Xterra Alberta

[Andrew]

Wow, what a week-end. New faces, old friends, and some great results from the BPR crew.

Highlight of my trip was seeing Greyson (our newest BPR member) pulling wheelies on everyone's bikes the night before the race, with a permanent grin on his face, while Pete had Brock fine tune his ride. It was no surprise that after Brock had gone everyone's bikes the day before the race, that there was not a single mechanical failure on any of the BPR bikes during the race.

As for me, I was ecstatic with my performance...first out of the water in the "old men's" category, as the 40-and-over men had their own wave start, 15 minutes behind the women, and 15 minutes ahead of the young guns.

I rode hard, trying to keep my lead, but also rested on some of the flatter sections, to save myself for later in the race, when I thought I would eventually get caucght by the real MTB riders of Canmore. I hit T2 feeling pretty darn good, and had seen Myra, Cindy, and Ginny all on the second lap, and had a chance to cheer them on, and get some energy from their enthusiasm. I had still not been caught, and was starting to believe I could actually win this thing...at least against the old guys.

I ran well, with no foot pain, and good quick strides, and ven caught the lead three women who were having a classic battle for top spots. This meant I had the pleasure of running with Maddy across the finish line, as the first finisher of the day, which was a true highlight. I had to explain to the photographers and the press agent that there were faster guys behind me, and that I was not the true winner. And it was fun to wait at the finish line to see Luke, then Joel and Mike take the top three spots!

I was also really excited by the presence of two new athletes, who Joel has been helping this year, and who we welcomed to the team by lending them some team gear, and cheering them on as they completed their first big race. Greyson and Peter did a fabulous job, and kept us all smiling with their intense enthusiasm!

Well done to everyone who participated!!! Photos to follow.

[Tim Sellars]

Wish I could have been there bro! Sounds like BPR had a great weekend overall.

The same day you were doing the XTerra, I was in the Saint Paul International Triathlon with my Balance Point gear on, getting a podium spot for the olympic distance in the 40-44 age category.

I had a great swim, taking it easy and drafting off another swimmer and saving myself for the bike. I was buoyed by having the family cheer me out of the water...no pun intended.

I rented a Giant OCR for the race - an okay bike - except for the fact that I hadn't quite tightened the seat post enough and was slowly sinking throughout the bike portion, not to mention my tri-bars didn't fit, so had to go "old school". My quads almost seized at the end of the bike, as my knees were up near my ears for the last portion of the race . I took in a little extra electrolites and fuel at the transition, and my legs loosened up as I started the run - weird, it used to be the opposite!

The run was HOT and brought back memories of my collapse in Kelowna, but this time I made sure to stay fuelled up and hydrated. I made a game of having the young ladies at the water stations drench me with water, and it worked like a charm. I ended the day with a personal best (2:18), finally breaking the 2:20 mark I had set as a goal 4 years ago, and the bronze medal in my age category. I also am comfortable in the knowledge that I still have the ability to go faster with some real training and a real tri bike adjusted properly. I seriously undertrained in the running this year, with my focus on the biking, so I know I can improve there too.

Anyway, I had a great time, and getting a personal best is always a good feeling, especially if it is a few years in the making! Train slow, race fast!

Full results at:
http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=11837

[GinnySellars]

Well done Sellars brothers! Yes Tim, I'd love to see you on sweet bike designed for tri. You'd have no trouble getting under that 2:20 mark. Fun to do in the 40+category!

I'm still on my way home with Madeline through the Rockies, as we left Andrew in Calgary to fly to Yellowknife. I am blown away by the stunning terrain. In fact, the venue for the race, and having 11 BPR/Kalrats crew with us, were the real highlights for me.

I had a funny situation the day before the race. While pre-riding the course, my hip flexors felt injured. They had no strength and were just super sore. My coach has identified a key weakness for me, and this week I worked them on power cranks, then did core and lots of mtn biking with high cadence, so they were DONE. I had a chuckle because I was lifting my knees with my hand to get in the car...but expected to race the next day. As my coach reminded me, this race is not important, and I need the extra week to prep for Kona...

So race morning came and we woke to beautiful sunny skies, and probably 4 degrees. I underestimated the temperature and wished I had a toque and fleece. There were two transitions, so got numbered at the nordic center, then rode down to set up T1 at the lake.

The swim was not as cold as I thought it would be, and at every breath I caught a view of mountain peaks. Loved it, but struggled with goggles that kept filling up. They weren't a prob in warm up, so that was annoying. Otherwise, I noticed I was off-course alot, but worked hard, and did my classic time. I didn't know at the time, but was really disappointed afterwards to see my swim training is not yet transferring to the race.

The bike is a lung buster. It's not technical, but certainly challenging enough for me. We climbed up to the nordic center, then up to the top of the course. I seemed to pass a group near the start, then generally stick with the same group of 3 women for the rest of the course. The second lap was considerably slower as the next 2 waves caught us, we were stuck behind the slower men on the single track. I just tried to enjoy it, and recover before the next climb. I met a neat girl, and we had 5 min to chat. The nutbar is racing IMC next weekend.

Ripping down into transition, I was nervous about the run due to the hip flexors and my chronic foot problem. I noticed on the bike, I couldn't spin fast on the ascents, and my knees were going in wonkie directions as accessory muscles were doing the work. I thought I was way back in the field, but in transition the announcer was making a big deal of the women heading out, and when Andrew crossed my path on the run, he said I was in 6th. I was actually in 7th, but passed on woman and finished in 6th. The runners on this course were awesome. I'm used to passing lots on the run, but these girls were very quick. At Ironman the women are usually looking pretty rough on the run, and I just pick them up. There was not alot of passing here, and I had to work to stay ahead of 7th place. I was delighted to stay ahead of Lori-Lynn Leach, won of my idols in the sport. I was surprised that my run split was pretty good, 34min, as I new my stride was weird.

Andrew and I were SO fortunate to be able to both race. Luke's Mum came up from Calgary to watch her son Luke win the race, but also took care of Maddy all morning. She positioned Maddy perfectly, so I got a kiss and high-five every time I did a loop of the run, then got to run over the finish line with her. It's only in the last few years that I realize how important family is to racing. Madeline's life is completely affected by our racing, mostly for the better, but it's wonderful for her to enjoy it with us. At 3 yrs, crossing the line is a thrill. Thanks Jan and Jim!

OK, I'm making this really long, but just wanted to express how impressed I was with our entire crew. I loved watching Myra and Cindy some to the line 5 min apart. They were so focussed, and really putting it all out there. I never saw Brock, but he did such a strong swim/bike, he set up Danny really well for the brutal altitude run. I got cheers from Luke, Joel, and Mike, who went on the go 1st, 2nd, 3rd, even when they were pushing hard. Greyson and Pete were so joyful in their first tri experience, it was wonderful to watch. They have been coaching each other in their strengths and will only get stronger each year.

Time to head back to the beautiful Okanagan....but I'll be back to the mountains next year!

[Joel J]

That race is going to be hard to top on the fun-o-meter!

Race morning I was a little distracted by the amazing views of the rockies. After some help from Luke and Mike with tire pressure and race numbers I headed down to t1.  When my wetsuit seemed a little loose in the shoulders and I then realized it was Mike's! After finding my own wetsuit I went for a warm up in the icey waters of Quarry lake.

The gun went off, it took me a while but I soon found some fast feet to swim on. After the first lap I swam on my own and just tried to maintain a fast pace. I was hoping to be first out of the water but I got picked off by a swimer from Calgary.

After a very long run to trantision I hopped on my bike. At first I felt way out of my element racing on a MTB but once I hit the climbs I settled in. I was caught by Mike and Luke near the end of the first lap and was able to hang with or near them for most of the ride. The second lap was more of a challenge however when you add a crash and some mechanical trouble(I didn't get a chance to have Brock look over my bike). Niether of these things are very uncommon in Xterra and I was still very happy to ride a 1:02 and keep the other guys in check.

Just as I pulled into the second transition I saw Mike and Luke heading out. I started the run with fresh legs and a quick cadence and went harder on every hill. At this point I had no idea how I was doing overall but I was pretty sure that if I was close to Luke I must be top 3. On the second lap I tried to push myself and this is when I reallly noticed the altitude. I crossed the finish line 2nd overall in 1:45.

Overall I was very happy to be able to race this well just 7 days after racing a 70.3. I also learned that I race much better when I am relaxed! I was so proud to see Greyson and Peter cross the finish line, what an awsome setting for a first race! Equally exiting was all the BPR jerseys on the podium.


Joel

[sean]

congrats to everyone on a great weekend of racing. nice to see hat everyone had fun and put in very strong efforts with great results.