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

Biking up to Mt. Topochau

One of the best decisions we've made in Saipan this year was to have Brian's bike mailed to us from America. One of Brian's good friends was so great and took the time to get it out of our storage unit, pack it up, and mail it over here (not such an easy process!). Brian has been on his bike just about every day since!

He loves riding up Navy Hill to the top of Mt. Topochau. When you reach the top, there is a breathtaking view of the whole island of Saipan, including the ocean all around you. I've never biked up there (haha!) but I love driving up there at sunset and seeing the view.

Here's some excellent picture my husband took from up there- I love the ocean view in the background. Enjoy!

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.

Now that's some major dedication

This morning, due to some serious jet-lag, I was up at 5:20 with my husband, hanging out with him while he ate his breakfast. Why did he wake up this early? Because he biked to work (and back, 24 miles in all) of course! Brian's training for Saipan's XTerra race in march, and he was up at the crack of dawn to get some training in. That's my man!

Central Cross Island Highway

CIMG1605, originally uploaded by BriMorris82.

2 days - 220 kilometers - 3500 meters of climbing - Cycling the infamous Central Cross Island Highway = One of the best bike trips I've ever done. I feel lucky that my pictures turned out so good. Most of my shots are taken while riding. I'd love it if you check them out, click the picture and it will take you to my flickr album - Enjoy!

Hi Everyone!

Please pray for Brian while he's on his biking trip this weekend- please pray for their safety while they are riding through the mountains and for their safe return on Sunday. Thanks and pictures of his trip to come soon! Rach

Thoughts on Leaving

Hello Everyone,

We've been trying to update our blog more often, and I'm actually starting to really enjoy it! Here's a plethora of thoughts right now:

- Today is my day off and I've been packing and packing. Something I really love about traveling/living overseas is that it keeps your possessions simple. When you move around a lot, you just can't have a lot of stuff, and it's a really good incentive to get rid of old clothes and things we don't really use. I've got a coworker who is my size and she is going to get lots of presents on Monday!

-Brian's work gave us free tickets to see Inception tomorrow, at the new theatre that opened in Taipei Main Station. We're going with all of his coworkers tomorrow night- can't wait I've heard its amazing

-Yesterday was our one year anniversary in Taiwan... and I celebrated by getting my foot ran over by a taxi! It was really painful, but thank goodness nothing was broken! Crazy. I was on my scooter at a stop light, and the taxi behind me (and to the right) just couldn't wait for the light to turn green. He drove up right beside me, and right over my four toes and half of my foot! AND, the entire time, he was beeping his horn at me, like I was in his way! Taipei taxi drivers are actually really dangerous, and when I told my friend Alex, he said the same thing happened to him awhile ago... guess it's pretty common around here!

- I only have 15 more official days at work... I'm actually really sad about it. This year, I've had just about the best team of co-workers that you can have. Hopefully, though, we can all visit each other sometime in the future- they are all from different, really cool places all around the world: Canada, New Zealand, London, and America.

- Brian is taking a weekend biking trip through the mountains of Taiwan next weekend, so get ready for some beautiful pictures pretty soon! And be sure to check out the video he put in the post below- it's really cool.

Rachel