2012 Xterra Saipan

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since last years Xterra race.  This year was a special year because Guam and the Philippines are now also hosting Xterra Championship races in back-to-back-to-back weekends.  This lured in a fantastic group of pro's and international athletes to compete in what some say is the toughest and most beautiful Xterra courses.  This was my second time to race Xterra Saipan and I was hoping to improve my time from last year.  I changed some things up with my training and strategy, and ended up improving my performance.  

The race starts on the same beach where WWII Marines launched their attack in 1944.   The waters were a little rough and current was strong.  Nearly 80 competitors begin their swim.

This was my favorite section of the bike course, riding down the backside of Wireless Ridge.

With over 3000ft of climbing on the bike and nearly 1000ft on the trail run the race proved to be tough.

This is me finishing up the last section of the bike course.  In the background you can see me and Rachel's little red and white house.

Although I improved my run time from last year, I was cramping a lot and wasn't really happy with my run. I can definitely learn from this race to improve next time.

Rachel and friends volunteered at the transition area.

Some great people and amazing athletes.

I improved by almost 19 minutes from last year, click above to see a larger print of my results.

Me and Rach

Saipan Races

 Saipan has an awesome outdoor sports community. It seems like just about every weekend, there's some kind of race or athletic activity going on.  This year, Brian has been participating in a lot of races, either swimming, running, or mountain biking.  Up above is a picture from the Beach Road Magazine bike race in January.

This one is from the Northern Passage bike race by IT&E.  The race course wound through the jungles and up into the mountains of Saipan, into the Suicide Cliff area.

The whole group at the "Meek and Mighty" swimming race this Saturday.  The "Meek" was a 1km swim, and the "Mighty" a 5km.  The race was held in the lagoon just outside of PIC resort.  Brian swam the 5k as practice for the swimming addition of this year's Xterra race in March.  Thanks, Saipan, for all the great activities!

A warm-up triathlon in the weeks before Xterra.

Here comes the sun

Here's a plethora of spring time pictures. My wonderful Flametree Apt. neighbors and SNU friends, Liz and Laura. I love this pic of the three of us

Dying Easter Eggs at the Bucher's house on Easter Sunday

Grilling out at Grant and Kara's house- their back porch is the perfect place for this

Love this guy with all my heart

Brian at his awards ceremony for XTerra, receiving his medal

Liz and I at the beginning of the XTerra race- watching Brian do the swim portion

Amy and I at a Twilight watching party- love this pretty girl!

Us a few minutes ago at breakfast- right now we're sitting at Wild Bill's enjoying the super fast internet and eating omelettes, toast, and hashbrowns. Notice my super squinty eye??

A truth that God is helping me to understand and put into action this week: When I fix my eyes on Him, he will take care of all the details of my life. I don't need to worry. When you seek Him first, everything else falls into place and He gives you His peace.

2011 Xterra Guam

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to fly over to Guam and participate in the annual Xterra race. After my performance in the Saipan Xterra a gentleman named Joshua Berger sponsored me to race this event. I am honored to have the opportunity to race and represent Saipan.The Xterra Guam combines a 1km swim in the waters of Piti, followed by a 31km mountain bike up Nimitz Hill, then finishing with an amazing 8.2km trail run that navigates through jungle rivers and down slippery waterfalls.

The Port Authority waters were deep and calm unlike my nerves which were not calm. =)The bike section was my favorite, racing up Nimitz hill and into technical BMX like terrain. This red dirt trail was beautiful, overlooking the ocean and island around made it hard to keep my eyes on the trail. The run was probably the most memorable part of the race. It starts off as a pretty easy trail run up the hill then descending slippery waterfalls, splashing down waist-high rocky streams, then climbing through creaky bamboo forests.

Photo courtesy of Takamitsu Usami

I was really happy with my finishing results, I finished 7th overall and 1st in my age group.

Swim - 21:54 Bike - 1:48:06 Run - 56:07

2011 Xterra Saipan

Last Saturday I was able to compete in Saipan's annual Xterra triathlon. The race consisted of a 1.5 kilometer ocean swim, a 30k mountain bike with almost 3,000ft of climbing, and an epic 12k trail run that took us through heavy jungle and into caves used during World War II and along beautiful white sand beaches.

I was surprised to see a bunch of my friends out to support me at 6 o'clock in the morning. It was really great having a cheering section at all my transition points.

Feeling excited and nervous.

The night before Japan experienced an 8.9 magnitude earthquake which put Saipan under a major tsunami warning. The people of Saipan fled to the hills for evening. Luckily the extremely deep waters of the Marianas Trench outside of the island took all the energy out of the big wave before it hit. There was literally no damage here unlike the devastation in Japan and the damage in Hawaii and the West Coast. The effects of the tsunami were still present the next morning of the race. It was as if the ocean was breathing currents in and out of our lagoon, pushing swimmers in all directions and changing the depth of the water in an instant. It was a strange and surreal moment paddling through that water.

The mountain bike section was my favorite. Beautiful single track in the jungles, heart pounding climbs, with screaming downhill sections. It was rainy and wet and everything was very slippery, I had two memorable crashes where I luckily found myself in a soft bush.

As I came into my transitions I was always greeted by my friend Josh Franklin who came and took all these sweet pictures. Thanks Josh!

You can check out more xterra pics at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fjoshfranklin.com%2Fflaunt%2F%3F%252Fset%252F65b0%252Fbrian%252F&h=cc5aaakwI8F3roZJm5_FZx357lw.

My time was better than I expected. I finished 10th overall and I was the 5th man to cross the finish line. I even came in before a few of the pro's. I was stocked!!!

Swim-23:24 Bike-1:56:09 Run-1:13:32

It was really cool to be a part of a race like this. This was my first triathlon and I think I am hooked and I can't wait for my next Xterra race.