This past weekend, I competed in the annual Xterra World Championship in Maui Hawaii. This year, I finished the course over 40 minutes faster than my first and last attempt in 2007. My final time was strong enough to finish third in my age group and complete my goal of making it onto the podium. I credit my successful performance this year to several factors, not least of which was focusing on improving all of my weaknesses from my 2007 attempt.
Starting with the swim, the 500+ person field made the Xterra mass start complete mayhem. If you're trying to get out towards the front, its almost a certainty that you will either get hit, kicked, or possibly even dunked as everyone charges for the first buoy. Unlike the Xterra U.S.
Cup races, which utilized calm lakes, the swim in Hawaii took place in the ocean. The waves added another layer to the excitement and difficulty. After loosing time in 2007 due to poorly navigating the rectangular course, I made sure to do pool drills this year that involved sighting. By swimming in a straighter line I was able to improve my swim time by a few seconds and also save valuable energy for the rest of the race.
The transition to mountain biking occurred after a short run up from the beach. The bike course started out on flat pavement and turned up a fire road that zigged and zagged along the south face of the dormant volcano, Mt Haleakala. Besides the 2500+ ft of climbing in 19 miles, the bike course was littered with sharp loose rock to make things more difficult. The weather this year left the course a little smoother than past years, but the lack of shade and multiple steep and rough grades still made the ride incredibly strenuous. Going into the race, I spent a lot of time this year incorporating intense climbing in my training... something that was missing from my training the first time around.
The first 2/3 of the 11k run was very similar to the bike course. Once through the hilly rock strewn portion, the run dumped out onto a beach for close to a mile of running on the sand. In 2007, I was so fatigued after the bike that I suffered from serious cramping issues that slowed me to a walking pace for a good portion of the run. However, by including more intense runs and hills in my workouts, I made it through the run without any issues this year. Overall, I was extremely happy with my final result. Every completed Xterra is a learning experience for the next time. Maui was no exception, and I look forward to more big improvements the next time around.
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