This past weekend marked my return to Beaver Creek, Colorado, for the Xterra Mountain Championships. Although Xterra is not my specialty, I do love to race the occasional event, and this one is conveniently located in my “backyard.” After a few weeks recovery from Ironman, and some decent training, I was feeling ready for another hit out. Additionally, Kelsey was wanting to give this one a try, so we packed up the Touareg and headed for the high country.
High country… As in starting elevation of about 7400 ft., and climbing on the bike that tops out somewhere near 10,000ft.! This mountain championship event really embraces its name, and even for someone like me who trains most of the year in Boulder at 5400 ft., this is a real challenge. As with last year, I had the benefit of staying with friends in Edwards, so I didn’t have to stress the small stuff. Thanks, Steph and Kelly…. and their two dogs, Charlie and Lucy!
So with a Friday arrival and Saturday race, there wasn’t much to do except pre-ride a portion of the course with Kelsey, and then have a relaxing evening. Fortunately Xterra has their head on straight when it comes to start times, and we didn’t go until 9, so plenty of time to have a “normal” morning. There is also something nice about a smaller race that doesn’t quite pysche you out the same way… smaller transition area, fewer people, more relaxed atmosphere. I set up my transition, did some warm-up, and then prepared to go completely anaerobic at the start of the swim. Which is exactly what I did, and after a couple hundred meters we rounded the first turn buoy and I adjusted my goggles after being kicked in the head. It was around this time that I was remembering exactly what it felt like a year ago to be maxing out at 7300 ft., and I lost contact with swim leaders Craig Evans and Kyle Leto. I settled in with some chasers, losing a little less than a minute, but not feeling spectacular.
Out on the bike, and it was full gas straight uphill slog for 5 or 6 miles and ~2500ft. of elevation gain. Last year, I felt comfortable climbing with the top guys, but this year was a struggle. I couldn’t match Josiah when he came flying by, and I just ended up riding between 10 and 15 seconds behind Branden Rakita. That is until I flatted with about 3 miles to go, snakebiting on a small rock ditch at high speed. I tried to roll it in, but the rear was too soft, and I was almost washing out on a couple corners. So, I fumbled about with my seat bag, and eventually got enough air back to make it home, losing ~1:40. Still, I was in 3rd, and felt I could at least hold that position on the run.
This is where I look back and kick myself a little, because I checked out mentally. The run is more like a slow-motion trudge, especially at the start, and pulling back 2 minutes seemed like a tall order. Instead, I jogged along to stay in control of 3rd, and didn’t have the killer instinct to chase the next athlete down. As it turns out, I came back to within 24 seconds of 2nd at the finish, so it was a good reminder to always stay sharp and positive. I can’t be entirely disappointed with my race, but I never felt all that good, and didn’t contend for the top spot at all. Still, it was a good change of pace before getting back to Ironman training and on road races, and a fantastic weekend in the mountains with Kelsey and friends. I want to say a huge thanks to the Xterra crew for a fun race, and all competitors for battling it out on a tough course. I hope to be back next year, and might even make my Maui debut this year if everything works out. Next up is Boulder 70.3 on August 4th, so looking forward to another race in the home state!