Xterra USA - Pre-race video...

Little late, but just figured out how to convert this video from DVD to digital.  Fun little interview I did with Park City TV the week before the race!!

Quick Update...

Thought I'd write just a quick update before Nationals happens here tomorrow.  Just a couple of days after getting back from Xterra Canada I loaded up the car for the extended road trip up to Utah for Xterra USA.  Fortunate enough to be able to work remotely I was able to head to higher ground and hopefully produce some additional red blood cells before race day.  The trip started out with the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival in Showlow AZ.  The last time I was in Showlow in 2004 I got airlifted out (another story for another day) and I had to laugh at the wall of hay bales marking the spot of the incident. Thankfully the Xterra event went off without any problems, though it was a tough little course.  Shonny V and I made the guys work hard placing 4th and 5th overall!! Good hard training day in the books.

Fool Hollow Lake the night before the race

BigFish style run :)-

Sunday right after the race I jumped in the car and headed north, what a gorgeous drive, and pulled into Moab right at sunset.  Stayed the night in the hostel, hmmmm, a little sketchy.  Up early Monday and decided that even though the training plan said day off a quick MTB ride was a must and headed out to Klondike Bluff.  Perhaps not the best of Moab, but a nice little introduction, definitely will be back!!!

Heading into Moab at sunset

Klondike Bluff, Moab

From there it was a quick drive up to Park City where I was lucky to be able to stay with 'future xterra triathlete' Kelsey Withrow ;) and BF Evan.  One day she will see the light and leave that road stuff behind!!

Tour De Suds

Enjoyed a great week and a half in Park City (aka MTB nirvana) training and adapting.  Even joined in the local Tour De Suds MTB hill climb race in costume on Sunday.   Great event if you ever find yourself in town the weekend before Nationals.  

Mid-mountain trail, Park City

And here it is, race evening in Snowbasin.  The weather looks to be perfect and the fall colours are putting on a show.  Everything is packed and ready to go :)  Woohoo!!

Looking up the canyon towards Snowbasin

Xterra Canada

Well we all have those days when the body just doesn't want to get moving and Sunday unfortunately was one of the them for me.  I knew going into the race that I was going to struggle a bit with the bike course, then it decided rain the day and night before.  While the course handled the rain well and there wasn't much mud, it did make the roots a tad slippery.  With all that has happened this year with crashes and injuries I was going to play it safe and not take any risks even if that meant losing some serious time.  What I didn't count on was feeling pretty sluggish overall and suffering even on the double track and roads sections.

Canadian Sunrise

We woke up Sunday morning to a spectacular sunrise, complete with snow capped peaks!! Brrrr...  Warm-up was definitely on the chilly side but got in a good bike/run then headed down to the Quarry for the swim start.  It was a mass start of some 150 people for the 3 loop course, but everyone was surprisingly good with their self-seeding strategies considering the limited amount of space available.  I got off to a clean start and onto Branden Rakita's feet where I sort of stayed the whole 3 laps.  While the pace didn't seem all that fast, I just couldn't get into the next gear, a feeling that would continue for the whole race.

Quarry Lake - Xterra Photos

Swim Lap - Courtesy Jordan Bryden

Not going to elaborate much on the bike and the run as I pretty much just got through them.  I did manage to pick up the pace a bit and ride better the second lap of the bike but too much damage had already been done by that time to make up any ground on the rest of the field and I finished up in 7th. The course though, was very spectacular!! Thanks Trey for the photos :)

About to drop into EKG - Xterra Photos

Heading out on the run - Xterra Photos

Back in Tucson and moving on!!! Deuces Wild Triathlon up this weekend in Show Low before heading up to Park City, Utah for some altitude adaption ahead of Xterra USA Nationals end of September.

Rocks and Roots in the Canadian Rockies!!!

Bit of time to spare before turning in and looking forward to racing Xterra Canada tomorrow.  The race is being held in the spectacular Canadian Rockies this year at the Canmore Nordic Center.  It's been a great trip so far, though a little chillier than I had planned.  Got into town Wednesday afternoon and met up with Luna Chix Suzie Snyder.  Had dinner and spent the night with my uncle in Calgary before driving up to Canmore Thursday.  Even the drive is spectacular!!! 

Trans-Canada heading into Canmore

Big thanks to Cal and Laura for hooking Suzie, Branden, Renata and myself up with a great house to stay in at the last minute. 

Transition at Canmore Nordic Center

Spent the past couple of days getting some training time in on the course which is going to prove to be really fun and quite challenging for me, at least on the bike.  Lots of singletrack with roots and rocks and a couple of fun sections aptly named the "Laundry Chute" and the "Coal Chute".

Quarry Lake

Pre-riding with Suzie Snyder

I'm still operating in the not taking any chances of a big crash mode, so will be running down the Laundry Chutes.  I figure loosing a couple of seconds hike-a-biking is way better than the possible alternative!!!

Laundry Chutes

Stellar Pro Field

And did I mention, 8 pro women vs 4 pro men!!! Way to represent Chicas!!!

Goodnight :))