Well another season has come and gone. I ended my long race season last week at the Xterra World Championships on the beautiful island of Maui. This race has always been my absolute favorite, as it tends to throw even the most talented athlete challenges ranging from nasty sharp loose lava rock, screaming descents, the occasional pile of cow poop, teeth-gritting up hills (on both the bike and run), ankle deep sand, wild mongoose, and the numerous obstacles to jump over, duck under and avoid all together. To finish this race unscathed is to succeed!

This year the event began under cloudy skies unlike years past. The trade winds were also blowing quite a bit which made the swim conditions quite choppy with a bit of current. I was glad to have yet another challenging swim ahead of me, as I tend to welcome even some of the roughest water; I knew I was at an advantage. I lined up strategically behind of my pal Melanie ...an awesome swimmer and over all stellar woman. We seemed to inch our way out into the rough surf waiting for the "go signal".

Finally after about a 3 minute countdown we were off and battling the waters of the Pacific. The trip out to the first buoy was as usual a complete hack-fest, but I seemed to find a good rhythm and super draft almost immediately. After rounding the first buoy, I found an opening and went for it. I was passing people and continued to as I headed toward shore to being the famous "beach run" to start my second loop of the swim. I exited the water and immediately spotted my pal Whit Raymond, the race announcer. He said my name and I smiled as I ran past him and the countless other spectators, many of which also cheered for me as I trotted past.

The second loop I pretty much swam alone until I hit the third and final turn towards shore. On my way in, I caught a few men and found myself doing my best to maneuver around bodies in attempt to find a clear opening on the beach. I popped out of the water, ripped off my pink day-glo swim cap and goggles and up the steps ran to the transition area. Along the way, the race director, Kahuna Dave told me that I was the 5th pro woman out of the water. I was clearly both shocked and stoked, as this was probably my best swim finish of the year!!

I had a huge smile on my face as I galloped along to find my bike. As usual, my transition was not all that speedy, but in a race like this I have learned that perhaps taking a few extra seconds to ensure all provisions are present is most important. After a few seconds I mounted my Trek Top Fuel and up the hill I rode! This year the bike course was quite dry with more rock that I remember than in the past. In a matter of 9 miles I was passed by a number of other pro women. I continued to pedal away up and down the steep hills littered with sharp black lava rock.

 I was feeling a bit flat, but as always, made the best of the situation and continued to ride as hard as possible towards the finish. I caught Kate Major on a number of the down hills, as she would crash, laugh, tell me to pass and then blow by me on the up hills. We played cat and mouse for the majority of the ride until NedÁõs Climb when she took off like she was being chased by a pack of rabid wolves. I caught her again on the plunge and after almost face planting in a huge pile of silt and swallowing my fair share of organic matter, she passed me yet again! I rode strong and steady down the rest of the hill which turned into loose gravel until I reached a new section of course. The last 2 miles of the bike trail course this year was quite painful, as mentioned before there were so many rocks it was hard to maintain any rhythm. I continued to catch boys that had blown by me on the "plunge" and thought about my upcoming transition to the run. I had my work cut out for me.

I flew into transition, dumped my bike (willingly), threw on my snazzy Asics DS Trainers with pink laces, and off I ran to try to catch whoever was in front of me. The run course this year was the most difficult course I have encountered over the past 5 years racing this event. Kahuna and his crew decided it would be "fun" to have athletes run uphill 2.5 miles after a solid mile of nice smooth asphalt. Okay, this may have been a viable option had I not rode my mountain bike 21 miles up the hills of Makena! My legs began to feel like they were being beat by little kids with sticks as I trudged up, up and up. I hit a clearing and spotted 2 pro women up ahead. I immediately felt better and ran faster and harder towards my new "targets" within the next mile I had passed both and was now jamming on the downhill.

See you all next year.

Nicole :)