Xterra World Championship Part 1

I decided to do the xterra world championship race about 3 months ago. I had competed in a total of 3 triathlons in the last 3 years prior to worlds. I knew it was going to be a big undertaking but I felt I was up to the challenge. I worked with my new coach Devon Vigus from Vigus coaching, on the bike, who set me up with a weekly schedule along with Vince Sherry one of the founders of the Run Smart Project, which is an online run coaching site. I also worked with Lindsey Sharp who went to the olympic trials a few years back for swimming. She gave me a bit of much needed help in the water. I felt pretty prepared and with my training except for the fear of how much time I would likely be trying to make up after the swim. I was hoping that if I could get out of the water, not necessarily super fast but super fresh I'd be in good shape for the rest of the race. That's not quite how it ended up going though... My girlfriend Nicole and I got out to Hawaii almost 2 weeks before the race to get acclimated to the heat and humidity. We made a pit stop on the island of Kauai to visit with family before heading over to Maui where the race was held. On Kauai we got in a few workouts including a great ride in the jungle with some really cool views but mostly stayed off our feet when possible. We had a chance to do a little snorkeling which is when both Nicole and I had our first octopus hunt. We handled a live octopus with our hands and I got sprayed with ink, we check it out for a bit more before letting it go completely unharmed. It was a really cool experience, they're pretty cool animals and we didn't really feel like we could ever eat one after that. One of the guys we went with didn't feel the same though, he caught one, put it in a bag, took it home and chopped it up! Later on that day Nicole and I went with her mom and a friend to our first luau. We watched and listened to the story of hawaii told through song and dance. There was even some crazy dangerous fire dancing. At the end of the night I was really tired and thought about how nice it would be to sleep in. Nicole and I had been there for about 5 days already and had taken the necessary steps needed to secure a sure "sleep in". See, on the island of Kauai there are wild roosters everywhere! I didn't quite understand, I know they are really into cock fighting there. There are many paintings of roosters in restaurants and in buildings so I got the feeling that the Hawaiians are very proud of there cocks, which I believe is important, if your proud be proud and display them! I myself though could not stand hearing them all day. These annoying cocks would start mouthing off at about 3:45am until about 8 am take a break for an hour crow for a most of the day and stop at around 8pm and start all over again. A super loud fan along with a body length pillow rapped around my head and 4 other pillows was what made for a good sleep in.

Xterra Worlds Part 2

On the 7th day we left Kauai and headed to Maui. Once there we found the cheapest rental car available which was definitely not from the usual suspects. All the car rental booths wanted 460 bucks for the week, it didn't matter if is was an economy car or and SUV for a few more bucks. I think the gas company gives the car rental agencies incentives to make the gas guzzling suv's the same price as the economy cars, what a racket! Anyways, Nicole called around and finally got in touch with Paul from MAUI CRUISERS! The first 10 seconds of the conversation went like this. "hello?..." (paul's cell phone crackles) "hey do rent cars?" Paul: Super enthusiastic almost in a joyous yell, "FU*K YEAH I DO!" We were sold! This guys was awesome! He wasn't at work when we called him but said if we could wait for about 15 min he'd pick us up in his tiny red beat up pickup truck and drive us to the rental lot. He also told Nicole during the first 20 seconds "Remind me about the story I have about Pine st." For the next 2 hrs we listened to the story about Pine st. and a bunch of other stories Paul had for us. Usually this is the type of thing that would really annoy me, especially since I was hungry, but not this time his stories were great and the car only cost 170 bucks for the week. I highly recommend renting from Maui Cruisers. They might not be brand new or luxurious but they're fuel efficient and will get you where you need to be and back.We hopped in the car and headed to were we'd be staying for the next week. We built up our bikes and got ready for the next day. On wed. we pre rode the bike course which was apparent it was going to be tough right from the start. It was an immediate steep pavement climb over to a dirt climb that led you to some windy climbing which dropped you off where the real climbing started! Plus the sun was climbing and was right over head so it was scorching by the time we were half way done. I estimated my race time would be about 1 1/2 hrs judging by the time it took to pre ride. We rested the for the remainder of the day. The next day we ran the 10k run course and it reminded me very much of the ride course, lots of climbing. The race profile said roughly 4,000ft of ascending on the 18.3 mi. ride course and just under 1,300ft of ascent during the 10k. Nicole was happy to have a chance to check out the run course she'd be racing on in only 2 days as she was competing in the Xterra 10k trail run on sat. Friday was a day of doing pretty much nothing but resting. Sat morning Nicole got up at 6am and got ready to race. After she ate she got in the car and headed to the venue. I followed on my bike 30min later. When I got there she had already warmed up and was doing some final stretches. I wished her good luck and she jumped into the start line that was about 800 strong, more than half of them being 10k racers, the others 5k racers. The gun went off at 9am. I rode around for a bit and then saw here coming in for the finish line. She was running hard across the beach which happened to be one of the only flat sections of the whole course, the soft deep 250meter stretch towards the end of the race leading to the climb to the finish. I was cheering and she was working, the look on her face said she was glad she was almost done! She ended up doing so well. She finished 15th in her age group and 47th out of all the women there! Great Job Nic! After the race she rested for a bit and then we headed back to the room where I got everything together for sunday, race day

Xterra Worlds Part 3

Sunday morning I got up at 6am and ate, the race started at 9am. I had all my race gear set so I didn't have to do any last min running around. I tried not to get too nervous and told myself relax and have fun. I rode over to the venue to warm up it was only about a 15min ride. Once I got there I put my things in the transition area and headed down to the water. I had about 20 min till the start of the race, I swam for about 10-15min and got lined up. The cannon blasted and we were off. 630 people into the water at once. I got elbowed in the goggles a few times and took a couple accidental gulps of water. I made it to the first buoy thinking that was fast, I'm flying, I felt pretty good. After making it around the next buoy and back to the beach I was feeling it. The second time around that first buoy didn't come up so quick, in fact it didn't feel like I was ever going to get to it. I did around the next and back to shore. In the transition zone I grabbed my bike and I was off. The game plan was to conserve a little on the bike, not go out too hard and be smart. I had a lot of ground to make up and I felt like I was still trying to recover from that damn swim. It was tough getting by all the racers that were now on the course. It was slow getting around people that weren't as strong on the technical sections. I knew the leaders were pulling ahead every time I had to hit the brakes and wait a second to pass. By the end of the bike I was feeling pretty good but knew what I was in for during the run. I started off hoping my legs would loosen up a little and I'd pick up the pace. I felt like I had been running for about 10min uphill when I saw the first mile marker. I couldn't believe it, this was going to take forever. I continued and the terrain rolled, I picked up the pace where I could and ran smart where it was steep (ran slow where it was steep). By the end I had come up with a 6:29 run pace that I was happy with considering it was at the end of a hot grueling race with so much ascending. I finished 35 over all which was a good jump from the 129th spot I got out of the water at. I finish just 5min back from Lance Armstrong ,he beat me out of the water by 5 min. and had just placed 4th at xterra nationals a month before. It just goes to show everyone really brings out the big guns for Worlds. After thinking about those things if felt pretty psyched to have had such a good kick off back into off-road triathlon. After the race Nicole and I got some halloween costumes ate and finished off the day with an xterra costume party. Yeee Haaaa!

Caspar Classic

Over labor day weekend I made a trip up to the Mendocino coast to visit with Nicole and Brian and to soak in the fog. Nic and I went on a nice little ride together on Saturday in her neck of the woods and before I knew it, I had been talked into doing the Caspar Classic race in Fort Bragg the next day. We headed to Fort Bragg from Brian's house early in the morning and I was super sad that the coffee shops weren't open yet in Gualala or Pt Arena, but I made it to the site of the race with time to spare. Everyone who was helping to put on the race was super friendly and registering was a breeze. They even had free coffee and doughnuts at the reg table- yes! As I was changing I saw Amon walk by and excitedly said hello to him. On my short warm up before the race start I got a teaser of what the course was like- twisty, tacky, and super fun! The race in the coastal redwoods and the first section of the course was a fast, big ring gradual climb. I headed back to the start area and gathered with about 50 riders for the start. Nicole and I were racing the long course as well as Gabe's girlfriend Krista, but we couldn't find her at the start. In the mix for the long course was Amon and Brian too, though Brian would be pacing Nicole during the race.
The start was hard and fast as everyone was trying to get to the front for the singletrack. I held a decent pace and tried to go hard but not blow myself up. From the start I could Brian encouraging Nic behind me and I made it my goal to try to stay ahead of them if I could. After the big-ring section at the start, the trail opens up to a steep fire-road climb and I could feel my legs burning. I got passed by a couple riders and crept past a couple myself. After that the course weaves through some narrow woods, climbs again, then shoots down a fast, sometimes steep descent complete with berms and a log drop! The trails out here are amazing! I kept it steady through the technical sections and then grinded up the dirt road climb to the start/ finish. At one point on the climb I looked back and saw Nic and B, so I knew I had to keep working. I shot some Gus and my second lap went by much like the first. I ended the race just a little ahead of Nic and finished with an exhausted smile. I was super impressed by the course and it was fun to race against Nicole. She has gotten so strong and fit this year, that girl has talent!
After the race we were treated to an awesome potluck with pasta salads and hot dogs. These Mendo people know how to do it right! They finished off an awesome day with beautiful homemade trophies. They were amazing works of art and mine is proudly occupying a shelf in my living-room. After the awards, we were entertained with a Huffy-toss. We took turns throwing an old pink steel huffy bike as far as we could toss it. My toss was pretty pitiful, but it was super fun to see how far other people launched it. Huge thanks to the race promoters for a great race, I hope to be back next year.

Ukiah Triathalon

Nicole, Andrew and I went and raced a triathlon on Sunday the 11th of September. Andrew had decided to race and Nicole and I decided last min to join him. The race was in Ukiah so only a little more an hour and a half away from home. Nicole and I got ready the day before. She rocked the Marin cross bike with some road tires and I built up my new cxr carbon fiber 29er hardtail and threw on some nano raptors. Sure that it was going to be a pretty small race with not many people there we didn't get too nervous. After the alarm didn't go off and we were late waking up at 4:30am and we were late picking Andrew up we raced over to ukiah making a personal best from gualala to ukiah in an hour and 6 min. Nicole and Andrew stepped out of the car a bit car sick and we headed to registration. While registering we realized it was going to be a bigger race than we thought. There were a little more than 400 participants there. Most people there had time trial bikes and lots had aero helmets. I saw a few solid disc carbon fiber aero wheels there as well. Andrew was the only one in our group with a straight up tri bike so he looked like he fit in. Looking at the tri bikes and then looking back at my mountain bike I felt a little under prepared. Nicole was a bit nervous because this was her first swim, bike ,run triathlon ever. She has race a tri before but there was a kayak leg and not a swim leg. We got to the bike to run transition zone and prepared our things. We rode over to the swim to bike transition area which ended up being a pretty good warm up and got all set up. The morning was kind of cool and I saw people shivering all over the place in the water waiting for the gun to go off. I saw Nic just before the race started and we wish each other good luck. Same with Andrew, I said stay out of my way or I'll kill you. Just kidding I said good luck to him as well.

The race started and we were off. It was a half mile swim into a 21.7 mile ride. The swim was over pretty quick and then the ride was on. It was an out and back so I saw Andrew and Nicole on my way back, they looked like they were doing really well. Nicole had gotten out of the water and layed it down on the ride. She used the ride as her opportunity to pass tons of people on the bike, great job Nic. I managed to not get passed by more than three people during the ride which was pretty sweet. Everyone who passed me made a comment about my bike with regular mountain bike tires, everything was positive. The last guy who passed me said I needed an aero helmet, which I thought was pretty funny and I told him that I needed and had forgotten my arm ferrings at home. Having built my bike up until late the night before I hadn't quite gotten my seat position right and now my ass and back were so tight. I got to the bike to run trans and got changed up quick and took off in a short strided super speedy shuffle. My back was so tight by then I couldn't open my stride up. I managed to pass two or three guys on the run and ended up in first for my age group and 5th over all which I was pretty happy about. I saw Andrew a little bit later coming in from the run with a strong finish line sprint. The dude was wearing sandles he had been training in for a barefoot half marathon. He ended up in 6th for his age group. Way to kill it Drew. I went over to the race course were it double back to look for Nicole. I only had to wait a second before I saw here charging the course in her vibrams. I was surprised see how fast she was moving and the rate she was picking people off. I cheered her on and assured her that the finish line was so close and to give it everything, she did and ended up killing it and placing 6th for her age group. Great job with your first triathlon Nic! Same to Andrew! We got bottles of wine and lots of fruit after the race and went home and did a two hour mountain bike ride. What a great way

to finish off an on road triathlon. That was the day that never ended.

Ps. Nicole's front tire blew out in the transition zone after the ride leg was over. The tire blew completely off the rim. Luckily no one was injured. And luckily I wasn't the one who put the tire on. I hate getting blamed. peace out and see you at the races!

Bidwell Bump

In late August I suited up for Chico's hometown race, the Bidwell Bump. Held in Upper Bidwell Park, the Bump covers 14 miles of brutally rocky, challenging technical terrain up through the Canyon along Bidwell Creek. They've been holding a mountain bike race here in Chico since 1976 so 2011 marked the 35th anniversary of the event and a great group of locals did an amazing job of putting together a world-class event.
I rolled over to the start on sat morning and was surprised by how warm it already was at 9am. en Cruz as well as tons of local fast guys. There were a handful of ladies too and I was stoked to hear that there would be two other women competing in the long course. I did a nice warm up on the road and was excited to try a race on the Marin Rift Zone full suspension bike I've been borrowing. I'd never raced a full suspension and was curious if it would feel any different. The race started with a short road sprint and then funneled onto the lava rocks of North Rim trail. I kept a steady pace up North Rim, pushing myself but trying not to blow up. The Rift Zone felt swift and comfortable on the climb. It was nice to be able to stay seated and crank a harder gear. The year before I was on my hardtail and north rim almost rattled my teeth out.
I got to the top of the 4 mile climb with a good group still by me and headed down B Trail. I passed a rider and another rider passed me. I was stoked and excited to clear a section I usually walk! Then we crossed over the road, trudged through the creek which was still up to my hips, and then started the steep climb up 10 mile house road. It was warm on the climb and I kept a steady pace, but would have liked to pass a couple more people.
Once at the top I was psyched for the descent down Guardians. Guardian trail is my favorite trail in the park and it felt flowy and fast. On Bloody Pin I was passed by one rider, but felt strong and confident. Once I got onto SouthRim, I rode that section faster than I ever had before. The Rift Zone was killing it! The hike a bike up tennis ball hill hurt, but before I knew it I was at the bottom of the park and big-ringing the road section back to the start. I finished the race at 1:44, a few minutes faster than last year on a longer course, and first for the ladies. It felt good to put out a hard effort and I was happy with my fitness considering my accident earlier in the year had me out of commission for so long.
Later in the afternoon we finished the day with a Super D race down Guardians trail. It was extremely hot at the start of the race (like 100 degrees!) and I was feeling faded from the XC. I held it together well though, and only got passed by two people. Sadly I was the only lady to race the SuperD, so I won the All Mountain, but I was happy with my time (31 mins). I definitely rode some sections of the trail faster than I thought was possible.
At the end of the day, it was an awesome event and I'm super stoked on my custom trophy made by Lowell. It now has a special case on top of my bookshelf in the living room and has gotten lots of compliments. Thanks again to the race organizers for a great event!

SONOMAS

The day started off foggy and dank down at the warm springs rec. area. Everyone seemed excited for the event to start. The gun went off as planned at 8 am and we headed up the pavement and over the bridge. I didn't get a warm up in at all which definitely hurt me in the beginning. The pace was blistering. I watched the pro field ride off as my legs packed up and decided not to do their job. The turn off the pavement climbed us to our first dirt decent, steep and loose should be the lake sonoma motto. We crossed a small creek and kept climbing. It wasn't until about 1/3 of the way through the race and a few recovery descents that my legs started to feel ok. I was psyched to see my girl friend nicole out there at the feed station with a bottle, I didn't know it at the time but it was a haul and a half to get to any of those spots. So thanks nic and thank you to everyone out there supporting! I slowly began to start to see people in front of me. Reeling people in was a slow and tedious task, everyone was super fit and fast for this event. We climbed and climbed and the day heated up. It never got quite as hot as I had thought it would, mainly thanks to the idea of the counter clockwise loop it kept us in the shade as long as possible. Great idea guys! I had never ridden the course counter clock wise before and I thought it was great. By the time we had gotten back to the finish line the fog was gone and the sun was blazing. I ended up in 5th which I was happy about. I went right over to my car and threw on my running shorts and shoes and knock out my 10k training run as I am training for an xterra race in mid october. Psyched to be done the run I hosed off changed up and got some delicious food from our friends @ fork catering. I really enjoyed this event, the people over at bike monkey rock. They have put on such awesome events this whole year and have also offered prize money for the top places which I think really helps the sport as well. Keep it up guys I think as well as everyone else (I'm sure) thinks your doing an amazing job with the events. Thanks.- Brian

12 Hours of Humboldt- 4 Woman Team

A dear friend and riding buddy of mine from Humboldt threw out the idea to do a 12 hour race in Humboldt a few months ago and I casually consented without giving much thought to the kind of shape I might be in or the difficulty of the course. But, Rosada stuck to her guns and kept the motivation going for months. Originally we were thinking of doing a 3-person team (Rosada, me, and Amy- another friend and rider from Humboldt). But, when I mentioned the event to my friend Stacy who I raced with on the Cal Cycling team, she was super interested and we decided to do a 4-woman team. Stacy and I drove up to Arcata from Redway on Saturday morning and registered ourselves while Amy and Rosada started the race and did the first 4 laps. Ro and Amy had an awesome start and were pulling lap times of right around an hour. Our plan was for Stacy and I to do the next 4 laps, alternating back and forth, then rotating Amy and Ro back in for the last set. Our hope was to complete 12 laps total in 12 hours, or about 3 laps per person.
The weather was perfect up there for a race in July. The temps hovered right around the upper 70s and there was a nice coastal breeze. The morning fog burned off by noon and it was sunny, but not too hot. On my first lap out I was struck by how difficult the course was. You start out pretty much right away with a steepish climb and then head into a beautiful Return on the Jedi-esque redwood forest. The trails were all fast-rolling and steadily climbed up. There was a section of newly cut trail that was kind of bumpy, but mostly the course was fast and steep. Over 8 miles, there is about 1300 ft of climbing per lap and some fast, loose fire-road descents. On my first lap, I focused on warming up and getting a feel for the best lines. I came through the start/ finish in under an hour and handed off the baton to Stacy. Stacy set out for a first quick lap. As an ex-pro roadie, she is always in amazing shape and an incredible athlete. She came through the start/finish in under 50 minutes and I was off again to try to keep her pace. My second lap went a little bit smoother than the first now that I knew the course and what to expect. Back at the start/finish it was a lot of fun to catch up with Amy and Ro and cheer and support eachother. It was also fantastic to have Ethan as our awesome pit crew and he helped make sure our bikes were running smooth. After Stacy and I did our 4 lap set, Ro and Amy headed out for 2 more, and then I was back on the trail. I got the chance to test-ride a 29er that some folks from Adventure's Edge had for my 3rd lap. It was super neat to ride on the bigger wheels and I was surprised by how quick it was on the descents. I'd definitely like to own one at some point. Then Stacy headed out for her 3rd lap and as she left we guestimated that we would have the opportunity to do one more lap if she kept her pace. We decided it would be fun to do the last (13th) lap together, so as she came through I hopped back on my bike to join her for the last parade lap as the day winded up. It was a ton of fun to be out on the course together and we were able to ignore all the pain and soreness from being in the saddle all day. We were keeping a strong pace until my chain jammed on a short climb and I was unable to shift it out of the big ring. I don't what exactly happened, but we pushed and pulled on the front derailleur for at least 5 minutes and it wouldn't budge. A couple of riders went by and we asked for help, but no one knew what to do. I had all but given up and told Stacy to finish it without me when she man-handled the chain into the middle cog with all her might. Amazingly it worked and we were able to power our way back the start/finish with a few minutes to spare before the cut-off time. Phew! All in all, it was an awesome day on the bike and a fun event with friends. We were all impressed with our consistency in lap times and stoked to exceed our goal. Lap times below:

SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER amy - Women Expert/Pro	1	01:02:43.30
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER ro - Women Expert/Pro	2	00:59:14.68
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER amy- Women Expert/Pro	3	01:02:28.85
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER ro - Women Expert/Pro	4	00:56:58.49
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma - Women Expert/Pro	5	00:49:14.72
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER stacy- Women Expert/Pro	6	00:48:40.93
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma- Women Expert/Pro	7	00:49:41.87
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER stacy- Women Expert/Pro	8	00:48:39.01
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER amy- Women Expert/Pro	9	01:00:44.88
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER ro- Women Expert/Pro	10	00:56:34.32
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma- Women Expert/Pro	11	00:48:47.86
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER stacy- Women Expert/Pro	12	00:50:38.90
SOHUM WOMEN	4-RIDER emma- Women Expert/Pro	13	00:59:21.20

Women's Skills Clinic Ride

This summer I taught another series of mountain skills clinics for women in Chico. Last year's clinics were a great success and I had requests from people to do it again so I threw up a poster at the shop with some dates and the slots started to fill up. The July clinic this year was a particularly awesome one. The clinic was pretty much full with 9 participants and we got lucky with unusually mild temperatures. Sandy Rosas joined us as another ride leader and shared her knowledge and encouragement. Everyone got together at the bike shop where I covered the basics of what to bring on a ride, what to wear, and how to set up your bike. Everyone got a chance to check their tire pressure and lube their chain before we cruised through Lower Park. In Lower Park we practiced track standing on an open section of trail and everyone picked up quick and easy. We then tackled the first climbing section of NorthRim trail and talked about line-choice and body-positioning for the ascent. I was super impressed by everyone's strength and determination. There were lots of encouraging cheers and helpful suggestions by other participants.
We then cruised along Middle Trail and tackled another technical up/down section. Everyone made it through comfortable and got a chance to practice getting their weight behind the back wheel. Further along Middle Trail we worked through the last technical section involving tree roots, a rock slab, and a small drop. This section tends to be the most intimidating one we practice in the clinic and the first couple ladies who rolled up on it pulled off to the side instead of doing the drop. But, as more women worked their way through it and rode it, others felt inspired and went back to try it again. Eventually everyone cleaned the section and the cheers of encouragement could be heard echoing throughout the park.
We then rolled further along middle trail and connected back to the road for one last group shot. As we cruised back along the road towards town, everyone seemed to be in a cheerful mood and shared tips and asked questions to each-other.
Teaching these clinics is always a wonderful experience for me and this summer's series of clinics was no different. Huge thank-yous to everyone who participated. I am always impressed by the level of skill and determination out there. Hope to see everyone again next summer.

PS- here is a note from Linda, one of our participants:

Elsie and I had a blast. We were truly inspired to make biking a part of our lives and explore more trails in lower and upper park as well as other areas. We learned about the tire pressure, the attack mode and changing your gears to accommodate the terrain and more ....and all and all we loved it. We are so appreciative that you took the time to hold this class.

Thanks Emma and Sandy

Annadel Recap

Team Lost Coast had a strong showing at the Bike Monkey race held at Annadel State park. Annadel is one of the state parks on the chopping black this year and all profits from the race went to support efforts to keep it open. The course was awesome- technical singletrack, a good mix of climbs and descents, and rough rocks. Over 600 racers showed up for the mass-start in Santa Rosa and there was a great sense of camaraderie and fun out on the trails. I (Emma) had a strong start in the middle of the huge pack, but lost some ground after a flat tire on the first rocky descent. I slowly worked my way back up through the pack and was stoked to finish 3rd for open expert women in my first XC race since my injury. Brian and Amon battled hard in a thick field of pro men and Brian finished 6th with a fast time of 2'08. After the race was over, there was plenty of beer, music, and burritos to go around. Props to Bike Monkey for putting on another excellent event!