XTERRA Solstice, June 19, 2010

This was a race that I was intimidated by for the past three years. I always wanted to do it but there was always some excuse. The website for the race let you know that it is not an easy race and there are always DNF's and the course is not for the faint of heart. Lots of ankle breaking rocks along the run course, a steep downhill called "Suicide" hill, and a swim that will take your breath away, mostly because its so cold.

I signed up on the Monday before the race and just so I wouldn't wimp out, I posted on Facebook that I was doing it.

I talked to a couple of pro guys that wanted to do it so we ended up car pooling together. They had just done Boise the weekend before and I was surprised that they wanted to do this one. We got to La Grande around 4pm and went to pick up our race packets. This was the first time I had ever done packet pick up in the garage of someones home. I thought that was very cool.

After a quick stop at Safeway, we headed up a very steep road to Morgan Lake. I was intimidated AGAIN. If the climbs were anything like this on the bike course, I was in for a very long day.

We found a spot to camp and rode a little of the course. We ran into a few others that Damian knew from Bellingham. We went to town for dinner then back up the long, scary hill to our campsite. I got all my things together for the next day but realized I only had a little water. The guys wanted to head into town for hot coffee in the morning anyway, so I figured I was safe. Our start time was 9am. We would have time.

I set up my gear in the back of my truck and packed it in for the night. I read for a bit but mostly just thought about long, steep hills. I finally got to sleep but was woken up a few times by some people partying on the other side of the lake.

I set my phone for a wake up call but didn't really need it. I was wide awake at 5AM. I got the rest of my gear ready then we got coffee. We still had almost 2 hr before the start when we got back and that time was spent setting up transition and chatting with people about how cold it was and whether I should bring my arm warmers and long sleeve jersey.

the last thing I did before locking up the truck and finishing up transition was fill my Camel Back with water. I had a very concentrated bottle of First Endurance EFS, Grape flavour. My plan was to have my calories in that bottle and dilute it by drinking from my Camel Back.

Keep that tid bit in mind for later

I got into my wetsuit and wandered into the very cold water. I heard it was 54F but I'm not sure of the official water temp. It didn't matter, I was wearing a very nice Blue70 wetsuit provided by my team sponsor, Athlete's Lounge. I had borrowed a neoprene cap from Scott at AL but didn't end up wearing it as it was a little small and was choking me. I went for about 20m out and back again then stood on top of a large rock with only my lower half under water. I heard them say we had to line up between the two buoys behind me so I went over and chatted with Damian and Chris. I jumped on top of the buoy and floated for a while til they said 1 minute to go.

I heard what was probably an air horn but it sounded more like a sick elk, then we were off!

My swim was uneventful, I concentrated on a steady stroke and was under my goal time of 20minutes, 19:15. I believe that at least 1-2 minutes of that was me trying to stumble my way out of the water, tripping over rocks and other athletes, but they didn't mark my time til i was completely out of the water.

I got to transition, easily shed my wetsuit, and sat down to put on my socks and bike shoes. On the road, I rarely wear socks but because of the mud and the fact that my MTB shoes are a hair big, I chose socks for this race. Unfortunately, some thoughtful person had dumped their wetsuit on top of my shoes and one of my socks was already soaked. Thankfully I had another pair for the run and grabbed them.

I grabbed my lid, my glasses, and forced my bike out from between two others and took off. I pulled my gloves on with my teeth as I was riding down the easiest part of the course; the first 400m. I was about 2km into the ride when I saw someone go by me with a Camel Back and it was then I realized I had forgotten mine. I wasn't sure where the aid stations were but i was hoping that it wasn't very far away. My new plan included drinking my First Endurance EFS and then topping off with water at the first aid station I came to. This didn't happen either. I am very impressed with the FE electrolyte drink. Even though it was very concentrated, I didn't get any GI distress. When I came to the aid station and just grabbed a couple cups of water and it was perfect.

There was about a 1K stretch where we went on some single track, a bit of road and a wicked downhill section called the "pipeline". I found that out on the way back when I had to climb back up it. Anyway, after the long downhill, there was a 5K section of uphill. It was probably average of 6-8% but had a few short steep sections. The dirt road was fairly well maintained til the top section but overall, it was better than some roads I have raced on. After the road came an uphill section of single track which was pretty tough in sections due to the ruts and rocks on the path but I cleared most of it on the bike. Only when I let someone go past me did I have to unclip.

I was keeping my eye out for a section called "suicide hill"; a treacherous bit of downhill that I was not particularly looking forward to. It certainly lived up to its reputation. I got to the top and as I was beginning the descent, I decided that I wanted to live. I walked it down which was no easy feat either. There was an ATV at the midway point and he said that I was about 1/3 of the way through the bike course and about half way down the hill but I just did the hard part...... um, not from where i was standing it wasn't. There was still a lot of loose steep downhill left. I came across a photographer and i was bummed because I wanted to be on my bike when she took the photo, which I told her, but then I said I was just going to flex for the camera. Right after I passed her, I got on my bike and rode the rest of it. The downhill was still tough but not as steep.

For the next few miles i rode with another gal, Robin from Bellingham. I let her get ahead of me for the single track ahead. We wound around a little meadow, over a cattle fence, through a lot of rocky sections, and out to an uphill section. We both walked up it, I walked faster, and figured she would catch me later. I hit the road section that we came up and went down it as fast as I could. I tried to use that section to rest but it wasn't much of a rest. I hit the pipeline climb and just decided trying to ride up it wasn't worth it. I started walking it. I turned around and Robin was riding up behind me but after we hit a steep pitch, she was walking too.

There was a gal in front of us, I watched her leave the trail. I figured she was just going to find some privacy to attend to the call of nature but when i got up to where she left the course, I saw her walking up the hill. She had cut the switch back section of the course, missing about 200m of it. I pointed her out to Robin and we both were wondering why she would do that. The climb she did may have taken less distance but it was much harder than the switch back section she cut. Oh well, we just pushed on.

robin ended up passing me walking up the steepest section and I said bye. At the top of "pipeline" it was only a short ride back to T2, going back in the same way we came out. There were also runners on that section. I didn't get slowed down by any, some of these guys were pretty fast and they maneuvered that section faster than I could ride it. I thought about trying to catch Robin so I wouldn't have the slowest bike time but I felt I needed all the energy I could muster for the run.

T2 was slow for me. I sat down and washed off my left leg so my ankle brace didn't have too much grit to grind into my skin. I hit T2 at 3hr on the nose and 4 minutes later, I was on the run course. I ran past the truck where Damian and Chris were getting cleaned up. I ran past them, they wished me good luck and asked if I needed anything but I was all set.

I looked at my watch and with a plan of run/walking at a 2min/2min ratio, I started walking. It was mostly a gradual uphill all the way out of the Lake area and I got to the first water station. I filled up my water bottle and started running again. I ran most of the way down a steep road and then had to walk again. I settled in to walking and figured I would run any down hill or flat sections. I was pretty tired. I had 2 gel packets with me and a water bottle. I ate at 630AM so I was starting to get hungry by this time.

I passed the second water station and passed through without stopping. The road went down the side of a hill and sort of degraded into a barely used cart path. I was looking around at where the trail might go, foolishly, and rolled my left ankle. Without my ankle brace I'm sure i would have hurt it to the point where I would not have been able to continue. I didn't stop because I knew the pain would subside in a few minutes. I started walking with my left leg rotated outwards so it would be more difficult to roll it again. At the bottom of the hill was a jeep and a guy wearing a skirt, a wig, and holding pom poms. He cheered me on and warned me about the next section which was basically a path made by one of the ATV's and the 60+ athletes ahead of me. He also told me I was OTB which really sucked but hey, I was out here and I was going to finish. I think on the day, there were 4 DNF's, not sure why but I knew I wasn't going to be one of them.

The man/machine made trail had a few sections of mud, lots of rocks, and I passed an elk rack, or half a rack actually, a leg and hoof, likely off some sort of deer or elk, which was stripped clean, and a large snake which slithered across the trail in front of me. I didn't see much of the snake but it was bigger than any type of snake we have near our house. Do they have rattlers in La Grande?

It seemed to be longer than 10K but then again, I had not done 10K since the US Championships in September. I climbed up some switch backs, got onto a road, and got back to the water station I had passed almost an hour before. They refilled my water bottle and I took a gel, said thank you and started jogging down the slight hill towards the BIG hill I had come down.

After the last aid station, I jogged again to the trail that led back to the TZ. I walked most of the single track trail section and when I got to where I could see the finish line, I started running again.

the announcer saw me and I was cheered in by all the folks that stuck around for the awards. Damian and Chris were right there and after I crossed the finish line, they helped me back to the truck with all my gear. They said they had calculated how long after I left T2 and when they would come and find me should I not be at the finish by a certain time. Just as they were about to venture out to rescue me, I came in. Good guys to travel with!

I finished the run in 1:46, longer than any 10K I had ever done, and overall, just under 5 hours. I was satisfied that I had finished given my limited MTB training but it just served to show me how much more I need to train for XTERRA Nationals in Sept.

It was a fun race and I look forward to doing it again in the future. Thanks to Mary Ellen and the XTERRA Solstice crew of volunteers for a great but tiring day.