We arrived on the island of Maui on Wednesday before the Sunday race. I spent three days flipping between bouts of anxiety over the race, and being able to relax and enjoy some sightseeing around the island.
They have a practice course available to ride (no pre-riding of the actual race course at Maui). But it’s only about 4 miles, and gives you just a very small taste of the real deal. So, going into Sunday, I really felt like I had no idea what was in store for me.
On Friday I went to the xterra university mtb clinic, hosted by pros Jamie Whitmore and Mike Vine. They struck the fear of god into me, about being prepared for mechanicals, flats, and crashes. They both recommended 36-40psi, which threw me for a loop, because I practiced the course at 26psi! They also said don’t go out with spare tubes that don’t have slime, because if you flat once, a regular tube won’t hold up. So I panicked and bought 2 slime tubes – those are not light weight to carry! I was way over-prepared for flats and mechanicals, but better than being unprepared! After the session I inflated the tires to 40psi, but stewed over it. On Saturday I went to my second clinic, on the art of xterra, hosted by Conrad Stoltz and Melanie McQuaid. I asked for advice to Maui first timers. They both said ‘have fun!’ and ‘do whatever you have to do to finish!’. So, that was my mantra for race day. They also both recommended 29-32psi! Ack! Now what to do??? After the session I asked the Maui bike mechanic, and he said I should go with 30-35 when I’m on tubeless, and if I have to put a tube in, pump that up to 40 psi. So, I did that, pumped to just 32 and went with that. (and no flats!)
I organized myself Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning had my cheerios and poptart, and rode down the elevator to set up my transition area, talked with a few people I knew, and went back to the room and watched some football to escape the race craziness for a while.
Once it was time to really get ready, I headed down to the beach. I wanted to seed myself right behind the pro men, and get a nice clean start. They kept inching into the water, and everyone followed. Someone on a bullhorn called us out of the water, so I walked back out, and stood next to a pro woman, and she laughed that no one was getting out. She said this happens every year, and they just shoot the cannon anyways. And sure enough – they did just that – with me on the beach and about 100 people already in the water in front of me! I was so pissed! The first ten minutes were fighting a losing battle with a mass of people who were slower than me. I can’t even call what I was doing swimming. We were all fighting the 3 foot swells, and I was fighting to find a way through the pack, when some guy next to me hit my head with his arm. And again, 4 more times. The last time he just pulled my goggles right off! Uh-oh!!!! Somehow my hand found them, and I started swimming water polo head-up freestyle with goggles in one hand, eyes getting sprayed with salt water, and people all around me, I was looking to the right, I had to swim through maybe ten people to get clear of the mass. Finally clear, I got on my back, put my goggles on, and started swimming. I swam the rest of the lap and the entire second lap out to the right of the pack, no drafting. I just swam on my own. No doubt I gave up 3+ minutes on my swim time, with precious energy wasted fighting through all of that. This was a huge lesson learned!
Out of the water, with a less than stellar 25 min swim (for me), and running the path to transition, I was pushed out of the way by several men who didn’t seem to think there was enough room on the 5 foot wide path to get by big ole me, without throwing a few elbows!
Finally onto the bike, and now I was going to learn what this race is all about. The first mile or so takes you out of the hotel and up the street. Then you start climbing. First on a small golf cart path, then gravel road, then dirt and sand road, then red dirt/silt path, with lava rocks marbled throughout. It goes up. And up. And up. Sometimes its gradual, sometimes it jumps up steeply – steeply enough that sometimes you have to walk a section – and lots of people do. This first climb seems to go on for about 5-6 miles. It was a much longer initial climb than I expected, without any real flats to give you a break. Heartbreak hill comes in that section. I’m not even sure which steep section was heartbreak hill, because there were a few sections I thought were going to break my heart! My heartrate felt maxed out the whole race. A little respite now, and some rollers, some short and steep, some less so. Plenty of lava rock scattered about, but no stretches where you have lava rock covering a hill from top to bottom and side to side – that was to come later! I think Ned’s climb comes next. I swear you climb steeply most of that climb for several miles. It is a brutal climb, on sand and loose debris. By this point several women I knew had passed me, and I was trying to key off another woman with a 40 on her calf. We went back and forth, until after one stretch on Ned’s climb that we walked, I couldn’t get clipped back into one pedal, and had to stop and operate on my shoe and unwedge a rock from my cleat. I lost contact with her then. The plunge is next, and it’s steep, and sometimes not too steep, the top was not bad, if I stayed relaxed, and only used my rear brake. I made it through without any catastrophes, but I was cautious, and probably should have gone faster. Then a section with softball and larger and smaller sized lava rocks, covering an entire steep slope. It looked scary, and about half way down, I drifted too far left, and started to head off the trail, into grass and rocks (and possibly the dreaded kiave thorns). Somehow I managed to stop the bike without wiping out, let a couple of folks go by, and then got going again. You’d think you are done climbing by now, 16 miles into it, but somehow they manage to throw in a few more climbs, not long, but long enough that you have to really work each one for several minutes, putting in some real effort to make it up the rock strewn hills. About one mile out, you are at the top of a hill, that is now turning into sand/gravel, and runners are going up the same one. A little demoralizing to know they have close to 2 miles on you, but you keep going. I can’t count the number of people on the bike course I saw stopped fixing flats, and some riding home on flats. I felt so fortunate to have escaped without any problems – despite carrying my camelback with what must have been 10 extra pounds of spare tubes and tools, just in case!
Back toward t2, and I saw Todd and he had recruited some folks standing near him to cheer for me. At my rack, I wanted to sit down and stretch my back, but there was so much activity, I thought I better get my ass going, and stretch at the finish. So off I went. The first three miles are up hill. Yes, three miles. Up hill. Maybe a short flat section, or maybe it was just a false flat. But plenty of steep up hill. And it was not pavement, or hard packed dirt trails like we have. It was broken pavement, sand and gravel. I had to walk a few stretches, as I thought I might implode at any moment if I didn’t. There was no shade yet. Thankfully, mother nature found it in her heart to send cloud cover – 85 degrees and cloudy was better than 90 and sunny! I was so happy to hit the turn at mile three, because I knew I was going to head back down toward the beach now. But first the down hill was at least one mile of lava rock, and red dust. Jeez, that red dust is messy. Its so fine, and just rises up like a powdery cloud, and coats your skin, your nostrils. Ick. I was already covered in it from the bike – only the lead cyclist and runner don’t have to deal with that red dust! I was happy to enter spooky forest, some sand trails through the crazy Maui trees. Then the sand beach. This was energy sucking at its best, especially after what we’d already been through. Now it was maybe a little over a half mile on the sand beach. Just painfully slow. I was happy (yes I was happy at this point) to get off the beach, until my calf twinged and scared the crap out of me. I did not want to hobble the last mile to the finish. Just one step more, and it was ok. Now I was smiling (inside) again. Next surface was a rocky point of hardened black lava that you had to pick your way over. Its short, but jagged, and you don’t run this section. Another calf twinge! Ugh. Its walk and pick your way for 20 yards or so. Then the little salt and pepper rock beach, a little more sand, and then you see the resort – its right in front of you! And the twinges that kept coming to the calf through that last half mile, don’t matter now, because I run up the path and cross the line with a smile – I think I was smiling!
Wow!!! That was incredible. It is the hardest race I have ever done. I felt like I gave it everything I had on this day. I also learned what this course is about. And that my training next time must be better, and different. And I will work hard next year for another shot at this now not-so-mysterious-Maui course.
Finish time was 4:08. 8th out of 15 in my AG, 62 out of 131 for all women.
