Finished!

Wow! Amazing race! Definately the hardest thing I have ever done. I finished in 3:38:01 and 9th in my age group of 20 (41st out of 112 women). The winning amateur female had a time of 3:13 and the wicked fast pro Melanie McQuaid was 2:48.

The swim
I watched the sun come up over the mountains, eventually overcoming the stars, as I set up transition this morning. It was still cool when we started with air temps at 50 degrees, but the water was delicious at 68. The start was the most agressive I've ever experienced-everyone I've talked to was kicked, pushed, swum over and goggles knocked askew. But once I turned the first buoy at 300 meters, I tried to relax and find my own space. Convinced I was the last swimmer, I just focused on a my technique and in the end was psyched about my time of 30 minutes (1500 meters).

The Bike
The bike was mostly climbing the 3000 feet elevation gain between the Reservoir and Snowbasin Resort through double and singletrack that was sometimes steep, sometimes gradual, sometimes rocky or silty sandy, sometimes undulating and fast, packed trail.I tried to be conservative for the first half -already my heart rate was higher than normal due to altitude - then I picked it up when I fell into a pack of western women and we alternated the rest of course - I might climb past them and then they would whiz past me on the downhills, dust flying everywhere. I rolled into transition at 2:13 (18 miles/30k).

The Run
Right before the race, pro Conrad Stoltz had advised me to "save it for the run." Right out of transition, the course climbs up a long brutal work road, so I was glad I heeded his advice. The trail then turned into the woods, which were often lovely undulating through yellow aspen and red maple groves, over bridges crossing mountain streams, then in a twist of cruelty, would turn into sections littered with baby head boulders across open meadows or would switchback up sections of work roads. I'm glad I had some stamina and definately left everything I had left on the course, reeled in some women in the last few miles and cruising into transition in 51 minutes (6.1 miles/10k).

The BBQ
Then it was BBQ time, it was 80 degrees, and I sat in the grass and caught up with other athletes to share our experiences. Off to the block party in downtown Ogden - then I catch the midnight plane back to Burlington!

Flowers

I was recognized at the athlete dinner as the North East regional champion for the 35-39 age group with a fresh lei from Hawaii-how can I get that home?

Family

Phil sent this photo with the subject: "Good luck" and the following quotes from the boys:'I love you mama' from Carson & 'Mom, win this race' from Austin. I talked to Carson today for a long time on the phone and learned every detail of the last few days. I told him that when I see him on Sunday, I would give him hugs until he told me to stop. "I won't ask you to stop, mama," he said.

Horses

As Vermont celebrates its culture through a products like maple syrup, Ogden, too, has its identity: Painted horses line the downtown streets and I met this forest ranger coming of the Skyline Trail. "Just rode the ridge checking for trouble," he told me. "Not a bad day on the job."

Where are you from?

Beginning in the Starbucks line,"Where are you from?" is the question I've asked or been asked continuously today. After seeing two northeasterners I know, I've met athletes from Switzerland, Colorado, Washington, Virginia (you get the picture). I've seen the registration list of 300 (at least 125 women and 21 in my age group) many of them hailing from western (or international) mountain towns. I'm glad I already decided not to worry about who else is out there. If I ride my own race - give the best performance I can - I'll be in the results where I belong and go home rewarded in so many ways.

Comaraderie

I've run into a few other people that I know and it feels good to have some comaraderie in sharing race strategy and acknowledgement of the challenge that we will all face at the XTERRA National Championship race (http://www.xterraplanet.com/utah/usaChamps.html) on Saturday - 1.5 mile swim, 30K mountain bike, 10K run. It does feel a little weird being here on my own - I miss my family, whom are a big part of my inspiration and my friends, with whom share my love of sport - but it does allow me to be deeply present in the experience and totally focused on the race.

The run

Today, I drove to Snowbasin Resort to check out the 10K run course - rolling, rocky singletrack topping out at 7500 feet that ducks in and out of birch forests and alpine meadows, with mountain views that did not disappoint. Did I say it is beautiful here? I had forgotten how places like this can stir the spirit and as much as I love Vermont's landscapes, I feel grateful for this dose of awe.

The bike

I met Matt Boobar, my coach and XTERRA pro from Stratton, VT, at the Wheeler Trail to pre-ride the course. The altitude had me panting and the trail climbed up double and single track, rocky at times, packed dirt at others, winding through maple stands turning red with fall color and whispering aspen groves - all against the backdrop of grand, endless peaks and steep mountainsides of tall evergreens.

The swim

I didn’t realize that this was such an adventure-seekers mecca. Driving out of town into canyon, I could see why: waterfalls spilled down red rock hundreds of feet on one side of me, while a group of climbers guided themselves up the other. Silty trails disappeared into thick oak forests and crossing the spillway of Pineview Reservoir, I saw paddle-boarders, fisherman and wetsuit-clad swimmers co-habitating the waters off "windsurfers beach." The guy at the bike shop said Ogden is a really affordable place to live, making it possible to live the outdoorsy life. "The trails are 500 feet from my house and I ride them everyday. When I get bored, I ride them at night."

Musings from Utah

I arrived yesterday after a long day of tolerable flights, of which the highlight was meeting my sister, Ashley, during my Chicago layover to catch up on our lives. The town of Ogden is laid out neatly in square blocks against the ragged steep mountains of the Wasatch Range, and meets the classic western criteria with its historic buildings, spicy food and painted horse sculptures.