Farmington Four Corners XTERRA trip report

Just a few notes about the inaugural Four Corners XTERRA held in Farmington 06/07/08. I traveled out Friday late with another Los Alamos local (non-Triatomics member but I'm working on her) Kim Katko. It was nice to be able to pick up registration packets early race morning. It was even nicer to meet Laurie Goddard and Paul Graham in the parking lot of our hotel race morning and simply follow them over to the right spot. One of the hassles in Farmington, similar to their Grady Williams race, is that the swim start and the finish line are in different places so you have to arrange your own ride, or wait for a shuttle back to the start at the end of the race. It was nice being able to pick up packets, drop off bikes in T2/finish area (swim, run, bike order), and then leave one vehicle there, and take the other with all four of us over to the start/T1 area. There was lots of concern early on (months before race day) about water temperature, but it was 68F and fine. Still glad I had my wetsuit, although some hardy souls decided to go without. Hint for Farmington races: the area around Farmington Lake is sandy so it is nice to bring a little washtub with you that you can fill with lake water, leave next to your run stuff in T1, and then nicely rinse off your feet before putting on your run gear.
The swim was a two loop - you actually had to return to the beach and run up about 20 yards to re-enter again for the second loop - a lot like IM FL, and a nice break for my wussy arms. It's a brief sandy run to the transition area lined with fake green grass/carpet. Dunk my feet, strip my wetsuit, take forever to put my socks and shoes on, and I was off on the relatively firm trail around the lake leading to a mixed sandy/firm trail under the power lines over to Lion's Head Amphitheater. It was fairly well marked, although there were definitely a few places it was easy to veer off course. The sandy pits at the bottom of all of the little hills were a bit of a pain but overall not too bad. I came into T2 the number 4 woman, just behind another "old" lady (she was 46!), but thanks to my fear of clipless pedals on a mountain bike, I headed out of T2 ahead of her. A lead I promptly lost thanks to my inability to negotiate an early sand patch. As has been noted by other bloggers this year, practice riding the bike you're going to race on certainly helps your chances of succeeding. Dan had built me a very cool, new mtn bike this year but I had only taken the opportunity to ride it about 6 times prior to the race. My road bike practice came in handy for the few times we got on dirt roads and I was able to just put the hammer down, but my lack of mountain biking prowess became clear in all of the little twists and turns and sand pits. What's better than strongly grazing a tree because you can't make the turn in time? Doing it in front of a volunteer so that they ask if you're OK with a bit of a worried sound to their voice. Oops. I passed my closest competitor on one of the roads, but she soon passed me once it got technical again and that was the last I saw her. I was passed by another woman at some point as well, early in the ride. The ride itself was really quite fun - lots of whoop de doos, decent surface, very pretty, open scrub like the trail along the canyon rim in White Rock. Part of it is on the well-known Road Apple bike trail. There were two significant downhills on the course, both of which I very unabashedly walked. I knew I could ride them, but I also knew I wanted to come home to Dan and the kids without a cast. Sure could use more practice on that bike!
By the end of the race, I was pretty much all by myself on the trail (except for those volunteers - of which there were plenty), but it was well marked so I didn't get lost. I finished fifth woman overall, and quickly hooked up with 2 or 3 of the other women who had finished ahead of me and we all had a good laugh at my inability on the bike. The 46 year old made a comment about the fact that watching me after I had passed her on the bike, she knew she had me, because I just didn't look that comfortable and adept. No kidding.
Laurie came in soon after me and we both discussed how well-run the race had been. You never would have known it was their first year. And a very cool (pun intended) touch: they were handing out ice cold wet washcloths at the finish line - what a treat to wipe down with after the race. Laurie and I were able to go back and collect the car at the starting line, and come back and meet Kim and Paul dining on some excellent post-race cuisine. They had a very nice buffet meal setup. And for those who were interested in purchasing a race photo, the photographers already had proofs printed out so all you had to do was pick out your photos and you could purchase them on-site.
Nice awards as well - Mesa Verde-style ceramic bells for the top three in each age group.
Overall - a fun race, well run, and worth doing. The biggest drawback - having to choose between the Milkman and this race, as they were on the same day.