XTERRA Northwest Cup Race Report - Erin

June 6th, 2009
Coeur d'Alene, ID
8th Pro Woman

This is the first time I have ever had an afternoon start and although it was a bit awkward, it was kind of fun and definitely a new experience.

The Swim - Brrrrr and holy waves! We were told the water temp was around 55*. The worst part was that it was really windy which made for some super choppy water. No worries, I got through it just fine...slow, but safe. I did, however, learn a big lesson on the day. I knew the run from the lake to transition was on really rocky and steep terrain and because I didn't have any other shoes other than my race flats, I thought it would be a good idea to bring those down and put them on to run up. As I put one foot in, I filled it up completely with rocks and sand and remembered that Will told me to be careful of that because I didn't want any debris left in my shoes for the actual run section of the race. After realizing that it would be nearly impossible to get all the rocks out before the run, I decided to just carrying them. Ha...what a stupid move that was. Talk about disoriented! Trying to get your wetsuit off with one hand while running up steep, rocky stairs after swimming in freezing cold, choppy water is probably the hardest thing EVER!

The Bike - The first race on my new bike!!! Hell yeah it’s flashy, fast and beautiful, but let me tell ya, without the correct fit, it doesn't work well at all :( Because I had only done 3 rides on it before the race, I didn’t get a chance to dial everything in and I ended up being way too stretched out. I felt my lower back tighten up immediately after the first short climb and couldn’t get it to calm down afterward. Standing up on the pedals and thrusting my hips forward helped pop some things back into place, but having all the power coming from my back and not my legs definitely didn’t help me get anywhere fast. I swear one of these races everything will be just fine and I’ll be able to hammer and thrash my legs are much as possible…haha.

The Run – You’ll all have to see the video footage of this, but literally within 3 minutes into the run, I tripped and face planted right into a huge pile of rocks and sliced my ‘good’ knee right open. I didn’t think twice about it and got right up and started running as fast as my little legs would go. I’m not sure if it was the adrenaline pumping through my veins or that my ‘bad’ knee is starting to heal, but I honestly had no shooting pain throughout the entire run which was a first! Other than the blood gushing out of my right knee and the pain of running a super technical trail, the run couldn’t have been any better. I definitely wasn’t the speediest on the course, but I wasn’t the slowest either and I actually felt like I was ‘running’. WHOOOAAAA…this is good!

The Race – Things are finally starting to come together. Every race has been better and better and I can only imagine it will keep going in that direction. I am learning from the big girls and once I can get some consistent training in, I have a feeling the latter part of the season is going to kick butt! As for the venue, it was absolutely gorgeous and fun to be part of an inaugural race. Thanks to everyone who helped us out and a big thanks to Phaedra who hosted all of us at her wonderful home :)