From XL to XTERRA

There are less than two months remaining until John and I don the caps and goggles and take to the waters off Micro Beach to start the 2005 Saipan XTERRA Championship, and our quest for zest has taken us well past the point of no return.

For one thing, we’ve got one heck of an adventure ahead of us next week when we tackle our most challenging event to date in Tinian. We’re going to add “Olympic Distance Triathletes” to our resumes after we finish the 6th Tinian Turquoise Blue Triathlon across the channel.

Talk about a test, boy. We’ll be knocking out the 1,500-meter swim, the 40-kilometer bike, and the 10km run before most people wake up next Saturday. Oh, and though the races on Saipan have been all that we could handle for the past few months, we have been swimming in waters that were pretty shallow and roads that were flat. In the Tinian race, we will be treated to deep blue sea and two trips up the hill on the main road.

Adding a little injury to insult, I twisted my ankle and have been on the DL for the better part of the last week, as far as running is concerned. I want to get out there, but with the race coming up, I don’t want to take myself out of the (sorry about the pun) running altogether.

At least we will have a couple of aces up our sleeves. By the time the race begins, it will be six weeks of no smoking for reluctantly healthy lungs, while John will have had the benefit of his new partner Gina.

John’s training effort has received an infusion of invigoration with the purchase of his new orange mountain bike—Gina (sorry Romey—I love my bike, too, but it’s not getting a name).

“This week has been great—a new rockin’ bike, rough seas to swim, and training partners to run with—I’m on a roll. I’ve felt some great progress the last couple of weeks, and I’m going to keep it up and improve it from here out.

My new bike from Romey is doing wonderful. He gave me a great deal on a bright caution orange Haro, and I will not be easily missed cruising on the streets and trails of Saipan on that baby. It is amazing how much easier it is to ride when you’ve got a new ride propelling you towards your goal, equipped with 24 hill-pounding gears, and high-quality disc breaks that propel you to gut wrenching stops. I am definitely stoked to have the bike, and I feel more complete now that I’m riding it.”

John and I didn’t want to delay our return to the trails, so the “three” of us made the trip up North to test out the new wheels off-road, as John explains:

“Gina’s first test was a lengthy off-road loop with Brad past Bird Island Beach lookout through the dirt trail that goes past Kalabera cave. I was feeling great on a cloudless Saturday morning, out in nature just riding my bike. Gina helped me over all sorts of obstacles, like rocks, divots, crevices, and branches, and even helped me up hills. But because I’ve neglected working out my ‘biking muscles’ in favor of my ‘running and swimming muscles,’ the workout was a killer. After an hour, I was on the ground panting for breath, completely unable to breathe as I reached the top of a particularly harrowing hill. Needless to say, it was not exactly where I wanted to be two months before the ominous XTERRA bike, but I didn’t let my lack of biking physique slow me down. Brad and I biked until it was well into the afternoon—some three to four hours later. We managed to do about 10-12 miles—most of which was off-road. While we were certainly off the pace we needed, it was an excellent way to break in the new bike.”

If typhoons Chaba and Tingting had their way, that would be the extent of our trail ridding on Saipan. The good news is that the folks with the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation have been sacrificing their free time to clear out the trails that will be used for the XTERRA, as well as some trails that are just plain fun for the locals.

Sue Knecht has been rallying the troops, and just about everyone who has a bike, a chainsaw, and a machete have pitched in. The crew is also offering a slew of trail rides and classes for anyone interested in learning the ropes—John and I will definitely reap the benefits of Saipan’s “home court advantage” in two months, and we will have the NMITF folks to thank.