Hello!

Since this is my first post here, I figured I should begin by introducing myself.  My name is Heather and I am an American living and working in Hamburg for a year.  I was a mountain bike racer when I lived in the US, but lately I have been trying out some triathlon events.  Not your typical triathlons though, cross triathlon so I get to ride my mountain bike and trail run! Last month I went to Italy for the first round of the XTERRA Europe series.  It was my first triathlon, my first open water swim and my first time in a wetsuit.  I had a great time, the XTERRA community is wonderful and who could complain swimming in beautiful water like this?! After Italy I decided that I really liked the XTERRA racing and thought it would be great to do all five races in the European series.  So, last week I traveled to France for the XTERRA France stop.  I ventured out of Hamburg on the night train, my first experience in a sleeper car and I was really looking forward to trying my second triathlon. My travel went smoothly and I rented a car to drive the final hour to the race venue.  Living in Hamburg, I get fairly excited when I arrive somewhere that has some elevation.  France was no exception, I was greeted with wonderful trails in the mountains surrounded by trees.  Before riding the course, I needed a quick nap to recover from my travel.  When I woke up there were grey clouds surround the area, so I quickly suited up to pre-ride the course.  The trails were incredible, and the downhill on the last few kilometers of the bike loop was amazing!  Luckily, I got done with my ride before any serious rain started. On race day we were not so lucky!  It rained most of the night and was still raining in the morning.  We started at 2pm, so the trails had plenty of time to take in the water and become muddy.  It was kind of strange lining up for the start of the swim with dark clouds and rain falling out of the sky.  I thought for sure I would freeze after the first transition, but I was warm from the swim and the outside temperature wasn’t too bad.  The bike leg took a long time, and was very difficult with all of the mud, but I survived.  I thought for sure I would be too tired to run, but my second transition went well.  I felt good on the first climb on the run and was surprised by the technical terrain once we turned into the trees.  I didn’t look over the run course the day before, so it was all new for me, and for sure the most technical run I’ve ever done.  Luckily we got two laps so I could test out my descending skills after seeing the course on lap one! All in all it was a great race, even if it took me almost four hours in the mud!  My bike is a bit sad, but I’m sure I’ll get it back to normal again soon.  I finished in 7th place, one spot better than in Italy and now I am ranked 6th in the XTERRA Europe standings.  Next stop, the Czech Republic and Germany for the European Championship the weekend after!      Heather

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