I registered for Xterra Worlds yesterday. I know. I'm not sure why I had a change of heart. exactly. Part of it is the whole losing Strummer so unexpectedly thing has created a sense of urgency in me about not waiting too long to do stuff. Now duh, I know, you shouldn't put stuff off that you really want to do, at least not for too long. Life is short, you never know what may happen, and all that blah blah. Thing is that Xterra Worlds isn't a huge major thing for me like it is for some. Mostly because of the long, expensive trip to Maui and also Maui not being top of my list of places I want to go. But there is a part of me that thinks it would be cool to experience a World Championship and Xterra Worlds are the big one of the off-road triathlon world.
I first saw Xterra Worlds on t.v. back in the early 90's and it seemed so cool but also such an impossible goal. Watching the godfather of mountain biking Ned Overend struggle with running on the sand at the end of the race was inspirational but also off putting. That race looked SO hard. It was one of those thing where you think, 'That would be an amazing accomplishment but it's so crazy impossible that's it's not worth aiming for.' I was in my 20's and had just moved to Colorado and was new to mountain biking so the thought of doing a challenging mountain bike race let alone a triathlon with an ocean swim seemed beyond something to consider. But now at 52 I have many years of mountain biking and triathlon under the saddle it doesn't seem so daunting or even like such a huge accomplishment. It will be hard and long but certainly within reach. The course has changed throughout the years and has gotten a lot better. More singletrack vs. dirt roads with stickers that caused a lot of flats. The biggest challenge for me will be the heat.
And while Maui doesn't call to me I'll be meeting my aunt who loves it so it'll be more of a vacation than just going for a race. She wants to do some whale watching thing though I think we're not there during whale season so I'm not sure how that'll go. But whatever. I'm happy to see her and have the opportunity to experience a World Championship and an ocean swim. And see someplace new that I wouldn't normally go, someplace totally different from the mountains.
On top of all of this I leave for Xterra Nat's. tomorrow. Probably wouldn't have gone this year if I'd know I was going to Worlds but I had zero expectation of qualifying at Beaver Creek and actually signing up and going so I'd already paid my entry and made travel/hotel plans for Nat's. Plus I love Nat's., look forward to it every year and it would be sad to miss it. At least this year shouldn't be too expensive since I'm traveling with someone and splitting gas/hotel expenses. But it feels weird packing and planning for this trip while also making arrangements for an even bigger trip, both to do races.
Ah well, you only live once. Thanks to Ned for the inspiration all those years ago. Looks like I'll be going to Maui after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment