Xterra Saipan 2011 - Podium Finish

The Saipan Xterra race this year was unfortunately overshadowed by the huge earthquake that hit Japan on the Friday. There was much speculation as to whether the race would be cancelled, or at least the swim cut, due to the Tsunami after effects, (on Friday evening the whole island had been evacuated to higher ground due to the significant warnings). Thankfully the Tsunami passed the island without issue (had a lot to do with the deep Mariana's trench, soaking up a lot for the power).

After arriving at the race site on Saturday morning, and hearing that the race was on, and the swim would go ahead, i prepared my gear accordingly. Although a lot of conversations were obviously on what had happened and how families were in Japan rather than the conditions (it had rained hard overnight...so I now had the wrong tyres on (dry instead of wet), the forecast had predicted a week of sunshine...but with no time to change, I had to go with what i had on.

All the race participants and spectators held a minutes silence before the race started and there was understandably a certain amount of trepidation about the swim. The water in Saipan generally has spectacular visibility, but this morning it was churned and and looking quite threatening. After a quick last minute decision to switch the direction of the swim due to the strong currents off we went. It is a 2 loop triangle swim, I managed to find clear water quite quickly, and was working my way through the currents (R>L). I ran up the beach after Loop 1, to see my 14 year old nephew who had started 1minute behind me, was actually in front of me...he does do 100m's in 1:07...so I wasn't too downhearted! Entered into Loop 2, and the conditions had changed dramatically in the space of a few minutes, on Loop 1, the water was shallow enough to dolphin dive, now it was much higher, the currents had switched direction by 180 degree's and was now running L>R. I fought my way into the beach, unsure if the conditions were due to tsunami issues, or we had just caught the turning tide, either way I was pleased it was over. 1.2km's in 22:28.

Out onto the bike, 25km's on the MTBike. I was kicking myself for not having the right tyres on from the start and I was to curse myself even more later. The rain had been heavy overnight, and the tracks were very wet. Although the swim had been hard, I had come out in front of quite a few of the pro's so was surrounded by them as the race progressed. This is my 4th year doing Xterra Saipan so I know the course quite well, and managed to speed my way through the first half and keep in contact with the front groups. The trouble was the whole top section had changed and I hadn't had a chance to ride it in practice so in I went blind, and this is where I was really cursing my tyre selection. The top section consisted of a whole set of very steep coral rodes, the coral when went secretes a slimey substance, making a wet road even more treacherous...just when I needed those wet tyres...arghh! Oh well, managed to fight through this section, 1 quick endo over the handle bars, luckily I landed on to long grass, rather than coral. Finished in 2:04:30, which was not a bad time considering the conditions.

Dumped the bike and legged it on the run. If the rain had made the bike course difficult, it made parts of the run course down right dangerous. My mate Paul, had passed me on the bike, and I was gunning to try and take him back on the run. The hills are extremely steep on the course, and I was struggling to find a rhythm. The 1.5km rock canyon was very slippery, and it was difficult to make any head way, and by the time i got to the 1.5km beach run, I just didn't have the legs.

I finished in 3:41:13, which is almost exactly the same time as last year. Bearing in mind the guy who won this year and last year was 20minutes slower than his time last year, it safe to say that I have advanced significantly since last year. Finished 3rd in my age group...and would have been 4th in the pro's!! Next year...maybe I will make some money! Qualified for Xterra World Champ's in Maui...not a bad result.