This year I am Xterra Regional Champion for my age group. Last year I missed it by one point. I am excited to have the honor. I wish I could travel out to Tahoe for champs, but it is just not feasible this year. Thanks for a great season and wonderful adventures! Everyone who puts time into the series does such a great job.
On Sunday I rode the 100 mile LIVESTRONG Challenge in Philly. It was a great experience. Shawn and Mike went to pick up our packets the day before the ride, so when we all arrived in the morning we just had to get our bikes together and go. Bruce met up with Shawn, Sara, Otmani, Mike and I in the parking lot right when we arrived. We geared up, put on the sunscreen and went to the start. We all waited 40 minutes past the start time for the opening ceremonies. Finally, it began and Lance gave a short speech and we were off.
The first ten miles were congested and we all separated. We gathered again at the first stop. At this time we saw a girl in a pink dress and sandals, riding the ride. Off we went for the next 13 miles, easy as cake so far. Otmani and I had some fun riding together trying to see how fast we could go on the downhills. The second stop came and this one was huge, and really congested. I thought this is going to be horrible, too many people everywhere, and commented how it was like being in New York City. As the day went on though the masses really spread.
Bruce had been riding pretty fast and ahead of us. I decided to stick with him and see how it went. I began with him on the next leg, but with the crowds, eventually got boxed in and lost him. Again, we regrouped at the stop. The next time I was able to stay with Bruce and we rode fast through all the downhills and continued up hills while people all around us were cramping and walking. I lost Bruce at one point in the cornfields, where the wind was bad, I found him at the stop just after I rode the biggest hill of my life. Bruce and I were pretty far ahead at this point, so we waited, I ate and ate - mostly oranges, they are key for me in long events. When the last of our group arrived, we found out that Otmani had broken a spoke. There was a bike tent, which was fixing it for him, but our time was running low. They set the cut-off for 4 p.m. and we were only 57 miles out. Shawn urged Bruce and I to take off, so eventually we set off. I was worried, we had been in the rest stop for at least 45 minutes just after a huge hill.
Right away another hill came to torture us, no cramping though. I was good and kept on behind Bruce. At the next stop we decided to skip it and just go for the cut time. We both took a swig of our Gatorade as we pushed on. Somewhere in this section we were coming up to a red light, but the cops stopped traffic so we would not have to stop. Next thing I know, Bruce said something like I will catch up. I continued up the hill and continued on. I figured he was right on my wheel as there were still plenty of people around. When I came to the next stop, I stopped. No Bruce. I waited and when he came in he was feeling it. Looked pretty pale, but as I was calculating we had 1 hour to do 19 miles, we had to move. So I urged him to eat something, and as he did he said let's go.
19 miles to go, with one hour. They told us they were going to pick people up even if they were one mile out. I rode as hard as I could, but the time was slipping by and the hills kept coming, though much smaller at this point. However small, 80+ miles into a ride they felt big enough. I started to see signs every 5 miles counting us down. I rode alone for the rest of the ride, just hoping to make it in. I skipped the last stop, which I heard was filled with the best treats, cake and soda. I had 15 minutes to ride 5 miles, I kept glancing at my watch. Skipping the last rest stop really hurt. I hit the wall in those last 5 miles and they were the longest 5 of the entire ride. People were riding past and it was all I could do to ride up the last hills. Where was this stupid college? It seemed at every traffic light we should be entering to the finish, but it was not there. Finally, I saw some yellow balloons and came up next to a man I had seen at the start. I told him great ride, and then he rode his way down the cancer survivor lane at the finish. I came in 7 minutes past 4 p.m., but no one ever came out to pick us off the street. Ten minutes later Bruce came in, I was so thankful they let him finish. All the others were allowed to finish as well, their threats meant nothing in the end. All of the volunteers waited out so the riders could finish their days.
It was an amazing experience. At the 57 mile rest stop I met a woman who was doing the ride for her second time, this time after beating cancer, last year in between her chemo and radiation. The people out there were brave and strong. Bruce could barely ride two laps of a parking lot five months ago and was now kicking our ass on a 100 mile ride. I had so much fun, and have a new respect for hills. I rode every last inch of that ride and it was a good feeling in the end. Over 3 million dollars were raised on that day alone for the fight against cancer. It is a nasty disease and I hope one day we will have a world free of it.
With a lot on my mind, I had not thought much about this race. We had pre-registered a few weeks in advance so we went down to race even though we were not too ready for it. I was glad since this is my favorite venue for the xterra races.
Unfortunately, the race begins way too early so we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. We got to the race sight before the sun even got up, another sign it was way too early. Shawn and I got premium spots on the far racks, they were filling up fast, by the time the last athletes arrived there was only room along the fence. This race must have doubled in size from last year.
They changed up the swim wave starts and I ended up in the first wave. This was fine because last year I was in the last wave and people from the first wave had already made it around and lapped us before we even got to start. So I had clean water this year for an entire lap, and did not run into people until about half way through the second lap. The swim went easy, surprisingly since I have not swum in about a month, two guys took off from the start and I hung back. I was third out without a problem, first female, with the pro Alisha Lion not too far back.
Transition went well, got everything on, but I made a huge mistake. I forgot to find out where the exit was and ran my bike pretty much all the way around the perimeter before I got out. I saw Alisha in transition and new she would be coming along very soon.
The bike was awesome. It has a lot of twists and turns, roots and rocks. The trails are similar to our own, but much rootier and rockier. The first half flew by, a lot of it was fun downhills. Alisha passed me early on, but then I never saw another female until 8 miles in. I had clean trails that entire time. I must have put enough time on the men on the swim that they were pretty far behind. But it all came crashing down in the last four miles of the race, they all caught up at once and I had to continually pull over to allow streams of five men pass. It got very frustrating after feeling so free and fast for the first half.
Some fun firsts happened on the bike:
1. I did my first ever jump in a race. I am not sure what came over me and why I did it. I just think I was having so much fun riding it was like an everyday ride and I wanted to feel some air.
2. I rode the biggest log pile of my life. I remember coming up to it and hesitating, thinking I am not sure what is on the other side, but then just went for it. I think I might be ready for some middle run log pile action.
The other cool thing that was running through my head at this point, this specific log pile, was that two years ago at that point it was me, one other man and the sweep. We were out there together just trying to survive. I remember getting off my bike there thinking there is no way, and the guy reacting, saying that we had made it this far lets live and walk over. Also having the sweep there is a memory I will never forget. I told him good job, and he was like...ummm, no I am just out here to make sure everyone gets in. Shawn was not racing and I had been out there so long that he starting walking the trail backwards to make sure I was ok. This made me realize how far I have come in two years as I rode successfully over these logs in third place.
The run came and was not too bad, though I only took one gu on the bike and had decided I would rely on the cliff blocks on the run. Out of transition I grabbed the opened bag upside down and they all fell out except for one. I ate the one immediately and later on choked down a gu after two gags from the water tent. I ran steady, walked some hills. A couple girls passed me and towards the end I came up on a guy who was cramping. I stopped for about 30 seconds to give him the rest of my water I was carrying. He downed it. Then I started back up the final hill, about a quarter mile to the finish. At the very end a girl passed me who was in my division. I did know this, let her pass and then when she got about ten feet ahead I could see the finish line so I kicked it in as fast as possible. I sprinted and thanks to all the track practices I have done this year was able to beat this girl. Shawn was there at the finish, I had not heard him cheering.
I would love to get back there to just ride the trails one day. They are a lot of fun. I think I was like fifth overall female, third in my age-group and 79th total. We left before the official results came out, I had a nap before we drove home. I was most sore from my Wii playing, though my legs felt that final sprint in.
I had so many comments throughout the entire race about being number 1, including just after the two woman passed me when the volunteer told me I was ALMOST number one. I thought that was a bit harsh! Read the race report below.
The drive to xterra Appalachia out in Indiana, Pennsylvania is beautiful. Through the mountains on the PA turnpike we encountered some severe thunderstorms and had a wonderful show Saturday afternoon. By the time we arrived, it was sunny and not humid, a perfect evening. We picked up our numbers - I was number 1. Wow!
The evening went fast and we tried to get some sleep, but the hotel hosted a bunch of party animals so the night was restless. In the morning we had a quick breakfast and made our way through the fog. We were so close to the race site we got there with plenty of time to stake our space in an odd transition area. Before I did that, I went down to the lake for some neat photos.
I picked a spot close to the entrance from the swim, not the best location, but I ended up only sharing the rack with one other person so it was fine. I set up my gear, got my number 1 plastered on my arm and got in for a swim. We had enough time to swim the entire course which was an out and back on the warm lake.
When the race director shouted go we were all wading chest deep in the water, off we went. Shawn sprinted ahead, I have never seen him take to the swim like this. I was too far out away from the line of buoys that would be so easy to follow so I decided to cut in. It was Otmani I was cutting in front of, but I decided to go for it so I could have a straight line throughout the swim. It was a very short swim and I wanted to hold back as much as possible. Going out some dude in a wetsuit took off with Shawn. I was still surprised Shawn was going this hard, on the way back they died off a bit and I pulled up beside them. Shawn and I dropped the wetsuit dude and swam together. Shawn started pulling way left and I tapped him on the shoulder and he got back on track. I timed my stroke so we were stroke for stroke, we came in together. It was fun. Shawn got up before I would normally, because the water was so shallow. I got up with him and then immediately fell back down, but caught back up to him and ran in while having conversation back to transition. Headline should read - Husband and wife finish swim together. At least Shawn won the swim, because the rest of the day did not go his way.
Out on the bike, I got out of transition first, and Otmani soon came up behind. I pedalled with him for a while and then Shawn and Fortmann came up as well. We all went into the single track together. I was last in, Fortmann stopped at one point and I passed by him. Right after that I was behind Shawn and he was getting up a steep hill where you had to dismount. He was trying to get back on and to get started when he got off balance and ended up perpendicular to the trail with his back tire covering the trail, upright pretty much leaning on the tree. A man came around me riding and was trying to pass Shawn's bike, but ended up riding directly into the tire. It tore Shawn's tire right of the rim, and I completely witnessed the entire incident. The man thought he had a flat and I said no Shawn you have a flat - knowing that was it. There was nothing I could do to help him. Fortmann was with us, we all stopped, said sorry and had to go on, I felt soooo bad and so did Fortmann.
The rest of the ride was composed of steep hills that you had to push, push and push. And then some fun downhill sections, a water crossing and some more fire roads. At one point I was by myself and I thought I had gone off track. I stopped to ask a man and woman walking their dogs if they had seen riders going by, they confirmed I was on course and I picked my speed back up. I never saw a female, I was in first the entire bike section until the very last mile. Two females came by at once. I got off the bike not too far behind them, though they dropped me on the last hill coming in.
On the run I felt good going out, and passed two men right away. The run starts out with some huge winding hills. At the bottom of the hill you can see way up and I saw second place female. I tried to catch her, and ran hard when I could, but I had a side cramp the entire run. I never caught her and both the men I passed, passed me later on in the run. I did pass one other guy and overall had a fairly strong run.
The results are not posted yet, but I did end up in third female - free entry into next year's race (pretty cool perk.) I think I broke two hours and last year I was 2hrs 9 minutes at this race. I will post the results when they are up. The race director is so enthusiastic and runs a great race, I will return for more in the future!
How much snot can you blow out of one nose??? I have been blowing straight for a week and it just keeps coming...sorry for the nasty visual...
Ocean City, NJ -- July 26, 200819:58
65/311 - overall
1/13 - age group
16/121 - female
While we were on vacation for a few days at Rehoboth Beach we had a perfect morning to go out for a road ride. We were staying in Rehoboth and road south down Route 1A towards Bethany Beach. The road is perfect for a ride like this because of its wide shoulders. It was a 30 mile ride, out and back, with the bay on one side and the ocean on the other. There were some nice views along the way.
I have always been very sensitive to poison ivy, but have been pretty lucky over the past few years since I spend so much time outside. My luck shifted this morning when I saw the beginnings of the rash from my knee all the way down to my ankle on my right leg. I think I can safely trace this back to a trail that we accidentally rode yesterday at the very end, and I mean the last minute, of our three hour ride. I was following Otmani and Shawn all morning, but they were always just far enough ahead that I could not see where they were turning. For some reason Shawn took the route that we normally take only if we want to shoot out at the road. Fortmann and I followed the yells that came from them telling us to go that way, but we thought they turned left to go down the trail. I couldn't understand why they would be taking the road back - which is the way they went. Fortmann and I fought our way through an overgrown trail, and by the end we had to dismount to make it through the overgrowth. Only to find out they had gone on the road and we had chosen the wrong path.
The itching began last night and I woke up this morning to the rash. I immediately looked on the Internet to see if there was any kind of intervention that you could do early to get rid of the rash - I get it bad. I found this article that said to get to the dr. asap and if treated early with the steroids you could actually make the rash disappear. Here's to hoping ... I visited the 7-day clinic and saw a Dr. at 9 a.m. on a Sunday. I am going to pick up the prescription within the next hour...
Here is the article from the New York Times:
Health: Dermatology; With Poison Ivy, Timing Is Everything
LEAD: Exposure to poison ivy, the summertime scourge of suburbia, should be considered more a dermatological emergency than a nuisance to be salved, according to experts in skin disorders.
Exposure to poison ivy, the summertime scourge of suburbia, should be considered more a dermatological emergency than a nuisance to be salved, according to experts in skin disorders.
In treating exposure to the plant toxin, timing is everything, specialists in poison ivy have discovered.
By beginning steroid therapy as soon as the first little red bumps appear on a patient's skin, doctors can stop a poison ivy rash in its tracks. But if they wait or if the patient puts off getting medical help, hoping that the incipent rash is not going to turn into the typical oozing and itching blisters, it may be too late.
The specialists say that even many dermatologists, let alone general practictioners and members of the public, do not realize the importance of early treatment. Few Seek Help Early
But patients rarely seek help early, said Dr. William L. Epstein, a dermatologist at the University of California in San Francisco. ''Usually they wait a day or two,'' he said. Or they ''go to the drugstore and spend money on things that don't work.''
Although steroid hormones may still give patients some relief after the rash has broken out, doctors find that the only way to completely stop a poison ivy rash is to give high doses of the hormones early.
Poison ivy researchers are coming to appreciate the extraordinary potency of the oil, urushiol, that comes from the plant and can cause an allergic rash in about 50 percent of the nation's population. The same oil that is found in poison ivy east of the Rocky Mountains is also found in poison oak west of the Rockies and in poison sumac, which grows in wetlands and standing water all along the East Coast. Urushiol, pronounced you-ROO-she-all, is inactivated by water, but it can persist for months or years on shoes or clothing that have not been washed.
Almost no other natural substance is as potent as urushiol, experts say. Sensitive people will get a rash if they put on a patch with a one-thousandth of 1 percent solution of urushiol on it, researchers have found. In contrast, it takes a solution of 2 percent to 2.5 percent of nickel to produce a skin rash in sensitive people. Myths and Misinformation
Poison ivy researchers say myths and misinformation about poison ivy are rife, but they concede that not even the experts completely understand many aspects of the allergy.
Many people, for example, think that poison ivy rashes are contagious and that they can spread on a person's body if they are scratched. However, scratching and contact with the rash and pus have nothing to do with how the rash spreads.
The rash is a reaction to the oil; thus, it is not contagious by itself. And by the time a person has an itchy rash, the urushiol is long gone from the skin surface.
Dr. Jere D. Guin, a dermatologist at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock, said people spread the urushiol on themselves when they first touch it. A rash could appear everywhere they touch. But the rashes come out at different times, depending on how much oil came into contact with the skin and where the contact occurred. Face Is Particularly Sensitive
The skin that first contacts the urushiol and that has the highest dose of the oil will usually break out first, but some areas are far more sensitive than others, dermatologists have found. The face is particularly sensitive, while the palms of the hands, where the skin is thick, almost never develop rashes.
The only way to stop a severe poison ivy rash is to suppress the entire cell-mediated immunity portion of the immune system. That portion fights infection using white blood cells, while another portion uses antibodies. The urushiol is converted in the body to a reactive chemical, quinone, which binds to white blood cells and starts an immune reaction leading to a rash.
Oddly enough, people who have allergies that involve antibodies, such as asthma and hay fever, are only half as likely as the rest of the population to be allergic to poison ivy. Researchers speculate that immune systems that are overly active in producing antibodies have less active white blood cells. Steroids Prevent a Rash
In experiments, Dr. Epstein has completely prevented a rash from developing by giving people steroid hormones such as cortisol to suppress their cell-mediated immunity after they are exposed to urushiol but before they have broken out.
''Some people have asked if they couldn't just take steroids prophylactically, such as when they are going on a hunting trip,'' Dr. Epstein said. ''Theoretically, it would work like a charm, but practically you just can't do it.'' He said the benefits of potentially preventing a rash were not worth the risk of suppressing the immune system, which include an increased susceptiblity to infections.
Dr. Epstein emphasized, however, that if patients started taking steroid hormones within six hours of developing a rash, the rash would go away completely. The longer people wait to take steroids the less likely they are to benefit from them.
One of the great mysteries of poison ivy rashes is their propensity to appear in places that have never been touched by urushiol. Dermatologists can always say that perhaps the patient accidentally brushed that area of skin, or that the oil was on the patient's clothes and the clothes brushed the skin. Rashes in Other Areas
Such a hypothesis is difficult to rule out because it takes so little oil to cause a rash. Dr. Epstein has found that a person who is insensitive to poison ivy can touch urushiol with a finger and then blot his finger on his own skin a thousand times, but there will still be enough urushiol on his finger to produce a rash if he touches the skin of a sensitive person.
But experiments indicate that rashes can occur in areas that were not exposed to the oil. Dermatologists have put a patch containing urushiol on a volunteer's skin and found that a rash not only appears under the patch but also crops up elsewhere on the body. In particular, it seems likely to appear at the site of an old poison ivy rash or in an area where there is pressure or minor irritation, such as the shoulder blades.
One possible explanation for rashes in areas that have not been touched by urushiol is that minute amounts of quinone that the body makes from urushiol are carried through the body by immune system cells. When these cells circulate in an area that is slightly irritated they might provoke a reaction.
Some experts have also suggested that minute amounts of urushiol fragments might remain at the site of old poison ivy rashes, and these fragments might cause an old rash to flare up when the immune system cells come by bearing quinones from urushiol. But these theories have never been tested. ''It's all just supposition,'' Dr. Epstein said. An Assault on the Body Soon after brushing against poison ivy, a person can spread its potent oil elsewhere by touch. But the rash can appear in puzzling patterns. Even when directly exposed, the palm, 1, never breaks out. If oil has been rubbed on the face, 2, the rash can appear within hours or days. Effects also appear relatively quickly on the delicate skin of the inner arm, 3. Thicker skin, as on the outer arm, 4, is slower to react and may not erupt for a week or more. As derivatives of the toxic oil pass through the bloodstream, rashes can also appear in places not directly exposed, as on the leg, 5, perhaps because the skin had been sensitized by a previous attack. Secretions from the rash itself do not contain the toxin and cannot cause eruptions.
We headed out to Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland on Saturday morning. It is not a long drive so we were able to take our time and head out mid-morning. Otmani picked Shawn and I up and we managed to not forget anything. We successfully made it to packet pick-up even after some adventures finding lunch and a grocery stop on the way. After getting our race numbers we drove down the road and set up tent. Rocky Gap is beautiful and has wonderful campgrounds. We had plenty of room and our tents were right along the bike and run route. We thought about setting the cooler up so we could grab some cold drinks as we came through!
Otmani and Shawn tried to help me fix up my bike which had started shifting poorly the week before the race, although it is new I have put hundreds of miles on it already this year. We could not remedy the problem and seemed to make it a bit harder to shift. I was frustrated, but thankful it was still rideable, though not very smooth.
Race morning arrived quickly and as we were eating we looked at our watches and realized we had to get over to the race site. Luckily we were camping so close that we were one of the first to arrive. As we walked in, Otmani suggested I visit the Bike Lane tent and see if they could adjust my derailer. Yes - this race is actually big enough that they had two bike tents providing pre-race maintenance. The dude was ultra quick and made a bunch of adjustments, and even took the cable off entirely, but he came up with the same results we did, though he made it much smoother, smoother even than a week before when the problem started. He said I needed to replace the cable housing and there wasn't time for that. But i felt lucky, it was smooth and I had gotten there in time for him to do that much. A girl came over, while he was working on my bike, and said she had forgotten her bike ... yes her entire bike. He had one she could borrow, but she already looked pretty upset so I was thankful I had my own bike in working condition!
After that I even had time to set up transition and take my bike for a spin, again glad I did this because he had it in a very high gear which would have been a complete surprise when I mounted it after the swim. I also had time to swim a warm-up. All went well and the race was off with the first wave, all men 45 and under. I fell into the second wave, and decided to start far right closest to the bouys. I don't normally do this and usually take the outside route, but something just told me to go the direct route this time; I had been all the way to the left and had to weave through the girls at the start line with my last minute decision. I took off and one girl, who was part of a relay stayed with me. I swam very easy, but no one came up on us. Immediately we swam through the men, this girl went way outside and I just stayed straight somehow swimming through the masses without anybody getting in my way. I feel like the crowd just divided as we came through them, I think they were scared! I swam into the finish of the first lap right behind this girl and stayed on her tail, but again she took the outside route on the second lap and I decided to go with the straight option. I think I swam the straightest, shortest possible route and did it as slow as I could - my time was still a minute faster than last year. I came out first female, the girl never caught back up after her scenic route through the far end of the course. Into transition and I see Shawn and Otmani, I am not out of breath much, a good sign.
I decide to take the bike easy, I just want to make sure to finish this course. It is pretty technical and in years past we have not had good luck as a group (even resulting in broken bones.) I rode through the first rocky section with ease, though there were too many men around me ready to pass. At one point I decided to pull off and let about ten or fifteen guys go by, as I did this I cheered each of them on and that presented the atmosphere I carried for the rest of the race. I went back to the basics and just had fun. I rode smoothly and as each person passed I made sure to tell them great job. It is amazing the responses you get back and how much more fun it makes the ride. My first mistake came at Evitt's revenge where I decided to ride. I rode up and up past a bunch of guys who were walking - about half way up I had to dismount and walk. At that point I had winded myself and could barely push the bike up, then the hill keeps going up for a while, it is rideable at this point, but since I was winded it was harder than it should have been.
After that big hill there is a steep rocky descent, very dangerous and I went slowly down it, though I rode it without hesitation. People did pass me and flew by going down, but as I exited I came upon a race worker and exclaimed how happy I was to make it through. From that hill out it is easy going to the end of the lap. The second lap went just as well, easy going, didn't push it too much but a lot of fun. Talked with each competitor who passed and enjoyed the race.
Coming into transition I was with a guy, I exclaimed we made it! He was just as excited to make it through the bike section. I had to pee though and still had another hour to go in this race, I decided to take the time in transition and take care of that :) Out onto the run my legs felt like dead weight, and my stomach was cramping. We were not even started, my goal was to come in at 3 hours and I was on pace, but would have to repeat my phenomenal run from last year. It wasn't going to happen. My stomach was really on edge and I had to preserve my energy for the climbs. I could not run in places where I made it through last year, and had to actually stop on the rocky uphill hike section to gather myself and gain my breath back. I knew at that point I would not make the three hour cut off that I had set for myself, but just kept running as I could. I allowed the boy to splash me at the water stopped, he was chucking the water into your face as hard as he could and it was pretty funny. He was having fun. I could barely run down the smooth road at the end of the race, but did my best to keep going. Many, many, many people passed me at this point in the race, but I still made sure to have fun. I was so happy that I never saw Otmani or Shawn, meaning that they successfully made it through without technical problems that have plagued them in the past at this specific race.
I finished as one guy passed me 100 yards to the finish line, some guy warned me he was coming, but it was all I could do to keep moving forward! I got through the finish and Shawn and Otmani were waiting. I collapsed in exhaustion at their bike rack, that had collapsed itself somewhere during the race. We all made it back into the lake and relaxed in the cool water. I guess it was pretty hot that day, but by now I am pretty used to this summer heat.
The results were just posted and it looks like I not only took my wave, but had the fastest swim time overall ... I did not expect that at all, I felt as though I held back sooo much! I need some good rest, I think my body is overall just depleted from all this racing. My legs are not firing at the end of these races, but overall this was the most fun I have had all year at a race.
Results:
3rd in age-group out of 12
126 overall including men and relays out of 261
3 125 Alicia Markey 29 Newark DE 3:07:35
Swim: 20:16 (1)
Bike lap 1: 50:32 (4)
Swim + Bike lap 1: 1:10:48 (2)
Bike lap 2: 50:13 (3)
Swim + Bike: 2:01:01 (3)
Run: 1:06:34 (5)
Total: 3:07:35 (3)
| July 4, 2008 Rockford Park, Wilmington , DE
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Someone posted these images of the trail at Xterra Trimax and it better explains what I was trying to ellaborate on ... so many rocks ...
This is a good picture of the Mountain Laurel that was embedded all over the trail, at times you had to squeeze through it or it grabbed you, but it was beautiful.
Vince - prerace before his first Xterra
Ready to swim
Me on the swim
Shawn exiting the swim
Vince on the bike
Vince on the run
Shawn on the finish
Me on the finish
Xterra Trimax
After an early morning, 4:30 a.m., we arrived at the Richmond James River Xterra East Championship. This was the first year that we decided to do the full championship race. For the past two years we have done the sport race. Shawn and I went down last weekend to check out the bike course, and at that point I was a bit scared. Some of the technical sections were beyond my skills, but I decided to stick with the championship race and just hope for the best.
At the site there was no line for body marking so as I walked in with my bike I just dropped everything and got that over with first. In at transition there was plenty of room for the bikes and no assignments, this allowed Shawn and I to park our bikes right next to each other. This is always nice because if we need something from the other it is easy to get. Everything set up quickly and Shawn even remembered to bring down the pump for me because I had forgotten to add air to my tires at the car. I had noticed the day before on our short pre-ride that my tires were a bit squishy. Shawn and I were all set up and had time for a short warm-up swim. The water was very warm, and it was not even cool to stand out of the water when we were finished warm-up. The sport race went off and Fortmann took the lead in the swim, he arrived back at the shore a short time later and was announced first out of the water - First competitor all day and first to have his name announced! It was really cool. We then had time to jump back in for a short swim to Pee Island, where all the pros were gathered and it looked like they were standing there peeing one last time before the race started. We joined...
Second Photo: Rocks on the STUPID swim
Memorial day weekend was a nice bit of some fun camping down at the Smith Lake Xterra in North Carolina. We arrived mid-day on Saturday, in time for a pre-ride of the course. We took it easy and calculated where all of the obstacles might be, we were surprised at how easy the course seemed. After the nice ride, we set up camp and went for dinner. The weather was beautiful, couldn't ask for better camping weather.
Sunday morning we had to rise early, this event was an 8 a.m. start. We got to the park in plenty of time and got everything set up. Shawn and I headed down to the lake to get a short warm-up in. The water was warm. In the swimming area they had one of those big blow up trampolines; I have always wanted to try one. I swam out to the lifeguard who was on a kayak and asked him if I could jump off. He told me, why not...we did it all day yesterday. I got up and felt like a kid, jumped around a few time and did a flip off into the water. What fun, I could have skipped the tri and done that all day. The lifeguard then informed me that he was a soldier, but could not swim, he was just 
assigned to work as the lifeguard there ... he assured me that was what his flotation device was for. Glad I could swim!
The swim went off, wetsuits were optional, it was warm, I opted not to wear mine. Two laps and a few of the wetsuits went ahead, but I managed to stay with the lead pack, I say pack because one guy went off on his own, he must have had a jet pack on - he beat us by 2 minutes. We had to run up a hill to transition, it went better than last year, I got on my gear and went out for the bike.
The bike was two loops of a nine mile flat, fast course. Shawn passed me about three miles in and I never saw him again. I knew the day before when we pre-rode that there was no keeping up with him on this bike. I got through the first loop in 46 minutes, fast and no problems. Then there was the second loop. Otmani caught me right towards the beginning after my first crash, he said he could see me for the entire second half of the first loop, but could not catch me. Once the tree stopped me, he was able to. That crash was not too bad. I kept going and felt ok, but decided I needed a Gu. I decided at the wrong time, once I realized it I tried to throw it, but that was a worse decision. The throw put me over my handlebars, going down roots, and bounced me off a tree. This shook me and took me a few minutes to recover. 
I did, but two minutes later a stick took my chain off. This stick was more like a log that I left behind in the trail, Mike and Sara thanked me for that later on. Making it through the obstacles on the second lap, I thought I was on my way. Just fast trail ahead, I pushed it, but along a corner the sand took the bike out from under me and I fell hard, without warning. Three times, on the easiest course, all on the second lap. Something like 54 minutes...Ouch.
The run was all sand. My legs could barely move, and all I could do was search out hard ground. I caught Otmani and we ran the majority of it together until the last hill. I had to walk and he ran on. We all finished with in a minute of each other, and overall had our best finishes. 1 hour faster than last year, two miles shorter. 1st in my age group, 6th female overall. 75 more points already, only one more first needed to get the most points possible.
45 | Alicia Markey | 59 | 29 | 6 | 14:26 | 1:27/100m | 02:50 | 65 | 1:39:31 | 10.9mph | 00:48 | 49 | 30:10 | 9:26/M | 2:27:46 |
Saturday morning we got up early to do a block workout. Shawn and I arrived at the Y at 6 a.m. and did an easy mile swim and transitioned to the stationary bikes for a short 40 minute ride. We got home quick and met Mike to go over to Newark for the Iron Hill 5k race. The registration was at the restaurant and we got there in plenty of time. Finding the start was another story. We walked and jogged for twenty minutes to the other side of downtown Newark and finally found the start on the campus of University of Delaware at 2 minutes to nine. We were not the only ones who had this trouble and the race started about 15 minutes late - which gave us a chance to run to the restrooms that were conveniently at the start line. We met two other friends at the start. The race went off and was pretty much down hill for the first mile - 7:09. Feeling very good because of the long warm-up I kept the pace as steady as I could, the second mile came in at 7:40 and it had flattened out. The third mile was flat and a bit uphill, but I was able to stay strong at 7:42. I could have done without the last half of the last mile, but a 5k is not a 5k without the mouth sweats at the end and a feeling of puking. It comes and goes within minutes of the finish. 23:20 was my finish time, my best 5k time by about a minute. The track workouts have paid off for my faster running. One of my track mates won the female race, I was 65th overall and 8th female. Shawn had his best 5k time and the others had good showings as well. The best reward was the Pig Iron Porter back at Iron Hill and their spread (sandwiches, salads, fries and cookies - all by 10 a.m.) + a t-shirt...we voted it "most for your money 5k." We went home for a nap and reconvened for more drinking by 3 p.m.
| 46 | Markey, Alicia Newark, DE USA Mid Atlantic | Women 25-29 (1) | 3:49:31 Details Hide Details
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Enjoy the ride!
