It can only get better from here - Xterra West Championships

My 48 hour trip to Vegas for the Xterra West Championships, was quick, cold and slow. I was planning on sharing a room with Melanie but she let me know Wednesday night that she was sick with some type of plague. Having already spent a month this Winter being sick with a mysterious, never ending cough I opted for my own room to avoid her Canadian germs. Traveling to races has become vacation and an almost spa like experience for me. I am HORRIBLE at relaxing and always find new projects or things that “need” to be done around my house when I have any free time. A hotel is ideal for me because I can’t do anything but read or watch some kind of garbage on TV.

Ok, back to the race. Clearly, I am avoiding talking about my race a bit since it was less than stellar. I didn’t even check the results until Wednesday and kept asking Doug not to tell me how I did. I have been beating myself up about my performance because like any driven athlete I always want to do better and go faster until I’m on the big step wearing gold. However, I have to remind myself to be patient because I am never fast in the early season, which leaves me fast and free from burnout come Worlds in October. This year is no exception and I have my hands in more baskets than ever before. I’m working harder than ever to strike a balance between the passion I have for my career and my athletic endeavors. I’m torn with which direction I need to go and the feeling of not always being able to give 100% to everything doesn’t always sit well with me.    

Ok, really, onto the race.  The swim was COLD, water in the upper 50s, air in the upper 40s. I jumped in the water and got in about 15 strokes before the race started. How wonderful…I didn’t swim all week due to some nasty road rash from a crash the previous weekend and I just got in 15 strokes, great! I survived the swim but barely. Upon exiting I had serious vertigo and was frozen. In T1, I struggled to get my wetsuit off and to put on arm warmers and a vest. It was quite possibly the slowest transition of my life but I finally got out on the bike and was not shivering. Two years ago at this race I broke my hand on the first lap of the bike and have had some underlying anxiety about returning to this course. By using Brainspotting techniques and mindfulness based skills I felt I was pretty successful in eliminating the extent to which my anxiety and fear would affect my performance. I rode clean and didn’t have to get off my bike at all but clearly lacked any type of top end fitness on the bike.  As much as I tried to push myself I was unable to catch any of the women that I would normally have no problems hanging with on the bike. I did pass 4 girls and moved into 7^th place when I got into T2. Over the Winter I was running strong as evidenced by winning Snowshoe Nationals. Since then I have let my running slide a bit, which showed in my grandma paced run split. I was passed by two women on the run and mentally was checked out. I never like to admit that I get mentally defeated but, yes, I am human and it happens.

After the race I packed up my bike, watched the awards, took a quick shower, got a milkshake and was on a plane home. I had grand plans of planting our garden and working on the chicken coop on Sunday but the weather gods forced me to stay inside and get this, attempt to relax in my own home.  I’m looking forward to some more focused training before ITU Cross Worlds in Alabama on May 19^th. It can only get better from here! 

2012 Sponsors

With the Xterra West Championships less than 24 hours away I really need to bring my blog out of hibernation. The highlight of my offseason was being asked to be Doug’s wife. I could not ask for a more smart, compassionate and funny spouse who motivates me everyday to pursue my passions on a professional and athletic level. Two other highlights from the frozen months are that I was crowned the 2012 USA National Snowshoe Champion and I am now the owner (and sole employee) of Flatirons Therapy. Starting my own private practice has made my days more hectic (full time work + more work = lots of work) and through the process I have come to realize that being a therapist in private practice feeds my soul and is exciting. I hope to grow my practice to a level where it will be viable full-time employment. Until then, hectic days continue.

On the racing front I feel very fortunate to once again be representing the same awesome companies for the 2012 season as I did in 2011. I guess you can call me a creature of habit who likes to be consistent all around.

Avia- Avia is a title sponsor for Xterra this year and I hope to make them proud out there. The new Bolt TXZR racer is light, fast and flashy. I can’t wait to put them to the test tomorrow.

Specialized - This is my 3^rd year riding for Specialized and I’m glad to be on board for another year. My trusty steed this year is the Womens Fate 29er. Assembly of this rig is happening right now in the “man space” at our house.

NoTubes- Hands down the best and lightest tubeless set up out there. I don’t always ride the cleanest lines and these wheels always stand up to my “more interesting lines” and always come out with air in them.

Honey Stinger – What can I say, another year of yum! I love that Honey Stinger is a Colorado based company and makes such great tasting, natural energy products.

Native Eyewear – Native Eyewear is another Colorado based company. The spunky and laid back vibe of the company is something to admire. Not to mention their good-looking and incredibly functional glasses and ski goggles.

Infinit – If you struggle to find a drink mix that truly works for you then I suggest Infinit. Infinit is pretty much the only energy drink that you can customize in all areas…sodium, calories, aminos, flavor, protein, caffeine.

Xterra Wetsuits –My new Vendetta wetsuit fits like a glove and is flexible in the arms and shoulders. I will also be sporting the Velocity Speedsuit for non-wetsuits swims.

Thank you to all my wonderful sponsors! I will strive to be on the podium and when I'm not, I'll still be smiling because the journey of working towards the top has many rewards in and of itself. Here's to a great 2012 season!