Xterra Snow Valley has been cancelled for 2009. Crap.
Xterra, this season, counts your best 4 races towards regional championship spots and for qualifying for National Championships. With my recent illness I'm not ready to race any time soon. The revised plan included Snow Valley (where I historically perform REALLY well at) in my build up to the MTN Champs in Colorado. FAIL.
I need three more races if I want to qualify for USA Champs. The next closest races to me are:
5/2 - West Cup, Henderson, NV) - Like I said, NO WAY am I ready to race this soon
5/9 - Xterra Del Valle, Livermore, CA - More time to recover some fitness, but a long drive
5/31 Xterra Deuces Wild - Show Low, AZ. Practically to NM.
6/27 - Xterra Tahoe City - Yes, Lake Tahoe...8-10 hr drive.
7/18 Xterra MTN Champs - Beaver Creek, CO...12-14+ hr drive.
8/29 - Xterra Incline Village - North LAke Tahoe - 8-10 hr drive. Epic course. I've got some unfinished business here from USA Champs in 2007.
That's a lot of driving and I have no contractual obligations nor am I competing for prize money. With all that traveling and my current financial situation, I'm seriously considering just doing races "for fun" and forgetting all about USA Champs and World's.
It's tempting to scrap the entire Xterra season and race my brains out at all the local MTB races
5/2 Idyllwild Spring Challenge
5/31 Big Bear Shootout #1
6/28 Rim Nordic #1
7/11 Big Bear Shootout #2
7/26 Rim Nordic #2
8/9 Rim Nordic #3
8/30 Rim Nordic #4
10/3 Cal State XC Champs
Sheesh! I could do 8 races for way less money! Soooo tempting...
E.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Mega Colossus?
Last year's was sometime in July and I think this would be epic suffering. The blisters on your feet alone would be worth writing about.
No wetsuits, no fins, no shoes. Barefoot on the sand and swimming with what ya got.
It's 8.5 miles from start to finish with 4000 yards of swimming in 4 sections. The fastest times I've seen are 1 hour 37. Jeeze that's fast.
Could be fun?
No wetsuits, no fins, no shoes. Barefoot on the sand and swimming with what ya got.
It's 8.5 miles from start to finish with 4000 yards of swimming in 4 sections. The fastest times I've seen are 1 hour 37. Jeeze that's fast.Could be fun?
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Cranky
Master's peeps pissed me off this morning:
People not listening to the set and swimming a faster interval than prescribed; then turning around mid-lane and cutting in front of me though I'm swimming the "correct" interval...not cool.
During the IM set, everything turns into freestyle because fly and backstroke are too hard. Maybe if you tried the other strokes you'd get better at them? Just a thought.
Someone swiped the kickboard I was using, forcing me to get out, walk across the deck and get another. You'll get yours...
Kick set...it's OK to use fins, but using them just so you can lead the lane is weak.
And I'm not fast enough to swim with the people that "get it". *sigh* (Rant over, sorry!)
Xterra West....I'm not going. I planned on taking a shot at qualifying for Maui there, but being sick and missing two weeks of training set my fitness back too far and theres no way I'd get it. Furthemore my result at Xterra REAL and the start list for the West Cup leads me to believe I don't have a chance of qualifying. Spending the money to go out there just to get my butt kicked seems silly. Add in a midterm the following Monday and Holly's shoulder surgery on the 5th; the reasons not to go just keep piling up.
Instead, I'll take my shot at MTN Champs; harsh because of the altitude and more expensive to travel to, but I think I'll have a better chance to qualify for Maui there since I'll have time to re-build my fitness for it.
...and I can do the Idyllwild Spring Challenge on 5/2, which conflicts with Xterra West. Woot! I love that race!
E.
People not listening to the set and swimming a faster interval than prescribed; then turning around mid-lane and cutting in front of me though I'm swimming the "correct" interval...not cool.
During the IM set, everything turns into freestyle because fly and backstroke are too hard. Maybe if you tried the other strokes you'd get better at them? Just a thought.
Someone swiped the kickboard I was using, forcing me to get out, walk across the deck and get another. You'll get yours...
Kick set...it's OK to use fins, but using them just so you can lead the lane is weak.
And I'm not fast enough to swim with the people that "get it". *sigh* (Rant over, sorry!)
Xterra West....I'm not going. I planned on taking a shot at qualifying for Maui there, but being sick and missing two weeks of training set my fitness back too far and theres no way I'd get it. Furthemore my result at Xterra REAL and the start list for the West Cup leads me to believe I don't have a chance of qualifying. Spending the money to go out there just to get my butt kicked seems silly. Add in a midterm the following Monday and Holly's shoulder surgery on the 5th; the reasons not to go just keep piling up.
Instead, I'll take my shot at MTN Champs; harsh because of the altitude and more expensive to travel to, but I think I'll have a better chance to qualify for Maui there since I'll have time to re-build my fitness for it.
...and I can do the Idyllwild Spring Challenge on 5/2, which conflicts with Xterra West. Woot! I love that race!
E.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Idyllwild Spring Challenge Pre-Ride...FAIL!
This ride had been in the planning stages for quite some time and this weekend Luke, The Mann Show and I decided to get it in. So Saturday morning I got up really eary and hit the road for Hurkey Creek park on Mount Idyllwild. I tanked up on coffee and stopped for breakfast and gas along the way. Mmmm...
I was enjoying them unti I read the nutrition label and noticed these contained 75% of my total RDA for saturated fat. Yeesh.
I was enjoying them unti I read the nutrition label and noticed these contained 75% of my total RDA for saturated fat. Yeesh.I made it to the Park a little early and was decidedly NOT pumped to discover light rain and temps in the 40's. Once the rest of the crew got there we discussed and made the decision to ride anyway. I had to work tomorrow, we'd already paid for parking, blah, blah, blah.
Suiting up...
Suiting up...Things started off a little moist, but the effort of climbing kept us warm. Soon we noticed snow patches (no biggie, press on!), which quickly became 1-2" on the ground. Just enough to make things slippery.
Pretty, yes. Also a pain to ride in. Temps dropped precipitously and we all got cold. Allison mentioned she was having quite a lot of difficulty with the cold and wanted to head back. We were all cold and agreed to pull the plug. 
We all wound up disappointed the weather refused to cooperate, but that's the mountains for you. We covered a whopping 13 miles total and only 10 miles of the course in 2 hours ride time. Things should dry up by the Spring Challenge, but The Hurkey race might be a little cold and wet.
Pretty, yes. Also a pain to ride in. Temps dropped precipitously and we all got cold. Allison mentioned she was having quite a lot of difficulty with the cold and wanted to head back. We were all cold and agreed to pull the plug. We all wound up disappointed the weather refused to cooperate, but that's the mountains for you. We covered a whopping 13 miles total and only 10 miles of the course in 2 hours ride time. Things should dry up by the Spring Challenge, but The Hurkey race might be a little cold and wet. The cold is better, but I'm still snotty and coughing stuff up. I'm trying to decide on what to do about Xterra West since my Peak is ruined for that race. I might bag the West Cup, do the Spring Challenge, head up to Xterra MTN Champs and try qualifying for Maui there.
E.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Xterra REAL Video
Courtesy of Delta Velo.
http://www.deltavelo.com/09_race_videos/xterra_real/xterra_real_video.html
Turns out I get points for 4th since my AG winner is a Pro (and Slater gets the points for the win! Woot!) and the first female finisher was a Pro as well...and I finished in front of her! Guess I don't suck! :D
http://www.deltavelo.com/09_race_videos/xterra_real/xterra_real_video.html
Turns out I get points for 4th since my AG winner is a Pro (and Slater gets the points for the win! Woot!) and the first female finisher was a Pro as well...and I finished in front of her! Guess I don't suck! :D
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Forced Recovery/Splits
I'm sick. I caught whatever cootie my brother's rugrats had. It's not bad, but It knocked me flat on my butt as I've been totally exhausted since Monday.
So far I've got the scratchy throat, the post-nasal drip and the stuffy nose. I'm dialing it back this week (probably bailing on Sagebursh) in hopes that I'll kick it sooner and get back to preparing for Xterra West in 4 weeks and change.
On another note, the splits from Xterra REAL have been posted. I can see the results of the work I've been doing and that there's lots of work to be done.
Swim: 13:54. 1:41/100 pace and 48th overall. F'ing horrible...
Bike: 1:00:14. Around 13 MPH and 20th overall. This probably includes T1 and T2 so the average pace is a little higher than it seems. A solid split.
Run: 28:00, good for 17th overall. Sweetness! Last year, I ran 30:48. Not the 4-min PR I thought it was, but a great improvement for me.
My swimming and running focus is working, but I'm still getting killed in the water. I need to fix that...FAST! Looks like lots more early mornings in the pool with the Master's program.
E.
So far I've got the scratchy throat, the post-nasal drip and the stuffy nose. I'm dialing it back this week (probably bailing on Sagebursh) in hopes that I'll kick it sooner and get back to preparing for Xterra West in 4 weeks and change.
On another note, the splits from Xterra REAL have been posted. I can see the results of the work I've been doing and that there's lots of work to be done.
Swim: 13:54. 1:41/100 pace and 48th overall. F'ing horrible...
Bike: 1:00:14. Around 13 MPH and 20th overall. This probably includes T1 and T2 so the average pace is a little higher than it seems. A solid split.
Run: 28:00, good for 17th overall. Sweetness! Last year, I ran 30:48. Not the 4-min PR I thought it was, but a great improvement for me.
My swimming and running focus is working, but I'm still getting killed in the water. I need to fix that...FAST! Looks like lots more early mornings in the pool with the Master's program.
E.
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