Xterra Take II: Buffalo Creek

I take back all of the awful things I have said, written, or thought about Xterra. Today was a lot of fun and Xterra racing totally redeemed itself from Temecula.

I've never been so relaxed in a triathlon before, and I attribute it to approaching the race similar to how I approached the Boston Marathon: just wanting to put forth a solid effort, enjoy the experience, and finish as quickly as possible. Oh, and unlike Temecula I actually drank and ate during this race...

Swim: I started up front for the first time and went out like a bat out of hell. I swam the first 200 really hard, and when I looked around I only saw 1 other red cap (the color my wave, all the women, wore). My arms felt like they were actually catching a lot of water and I was really reaching and pulling through. A little over half way through the first loop I looked over and realized that me and the other red cap were going the same speed. When I tried to pull away and couldn't, I got on her feet and enjoyed the free ride to shore. We swam side by side, 5 meters apart for the first half of the second lap, then got separated rounding the buoys. I tried to get on her feet again, but couldn't, so I went the last half alone. I looked down at my watch as I was running to transition: 25!!! Woohoo!

I celebrated my fastest swim ever by taking my sweet-ass time in T1. Sat down, toweled off my feet, put my socks on, then headed off on the Epic.

Bike: Dropped my left glove within the first 200 meters of the ride, so I rode Michael Jackson style with 1 glove the whole way. I was surrounded by middle aged men until girls started passing me around mile 6. Then they passed in droves. I did what I could to work it on the bike, but my legs were not having it. I swore I had a flat, but it was just me that was flat. I ran a lot of the sections I thought I would end up running, not always because I couldn't make it, but often because someone else hopped off and made a traffic jam. One of my gels fell off so I adjusted my nutrition plan slightly for a gel at 50' and then at an hour 45. The Camelbak worked like a charm -- definitely the way to go for me since I never want to drink. I didn't pass a single person on the bike until close to the end of the Baldy Trail when I started catching people who had passed me. From then on I didn't get passed the rest of the race. The climb back up to Wellington Lake suited me perfectly and I motored on up no problemo, cracking some jokes with the sweet old couple perched near the top. I wasn't sure how the legs would feel after the climb, so I prepared myself mentally for a brutal run, a la Temecula.

Run: My expectations low, I went out of T2 easy and relaxed. A lady blew by me, charging up the first little hill. I thought I would have a battle royale on my hands, but she fell back within 100 meters and then I got moving. Memories of Allaire came flooding back as I dodged roots and rocks and even used the old steeple skillz to hurdle a fallen tree. Jordan and Gulliver were standing about 800m away from the finish line. I gave Gulliver H.G. McGaffigan a shout out and then motored up and caught some girls before the finish.

It's a smile, not a grimace!!

Huge congrats to Laura for competing in her first Xterra and only her second tri ever =) Pre-riding the course with her a few weeks ago helped a ton today, as there were no surprises. I can only hope to someday be half the mountain biker she is!

Muchos muchos gracias to Jordan for letting me ride his Specialized Epic -- his pride and joy -- and for missing out on a big training morning with his team to come watch the race. =)