ATX - Xterra Triatlon

Traveling during the pandemic.

 Well, it’s been a long time since I write about races for known reasons. On this occasion, traveling across the world was not that easy. 

Flying to the USA from Italy, had as a requirement that I had a negative PCR COVID-19 test within 24 hours before flying, plus a declaration where I stated that I had no symptoms with all my information to be contacted in case needed.

As an athlete, of course we are never normal travelers, we carry our bikes, so this makes the trip even more exciting juggling with the bags. Luckily my MTB Scicon travel bag has been amazing so far, my bike always makes it in one piece and it´s easy to use.

Family trip

 My parents have always supported my passion for sport, and for this special weekend, we made a family trip out of the experience. You can see a bit of Austin in this video:

Race Day Thoughts

 Not having a chance to see the course before the race and being my first cross-country triathlon experience, had me feeling a bit insecure and nervous.

 After some thought, I decided that was just going to have fun and take it as it came.

Having this approach in mind made me calm down and laugh it out, although, nothing beats feeling confident and prepared.

 Swim

 Usually, swimming for me is one of my strong legs, however, as the swimming pools have been closed for the longest time, it was almost alien for me to wear my wetsuit again after a year.

The lake was not very deep, so there were parts where people just stood up and walked.  I guess my arms are not that long, for me to be forced to stand up, which allowed me to continue without stopping.

 The distance from the lake to the transition zone was maybe over a kilometer long, so we left our shoes by the shore to be able to run still half wearing the wetsuit, making it a heavy run.

 Cycling

 The cycling part was tough for me because my mountain bike skills are relatively new or in the making (being positive here). The route had single tracks with lots of stones and roots that kept me outside my comfort zone. 

The course consisted of 2 laps on the same course, feeling the pressure of all the people speeding to surpass me had me going through parts that I couldn’t even imagine doing on top of my bike before, conquering fears and limiting beliefs throughout the way.

 On the second round I was a lot calmer, but/for a rookie mistake, I did not check the screws under the shoes, and halfway the cleat was dangling with only one screw. Which meant one thing I could not get down from the bike and had to stay with my feet on the cleats as much as possible to make it with the shoe attached to the pedal.

 Running time

 Once I left my bike in the transition zone in one piece, I was ready to give everything left inside of me on that run.  A big motivation for me that that day was seeing my parents along the way, they really lifted my spirits to stay strong up until the finish line.

 Qualified to the XTERRA World Championship in Maui Hawaii

 This experience reminded me of episode 11 of TRICHARLAS with Maria Clara Baquerizo, where she shared that just by registering you are already a winner by being brave and losing the fears.  Not expecting to win first place in my age group nor being qualified for the World Championships, had me feeling quite surprised and happy for daring to do something different.

 Lessons Learned

 Check your equipment! I never stop learning all the little things that can go wrong until they do. My advice would be to ask around, what else should I check? find some examples:

·      that the cleats are well adjusted,

·      that the cords of your running shoes are not worn out, as they could rip,

·      don’t use new equipment, you haven´t tested

·      make sure you have enough water to make it to the next hydration point (it is not like before, we are expected as athletes, during this time, to be self-sustainable and carry our water with us).

Last but not least, I encountered that the Xterra tribe is so friendly and cool! I made so many friends in just a couple of hours, can’t wait for the next race!

Special Thanks!

Thanks to my awesome parents, sister, and my star friend Juan Pablo for making this race an unforgettable day.