Blog
Xterra Greece - May the 4th be with you!
10th May 2016
4th of May, I'm flying out to race the 4th edition of Xterra Greece. I have raced here twice before and both times finished 4th! Would this time be different?!
Xterra Greece is the only event I will have done every year since I started racing Xterra* - which is testament to the hard work and passion of the organisers - they always deliver a great event and make me want to keep coming back! This year the race has moved to the new location of Vouliagmeni - starting on the same beach as the Olympic triathlon of 2004. This is actually my favourite part of the race - swimming in the crystal waters, and then chilling out on the private beach at the finish!
Since I've finished 4th in the last two years, I would love to say this was the year that I stepped up onto the podium. But the strength of athletes continues to improve and it gets tougher to secure a top three finish. Although it was a small women's field, half the ladies on the start list were European Champions or World medallists. Realistically anything above last place in this Pro field would be a bonus, knowing I have had far from an ideal build-up to the season.
I felt I hadn't properly recovered from a tough race in Romania. I was too tired to recce the course properly, and badly needed to get a pre-race massage - if only Alex was here from Drummond clinic! Luckily another GB athlete in our hotel stepped in (thanks Gavin!) Without this, a couple of days before the race, I thought it would be difficult to get round without seizing up with cramp again.
On the other hand, I know that anything can happen in a race, and I usually seem to have good luck in Greece!
I was most excited to see the bike course headed out through an underpass - which meant riding down flights of steps... however we were told that there would be no riding on race day, as runners and bikers would be passing in both directions and it would be too dangerous. Gutted! I have been practising the steep stuff with coach Tom...
The rest of the bike course went up into the mountains above Vougliameni, it was stunning with panoramic views across the sea, but also required full concentration on the terrain! It was definitely a high risk course for crashing - not difficult to ride as such, but very easy to ride too fast and overcook one of the loose gravel corners - as several athletes found out to their cost! (Hope you are OK Matt...?!) We don't really see this terrain in the UK - very dry, loose, gravely descents, we are much more used to mud! In hindsight I was a bit annoyed with myself for riding too cautiously, but better to get round in one piece. On the steep climbs I avoided pushing out at 100% in case it triggered more cramps, but I think the massage made the difference and thankfully everything was OK.
Because of taking the bike a bit easy, I was genuinely surprised how good my legs felt going into the run. It was nice to run with no pressure though - knowing the time gaps ahead and behind me were at least 10 minutes, and that it was not really possible to close unless something drastic happened. It made a change to actually enjoy the run with no need to empty the tank and then feel sick for the rest of the day!
I was happy to cross the line in 4th place again - it must be my lucky number here! Congrats to Helena, Brigitta and Ladina who made up the podium.
It was great having Simon here to support, and a good British contingent to hang out with. None of us brought the British weather this time, so Kostas has already invited us back next year! ;)
* Facebook tells me it is 2 years to the day since I raced my first ever Xterra (Malaysia in May 2014). I can't believe it was only 2 years ago, I can't actually imagine or remember my life without off-road triathlon now! But sometimes I should remind myself I am actually still quite new to this sport, and hopefully still have plenty of years left to improve!
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