From XL to XTERRA… to Tagaman

Second of three parts

Once I hopped upon the slender road bike, I headed south along Beach Road from the Pacific Islands Club and was on my way toward the back road to the airport—that’s where I found a rider off in the distance to try to catch.

One thing that I picked up from returning champion Jamie Whitmore during her class at the PIC was that she liked to consume her electrolyte drink early into the race because she likes it better cold. Before that, I thought that it was better to spread out the refueling liquids throughout the course, but what do I know? What I did know is that I didn’t want to get the same leg cramps that I experienced in the XTERRA, so this time I was downing the PowerAde from my Camelback right from the start.

A few minutes into the 60-kilometer bike course I took a gel packet and chased it with some water. The difference would be realized until later on, but I had just finished my best swim since I started the training in November and was still riding the high from that. After passing the Coral Ocean Point Golf Resort it was a straight run to the hill on the backside of the runway, and I was cruising. I chased down the guy who was ahead of me from the beginning and down shifted to get ready for the incline. It worked fine because I didn’t lose my cadence on the way up, but I lost the guy because I couldn’t get into the fast gear. After fumbling around for a while, I got it, and when I got to Kileleman Road for the left turn I was flying. I got another boost because John was there to cheer me on as I rounded the corner near the Customs Detention Center and headed for Koblerville.

Last year, defending champion Jason Chalker was taken out of the race by a boonie dog that crossed his path on the bike course, and when I neared the light by Guangdong Hardware I saw a dog chasing the guy that left me in the dust at the airport. After the dog quit chasing him, he eyed me up as I raced toward him. About the time he started into his chase, I let out a deep “Hey” in my best Dogese to deter him, and it worked.

It was clear sailing through Kobler, and I passed some rider who had smoked me on the swim as I neared the right turn at the Mobil Station close to the PIC. After passing the crowd of volunteers at the transition point, I started northward along Beach Road toward the American Memorial Park. It was a tough ride against the wind, and even though it wasn’t strong, it felt pretty tough.

Even though a couple of guys passed me by around Roshi’s, I was not deterred because I wasn’t sure how I would fare on this course because it was the longest that I have ever done. Be that as it may, I decided to catch those two and follow them until the end if it killed me. As it turned out, I am still alive, and pacing off of Manny Sitchon and Jung Young Kim was the best thing that I could have done.

First of all, it kept me going at a high speed and gave me a reason to stay there. Second of all, we all helped each other out with a little small talk along the way—it wasn’t much, but it helped. I received an added boost when we passed the aid station at the Quartermaster Tank because my co-workers from the Tribune were busy prepping their site for the runners and cheered me on.

From there on out it was a lot of huffing and puffing against the wind, and when we finally got out to the Aqua Resort Club we saw Olivier Marceau racing south with a full head of steam—and it was a little while before we saw second place.

When we got to Marpi, everything seemed to go by so fast. First we passed the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool, then it was the Last Command Post, but things slowed down big time when the three of us made the climb toward Suicide Cliff.

I remembered how hard it was to start up again after walking my bike up to Mount Tapochau the week before, so I stayed atop my trusty steed, and it turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be.

It is a difficult hill to drive up in my car, so I kept my head down and churned out the best cadence that I could with the thought that there was going to be a great downhill on the way to Bird Island Lookout.

I was pumped when I got to the top, and was more than ready for the downhill. I flew past the Schultz family as they ensured that the racers didn’t take the turn off toward the Grotto, made a quick turn at the Bird Island Lookout, and was on a mission to get to Banzai Cliff as soon as possible.

I downed another gel packet, chased it with water, and readied for the uphill that was formerly the speedy downhill. It wasn’t fun, but once again I focused on my cadence and before I knew it, I was about to embark upon the downhill that carried me almost to Banzai.

The girls directing the racer to Bonzai were great, and I was sure that the guys I was riding with seemed equally thankful, but when I turned to look at them they were nowhere to be seen. Manny is a champ on the bike, so I felt pretty good, but I knew that Kim was a monster on the run and that he would eventually pass me by on the dismount.

After circling back at Banzai, I knew that we were more than halfway through the bike course, and I had tons of energy, so I turned on the burners.

Aided by a strong tailwind, I started passing people from Marpi, through Tanapag, through Puerto Rico, and even a couple in Garapan. I could have kept going on the bike, but it was almost time for the run, so I downed another gel packet, chased it with water, and met the cheers of the masses at the transition point.