Pre XTERRA West...Lake Las Vegas...

I am currently sitting in the hotel room at the Loews Lake Las Vegas and have just pre-ridden the mountain bike course. Wow! It is going to be rough. The first 3 miles have an incredible amount of climbing and the downhills are quick, but loose. It is going to be about staying on my wheels and continuing forward movement. I just have to think that its only about 17 miles and climbing is a strength of mine. I only have one shot this year at a title and qualifying for the world championships in Hawaii in October. It has to start with a solid swim. I need to stay within my limits and keep the pressure on the whole time and not become stuck in cruise control. Then the bike is going to be about continuing the pressure, but at a reasonable pace. It is going to be really easy to burn out on the first lap and lose a lot of ground on the second. Everything I have left is going to be wasted on the run. The run is very hilly as well and the key is to hang tough the first lap and give it your all on the second. I am going to try not to push the uphills and hammer the down. We will have to see how my run fitness is because of being out for 4 weeks rehabing my stress fractures. Plus, I have never ran off a mountain bike before. It will be interesting to see how my legs handle the different bike position into a run.
Stay tuned for a race recap early this week...