Recent news of Barbara Warren's bike accident reactivated my lingering fear of disability by bike accident. I'm not afraid to die while riding (in fact, that's how I'd like to go--clipped in, doing one of my favorite things). I just don't want to be mangled to the point where I couldn't ride at all. Having nabbed a spot at Penticton, I didn't want to break any bones or tear any ligaments that would prevent me from training and racing next year. Remembering how pro mountain biker, Tara Llanes, is a paraplegic from a mtb accident, I had some reservations about doing my first Xterra.
The race site is at a boys scout camp in the Catskills. The half-paved, half-dirt, free of paint to mark the shoulder (there were none) road to the camp reminded me of roads in Tanzania. Kevin and I arrived at the race site on Saturday afternoon for packet pick-up and to ride one loop of the bike course.
The course started with a steady climb on a gravel Jeep road before turning into the woods. The single-track portion (which was at least 50% of the course) is on a loamy surface--like riding on a 8 inch carpet of peat moss--with rock gardens. The other parts of the course is rutted Jeep roads with loose rocks the size of apples to shoeboxes. It had rained that day; and the trails were muddy, the rocks were slick. The last 2 big spills I took on my mtb were on wet logs. So what was supposed to be a casual recon ride turned out to be an anxiety-ridden, white-knuckle expedition for me. I thought,"I just got into Penticton. I don't want to break my leg or tear up ligaments!" Over an especially robust rock garden section I decided that I would NOT do this race tomorrow. I figured it wasn't worth risking the injury--not before Longhorn, not before Penticton. This course was a little bit beyond my mtb skills and way above my confidence in those skills.
When I tell Kevin, he's obviously disappointed. In an effort to be sympathetic, he says, "Poor Bunny, can't race tomorrow."
Wah?! Can't race? Of course, I CAN race. My legs haven't fallen off! I tell myself to get over it and that the only thing that's holding me back is fear. I would not be a pussy and wimp out on this one. I'm back in it.
So the entire night before I hatched a plan and perseverated over it instead of getting some sleep. There are some races you race, while others you simply tour. I would be a mere tourist for this one. No heroics on dirt--just get through without having to consult an orthopaedic surgeon after the race.
The swim was a 2 loops in a shallow, murky lake. Lake grass brushed my fingers with every pull for most of the swim. I felt strong and swam with moderately low effort, catching a draft for at least half of the time.
I cashed in alot of good triathlon karma because the bike course really dried out. Still some sections of mud that felt like riding through peanut butter, but no slick rocks at all! I rode alot more confident and relaxed. Many incredible mountain bike riders (who obviously swam worse than me) zipped by, passing me on the singletrack portions. Everyone was incredibly polite and had a positive word to say on that ride. I made it through the first loop shiny side up and utterly inspired by the skill of my fellow competitors on mtb.
The second loop was all about small victories. Every section of downhill or rock garden that I unclipped for the first loop, I muscled, pedaled, and bounced by way through on the second loop. I let out a gleeful,"Yay!" after each victory with only the woods to hear it. On the first loop climbs that I had to unclip because I felt unsteady on the loose rocks or just ran out of anaerobic capacity, I made it up just a little farther the second time around. I MUST learn to do a track stand. I must learn to keep myself upright on a bike with balance and not just speed. I could have really used that skill on those climbs just so I could catch my breath and not clip out.
The last downhill of each loop is a long straight descent with round wooden poles that crossed the trail, creating drop-offs 1-2 feet tall. Between the drop-offs are the ever-present rock gardens. For my last time down that hill, I stayed clipped in except for the biggest drop-off (around 3 feet). I finished that bike course a downright happy camper.
The run was a combination of scrabbling over boulders and logs with 2 steep climbs, one really steep descent onto a waterfall crossing that was littered with boulders. There was one log that blocked the trail that was so big and high that I had to stop, throw my leg over it, then straddled it like a horse with my feet dangling in the air. I definitely took the tourist approach for the run and went very slow so as to not twist my ankles.
I managed to place 3rd in my age group (mostly by just showing up). The race was well organized. The atmosphere was relaxed (the race started at 11am!), friendly, and collegial. Every bike in transition was caked in dirt and well-ridden. Every triathlete at the finish line was caked in dirt and happy. There was a Gatorade chugging contest before the awards ceremony.
Overall, the race was the most fun race this year. I'm so happy that I decided to do it. I was definitely out of my comfort zone for the bike portion, but made some great gains in my mtb skill and confidence. I wiped out only once on the bike, going over roots to avoid some rocks. I didn't carry enough speed/momentum through the loam (which is like riding on sponges) to skip over my obstacles. Falling on the trail was not like landing on sponges, however. So there's a moderate sized bruise and scrape over my right ass cheek. No problemo. Small price to pay for the amazing experience of my first (and definitely not last!) Xterra.
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