A Quick Recap

Getting the final packing and preparation for the big trip went well and we finally took off for New Mexico first thing on Friday morning. I drove 8 straight hours in the car following Amber and Eric. It was a fairly easy drive and we got in with plenty of time to get setup for the race, eat a good dinner and get to bed early for the next day. Race morning was typical and after a solid breakfast and a great warm up, I was feeling ready and excited to see what this event was all about.

And go...the first segment of the bike was pretty funny with people taking off like it was a 1K sprint! I stayed on for a bit but then decided to back off and just do my thing as I knew it was going to be a long day and the last thing I needed was the crack on the first of 8 legs! So the bike went well. The run to the top went surprisingly well too considering how badly my knee was hurting. Once I got to the ski section, I was feeling very good physically, but was a little concerned that I was the only one with tele gear and skins versus nordic skis and kickers. That ended up being the biggest mistake of the race. I was a great position in the overall race then about 75 people came flying by me with their light and fast ski setup as I lugged up the heaviest gear possible. To say the least, my time was over 15min slower than those who I had similar bike and run times and when I got done with the section, I was so exhausted from overworking and getting frustrated. The worst part (and the part that lead to the disasterness of the race) was that the skinning uphill for that long cramped my hips up and I wasn't able to run the snowshoe up. Instead, I had to walk and with insanely cold temperatures, howling winds and the wrong jacket, my wet clothes got made my body colder than anything you could imagine. I made it to the top but by the time I returned back to the skis, I was frozen solid. I couldn't feel anything in my body and I was shaking uncontrollably. The gentlemen there to 'monitor' me before I took off wouldn't let me continue due to the state I was in and ended up in a warming tent and eventually hauled off the mountain in a cat and to the ambulance to get checked out. There I found the girl who has won the past 4 years. The same thing had happened to her. Not the way I had planned for things to go, but as everyone keeps say, at least you are OKAY!

The rest of the evening was quite eventful as I felt like absolute crap and could not warm up at all. I finally got rid of the chills but started getting really hot later in the evening. Not fun. I woke up the next morning feeling a little better and hopped in the car to drive 6 hours to Phoenix t0 meet up with Allen and the crew and watch the final stage of the Valley of the Sun Cycling Race. It was a great race and Allen won a prime lap to top off an awesome weekend of racing which was even more exciting. After the race we drove another 6 hours to LA to my 2nd cousin's place where we will be for the next week.

I rained all day yesterday so we took the opportunity to rest up and get organized. Chris and Gary made us a delicious breakfast and dinner and have been exceptional hosts. I will post photos of the area and such later. It is raining again today but supposed to be gorgeous the next couple days and there is lots of great riding to be done. Off to the pool now, but stay tuned for more excitement :)