Weekend recap: Bahati & Xterra

The Bahati Pro Cycling Team Launch Party on Friday was epic. Not only do I love my RAHA girls, but I love being part of a sporting organization that is giving back. Plus, our tri team isn't really on the radar yet, so it's cool to be involved in a group/team that is on a radar. I mean, Johnny Depp didn't show up to our shindig, but Mirinda Carfrae, the big guys of Cannondale, industry peeps, etc, etc, etc were there--in other words, some superstars of our world.

Beyond that, we were at Club Nokia taking pictures, having a cocktail and mingling by 7 p.m.

Lauren, Tatiana, Sara and me...

Rahsaan Bahati & his family...My dates... Mom & Dad...

Awesome custom bike up for auction...

Then it was into the theater for the team launch presentation with kids from Rahsaan Bahati's alma mater, Crenshaw High School, performing and TdF commentator Craig Hummer announcing the pro team; Floyd Landis and all!

You'd never know how early we got started because it's like Vegas in there--no windows, loud music (= loud talking/sore throat) and flashing lights. Works out well because by 10 p.m. or so, sports people like us can get jet out and attempt to be in bed by midnight for that inevitable morning workout. But we had some more camera fun first. With Rahsaan & our RAHA angel Brad...

A little leg action by Sara too...

Going off 5 hours of sleep, I was exhausted all Saturday. My workout was crap (which seemed to be the theme for the entire week!), I tried to nap and that didn't happen, so I drank more coffee and headed to San Diego. Thankfully my mom and I scheduled an early dinner with Tatiana, her mom and Matt at Rimel's (2 weekends in a row--lucky me!), and I was in bed by 8:45ish, which was really 9:45 with the time change. The awesome book I'm reading kept me from immediately falling asleep, but eventually I just turned off my light. Next up in the a.m.: XTERRA Black Mountain 15k trail race.

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Xterra Race Report:

*Note to self #1: Think twice before trying to "race" a hilly course at the end of a 3-wk build. Yuck.
*Note to self #2: Don't chug a Venti Americano before a race. Ever.
*Note to self #3: If you have to throw up, just be thankful it isn't coming out the other end.

Met up with the SD crew beforehand in the brisk 45F weather. Brrrrr. Kristin, me, Caroline and Tatiana...

I wasn't nervous going into the race, which worked against me I think. See, when I'm nervous pre-race I can rarely finish a cup of coffee and I eat+drink slowly and bird-like. But before this, there were no nerves and I drank my americano effortlessly in attempt to beat fatigue; also had an FRS, Clif bar, banana, 2 water bottles. It went down fine at the time. I finished most stuff a couple hrs before race start, at least leaving some time for digestion.

Once we got going, I had some stomach sloshing and had to pee, but forced myself to ignore it. No wimps in Xterra.

I'd never run the course but was told to "save some" for the end; so I kept the first few downhill miles between 7:10-7:30. The trail was gorgeous but extra nasty from storm damage--ruts, rocks and overgrowth/lack of trail. It was fun charging through the hills and super green landscape. Totally prefer pristine nature vs. busy roads.

Then the middle hills hit. The shock of that uphill made me either queezy or in need of a gel--I couldn't tell for sure--so I had the gel thinking I was fine and could keep charging. Soon after the descent, I got nauseous. And I threw up some. Thankfully not hunching-over-a-bush style. At first it seemed to help, and my next mile was 7:30. But then I felt depleted and had leg/toe cramping (electrolyte balance screwed) so I hydrated at aid stations. The rest of the run was sort of a dizzy blur. I tried to hold onto a smile in appreciation of the moment, but that faded along with my average pace--slowing from 7:20s to 7:45 to 7:54. The goal was sub-8s overall, but considering the last couple miles were all uphill, that wasn't happening. Gotta love a good challenge.

I finished in 1:22, decent enough for 11th female overall (288 racers, how many girls? don't know). I'm happy with that result considering the time I spent dealing with my issues, and more importantly I had FUN (in a sick twisted way). I think the course was longer than 15k (last few miles mismarked)--some of us got stats of ~9.9 miles on our devices, so there's a good chance the avg paces are actually faster than what the results say.

My mom kicked butt out there running it in 1:32. She paced herself well and had a great race. For once, she had tons more energy than me afterward so she drove home while I slept. Next up for her: Superseal.

As for my RAHA girls: Lauren got 2nd female overall at 1:13 and Tatiana was 4th f overall with 1:14.... These girls just kick ass and I'm proud to have fast teammates whom I can chase. It's fun for me when they do well because I love sharing in their successes and can brag when they're too modest. Sort of like a mom talking about her children.

Also, gauging the difficulty of BM: Despite claims of being rather "flat," this trail is not much easier than Crystal Cove/El Moro, which is considered difficult. I know the Garmin is arguably unreliable for actual elevation gain, but it is consistent (aka it embellishes consistently), and mine reads that Black Mtn had only 300ft less ascent than Crystal Cove for roughly the same mileage. Both trails are just under 10 miles and crystal cove has ~2,150 ft climbing, while Black Mtn has ~1,850 ft.

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Final thought... I think the overwhelming theme coming from this weekend is it's time for TAPER and rest, oh, and be careful with the coffee addiction.