I was thinking mmm... it would be fun to do something different like a multi-sport race, something challenging like swimming, something that involves endurance and being outside… and I always wanted to do a tri but I’ve never been really excited about the fact that most for the race is spent on pavement… So an Xterra sounded like the perfect objective for the summer!
The swimming I think is the part that creates the most headaches to athletes and it has been quite a learning curve for me specially when it comes to open-water swimming
But hey! I wanted a challenge so there! Unfortunately, during a bike training session the tuesdaybefore the race, I got in a fight with my bike and it won… as a result I ended up with quite a few stitches on my thigh. So I was really on the fence about racing and of course the swim was out of the equation. The option left was the duathlon…I nursed the wound as I could for a few days and first thing I knew, Andrew and myself where on our way to Canmore…!
The day before the race, we were playing with our gear a bit, practicing the switch from our stiff bike shoes to our comfy runners; which really reminded us of ski-mo. We biked the course and I also wanted to make sure that my gorgeous scare would stay sealed over the extended exercise. All the nice stitches stayed in place so I was thinking to myself: GAME ON!… but carefully on!
7am Rockies time, we were at Quarry Lake getting our mountain bike gear ready at the first transition. A different crowd then usual was present for the day, high-level athletes with high value toys…! It was really nice to see! We all gathered at the Nordic Center to get body marking out of the way and get the instruction for the race. We then wondered back down to Quarry Lake and Steve (from ski mo) was out to cheer us on! The duathletes were the first wave to start. At 9 am sharp, we sprinted around Quarry Lake for 3 kms before the first mountain bike transition. We then did 2 laps of about 10 kms on the Nordic Center trail network. The route was nice and challenging with a few long steep climbs, really muddy and slippery sections and nice little chutes. Then the second transition was at the stadium from mt biking to trail running. The run consisted of two laps of over 4 kms.
It was a really fun adventure and we both learnt from the experience and had a great race. Andrew took the overall men category and I won the female and 3rd overall. We also agreed that next time, we would both do the swim…!
For full results:
http://www.winningtime.ca/index.php?content=10xterra
Thx to Skookum Tom & Greg and Giant for hooking me up with another Anthem while mine is getting all fixed up. Even if the remote fork lock-up on the handle bar is as sharp as a razor blade, I really like the ride!
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