From XL to XTERRA

A lot of time has passed since our original splash and dash in the first Northern Marianas Islands Triathlon Federation Enticer Race on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2004, and exactly four months later John and I strapped on the gear for our first off-road triathlon when we journeyed to Pau Pau Beach to take part in the third edition of the Verizon Off-Road Adventure XTERRA Type Extreme Race Event (V-ORAXTERE).

Rather than strolling down to the water’s edge with a “what did we get ourselves into” attitude, we were thinking more along the lines of “let’s see how we’re gonna fare off of the pavement.”

I was a combination of psyched and cautious because this race was going to be a major test of progress with roughly a month remaining until the 2005 XTERRA Saipan Championships. The psyched part said, “go, go, go,” but the cautious part of me was interested in finishing the event incident free.

When the signal sounded to start the swim course, all 30 something of us made our way north against the current to the giant orange buoy in the lagoon before turning around and heading back to the rock to complete the 750-meter lap.

This was a breeze compared to the Tinian Triathlon two weeks prior because it was half the distance and a 10th of the depth. Another advantage was that there weren’t so many people fighting for space in the sea.

John and I did pretty well in the swim, and one of the cool parts about this race was that all of the racers waited for everyone to finish the swim before beginning the transition to the mountain bike. After all of the riders were all suited up and ready to go, NMITF president Stephan Samoyloff had everyone doing the “Chicken Dance” in tune with this little toy bird that played the music. The hitch was that when the music stopped, the pack ran to their bikes, saddled up, and took off. It was freakin’ hilarious.

Aside from the strictly mountain bike race the week prior, this was the only mass start for a bike course for us, and we learned early on the value of drafting. I was pretty lucky because my bike was at the front of the randomly placed collection of two-wheelers during the dance session, so I had a little advantage. Not far into the course I was getting passed up by the seasoned veterans, so I stayed off to the right a little bit, but when I looked up I noticed that they were in a tight group. They next time a few riders came by I seized the opportunity to get behind them and draft, draft, draft.

It was great—half of the work for half of the energy—it’s the only way to race. I paid attention to the cadence of the more advanced riders and made a point of staying “in step” with them for the rest of the way—for the flat part.

As with the XTERRA, this race was primarily a bike course, and it was an uphill climbing course at that. Aside from a few down hills that cooled us off, the pack of peddlers was punished with a plethora of peaks—phew.

We also got a little love from the multi-sport gods when the sky opened up to allow a few rain drops that provided some much needed temperature control. While the course was a little slick afterward, it was well worth the shower.

Additional good news for John and I was that we have had some time to get used to our killer mountain bikes from Romey at Saipan Bike Pro, and knowing our gears was key. The final stretch of bike was an uphill climb that challenged the riders on a winding paved road that took the field to the transition point at the start of the Laderan Tangke Trail.

From there it was a romp through the jungle, and a home field advantage because John and I had run this trail a few times with the Saipan Hash House Harriers (see shthree@yahoogroups). The two of us didn’t finish at the same time, but time was not the important part of this test—determination and the will to complete were.

Though he was not contending for the top spot in the V-ORAXTERE, John embodied the spirit of the race by refusing to quit.

The heat and the course had taken a number on the big guy, but throughout the swim, bike, and run, he never waved the white flag of surrender. Whether you’re a triathlete or a couch commando, you’ve gotta give him credit.

Unfortunately for us, the NMITF will not be hosting any more triathlons between now and the big day, so we’ve got to come up with our own mini events in the next three weeks or so.