XTERRA week!!!

Big week this week as I'll be competing in my first ever off-road race! I've never done a trail race (running or biking) before, and I'm really looking forward to sinking my chops into it. I have a great feeling that I'm going to be very strong in the dirt and should produce a good race result this weekend. No matter what happens though, I'm going into it looking to have fun. Being that it's my first one I'm sure there will be tons of room for improvement.

With that I'm also looking forward to doing some long distance mountain bike racing this november as well as the coming season. It would be great to do the Leadville 100, perhaps the Fools Gold 100, and a few stage races too if I can get them in there! The race I'm thinking about in November is a 6 hour race that I think will give me a good taste of what it's like to be on a mountain bike for a long time. The longest mountain bike ride I've ever had was 5 hours (on a rigid singlespeed nonetheless), so this will be new territory! Can't wait!

Also this winter I'm looking to get into some 'cross racing. Never dont this either so it should be a fun addition to my endurance sports arsenal.:)

I think the main thing with me at this point in time is that I'm looking forward to some adventure outside the realm of triathlon. I've been competing and taking this sport seriously for 2 years now, and I think I'm suffering some burnout. Like most people, I jumped headfirst into it, finding love at first sight with swimming, biking, and running until I couldn't stand up at the end of the day. While it's still my first love and passion from a sports standpoint, it'll be nice to take a step back and broaden my horizons. Even if I decided to take a complete year off from triathlong (which I don't necessarily intend to do), I still would like to ride and race my bikes as often as possible. And maybe even throw in an ultra run for fun:).

These final weeks of the season are going to be exciting, but at the same time my mind and body are looking forward to some well deserved rest. It's been quite a while since the last time I slept late on a weekend morning:).