Racing and then some more racing....

I spent the later part of last week working my Skinfit booth at the CA 70.3 expo. It was a very productive couple of days for Skinfit but I always forget how exhausting working an expo can be...the set up and break down are a lot of work and being on your feet all day for two days in a row is enough to break anyone! Anyway, it was fun, successful, and tiring all at the same time.
So, Saturday morning came way too fast but Mike Clinch and I powered up to Bonelli Park in San Dimas for Xterra Renegade. It was either do a hard workout on my own or go get in a race on the dirt...I opted for the race and I think it was a good call. Racing Xterra is always really hard and a shock to the system so I am glad I got in one race effort on the trails before the next two weekends of all-out =) efforts in Vegas and Waco. Managed a win, which is always nice but truth be told I was there for the workout and not much else (we had to get back to Oceanside to watch the "real" race...so stoked for James and Beth Walsh and Adam Zucco...they killed it!).
They changed the run course this year at Renegade making it crazy hilly, which I was happy about b/c Vegas AINT flat! I felt really sluggish in the water but it really wasn't that surprising after lugging around heavy boxes and working my ass off at the expo for two days. Once I got on the bike though I felt good and the run felt effortless. Overall, a good prep race and now the focus is on the "big ones" in Vegas and Waco. These ones count and everything else has been prep. So, it's time to rest up with plenty of easy workouts and some race intensity to keep the system firing.
What's blown me away the most so far this season is my ability to recover from these hard efforts. Almost like I didn't even go hard the days after when I am training...proof that all the aerobic base work I put in has paid off. After Superseal Adam and I strung together 3 HARD days...so, 4 hard days in a row (including the race) and I actually felt great everyday. I have never been able to bounce back from olympic distance racing the way I am now.
I am off to Vegas for the first stop on the tour this Thursday. I will have a lot of family and friends there so it will no doubt be good times. I am looking forward to this race a lot...it's always interesting b/c it's the first major event of the year stateside and usually EVERYONE shows up. Time to rock n' Roll!