XTERRA West Cup Lake Las Vegas - TriathlonShort Course

The swim went well. I wanted to save myself a bit for the tough bike I knew I had ahead of me.

I think/KNOW the swim course was longer than advertised based on my pace. I'm not THAT slow! But there was also a longer run to transition to consider...

I wish I could have drafted a bit better, but never really found someone to draft off of. There was one guy that was going about as fast as I wanted, but would stop short to sight and I would keep running into his feet. It started to be too much of an issue, so I just set out on my own.

My stomach was STILL feeling a bit uneasy. I was actaully dry heaving most of the race. I think most of it was due to 'cotton mouth' from the dry and warm conditions.

However for the swim, I actually puked a bit when I caught some lake water in the mouth (gross, I know!). Funny thing was, I never missed a beat! I puked while my head was in the water, then turned and took a breath and never even slowed down... I figured the lake water would clean off the front of my wetsuit.

I have to say, I think this shows how comfortable in the water I am, to puke and not loose a stroke!

I could have drafted a bit better.

I took a little extra time in the transition area for this race. I needed to put on some extra clothes I don't normally wear in a triathlon because this was an offroad course. My MTN bike shoes are not made for speed in transition with the various velcro straps.

I also was a little more patient/deliberate to take off the wetsuit better this time and it worked! It didn't catch on the heels and probably saved a couple seconds (or at least some energy not fighting it).

This was a TOUGH course. Very hilly and very loose. Several long 'hike a bike' sections.

I did the pre ride yesterday in the heat, and it kicked my arse. However, I was glad I did it so I knew what to expect during the race.

I climbed MUCH better than I did on the pre-ride and descended better as well. I think I was getting used to the new bike.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I used the new bike for the race? It was AWESOME! It really helped me get through the course... I can't imagine doing some of the tough secions on my old rig.

I needed to drink more during the ride, but with the grinding climbs and tough descents, I always felt I needed my hands on the bars and never really had time to drink. That hurt my run. I need a camelback for my next XTERRA.

Overall, I think I held my own. There were some tough downhill sections that I saw some people had to walk while I was able to ride through it. Also, I was able to clear some of the climbs that others had to walk. What was satisfying to hear, is that some of the most difficult climbs that I had to dismount and walk, some of the pros did as well! TOUGH course!

The only real boneheaded/moronic/stupid move I made was a wrong turn on the course. I just finished bombing down the first significant downhill section, and made a hard right (WRONG!). I rode that way for what felt like a couple minutes and realized something was wrong. I saw no other riders!!!! THEN all of a sudden, the leader of the race popped out next to me with his motorcycle escort (the driver of the motorcycle took a long hard look at me - probably wondering who I was and how I got there!).

For a brief and amusing second, I thought I could just keep going and turn in a BLAZING bike split! But no, the ONLY thing I was pleased about this mistake is how fast I made the decision fix it. I usually would coast for a bit trying to decide what to do, and lose more time. Not this time. I flipped the bike around and hauled arse back to the right course. I put my lost time at about 6-8 minutes. That really hurt.

HOWEVER, I was able to finish the bike course about 10 mintues faster than I did in the preride INCLUDING the lost time due to a wrong turn!

Drink more, and work on my MTN bike skills.

Usual quick transition.

You could have stuck a fork in me, because I was done. I started off running and the thigh cramps instantly hit. As soon as I got to the first hill I was reduced to a walk. Soon I was jogging on the flats, and walking on the hills. The entire way out was uphill it seemed. Fortunatly, the way back was mostly downhill, so I was able to pick up some lost time.

I was a little disapointed with my run, which is usually a stength. I typicall pretty strong coming off the bike compaired to other 'big guys'.

Lots of fluids and rest.


Dealing with some physical issues and maybe some lack of MTN bike skills.


I REALLY enjoyed my first XTERRA experience! At first, I was a little disapointed I didn't sign up for the full length. But after riding that course, I'm GLAD I didn't have to go back out for a second loop. Also, the 5k run was brutal. I would have had a tough time doing that loop twice after a 30k bike ride.

My wish list:

I wish I didn't get food poisoning ealier this week. It made it hard to eat and drink the whole week, which left me tired and weak.

I wish I had done an earlier pre ride in the month. Doing the pre ride the day before took a bit more out of me than I would have wanted. I was still feeling it in my legs the next morning during the race. Not bad, but it was there.

I wish I didn't take a wrong turn and lost 6-8 minutes. I almost cried from frustration knowing I added time and distance. I can't imagine how many peole finished in front of me that shouldn't have even been around me if I had made the correct turn.

I wish I had worn my camelback and drank something/anything on the bike course.

I wish I could have ran better.


My 'wishes that came true' list:

I LOVE the new bike! It climbed like a goat and descended like a champ. I am SO happy with it.

I was really happy how much easier the bike course felt the second time I did it (still hard, but easier than when I did in on the pre ride). Maybe it was the temperature, or my skills, or combination of both.

I was happy with my choice to do the short course for my first XTERRA! The long would have been a real chore. No issue to get through it, but it would have hurt.

I am SO happy with my choice to do this race! XTERRA was a BLAST! I thought my triathlon experience would have given me an advantage with this, but XTERRA is a different beast alltogether. And in some ways, FAR cooler! But maybe that's me. I always loved trail riding and running.


I plan to ride in more events next year for sure. This was a complete blast!!! HOORAY XTERRA!!!

I found this quote in the XTERRA race report: “I thought this was one of the hardest XTERRA races ever,” said women's winner pro Melanie McQuaid.

Why do I get into these thing? Nothing is ever easy around here. BTW, the winner of the men's division completed the long course in the same amount of time I did the short course. Humbling.