Greg Abrahamson

Xterra Moab

2011-05-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

3rd overall
1st age group

My first triathlon of the season was a few weeks ago in Moab. I hadn't raced an Xterra since beaver creek last year so I was really excited. I love the riding in Moab so I jumped on the opportunity to race a technical Xterra. Natalie decided at the minute to enter the Olympic Triathlon the same day. We drove out to Moab Friday night and got a camp spot for the wend.

The race went much better than expected as I was just coming off a foot injury and less training time. I ran my first marathon in early January this year and got injured. I took almost 2 1/2 months off of running to try and fix my foot. With a little luck I started running again in early April. In the meantime i was swimming and biking a bit which gave me some fitness. I have less time to train this year because I'm going back to night classes to get my MBA at UC - Denver. It was a bit of an unknown of how I hold up for a 3 hour race.

The race started out in Kens lake just south of downtown Moab. A brisk 58 degree swim started the day and went by so so.. I think I swam a bit under 25 minutes which is pretty good for me. I came out of the water in the top 15 or so. I felt pretty good and saved quite a bit of energy for the hard bike course. Within a few minutes of riding we started climbing a technical trail that was a bit of everything - sand, slick rock, singletrak and some stream crossings. I loved the technical course! I made a few quick passes and a spectator told me I was in 2nd. I was shocked! I thought i was still pretty far behind from the front of the race so that was a good boost. By the end of the bike I got passed by one guy - Nick Fisher. He was flying, but I tried to stick with him on the technical climb. I only kept him in sight for 5-10 minutes and he was gone. By now I was sitting comfortably in 3rd. I ended up in no mans land for the rest of the race. On the run I knew I had way too much time to make up and 1,2 had a solid 5+ minutes. The bike course was an out and back so I could judge how far I had to catch the leaders. I ended up running a solid pace the whole run and felt strong to hold onto 3rd. I was really happy with my run. Th whole time I was just waiting for my legs to give out but that never happened.

May & June

2010-06-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

As usual, it's been awhile since my last post. I broke my wrist back in early May. I had a freak accident (front tire exploded) while mtb. biking in Moab and went flying over the bars on the Slickrock Trail...and was in a cast for 8 weeks. I had no idea I broke my hand and didn't go to the doctors for a week and a half. Finally I caved in and got it xrayed and found I broke my wrist.

I thought most of my triathlon season would be a bust since I couldn't ride except for the tranier... BUT, I found some aerobars on ebay that I could rest my hand on w/ out putting pressure on my wrist! I was able to start training again real light and have built up to riding 1-2 hrs w/ pain. I'm signed up for the Boulder Tri Series which you can't get a refund for. So, I'm glad I'll be able to keep training somewhat.

Despite the cast, my running has been going great. I did 3 running races in the past month and set a PR on each one. Here is a quick recap:

BolderBoulder 10K - 37:29 (7th out ~460) Felt real strong the entire race. Eased into the race since I got zero warm-up! Awesome race and definitely recommend doing it at least 1x.

Steamboat 1/2 Marathon - 1:25:55 (10th out of 1,000). Natalie, her sister Genny and I raced. It was a great test to see how I'll hold up in the Boulder 70.3 this summer. I felt solid the first 9 miles and then struggled from mile 9 - 11.

Stroke n stride - 5K - 17:50

Changes for 2010

2010-04-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

2010 started off w/ a bang and lots of changes. My dad came to visit Natalie and I back in February and he helped me put in hardwood floors (Thanks Dad!). He was such a huge help and I could never done have done this alone. They turned out really nice. Here is a shot down the hallway.

It was a long process though and took almost an entire week of working 10-12 hr days. I could barely move for a few days afterward!

Our reward after laying the floorfor 5 days straight was 2 powder days at Winter Park!

Dad cruising in the powder, his first time ever skiing in Colorado.

I also got my new Tomac a few weeks ago for the upcoming Xterra andMtb. season. It's gonna be a nice change to ride a Hardtail and save about 5 lbs. off of my race bike last yr!

I started a new job in N. Boulder about 2 months ago and also joined Flatirons Athletic club. It's been a huge change from the Rec center swims the past few seasons. I actually swim for more than 30 minutes at a time! I have been doing masters swim 2-3x/week for 2 months or so. This consists of 1 to 1:30 hrs of swimming outside in a heated pool...so cool! I'll find out soon enough once the season starts up if it's paid off. My splits have been improving, so hopefully that'll translate well into racing. You never know though.

This year I'm doing the Boulder Tri Series w/ Natalie. It'll be different than the last few years racing just Xterras. BUT... it'll be nice to be racing on this guy
I got a Van Dessel TT bike. I built it up w/ SRAM Rival and I'm going to use Ritchey carbon wheels from cross season. My goal is to go under 4:30 in the Boulder half-ironman. I better get training.

Redfeather Snowshoe Racing Team

2010-01-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

I was accepted a few months ago to race w/ the Redfeather Snowshoe Team this winter. I'm really excited for the opportunity and hope to improve my running in the process. The team is stacked with some great talent and I'm real motivated to get faster! The team has some awesome sponsors including Northface, GU, FuelBelt, Smith and of course Redfeather snowshoes.

Above is a pic of some of the gear. I got the race kit earlier this week and they are so rad. The design is real nice and slick. I'm blown away by the how warm the kit yet really thin.

I rec'd 2 sets of snowshoes to race with; the Vapor (white pair below...smaller surface area and lighter) and the Race (more for powder). The Vapor is my favorite so far b/c of the size and weight. It's a prototype version for 2010 and are the smallest version that USSA will allow in racing.

My first race is this weekend (tomorrow) up in Netherland call Hardwater. It's an 11 miler race on the Sourdough TH up to Brainaird Lake. I'm not sure how I'll do since I took a few weeks off after cross season back in December and I've only been running for 3 weeks or so consistently.

My tentative winter racing schedule is:

Nighthawks Race Series - Wednesday night race series starting in January (2-4K) Snowshoe - Eldora Ski Area (Nederland, CO).
Jan. 17 - Colorado State Championships 10k in Leadville.
Feb. 14 - Screamin' Snowshoe race (Nederland, CO)
March 6 - Nationals in Fabius, NY (probably won't be able to make it b/c of work)
March 20 - Steamboat Pentathlon in Steamboat Springs, CO. (5 mile snowshoe, along with bike, XC and downhill ski, 5M run)

Racing in the mud!

2009-11-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

I did this weekend's cross race on Saturday: School Yard Cross Race. I had my best cross race of the season landing 12th place in the Men's Open. I haven't had the best starts this year, partly because I'm usually in the back row (I have no ACA points yet) and partly because I've been more conservative than previous years so I don't blow up! This race was no different and I started out in the 20s. By mid-race I had moved up to mid teens or so and was riding with a group of guys taking pulls. I actually felt really good on the flats, which is unusual for me. I managed to sneak away from this group and catch up to another group on the 2nd to last lap. Surprised that I had some good energy for the end of the race, I attacked this group and managed to hold them off. Hopefully I can build on this and have a nice finish to the season. Only a few races left. The bad news was I realized my front wheel (carbon) has a crack. Bummer! I've only raced on them 4 or 5 times this season so I'm really disappointed. I need to find some pictures to upload. Maybe next time.

Summer is here... time to race!

2009-07-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's summer time, which means lots of races. Here is a picture from Superior, Co. There is some really nice singletrack 1.5 miles from my job. Nice lunchbreak ride or run always makes the day go by. The wildflowers are out in full effect.

I've been full on racing now for about a month and a half since the wedding. Here is a brief recap of all the races I've been doing to catch up.

Winter Park MTB Series -

Race # 1 6/13 - I signed up for the whole series this year for the first time ever. 6 MTB races throughout the summer. In the opening race, I used my cyclocross rig to do the hillclimb event, which went from the base straight to the top. Ended up in 4th place. Not bad, but know I can do better.

Race # 2 - 6/27 - A field of about 15 guys for my age group toed the line. Landed in 3rd place, after sprinting for 2nd and 3rd. I ended up 1:13 off the win over a 17 mile course. I was real happy with this, b/c it was a good sign I was building some fitness. Did a run in the afternoon for about an hour which didn't feel great, but wanted to see how I would respond.

Race # 3 - 7/11 - Felt the best I have all year today. Hammered a bit to hard at the start though and almost lost my breakfast! Settled into a good pace after that and slowly picked off riders all the way up to 2nd place (missed 1st by 1:10 again!) The same person (Dave Messiehemer) has won the first 3 races. I'm really gunning to win one of these things by the end of the season. 2 more to go. I've got to start climbing a bit better if I want to have a shot. Hopefully all these races will help me in August/Sept. Camped out after the race and did a night ride with Ryan, bringing ride time up to 4.5 hrs for the day. Nice training weekend. Even better hanging out w/ friends around the campfire.

Stroke n Stride Races:

The stroke n stride races are a combination of swimming 1,500M/run 5k. I signed up for a 6 pack and have done 4 so far. These are great training races and definitely should help me improve my swim a little. Natalie has been coming out to these and doing great too. She just bought a new wetsuit and is all excited to try out some more triathlons. I wish I was as motivated as her to get in the pool! Maybe I'll take some lessons and get my butt to the rec center before work.

Xterra Beaver Creek - Mountain Cup Race

7/18 - This past weekend was my first Xterra of the season, which was also the Mountain Cup race (Regional Championship race). There was the usual suspects at the race, and I was hoping for a descent finish. I ended up placing 3rd in my age, but had mixed feelings about the race. Overall, I was pretty happy to make the podium, but there are some things I really need to improve if I want to win one of these things! The swim went well, all things considered and I came out in good shape. Heading out to the bike course is a 6 mile climb, straight up. I'm not the best climber on long sustained climbs, so it was a bit tough to get going. I was a bit bummed I couldn't suffer more on the first climb. Oh well, maybe next time. The rest of the bike was uneventful and I managed to pass a few guys. Onto the run, it was a bit ugly. I was passed by a few guys, but tried to hold my owe for the most part... My stomach cramped up right away (total run and I was just in survival mode. I don't know why I was feeling so cramped, but it really put a dampener on my race. Up to this pt. I was going strong. I'm not sure if it was my nutrition during the race that caused this. I used 3 GUs and they all had caffeine. Plus, I had a large coffee before the race. Might have been caffeine overload. I'm going to try out some new stuff/nutrition in training to see if that helps at all.

The MORF Crew is really starting to put up some great results. I'm excited for the rest of the season and hopefully more good stories and results to post soon. I need to get some good photos too.

Sealing the deal

2009-06-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

It's been over 2 months since my last post. So much has happened, but to get you caught up on the important stuff... I Got hitched in late May and then was off to Costa Rica for a full week for our honeymoon. Great times to say the least! Natalie and I had a blast at the wedding and with all of festivities w/ friends and family in town. All the hard work paid off. Here are a few shots. We have over 200 photos from CR so it's hard to pick just a few.

In the rainforest near Jaco, C.R.

We did an ocean kayak tour that included snorkeling along a reef. The guide was really cool. It was quite the experience. He caught some fish by hand and then came up to me underwater and I held the fish.

Feeding an Iguana post mid-kayak stop. Yummy.
We stayed 2 days near the Aernal Volcano. This volcano is active and last erupted in 2007. The hot springs we stayed in was pure paradise.

We got back from Costa Rica and by the next weekend we were racing again. The MORF team got the new kits from Curve for both cycling and tri events last week. Really exciting! It's nice to see all the work we put into designing them. Curve did an awesome job.

Teva Games.

The riding and racing has started to come around a bit and hopefully I'll have some good fitness for the summer Xterra's/Mtb. races.

Fruita at the perfect time of year.

2009-03-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the past few weeks have been great on the riding/training front. Ryan, Erik, Pete and I packed up the car last Friday night and went up to Fruita to enjoy some nice weather (70s and sun) and do some mountain biking. It was a blast. Thanks guys!!!

We found a nice camp spot just outside of town and setup. Here are some shots from the trip:

Endless singletrak

Part of the 5 + epic ride on Saturday

Horses Teeth Trail down... lots of bikers!

Mid ride lunch stop. Hydrating at the car

Winter Worlds - Fire 'n Ice!

2009-03-11T14:03:00.001-07:00

I was able to accomplish my goal of winning the 'Fire and Ice' Award (for Amateurs) this past weekend. Check out the race report and results. It was such a fun weekend in. I'd really recommend this to anyone that is thinking about doing it. Very well run by Xterra and Snowbasin Mt. was really such a great host. The whole course was real challenging and planned very well. The ski patrol and plenty of volunteers did an awesome job.

Pre-race... in transition... lots of gear!

Natalie before her 5k snowshoe. She won her Age group and got 2nd female. Nice Job!

The race started off on Sunday in the 30s and sunny, which made for an interesting mtb. bike in the snow! It was slushy and really sketchy from the start. I had a great start and managed to stay in the top 10 for the first 15 minutes or so, then slowly fell back a bit. The conditions got worse as the bike went on. It was a 5k loop that we did 2x, so the 2nd lap thru all the tire marks made it almost impossible. I ended up running most of the 2nd lap unfortunately and lost a bit of time. I also managed to go flying over my handlebars at one point. Luckily my body and bike were fine and I got right back up.

The run and snowshoe were uneventful for the most part, but hard. The snowshoe was thru some nice powder trails in the woods - all up and down. By the time I go to the ski mountaineering portion I was exhausted. I had no clue of how I was doing b/c the race seemed so spread out. I was already roughly 2 hrs into the race and temps were now closer to 40 degrees. Starting up the 1st skinning section right out of transition (1,300 ft. of climbing) was tough. The course went up a diamond downhill run that went straight up so you could see the competition ahead and behind. I started out solo from transition and eventually was caught by some racers w/ randonee equipment. I had tele gear, which went downhill fine, but lugging an extra 4-5 lbs up the mt. was obvious. My skins weren't sticking at the steepest part, so I had to 'side' step up the mt. Very slow. That took some effort and I was cooked by this point. From there it was just survival mode. I kept thinking I came all this way for the race, so I better keep moving. Luckily I reached the top and the ski down went great. 2 more transitions and 2 more skins on/off (another 1,000 ft) I crossed the finish line! 17th overall and 2nd in my Age group.

Podium shot - getting the 'Fire and Ice' Award
Here is one of my teammates - Justin Hurd. He won the $500 dash for cash snowboard race on Saturday... then got an interview w/ xterra.tv! pretty cool stuff. Justin took 6th in the pro race on Sunday as well.

Running into transition.

Skiing Steamboat

2009-02-19T17:31:00.001-08:00

What a workout! Hiking up Steamboat Mt. on skins during the sunrise was great this weekend. 4 of us climbed up Steamboat using tele gear. Here is a photo near the top of the gondola. It was 2,500 ft. of climbing that went straight up. I was still feeling a bit under the weather, but decided to go for it anyway. It was worth it.

14 inches of fresh powder was waiting at the top!

Here is a view during the hike up. Steamboat in the background. Great views.

Genny (Natalie's sister) and Pete (BF)

Along with a snowshoe and skate ski over the long weekend, we went to the Strawberry Hot Springs on Monday. Now it's time to get ready for the trip to Utah for the big race in 2.5 weeks.

Nuggets game and trying to get Healthy

2009-02-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

I went to the Nuggets/Spurs game last week with some of my buddies from Denver. I hadn't seen them in a long time so it was good to catch up. They have season tickets 8 rows off the court.. Pretty nice! I enjoyed the game, but the Spurs 3 all-stars were all benched. They were 'tired' from the previous nights game. That wass a bummer but at least the Nuggets won.

I ended up getting sick for the first time in a long time late last week and it's still kinda of bothering me. Mainly a sore throat and lack of energy. So, training has not been going to well lately. I'm hoping to pick it back up this weekend. Natalie and I are going to Steamboat for 3 days to ski, snowshoe and hang out. It should be a good time.

A photo of the snowshoe race a few weeks ago...coming into the finish.

I met with Curve last week to talk about jersey designs and our Xterra team - MORF Racing. It was really exciting and I'm hoping we'll have our team kits ordered in a few weeks. Curve is a really cool company and based right in our backyard - Boulder, Co.

Screamin' Snowshoe Race Report

2009-02-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

I did the 10k snowshoe race in Eldora today with Natalie. It was hard! Being my first snowshoe race I could use some practice. A few ideas came to mind during the race:

1. Kicking up snow on your back/legs for over an hour is cold.

2. Failing in the snow up to 3-4 feet deep is also cold.

3. Wearing thin gloves in 25 degree temp is ... cold.

All in all, the race went well. It was a sunny, but cold day in Windora. As you can tell, I was freezing by the time I finished. It took me over an hour to warmup afterwards. My running shoes were covered in ice and the tights I wore had icy patches on them. I ended up getting 2nd in my age and 7th overall. Natalie did great and finished 20th female. See more for results. I was happy, especially b/c it was my first hard workout of the year. There were a few Xterra pros that raced that took the first few spots. They took off right from the gun. I didnt' even try and stay with them. It went straight up for the first 2 miles or so. It was a run/walk mix uphill and then we went into some deep powder.

Snowshoe racing is much harder than I expected. I thought it'd be simliar to trail running. Not the case! Running thru the deep snow takes some skill and different muscles than just simply running. I'm excited to try another one someday. I guess I'll get my chance at Xterra Worlds.

Other than that, I took this week real easy training wise. I got in a few ski runs this afternoon and I went for a mtb bike ride yesterday, which was nice n warm. In the 50s and sunny. I also did a swim and a run or two mid-week.

I hope to have some photos on my next post, but I didn't bring my camera to the race today.

Go to www.skipixs.com for race photos in case your interested.

MORF Team Videos

2009-01-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

The weeks have been flying by lately. I left off last time talking about some good news... The news is Natalie and I booked our flights to Costa Rica for our honeymoon! Neither one of us have ever been there. Can't wait! It's only 4 months away :). We're going to be staying right on the ocean in a rainforest.

On the training front, riding and running have been going well. Check out our team blog - MORF. Ryan made two really good videos. One is from this weekend doing some Randonee skiing in Eldora and the other is last weekend mountain biking. It was 30s and snow this weekend compared to 70s and sun last weekend. Only in Colorado!

I just got back from a cold run in the snow, so this will be a short post w/ no pics.

2009 Already???

2009-01-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years to everyone. 2008 is over and done with. It was a great year. A few of my highlights were:

1. Getting engaged to Natalie!
2. Competing in the Xterra World Championships for the 1st time
3. Buying a house
4. Getting a new job

Alright, enough on 2008. Hopefully 2009 will bring good things as well. I'm sure it will. My workouts have finally started to come back a little after a fun off-season. I started commuting to work a few times a week which has been nice. It's only about 7 miles each way, but it keeps me motivated and a great way to get out an enjoy the day.

The backgrounds on my commute. No cars, no traffic to deal with. The only thing I have to watch out for are the prairie dogs, skunks and other random animals.

Lots of ducks! These ducks look frozen solid. It must have been in the 20s the day I took this photo. They sure make a lot of noise too. Maybe that's how they stay warm? I don't know. MORF Team photo. On New Years Day the MORF crew and friends got to play in the snow on skis and snowshoes. It was a great day, even though there was a lack of snow. Thanks to Ryan and Vanessa, we had a great cabin hang out and sleep for on New Year's Eve.

I have other exciting news but I'll save that for another post soon. Adios

Skiing

2008-12-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to everybody (the 2 or 3 people who read this!) Here are a few photos from Steamboat Springs. Took me forever, but I lost my USB cable.

Aspens!

The crew heading into Buff Pass. There are campsites all around this area where we started out. Last summer we went camping here before Natalie did the Steamboat Marathon. A fun place to visit...I hope to go back later this winter at some point.

CRASH! I'm not sure how I ended up like this, but I got stuck! I know it doesn't look steep, but there was a lot of powder which makes it hard to ski...I need to practice before Xterra Winter Worlds.

Other than working way too much and planning our wedding, I've been skiing on the weekends up at Eldora. I managed to get a few good workouts in a row for the first time since Maui. Hopefully I'll start to get out on the bike a little more if the weather cooperates. I did a long road ride Sunday with Erik b/c it warmed up to the 50s. Have a Happy New Year and get out and ride!

Steamboat Springs

2008-12-18T18:43:00.001-08:00

Went up to Steamboat Springs last weekend and did some real fun skiing and hung out with Natalie's twin sis and her bf Pete. We had a blast skiing both days. Steamboat is such a fun town.

Saturday we skinned up Buff Pass (just outside of Steamboat) and skied down, which was a first for me. I got to try out my skins and learn how to take them off after climbing up. I know I'll have to get better at this before Xterra Winter Worlds. It was tough going uphill especially b/c my back has been hurting so bad lately. I crashed a few times coming down in the deep powder, which made it hurt more :). Oops.

We woke up Sunday AM to 14 inches of FRESH Powder. Gotta love it! The MT. was in great shape besides temps after the wind chill. I'll take it any day though. It was well worth it. After skiing all day we went to the Hot Springs in town to end a great weekend.

I have some great photos, but they are loaded to my computer yet. Maybe I'll update them sometime soon for the 2 to 3 readers I have!

Work has been killing me lately, so I've barely been training. Glad it's still the off-season I guess.

MORF Racing & Ski season

2008-12-08T15:02:00.001-08:00

Natalie and I went skiing for the first time this season on Saturday up at Eldora Mt. I tried out my telemark skis that I just picked up off of craigslist. It was great to be out skiing again, but I need some practice on the tele skis. We went for a trail run/snowshoe hike after. It was fun going on the same trails that the Xterra Indian Peak Run follows.

A few of us decided to start up a new Xterra Racing Team for 2009. Check out www.morfracing.com. It's still under construction.

I wonder who is going to win Cyclocross National Championships this weekend? I hope Todd Wells can pull it off... I'm glad the weekend is almost here. It's been a long week at work and my back has been bothering me again. I didn't get to race last weekend b/c of it. I can still ride my bike going easy, but if I put any effort in it locks up.

In the Artic for the next week or so

2008-11-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

I'm back home at my parents house in Upstate N.Y. for Thanksgiving. They live in a small town called Ballston Lake, which is 2 and 1/2 hours north of NYC. So far the weather has been between 15 - 30 degrees since I got here Wed. Take that temp. and subtract another 15 - 20 degrees for the wind = COLD!

I went for a nice long run yesterday and it was actually pretty fun despite the weather. I ran on all the trails I grew up riding mtb. bikes on as a kid. It's changed big time. Most of the trails are grown in, have 'NO Trespassing signs' and plenty of 4 wheeler ruts in them. I managed to escape with no sprained ankles or being chased off the property which was nice. The ground was frozen solid which made for tough footing. I got in 10 miles which makes that my 2nd longest run to date.
Yes that's ice... I was confused. Leaving Colorado last week it was 70 degrees... I was getting use to the mild fall. oh well, that's the east coast for you.
Other than that I've been sleeping in lately, eating my mom's homemade cookies (uumm) and catching up with friends and family. Natalie gets here Tuesday and then were heading up to Saratoga Springs on Thanksgiving Day to do the 5k Turkey Trot. After that it's even further up North into the Adirondacks to stay with relatives. I think there will be plenty of snow up there and I even brought my skis just in case. The weather is even worse up there though. Maybe a high of 15 or 20 if your lucky. For now I'm gonna just try and stay warm...time for some more cookies :)

Cyclocross racing

2008-11-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

I did the Louisville Cross race Saturday (part of boulderracing.com series) and it was HARD! I haven't ridden much in the past 3 weeks since Maui and my legs and lungs could tell. It was real fun to get out and race though. I had a great workout even though I ended up towards the back of the pack. I think I was mid 30s out of 50 or so starters.
Here are some pics (thanks http://www.krusetime.blogspot.com/ for the photos).

Season Finished

2008-11-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

So my 2008 season is done. I might do a few cyclocross races, but no real training for a while. I like racing cross because you can usually be competitive and it doesn't mean riding lots. It's only 1 hour of racing so it's short enough to just ride a few times a week. Looking back on my 2nd season doing Xterra's I was real happy. I ended up getting 3rd at Nationals in my age group (season goal) and top 10 at Worlds in my age group (another goal!). I'm hoping to finally improve my swim for next season and bring it up to another level.

It's NBA season and I'm a big Nuggets fan. For those of you who don't know, they traded Allen Iverson, which is a bummer. He was my favorite player, but I think Chancey Billups will replace him pretty well. Maybe they'll actually win a playoff game this season? I hope they can put out a good year.

It's suppose to snow tommorow in Denver and I can't wait for the ski season. I have a pass at Eldora Mt. this year and I'm excited to learn how to teleski and do some nordic skiing too.

Here is a photo from Maui a few weeks back. I guess it is hard to think about snow since I was sitting on the beach only 2 weeks ago. I started a new job the Monday I got back from Maui, so it's been a blur every since... funny how quick you can go from being totally stress free to working 10 hr. days stressing.

Podium at Tahoe. Congrats to Luke Jay on such an awesome season. I think he won 5 or 6 Xterras. Impressive.

Worlds - Maui Race Report

2008-11-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

Xterra World Championships - Maui, My Xterra Season ended on a high note for my personal goals of a top 10 at Worlds in my age group.

My results were:
- AG 9th place - 1st american in AG
- 10th amatuer american
- 81st Overall

The race was such a great experience and lived up to all the hype. The swim was crazy with almost 600 racers going at once and the bike course was brutal. The heat was the big factor as you'd expect. I think I drank my 50 oz. camelback in about 45 minutes! By the time I hit the run I was just holding on trying not to bonk. By the time I hit the sandy beach it was survival mode to the finish.

Here is my buddy Matt, who made the trip out from New Hampshire to enjoy Maui and be my support crew.

Paradise... one of the beachs we saw a bunch of turtles.

I spent the rest of the week traveling Maui w/ some friends. One of the highlights was riding down a volocano. It was the - Haleakala Mt. Bike ride (thanks to Ryan's parents who shuttled us up the moutain - thanks!). This ride started at 10,000 ft. on top of the Volcano - Haleakala. We descended for over 7,000 ft. in about 18 miles down the Skyline Trail. It was the biggest descent I've ever done by far.

I'd definitely like to go back and do this race again some day.

Countdown to Maui

2008-10-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

So I decided to start a blog to follow my racing, training and just life. This is my 2nd season racing Xterras and I've been hooked since first race at Crested Butte in '07. This Friday I leave for Maui for the final race of the season. It's my first year qualifing for Worlds and I'm really excited to get out there and see what everyone has been talking about. Training lately has been pretty low key for the past week or so. Just trying to stay sharp and not work out too hard has been the plan. It's so late in the season that it's hard to do much else. I'm fully rested and just ready to race now. Here is a shot from Tahoe a few weeks ago. I ended up in 3rd in my age group. I was happy with my race overall, especially the bike and run. I know I can swim faster, but I think the cold and 300 + racers going at made for a slow swim.

Here is a photo of me and my fiancee - Natalie. I proposed in Emerald Bay in Lake TAhoe and she ... said Yes!

Over the last month, I've been doing a lot of riding in the high country along with some trail runs and hiking. The aspens have been great. The singletrack in Ned seems endless.

Well, that was a big first post for me. I even figured out how to upload some photos. Wish me luck in Maui!