Alabama you say?!
Yes, Alabama…. And it is beautiful. The people are awesome, the trails
are epic, and the air has this perfect balance of warmth and humidity. Our team consisted of Rebecca Tschider, Nick
Skaggs, Alan Abeyta and Myself.
Traveling with us was Rebecca’s husband Jeff as support.
We arrived midweek to Birmingham and drove down to Pelham
which is but 20 minutes. Arriving to the
site early allowed for a full pre ride of the mountain bike course on Thursday.
Followed by a full loop of both the swim and run course on Friday.
Off road venues are pretty chill, but I was unsure what to
expect as this one was to host the ITU Championships in conjunction with the
Xterra East Championships. This meant
that athletes from all over the world were traveling in. Yet, the atmosphere didn’t disappoint and
everybody seemed the familiar; looking for a burger/brat/bbq of some sort and
cool beer to share stories over. Side
note: The dirtier we get and the more blood we show, the better stories we have
to share!
The race starts “well after the sun comes up” which is
unique for road triathlons but not Xterra’s. We must like our ZZZ’s. Either that or we like the heat? Or perhaps
we just like finishing races at beer thirty…. In any event, it was a beautiful day! A 2 loop
course swim of 1500 meters total in a still lake nestled amongst large green
trees. Transition was close and compact;
I was on my way into the epic mountain bike course within 30 minutes of
start. Alabama has been labeled as one
of the most technical courses in the circuit.
I was looking forward to it. It
had everything that I am strong at.
Climbs, bank turns, and the technical down hills did not
disappoint. Most of it I rolled pretty
smoothly, but one spot that the locals call “blood rock” was definitely a
hurdle. I had pre-road it just fine and
knew a good line through it, but race day was different. I choked half way
through, threw a foot out and half biked and half stumbled down the majority of
it hoping that I wouldn’t face plant.
After clearing the section I yelled out the spectators “No blood for
this girl!” which got a laugh.
Coming out of swim I was mid pack, but rolling into
transition 2, I was in 4th place overall. Like I said, the bike course is awesome and
it felt good to feel the awesomeness. So
there I was running out with the top 3 girls to complete our 6.2 mile trail run
to the finish. I’m not as strong of a
runner as those top girls but after a strong bike, I can usually hold on long
enough. My hips felt tight and after a
couple miles, the hamstrings started to lock up. I looked like I was trying to run with a
stick shoved up my… well you know. ;) Eventually
loosening up, I didn’t run into any hamstring problems again until the last
mile and a half where at that point I slowed down and just looked up into the
sky to ask for 10 more minutes. 10 more minutes is all I needed to finish this
race and 10 minutes I got. I ran through
the shoot at 6th female overall, landed a 3rd in my age
division, and a trip to the Xterra World Championships in Hawaii. This October I’ll be getting dirty on the
island of Maui.What did I learn? After getting back to transition to pick up my bike, I noticed I hadn’t drunk my nutrition as planned. Drink your nutrition! Maybe I wouldn’t have cramped and held onto the 4th place.
I also learned that an entire world existed in Alabama that I was unaware of. It’s a beautiful state and I was sent home with a staple of a sandwich that the locals enjoy. Pineapple / Mayo Sandwich on cheap bread. I told one of the locals, “I’ll try your sandwich if you try mine” (which was a peanut butter /jelly/banana). She looked at me as if I was speaking in tongues, “banana?” yes, Banana! “peanut butter?” . YES, peanut butter!
The pineapple and mayo sandwich does not disappoint… but it won’t be a pre race meal anytime soon!
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