PROFESSIONAL TRIATHLETE
I flew into Vegas Wednesday morning to have a couple of days to see the course and get adjusted to the time difference before the race on Saturday. I was fortunate to be staying with friends of Emma Garrard's in Henderson, Molly and Ryan and their two adorable girls Pru and Ziya. Emma and Dan were driving down from Truckee that day and arrived in late that evening. We decided to have a bit of a sleep in Thursday then hit the pool for a quick swim at noon before heading out to the race hotel at Lake Las Vegas for a spin around the course. Lake Las Vegas is a man made lake stuck between Henderson and Lake Mead, with two high end hotels, a couple of golf courses and big houses. Unfortunately with the economic situation part of the development that had been started has been abandonned and this is where the race was being held. We had no idea what the course was going to be like but Dan summed it up perfectly when just a few km's into the pre-ride he exclaimed "I am completely speechless". While the completed part of the subdivision and resorts are the epidemie of unsustainable oasis in the desert, the race course looked like the barren landscape of an open pit mine. The course was roughly laid out on half graded roads of loose gravel and natural washes with just a short section of single track thrown in for good measure. With all the steep uphills and descends on top of the loose gravel the course was definitely going to be challenging. Friday was another low key day, getting in another loop of the bike course, then a quick run and swim.
Race morning was an early one as the race started at 8am and we had a point to point swim so needed to set up transition then drive over to the race start at the Loews Hotel Lake Las Vegas. It was only supposed to be 75deg with a chance of rain but was already turning out to be quite a bit hotter, clear, sunny, and very windy. The race director had been measuring the water temperature in the days leading up to the race at around 70-71 deg which would make it a non-wetsuit race for the pros, but wouldn't you know it, the water temperature was suddenly
Race morning was an early one as the race started at 8am and we had a point to point swim so needed to set up transition then drive over to the race start at the Loews Hotel Lake Las Vegas. It was only supposed to be 75deg with a chance of rain but was already turning out to be quite a bit hotter, clear, sunny, and very windy. The race director had been measuring the water temperature in the days leading up to the race at around 70-71 deg which would make it a non-wetsuit race for the pros, but wouldn't you know it, the water temperature was suddenly
below 68deg on race morning and wetsuits were allowed for everyone. On top of allowing wetsuits, the swim course was shortened a bit to cut out a section that would have had us swimming into the very small amount of chop the wind was stirring up on the lake. No matter, I got off to a good start and tucked in behind a couple of the guys. We started the swim in a little cove at the resort then rounded the first buoy and headed out into the main part of the lake. The guys in front of me went around the buoy and totally headed in the wrong direction. I sighted the next buoy and headed off on my own. I was surprised that no one decided to follow me and I ended having a nice calm swim and headed into transition well ahead of the rest of the field.
Out onto the bike I just couldn't seemed to get into race gear. There were a couple of steep hike-a-bikes and some steep downhills you just sort of slid down right at the start of the loop, then some wash and road sections through the middle and the single track to bring you back to transition. Mel caught me halfway into the first lap, then Shonny, Renata, and Leslie one right after the other at the end of the first lap. At this point I definitely started to feel sorry for myself and didn't keep the pressure on. I was riding technically quite well, just not putting in a race quality effort. Jenny Smith and Rebecca Dussault flew by me halfway through the second lap leaving me in seventh place going into T2. The run was just as tough as the bike with a two lap course, pretty much uphill to the turnaround then two downhill sections with a tough uphill in between on the way back. Still a bit unfocused I headed out onto the run with Emma Garrard right on my heels. The one nice thing about this course is it was so open that you had a good view of your competitors. I quickly noticed that Jenny and Rebecca weren't too far in front and I was steadily closing the gap. I got back on my game and got to work. I passed the two gals in front of me at the turnaround on the second lap and put my long legs to good work on the downhills to the finish line to hold off a hard charging Emma.
Overall 5th, on the podium and in the money but with lots of room for improvement. I had a great swim and second lap of the run but definitely lost it in the middle section. I spent some time talking with my coach Gareth after the race and besides the obvious mental faltering on my part we decided that I probably still need a bit more rest going into my races this year. My program and training has been just about flawless so far this year and we just need to dial in the taper a bit. In past years I have usually had to deal with nagging injuries and therefore not ideal training. This year I have had four months of great, injury free, training and can afford to really taper. Fortunately I have a whole bunch of races coming up to rest up for.
After the race we hung out for a bit around the hotel pool for awards then headed home with a quick stop for ice cream on the way, Coldstone Creamery no less. It was Dan's first time in Vegas so although pretty tired we rallied and headed out for dinner and some dancing at LAX inside the Luxor. I am definitely getting old as I hardly recognized any of the music they were playing. I guess it happens to everyone eventually. Sunday was a long day of travel, uneventful except for the cankles that developed sometime during the flight. Now it is a short two weeks before two back to back races, the Midwest Cup in Michigan and the Southeast Cup in Alabama.
Out onto the bike I just couldn't seemed to get into race gear. There were a couple of steep hike-a-bikes and some steep downhills you just sort of slid down right at the start of the loop, then some wash and road sections through the middle and the single track to bring you back to transition. Mel caught me halfway into the first lap, then Shonny, Renata, and Leslie one right after the other at the end of the first lap. At this point I definitely started to feel sorry for myself and didn't keep the pressure on. I was riding technically quite well, just not putting in a race quality effort. Jenny Smith and Rebecca Dussault flew by me halfway through the second lap leaving me in seventh place going into T2. The run was just as tough as the bike with a two lap course, pretty much uphill to the turnaround then two downhill sections with a tough uphill in between on the way back. Still a bit unfocused I headed out onto the run with Emma Garrard right on my heels. The one nice thing about this course is it was so open that you had a good view of your competitors. I quickly noticed that Jenny and Rebecca weren't too far in front and I was steadily closing the gap. I got back on my game and got to work. I passed the two gals in front of me at the turnaround on the second lap and put my long legs to good work on the downhills to the finish line to hold off a hard charging Emma.
Overall 5th, on the podium and in the money but with lots of room for improvement. I had a great swim and second lap of the run but definitely lost it in the middle section. I spent some time talking with my coach Gareth after the race and besides the obvious mental faltering on my part we decided that I probably still need a bit more rest going into my races this year. My program and training has been just about flawless so far this year and we just need to dial in the taper a bit. In past years I have usually had to deal with nagging injuries and therefore not ideal training. This year I have had four months of great, injury free, training and can afford to really taper. Fortunately I have a whole bunch of races coming up to rest up for.
After the race we hung out for a bit around the hotel pool for awards then headed home with a quick stop for ice cream on the way, Coldstone Creamery no less. It was Dan's first time in Vegas so although pretty tired we rallied and headed out for dinner and some dancing at LAX inside the Luxor. I am definitely getting old as I hardly recognized any of the music they were playing. I guess it happens to everyone eventually. Sunday was a long day of travel, uneventful except for the cankles that developed sometime during the flight. Now it is a short two weeks before two back to back races, the Midwest Cup in Michigan and the Southeast Cup in Alabama.
XTERRA WEST CUP - Lake Las Vegas
CHRISTINE
JEFFREY
CHRISTINE
JEFFREY
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