the race pavilion.
The aftermath
Burgers, cookies, music, comparing scars and crash stories (I played pinball with my shoulders among the trees on a tight section and ended up with matching scabs). A sweet awards ceremony and pro prize purse presentation (say that three times fast) presented by Strands. I'ld do this race again. If you think this might be a cool thing to do next year, I'ld mark your calendar and register early. The race sold out two days before the race this year. It'll be sold out a lot faster next year!
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