Emma Garrard

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Race: XTERRA World Championships, Kapalua, Maui

Distance: 1500m swim, 18 mile mountain bike, 3000ft climbing, 10k trail run

Result: 8^th pro women

Time: 3:58:42

Products used: Blue Seventy Point Zero swimskin + goggles, Specialized S-Works Epic 29er, Trivent Terras off road tri shoes, Fast Trak tires, Avia Avi Bolts, GU Electrolyte Brew, Roctane, Rudy Project Noyz glasses with photochromatic lenses, Squadra race suit.

Media: Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZcZrlx_Rhk&feature=share    Triathlete:  http://bit.ly/uRztkH Slowtwitch: http://bit.ly/p3JE2C

New course

This would be my 6^th time at XTERRA Worlds in Maui, but this year there was a new course in a new location, Kapalua. Unlike the old course we could preride this one, so I made sure I arrived early enough on the island to do so, something that can really be advantageous in XTERRA racing. In some ways it was fairer and nice to start over with a new course; a clean slate. With the old course, people who had raced it more had somewhat of an advantage.

I came into the race excited for the new race feeling it would suit me. The ocean could pose the additional challenge of waves, the bike course was somewhat smoother but did have some singletrack and a lot of climbing on both the bike and run.

Post race it seemed almost everyone was happy with the new venue. The bike course has a ton of potential and I really hope they build more singletrack as it would be a great resource for the island. Plus it would make the course even better!

Nutrition

It being a new course meant I was unaware of how long I’d be out there, or how hot it would be and therefore exactly what I needed for nutrition. The swim was the easiest to predict, unless it was super choppy that day, so for me 23-27 minutes. The bike I was guessing 1:30 to 1:45 for women based on how long it took pre riding. The run, based on the fastest woman in the trail run Saturday, I’d assume it would be between 45 and 50 minutes.

The next question was whether or not to wear a hydration pack. The downside is it takes more time to put on in transition and could potentially weigh more, the upside, easier to drink and drink more frequently. The bike course being smoother meant it was easier to drink from a bottle on the course, but my Epic being small meant I could only bring one bottle. I went with the hydration pack that way I could use my water bottle to cool off with.

Before the race I made sure to drink lots, water, GU Electrolyte Brew, juice. The morning of the race, I made sure I drank a bottle of Electrolyte Brew specifically. I think it’s really important to remember to drink the morning of the race, especially when it’s going to be hot.

I put three GUs on my bike, all Roctane, and attached one more to my race belt for the run if needed. I’d have the first GU after the first hour of racing and one every, on average, 30 minutes after that.

I also left a frozen insulated bottle in transition with a mix of Pepsi and water, (sounds gross, tastes awesome) uncertain if it would still be cold when I got off the bike. The other option was putting my mini cooler in transition, but figured the water bottle was easier.

photo courtesy Jane Garrard

The Swim

Race morning was far warmer than expected; it felt warmer at 8am than it had all week, even in the heat of the day. Also unexpected what seemed like no breeze and no swell at D.T. Fleming Beach.

Lining up on the beach right in front of the shoreline, we had volunteers keeping us back with paddles. These volunteers are brave souls and I hope not too many of them got knocked down.  I managed to squeeze between two paddle holders and a photographer to get in the water when the cannon fired.

The swim seemed more aggressive than usual with the slight current pulling us to the left. Tried to stay relaxed knowing it would spread out eventually. The pro women were really spread out from the start so it was difficult to judge how I was doing. Second lap I could tell Suzie Snyder was near me so I figured I wasn’t doing that badly, unless she was having a sub-par swim. I came out of the water roughly in 7^th place.

Heading into T2 photo courtesy Jane Garrard

The Bike

There was a long climb, mostly paved before we got on a singletrack section so it was key to move around anyone who could potentially slow me down on that section. There was roughly 10 significant climbs on the course a couple that were a mile or more.

On a blind corner I saw a girl fixing a bike, I quickly said “need anything” but was around the next turn before I could hear a response. It was Lesley, and it wasn’t long before she was on my wheel and in her Scottish accent said:

“I had a f&%*ing  puncture coming out of transition, Lets rock this!”

And that was that, she’d go on to win the race.

There hadn’t been any rain the week before  so the course had got very dusty. Big red dust clouds on the descents I couldn’t see anything under my wheel, which I’m sure lead to some crashes.

Like predicted there were far fewer mechanicals, in particular flats, on the course, but I did here of quite a few broken chains. Mostly due to the sharp transitions from downhills back to uphills.

In years past I’ve been slow at the start of the bike, but really picked it up the 2^nd half, and passed girls who passed me earlier in the race. I was sticking to this plan here.

I remember being 30 min into the bike and already had a few girls pass me. I thought, its still early, I’m really going to turn it on’ the last part of the bike’ but that never came into fruition.

The truth is I didn’t feel great on the bike, but not really bad either, a little flat. Maybe it was the heat: maybe it was the end of a long season; maybe I wasn’t going hard enough. Maybe I hadn’t prepared well enough, or not rested enough. Maybe the girls passing me were just better riders than me. These are all things I’ve thought of, but at least was healthy, uninjured, I had no excuses in equipment department and was able to race.

When Sara Tarkington caught up to me she asked me if everything was all right, and I was asked numerous times by my folks if I had had a mechanical – was I really that slow?

The Run

Before the race I’d hoped I’d be fighting for a top 5, maybe even podium spot on the run but now I was fighting to stay in the top 10.

I felt better than usual coming off the bike and my cold bottle of Pepsi (yes it was still cold) tasted awesome as expected. I was pleased to hear there was a pack of girls not far in front. The run was pretty much uphill for 3.5 miles, with a few breaks, and then mostly downhill after that.

photo courtesy Jane Garrard

I caught a couple of girls in the first two miles and kept getting splits from guys I passed I was close to my Specialized teammate Sara Tarkington. I could see here just in front of me and could see her looking back so I kept chasing.

It was hot out there but the nice thing was there were aid stations almost every mile. I wasn’t drinking a ton but using the water to cool off.

At the top of the course I passed Carina Wasle who was drinking water at the aid station. I’d later find out she was unable to finish, along with Melanie McQuaid who was forced to drop maybe 200 yards from the finish.

I really enjoyed the downhill section although I dreaded the last half mile of the run: across a beach and up a steep hill to the finish. The beach was no way as brutal as the ones on the old course in Makena.

photo courtesy Sara Rottman

I was starting to get hot again as it had been a while since the last aid station. As I approached the last climb Kathy Tank, XTERRA pro Cody Waite’s better half, gave me a much-needed boost, and a cup of water, to get me up the last climb.

“Lift your knees! No Regrets!”

Kathy’s awesome. Too bad she wasn’t on every climb.

I crossed the line in 8^th in a time of 2:58.42 a minute out of 6^th since turning pro I have placed 12^th, 11th, 10^th at the XTERRA World Championships so I’m pleased to jump up to 8^th this year. At the same time I’m humbled by how fast the women were in the race and know I have a lot of work to do next year. For example, Lesley Paterson who won the race ran as fast as the men’s winner.

Really glad I nailed my nutrition at this race and was able to finish which was challenging as it was hotter than expected and on a new course so going into the race I really didn’t know how long I’d be out there. I guessed pretty accurately pro women would be finishing between 2:40 and 3:05.

On top of that, I’m really fortunate to come into this race healthy and uninjured unlike previous years, unlike a lot of XTERRA girls who could not compete this year. Needless to stay the women’s field was still as competitive, if not more competitive than ever.

Super happy for Renata Bucher who has had bad luck the past two years at XTERRA Worlds and finished a strong 4^th only 10 seconds out of 3^rd. She’s been a great friend and training partner of mine. Also my Sara Tarkington who was top American and finished 7^th. Both girls had overcome some serious injuries this year so it’s great to see them back in form.

Having Lance compete in XTERRA again is obviously great for the sport and helps get the new venue in good standings. It’s cool to see him come out and race hard, learn from experience and finish despite some bad luck. At the end of the day he’s not racing XTERRA as a career move and doesn’t anything to prove.  He enjoys getting out there and racing, and I’m glad he chose XTERRA.

This was the first year I went on the post-XTERRA group ride lead by local character Steve Fisher (mauiskibus.com.) Steve has competed in every XTERRA World Championships, even when it was Aquaterra in 2006. I enjoyed meeting more XTERRA athletes and especially the locals I’d have to say the unexpected highlight of this trip was getting to ride with a macaw on my shoulder.

Big thanks to my sponsors: Specialized, Avia, GU, Rudy Project and Blue Seventy, and all those who supported and helped me this year, it’s been a great one, and clichéd as it is, I couldn’t have done it without you.

I placed in the top 10 in 3 world championships. I won my first national title at the USA Winter Triathlon Championships, was 3rd at the ITU Off Road World Championships, won my first XTERRA pro race at XTERRA Brazil Costa Verde in and was 5th (2nd US) at the USA XTERRA Championships.

I look forward to the off-season, and getting ready for snow to fall in Park City.

Mahalo!

Emma

Finished 8th at the 2011 XTERRA World Championships Oct 23rd, 2011. My best finish yet at XTERRA Worlds and bringing an close to my 2011 triathlon season. Check out a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZcZrlx_Rhk&feature=share

Happy to place in the top 10 in 3 world championships this year and manage to make it on the podium for one! This year has been great, I won my first national title at the USA Winter Triathlon Championships, was 3rd at the ITU Off Road World Championships, won my first XTERRA pro race at XTERRA Brazil Costa Verde in  and was 5th (2nd US) at the USA XTERRA Championships.

Big thanks to my sponsors: Specialized, Avia, GU, Rudy Project and Blue Seventy, and all those who support and help me out.

Enjoying a few days in Maui before heading back to Park City.

Overall Women

1. Lesley Paterson (GBR) 2:45:59 — $20,000
2. Marion Lorblanchet (FRA) 2:48:08 — $12,000
3. Helena Erbenova ( CZE) 2:51:51 — $7,000
4. Renate Bucher (SUI) 2:52:04 — $4,000
5. Danelle Kabush (CAN) 2:54:35 — $2,500
6. Erin Densham (AUS) 2:57:46 — $1,500
7. Sara Tarkington (USA) 2:57:59 — $1,000
8. Emma Garrard (USA) 2:58:42 — $800
9. Brandi Heisterman (USA) 3:03:39 — $600
10. Jessica Noyola (USA) 3:04:25

Overall Men

1. Michael Weiss (AUT) 2:27:00 — $20,000
2. Dan Hugo (RSA) 2:27:33 — $12,000
3. Eneko Llanos (ESP) 2:28:26 — $7,000
4. Josiah Middaugh (Vail, Colorado) 2:29:14 — $4,000
5. Ivan Raña (ESP) 2:29:31 — $2,500
6. Olivier Marceau (SUI) 2:29:40 — $1,500
7. Ronny Dietz ( ) 2:29:47 — $1,000
8. Richard Ussher (NZL) 2:29:54 — $800
9. Jan Kubicek (CZE) 2:30:54 — $600
10. Christopher Legh (AUS) 2:31:10 — $500
11. Sam Gardner (GBR) 2:33:15 — $400
12. Jan Froderno (GER) 2:33:20 — $300
14. Nicolas Lerbrun (FRA) 2:33:57
16. Tim DeBoom (USA) 2:34:23
23. Lance Armstrong (USA) 2:36:59

After seeing the new XTERRA Maui course the week before the race I can definitely say I’m excited about the race. Here’s why:

The Swim - It’s a real ocean swim complete with waves, chop and currents which should be a lot of fun. How often do you get to practice body surfing for a race?

Bike - I’m still formulating my opinion on the bike and how it compares to the previous course. Overall I’d say it’s easier and will take a significantly less time to complete it. It’s smoother, the climbs aren’t as steep (no hike-a-bikes) or as long, as they’re broken up with more descending. It’s definitely smoother, but not as smooth as I was lead to believe or looks in the XTERRA.TV preview, this is a good thing if you’re riding a fully. It also means flats can happen on this course, although I doubt as frequently as in Makena. And crashes too, as we’ll be riding a lot faster on this course and I’m sure a lot of the turns will be washed out.

There is, although not a lot of it, some singletrack, most of which is freshly cut, and I expect to be super dusty by Sunday with the amount of people preriding. That being said, cornering plays more of a role in this course than Makena’s it seems like at the bottom of each descent there’s a near 180 degree turn so being aware of gears is key too. Preriding it took me just over 2 hours including a lot of stops and bike adjustments.

Overall, I’m not in love with the bike course, but it has potential and the climbing should suit me. And hey, it still beats the best road tri course any day!

Run - I’m super excited about the run, and glad I’ve pretty much been running nothing but techy uphill trails in Park City the past month. As the runs seem to be going these days in XTERRA, way more technical and interesting than the bike. It’s pretty much straight uphill for three miles, with a couple downhills to break it up.

Primarily on a soft grass surface, which, most of the time as uneven, off-camber footing. It’s constantly twisting and turning, again on newly cut trail. Once you run past the lake at the top you’ll run through a forest which had me thinking, “Am I really in Maui?”

After hitting the ‘summit’ you’ll descend for a mile or so on some pretty fun trails but don’t expect the uphills to be old news. On top of the twists and turns there’s tons of logs to jump over, crawl under – in typical XTERRA fashion.

After some fun times jumping over stuff and smelling flowers and lilikoi, the fun comes to a grinding halt as you make a sharp and easy to miss right hand turn up this:

Renata - anyone else wouldn't be smiling

And then that turns into a steep paved uphill road, but not for too long, and then there’s perhaps the best piece of singletrack on the island – too bad you can’t take bikes down here.

The last mile will be pretty brutal, tricky footing through a river bed, weaving through trees and roots, then directly across Flemming’s Beach.

Lastly a quarter mile straight uphill to the finish.

I chose not to partake in this ‘race’

Not a bad finish view! The run took us just under 1 hour, with a couple of stops, but running at a decent pace. GPS says it’s a hair under 6 miles with 1020 ft of elevation gain. As for heat acclimatization, the elevation gain on the run should pay us a favor there. As you get higher, there’s more breeze, so I expect the run to not be the scorcher Makena Beach was.

Lastly and if I’m not in last, I’ll cheer on the rest of the racers from here as I sip on a lava flow.

Mahalo!

Emma

The Race: XTERRA USA Championships, Snowbasin, Utah

Distances: 1500 meter swim, 28k mountain bike, 10k run 4,100ft of climbing

Time: 2:52:01

Place: 5th pro 2nd American

Products used: Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit and goggles, Specialized Epic 29er, GU Roctane and GU brew, Rudy Project Noyz glasses and helmet, Avia Avi Bolts.

Media: Slowtwitch, LAVA, Triathlete, NOW Salt Lake, Salt Lake Tribune

If I had a dollar for everytime I heard, read or said the name Lance Armstrong in the past week I wouldn’t be a starving triathlete.

There’s no doubt having such a legend show up at XTERRA USA champs was a very very good thing.  All of a sudden people knew what XTERRA was and off-road triathlon was going to be a spectator sport.  It undoubtedly gave me that extra boost of excitement needed as the end of a very long season neared.

The race was the finale of the XTERRA US Pro Series, I was currently in 4th and needed a decent result to hold my spot.

Coming into the race I’d faced some challenges. Primarily a bad crash on my mountain bike which left me beat up and in the ER with a concussion, the first I’d ever had. For a solid week I didn’t feel like myself, tired, sore, headaches and uncertain if I could or should race nationals. Luckily there are some amazing resources in Park City, amongst them Max Testa, who knows a few things about cyclists and crashes, and Marlene Hatch, a PT in town who got me back on track.

The Swim

Started at the Pineview Reservoir’s Port Ramp marina. We started fast, a couple of swim caps down from Lance himself. A very fast start had me gasping and I was side by side with Suzie Snyder. It felt like we were heading too far to the right but actually we were going way too far to the left. It seemed like no one could swim in a straight line, perhaps because we were swimming into the sun and the amount of kayaks and boats on the water lead to confusion. Once Suzie realized how off-course we were she tapped me on the back. I was out of the water in roughly 7th place.

The Bike

Trying to put the swim behind me and focus on going hard on the bike. I headed out on the road and out to Wheeler Canyon, where they’d be a fireroad climb for a couple of miles. My bike had been well tuned and running great before the race but as soon as I got to the climb I was having issues shifting, or lack there of, with my front derailleur, so I was stuck pushing a much bigger gear than I’d hoped for, stopping a few times to manually shift down. This was trickier to deal with the firs half of the bike where there was the occasional descent where I couldn’t afford to lose time. I could have easily given up on the race here but forced to stay positive,  after all I was on a bike fast enough to win world championships.

Once I got to the Sardine Peak trail, a new trail added to the course this year, I knew I’d be better off because it was a steady grind and I could stay in my granny. Pre-riding the bike course had been super smooth but was a fair bit rougher now with all the traffic it had seen race week. At this point I was starting to catch back up with some of the pro women. It was great to have Shonny Vanlandingham catch me at this point in the race and stick with her to the top of the climb. Here I got a split I was 8th but only 1:30 out. I’m not sure if this was accurate or not, but it made me feel better about my race.

There was a fun fast descent from the top of Sardine Peak, which was a lot looser than pre-riding. A rider in front of me had a bad crash and was laying in the trail, with what appeared to be a collarbone, shoulder injury. Another competitor had stopped to help. I asked if they needed more help they said go ahead and tell someone. I told a couple people on the descent so I hope the guy got the help he needed.

I headed into T2 behind my Specialized teammate Sara Tarkington and headed out on the run with Christine Jeffrey and Shonny not far in front. Besides Melanie McQuaid having a big lead after the bike, the rest of the women’s race was pretty close at this point.

It was SO cool to have people cheering my name during the race, especially some of the kids I coach, Drew and Sydney, who were holding handmade signs for me as I headed up the first and hardest hill on the run course.

The run was far more rocky than the bike which made footing important. Soon I’d made my way into 5th place, where I really wanted to stay, but I knew there were fast runners behind me. About half-way through the run I managed to trip on a rock and face plant into the dirt scraping my knees badly but making me look that much tougher on camera.

Photo Nils Nilsen/Competitor

I was pretty confident once I got to the descent I’d hold my 5th place. For whatever reason I like running downhill but this one seemed to last forever, weaving through the fall foliage. One more uphill grunt before the finish. I was super excited to be top 5 at US Nationals (2nd US racer), a long-time goal of mine. I held onto my 4th place spot in the series.

Women's XTERRA Pro Series podium

Specialized teammate Melanie won the women’s race, although Lesley Paterson made up some serious time on the run and Danelle Kabush was in 3rd followed by Kelley Cullen in 4th. Nico LeBrun won in a very close men’s race followed by Dan Hugo, Josiah Middaugh (who flatted) and Conrad Stoltz and Lance in 5th. I hoped they’d bring us all up on the podium at the same time which meant I’d share my podium spot with Lance, what usually happens at the pro awards, but not the case this time around.

Obviously Lance is big hero in the world of endurance sports and beyond, and the reason we had 3x the crowds and media out at the race. But I’d like to take the time to point out some of the people I admire at the race:

Jamie Whitmore

The first XTERRA I watched, US Championships in 2005, she won. Cancer ended her pro career as a triathlete. It’s incredibly heroic that she came out and did the sport race this weekend having to use crutches to complete the run.

Willie Stewart

At that same race in 2005, Willie Stewart also raced, I recognized him from Nordic races, a.k.a “One Armed Willie” I talked to him after the race and told him I used to do ski races with him and was thinking about competing in XTERRA. He gave me the old, ‘you’ve got the engine’ speech, but it worked. The guy has a V02 max that would rival Lance’s I’m sure. It’s been a few years since he’s raced XTERRA so it’s great to have him back at races.

Drew and Sydney Palmer-Ledger

Coaching kids has been so inspirational to me as an athlete and reminds me how fun racing should be. It was super cool to have some of the athletes I coach come out to the race and support. These kids are super talented cyclists and skiers and I’m excited to see their progression in sports.

Kip

Kip is my awesome Border Collie and training partner who does a much better job of living the professional athlete lifestyle than I do. If he’s not running or swimming he’s sleeping (I think he naps more than Dan Hugo) or eating anything in site. Anyway, I’m always amazed at how dogs can be ready to go at anytime of the day, but I guess they have a lot less equipment to worry about.

Thanks for reading! Super excited to head to Maui in a few weeks for XTERRA World Championships!

Emma Garrard

Women's Podium - XTERRA Canada

Wow, XTERRA Canada is probably the hardest XTERRA I’ve done, mostly on the mental side. Super technical mountain biking, and the kind I’m not used to, lots of bridges. Before I came to Whistler I’d only rode on bridges a few of times, with some bad experiences etched in my head. Needless to say I had some fears I had to overcome going into this race. I rode as well as I’d hoped, even rode a large percentage of the bridges and had the 2nd fastest swim and run splits. Specialized teammate Mel killed it and won beating some super fast mountain bikers. Josiah won the men’s race. Thanks to my sponsors Specialized, GU, Avia, Rudy Project and Blue Seventy. Next up XTERRA US Nationals in Ogden, lets just say the bridges there are about 10x as wide!

Here’s some more photos from the trip:

Kate Button on the course

The pork pizza at creekbread is really worth $28

Was I hear for a race or fear camp? crazy rope swings at Loggers Lake

I only allowed Specialized bikes in my sweet rental mini van

The Race: XTERRA Brazil Costa Verde

Distances: 1500m swim 25k mountain bike, 9k trail run

Products used: Blue Seventy Pointzero3, Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper 29er, Specialized Fast Trak tires, Rudy project Noyz glasses with photochromic lenses and helmet, GU brew and roctane gels, Avia Avi Stoltz.

Finish: 1^st overall female

Nowhere does the XTERRA slogan, “Live More” ring true than Brazil. So much so, it should be rewritten, “Brazilians live more than anyone else,” or something like that.

Hence the reason I’ve been itching to head down south. I’d heard nothing but good things about racing Brazil, so when I got an unexpected offer it was one I couldn’t turn down.

Like most of us who hail from the US, I lack proficiency in other languages and Portuguese would be the eighth language (if you include Hawaiian) I’ve attempted to speak this year. So I stick to the bare minimum, hello – “Ola,” that’s easy, but more importantly, thank you – “Obrigado.”

A red-eye flight from DFW got me to Rio bright and early with the relief of someone standing at the arrivals gate holding up a sign “Emma Garrard” – a rare treat and one that undoubtedly makes anyone feel special.

A scenic coastal drive to the Portobello Resort and Safari followed. The hotel was my accommodations and the venue for XTERRA Costa Verde. The secluded beachfront resort is lined with palm trees looking out over the South Atlantic.

I saw all this tropicalness in photos and assumed it would would be super hot there packing beach clothes only to find the locals wearing jeans and jackets – after all, it is winter in the southern hemisphere. Still, an ideal temperature for racing.

Still in a red-eye haze I kept thinking “Am I really here? Is this really happening?”

Things seemed to only get better. My room overlooked the coast and staying there included three meals a day, lots of healthy fresh stuff including the essential tropical fruits – mango and papaya.

Needless to say, come race morning I was pretty relaxed, despite the techno beat that had started two days prior, reminding me I was time to race and well, party but here the words were synonymous.

I was hoping I’d have something good to celebrate come dusk.

The swim start

THE SWIM
We lined up ‘marathon style’ at the top of the beach for the start of the swim, about 10 across. I wasn’t the only female on the front line which had me worried I’d get trampled soccer-stadium style. Not the case. The start format alleviated the usual bottle necking at the first buoy. The swim was two laps, a larger lap followed by an unexpected long beach run and a smaller inner loop. Non-wetsuits for pros, wetsuits for age groupers (see it really wasn’t that warm there) I never found a good set of feet on the swim but managed to come out of the water first – or so I thought.

Alexandre Koda/ www.webrun.com.br The only crossing I didn't ride through, the water came up to my waste!

THE BIKE
Approximately a 15-mile loop, mostly flat, some smooth, some bumpy with lots of water crossings, most of which were ridable and lined with spectators some of who were cows.

riding with cows

A more technical part of the course was singletrack through the jungle and everything you’d expect: exotic fruit, vines, snakes, mud and slippery moss-covered rocks.  This was all on the ‘Safari’ part of the resort. I ran the faster-rolling Specialized Fast Traks on my Stumpjumper for the faster sections. They also shed the mud fine. I rode the technical sections smoother than pre-riding despite some almost necessary dismount, hike-a-bike sections.

Try riding up this

THE RUN
Similar terrain to the bike, it was part flat and fast, part flat and rough and part and really really steep, muddy, off-camber jungle goodness. And don’t forget that water crossing.

I was about 95 percent sure I was in the lead at the start of the run, so I was excited. This would be my first XTERRA pro win, and what better place to take the victory than in Brazil?

But I had a tough run to get through first. The first 4k was all about turn over, a giant mud pit marked the halfway point where I’d learned from experienced racers it was best to take the  Avi Stoltz off to run through to save running the rest of the race with one shoe on.

I knew the second half of the run would be twice as hard and take twice as long, but at the same time it was more interesting. Hills so steep I used my hands to climb up followed by equally steep descents, thus the reason I opted for a trail shoe.

Not having a great understanding of Portuguese, I was pleased to here ‘primeiro’ before hitting the final stretch of pavement toward the finish where I followed a honking moto all the way in.

Felipe Mollet won the men’s race, with South African Lieuwe Boonstra in second; he claimed it to be his farewell triathlon.  Brian Smith was leading when he suffered an unfixable mechanical and DNF. Perhaps infected by the energy in Brazil or his own craziness, Brian signed up for the evening 50k having never raced more than a half marathon before.

I was almost as excited to get a big check as Will was!

THE 4TH LEG
When I crossed the finish line it was a full-on, to be expected, Speedo and thong beach party, and I’m not talking about Havaianas variety. Many competed in the open water swim challenge or were one of the 2,000 people racing in either the 50k/18k/9k night runs if they hadn’t raced the triathlon.

teachin 'em young

In Brazil, it doesn’t matter how you do in the race if you don’t hold your own at the party. The crowd had been going full gas since 6am, kids included. Was it really going to live up to my expectations? Absolutely.

The night run

I didn’t want to live up to the reputation of going to bed early so I could get up and train boring seriousness some expect from pro athletes.

I had a good reason to celebrate but really didn’t need one, after all I was in Brazil.

Fast forward, feeling somewhat out of place because we’re the only non-Brazilians in the crowd who don’t know the lyrics to songs played by the popular band onstage. Kids are falling asleep standing up, but it’s not bedtime yet, even if you’re six. Gotta teach ‘em young here.

I put in a valiant effort which resulted in being called a ‘white belt.’ Bummed with the current exchange rate I’d say that’s a ‘black belt’ in the US.

I got to sleep in, but the kids had to wake up early do the XTERRA kids races. I mustered up enough energy to play a game of beach volleyball (really need to work on this before I return to Brazil) and beach soccer (or futbol) where I had one of those I-can’t-believe-I’m-playing-soccer-on-the-beach-in-Brazil-this-is-awesome-moments.

There’s no doubt the energy in Brazil is infectious. Something I hope we all can experience and bring a little home.

I’ll part ways with a couple more Portuguese words courtesy of google translate:

¡Viver mais!

¡Obrigado!

Emma Garrard

more photos:

Acai teeth

Brazilan coast in Rio

Agua de coco

Myself with the super cool race director Bernardo in Rio

siteseeing in Rio

Women's Podium - XTERRA Costa Verde

Just got back from a week in Brazil where I raced, and won,  XTERRA Costa Verde. My first XTERRA pro win. This was my first time to South America and racing in Brazil certainly lived up to it’s expectations. The race took part at the Portobello Resort in Angra A big thanks to XTERRA Brazil for the support. Here’s a few shots from the trip.

pre riding the bike course

One of the coolest parts of the bike course.

One of the more technical climbs on the bike course

The beautiful Portobello Resort

XTERRA photo - Notice my twisted handlebars?

THE RACE: XTERRA Mountain Championships, Beaver Creek, Colorado.

DISTANCES: 1500 meter swim, 15.5 mile mountain bike (3,600 feet elevation gain), 5.75 mile run (1,300ft elevation gain)

PRODUCTS USED: Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit and goggles, Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper 29er, Roval carbon wheels, Fast Trak and Renegade tires, Rudy Project Noyz glasses and helmet, GU Roctane and Brew, Avia Avi Bolt racing flats, Squadra race suit.

“Welcome to the Beaver” – That’s really what they say when you drive up to the gated high-end ski resort. Rumor is there’s also a Beaver Liquors in town. Anyway I’ll leave the beaver jokes at that.

This is one of the toughest courses in XTERRA, not just because of all the climbing, 3600 feet, most of which is in the first four miles of the mountain bike but because it’s at high elevation, starting around 8000 ft. Which is high for me and I live at altitude.

After thinking I was having a sub-par swim, for the first time this season I came out of the water where I wanted to be, with a pack of women and only ‘Big Fish” out in front. I attribute this to a few things, a good chunk of time (about a month) to get consistent swim training in, the water being about 4 degrees cooler this year, and I swimming in my Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit, a great fitting suit for me, mobility and not too thick in the arms.

The bike, or the hill is a tough one to gauge, you can’t exactly go all out at 9000 feet but you also have to go hard because it’s a race. My initial plan was to stay out of the red on the intial 4 mile climb and then push it hard but I kind of forgot there wasn’t a whole lot after that.  An age group guy I was chatting to after the race who asked me if I was ‘riding easy’ I’m going to take this as ‘you weren’t breathing hard’ as opposed to ‘you weren’t going very fast.’ Either way, this is my third time doing this race and was the least amount of pain I felt.

Had one OTB on the bike when I lost my focus for a second (I was thinking about points!) twisting my handlebars. Lost a little more time unsuccessfully trying to fix them before the final descent to T2. But I can’t hand out too many excuses for not doing better on the bike, after all Todd Wells won the US Mountain Bike Nationals that same day on virtually the same setup, not to mention Mel and Sara who kicked my butt in the bike (Mel was on the new women’s HT 29er the Fate)

I started the run in 5th and that’s where I finished. The run despite being super tough, is actually really pretty when there’s no one around you, singletrack through aspens, wildflowers and high-end homes. I felt strong on the run too, but I wouldn’t say fast. I’m on the tail-end of a running injury (I hope) which means I’m not where I was a month ago with my running and not where I was last year, at least when speed is concerned. But was still fast enough for the 3rd fastest pro split of the day.

Actually I take that back, I had to bust out my fastest 200 in years when I could see an age group guy gunning for me a the finish line. I wasn’t going to let him have it.

I was pleased to find out I knocked a good 5min 30sec of my time from 2010. Conditions were undoubtedly better, weather was cooler, but so was my gear! thanks sponsors for that.

Photo Trey Garman/XTERRA Men and women's podium

Shonny Vanlandingham won the women’s race for the 3rd time followed by Specialized teammate Melanie Mcquaid, Kelley Cullen, and Sara Tarkington (also Specialized)

Josiah Middaugh won the men’s race followed closely by Seth Wealing, Brian Smith, Nico Lebrun and Branden Rakita.

The result moved me back into 4th place in the US Pro Series (#2 American)

A BIG BIG thanks to the Klosers for letting me stay at their place, Todd with Park City Crash Pads for being my unofficial sponsor for the weekend by lending me a sweet wrapped car so I could actually get to the race. The Jimmy has 190,000+ miles on it, the result of driving to one too many races and, well, needs some work and my amazing  sponsors Specialized, Avia, GU, Blue Seventy and Rudy Project and coach Jim Vance.

The XTERRA Pro Series concludes with US Nationals Sept 24, which, lucky for me, is only 60 miles away at Snowbasin.

Thanks for reading!

Emma Garrard