XTERRA Mexico

XTERRA Mexico

Prior to this race there was a lot of planning going on. I wasn't really sure about going until only about 2 weeks out of the race. The final push that helped me make up my mind came from my supervisor, Marcus Austin. He made me realize and more importantly believe that chasing dreams comes at a cost. In my case it was more of a financial cost than anything else. It's never cheap to fly but it sure gets more expensive when you have to fly with an oversized luggage that a bike needs. Sure enough, Epic Sports' help was indispensible as they professionally boxed the bike in such short notice and even gave me a bike to ride while mine was in the shop. Registering for the race didn't go so easy either. First I had to use my non existing Spanish knowledge to register at a website then came the difficulties while trying to register for the race. For some odd reason the money never went through. I ended up contacting my friend and professional triathlete, Will Kelsay, who had already been down there to get me in contact with the organizers. From that point everything smoothened out. They promised a spot for me, all was left is buying the plane tickets, getting on the plane and driving there. We flew Fargo-Denver-Houston-Guadalajara. In Guadalajara I had a car reserved for us. Of course, I picked the rental company that was NOT at the terminal so we had to get picked up by a shuttle service. Gudalajara being too far from the border I didn't expect people to speak English and I was right. The car we reserved was a tiny Chevrolet. And we had a big bike box. After some pushing, showing, and cramming we managed to fit the bike in the car with rear seats folded and front seats moved forward. Sure thing. I have to mention that the total price for a car rental is NEVER what it states on your reservation. Insurance is not included and after having some issues last year in Miami  I can never forget not getting some sort of a coverage. After finalizing everything we were out the gate but where? I have never been to this part of the world and I sure didn't expect Anna to be much help for me either. I had the map memorized in my head with route names, highway numbers and with some luck we managed to find our turns every time. Traffic in Mexico is nothing like in Bismarck. Guadalajara is a big city with a lot of cars and different driving styles. Buses don't drive on the road but on the shoulder. It surprized me when I was stuck behind one of them for a few hundred yards waiting for the bus to get in front of me while it was just simply driving halfway on the shoulder until it reached its next stop. As we headed out of the city it got better and we, too were able to catch our breath. It didn't take too long until we arrived to the bottom of the "hill" that was the last section before our destination. The road went from 5000ft to all the way to 7000ft in elevation where Tapalpa is located. It's a beautiful little town in a small valley surrounded by 8000ft tall mountains. We had been in contact with a local turism agency, Colores Tapalpa, who were a lot of help finding us accomodation and later provided us with good advice during our trip. The hotel was called Bugam Villas. We got the honeymoon suite. There was an outside terrace with a kitchenette then a bedroom with a jetted tub and a fantastic view over the city.

I instantly new where Anna was going to spend her nights. Soaking in the water..

Plaza or town center before the awards when people were still just gathering

I always figured Mexico was cheaper so it wasn't too shocking when we went out to the restaurants and looking over the menu the most expensive plate was a about $5. Every lunch and every supper we ate were at one of the dozens of restaurants on the "plaza" or town center. I don't recall paying more than $200 Mexican Pesos ($15 USD) ever including substantial tip and a meal that would cost about $40 her at an average place. With the help of Steve Stanton a very kind and helpful agent at Colores Tapalpa we found local sights that was within driving distance. I have to mention here that "driving distance" has a different meaning when you have to drive over very old cobble stones, huge potholes and simply roads in bad condition- or no roads at all. A "quick" 15 mile drive could easily take you over an hour especially when the route you are taking is not really marked. Anna and I visited this 105 meter tall (appr 315 ft) waterfall. Getting there wasn't an easy drive. First we got lost and were basically driving off the map already when a lady explained it to us in Spanish that you guys are not on this road but she pointed at the other side of the map.. Apparently at one point, I kept going straight where I should have turned.

The smaller waterfall

We managed to find the waterfall and the trail that lead to the bottom of it. We love to hike and this short (about a mile) was only a warm up for us. The river was yellow in color as this is the wet season in Mexico and it rains a lot. After a few hundred yards there was the "real" one. It sure was one of the tallest waterfalls I have ever seen.

Having seen enough and it was getting sort of late we headed back home to eat at another restaurant we hadn't been to.

The big waterfall



Los Piedrotas

We left Las Piedrotas for another day to visit. The "big rocks" is a monument that is on private property but can be visited by foot or on horseback by anyone. The waterfall was on a private property as well. Those rocks are huge. You really don't feel it until you actually stand next one of them. Some seems like they are about to tip over and crush you at the spot. Well, it didn't happen. The stones were all over the place and there was a few streams that we needed to pass through. It created some funny situation like when Anna after trying to jumpover a wider part of the stream but failed and stepped in the foot deep water just said  that "I jast had to try". That sure made my day. We climber over barbed wire fence and walked across stream to see rock formations that was not natural and some believes are thousands of years old. There was also a spot where the grass doesn't grow anymore. Steve explained it to us that there was a meteor that fell and.. I'm not sure but it sure was interesting. On Thursday I was finally able to pre-ride the bike course. I was unable to ride it from T1 (transition between the swim and run) as the swim took place on a private property with a gate where " security" let people in. That property was gated was called San Bernardo. I had to ride all the way back through town and out to find the bike track that was going up on the mountain. There the elevation quickly rose from approximately 7200 ft all the way to 7900ft. The course was at first double track (where cars can drive) then single track mainly. It had been raining a lot thus there were huge puddles everywhere. I have never gotten that muddy during a bike ride like that day. Coming off the mountain the rain started pouring and I managed to get off course at some point. That actually turned out to be a good thing because at the intersection where I made the wrong turn I ran into the professional contingent led by Will Kelsay and Shonni Vanlandingham also riding the course. I joined them for the remainder of the course. The bike course was challanging with all the mud and deep puddles but it was a course with a lot of climb and not a whole lot of technical sections. A course like that suites me well.
On Friday, when packet pick and bike registration took place we managed to see the dam that hosted the swim course. It was a lake a about the size of McDowell Dam but with a yellow colored water. I want to believe that it was from all the rain that colored the waterfall yellow-ish. I hadn't been swimming at that point for a good 5 days already. I knew it's never a good thing but one day here or there I didn't want to get in the water anymore. That was probably a bad idea. At registration people when I said my name to look me up in the system people seemed to recognize me from all the emails we exchanged prior to getting there.We took care of all the paperwork and made sure that I compete in the age group division instead of the elite category. The difference is giving up the chance of winning some cash or having a shot at a World Championship spot if I race well. Then I left my bike in the transition area for that night.

The start of the first wave

Finally race day has arrived with all of it's fun!  The water seemed fairly calm but still yellow. First it was time for the kid's race who swam anywhere from 200m for the little kids to 750m for the bigger ones. The elite took off about 2-3 minutes earlier than we did and that's decisive. They tend to swim faster than most age group athlete and also bike faster so that was about the last tiem I saw them before the run course. I got in the water that was 21 C (69 F) degrees according to the organizers. When my group took off there was some pushing and kicking but I tried to steer across the swim field to the left (outer) side to stay away from the splashing. The swim was 2- 750m loops to total 1500m. During the first loop I was not even competing. I couldn't find my swim pace and I must have swallowed some water/ and air that was stuck between my rib cage. I had shortened breath and I knew it wasn't because of the fear in the water. At around 1000m I was able to burp (actually it was more of a reflex movement) and all of a sudden I felt better and I was able to swim like I wanted to from the beginning. I passed a few from that point to come out to the transition area feeling a lot better. T2 took a little longer than expected, I took my time getting my bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses on. But that was the last part of the course when people passed me for a long time. The bike course made a loop around the lake before leaving the property and heading towards the mountains. The initial 3-4 miles was on unknown path that's always a disadvantage. I felt I kept a good pace on the bike and by the time I reached the bottom of the big climb I had already passed dozens of age groupers and some elite competitors as well. The first big climb is the steepest point of the course. During my pre-ride it was demanding but during the race it just seemed like impossible to get up there without getting off the bike. The course was a lot slicker from all the rain and I had already burnt through a lot of energy to get to this point. I kept on passing people and a decent pace from what I thought it was. It's always easier when someone stronger rides in front of you to keep the pace up but I was not that lucky that day. The elite field with all the great bikers were ahead, out of sight. Finally reaching the summit of the course it was time for the descent. That might sound like that all the pain is finally gone and we can relax until reaching the bottom. But it sure wasn't. Getting up the mountain was actually easier than the way down. All the puddles, sharp turns, rocky sections and streams we had to cross took more out of me than anything. My watch was jumping on my wrist and where it rubbed my skin was bleeding. I could not let my attention off the path as one mistake and I could have found myself in the ditch or in the knee-deep mud. But it was fun! I have never had that much fun and no bike course had left me with such a satisfaction than this one. The bike course was race in the race. On the flat section of the bike course jsut before reaching the plaza and T2 I as passing those who had started a lot later but never climbed the mountain. When I dopped off my bike in T2 there was no way to tell that the bike was all black. It was covered with a thick layer of mud and clay. I slipped into my new triathlon shoes, picked up my bib number belt and off I went. The run was a 2-5km loop course with over 600ft elevation change in both loops. It was brutal. There was a 200-250m section of the run that even I had to walk. I probably could have, with fresh legs, run up but not that time. I still managed to pass the later 2nd overall female elite competitor and more elite athletes (whom I had already passed on the way up the mountain on the bike course- odd). The second half of the run course was a steep downhill on cobble stones leading back to the plaza and out again the same course. I finished strong and when I looked at my watch I was satisfied as I only hoped to finish that fast. Anna said that the first elite female had just crossed the finish line in front of me and I knew it meant that I had posted a faster time than hers as they took off with the swim minutes earlier. I also knew that my time of 2 hours and 38 minutes should be enough to secure me the top spot in my age group and as the overall age group winner as well.

We had to wait until 7pm for the awards that was the start of the fiesta. I was happy and proud to be able to step up on top of the podium and receive my XTERRA World Championships Qualifier Certificate. I really hope that the end of this race only means the start of the new era where I can become a more competitive triathlete. RESULTS

We spent the last two days relaxing in our room and watching the London Olympics. We never forgot about eating as we always found a new restaurant we haven't been to with delicious and cheap food. Tapalpa will leave us with good memories to share. If someone is looking for a non-resort but beautiful place to spend even a day than this small, 5600 people town at 7000 ft elevation is a must to visit.

Getting out of the water after  the swim

Leaving the transition area and onto the 30km bike course

I had no idea the run course will be that tough.. Here still feeling fresh and comfident

.. and I even washed my face off with some water during the run course.. can't you tell?

the final steps before the finish line

The Specialized Stumpjumper EVO 29er sure helped me get through this tough course..

Thank you Anna for all your support before, during and after the race! I can't leave my family, especially my mom and sister's support either as without them I would not be here right now!

Proud but really tired

2012 XTERRA MEXICO RESULTS