Xterra-Alberta 2010

What a GREAT place to race!

Probably the most scenic location of any race I have done. Spectacular mountains and crystal clear water. Wonderful trails, and a revamped course this year made this race really fun.

We arrived in the evening on Friday, just in time for a pre-ride to see the new and improved course. WAY more single track. Wet, boggy, slick, rooty, with some sustained climbs, meant it was going to be a much different race than last year's fire road fly-by. It took me nearly an hour to ride through the course at a comfortable rate. I was able to ride the whole thing, but it took some balance and coordination through the wet sections.

The next day I had the privilege of riding with Danelle Kabush, just 5 months after the birth of her second child. She looked fantastic, and rode like a pro, which meant I had to work a little harder than the previous evening's ride. It still took us 56 minutes to get around the loop, and the slowly drying conditions made the mud a little heavier, and the roots a little more slick.

By race day, I was really nervous knowing that the ride would be tough on me, and hoping to so well on the swim and run to make up for it. It was really nice to see Luke on the start line, and he pointed out there were a couple of great swimmers from Calgary who would likely be off the front. Mike Vine was in the crowd as well, and we had a brief chat about his new life in Edmonton, and racing on the same team as Manuel (The Pedalheads).

The swim went as expected. It was only 1,000, so fairly fast pace, and I was surprised at how quick the whole pack started, until about 100m, where the real talent went off the front, and left the rest of us struggling to keep up. Mike Vine came by on the second lap. I recognized him form his really aggressive swimming style, which leaves a bit to be desired on technique, but seems to get him form A to B fairly well. I was happy to settle in on his feet. We did a good job at keeping the lead guys within striking distance. The Uber-swimmers were out in 23:14, and Mike and I were out in 14:20.

A bit of a slow transition, putting on socks and gloves to be safe for the trails, and then the start of the 2km climb up to the Nordic Centre and the beginning of two laps of the MTB course. Luke caught me just as we started the real climb up into the trails, and had enough energy to ask me a few casual questions about HR variability and dysrythmias, while I proceeded to blow out my left lung and part of my right ventricle trying to keep up. He just made it look so easy, and it felt like I had my brakes on in comparison. Once he was gone, I just worked hard, knowing there were more on their way. Each time I got passed, I tried to keep them in sight, but I just don;t move on my bike like the true MTB racers, and I was passed by 8 guys before the end of the ride. I felt like I was riding well, until someone with better skills showed me how it was supposed to be done. In the end, Luke put 10 minutes into me, and Mike Vine who won easily, was over 16 minutes faster on a 22km course!

Which reminds me...Manuel, if you are serious about taking your skills to the next level, look up Mike Vine, and go for some rides before the season is over!

The run felt GREAT. It helped that I was able to run down some of the cyclists who had passed me at the beginning of the second lap. And was happy to see Charlie Cooper, who I have known for a number of years, and who hosts the WASA Lake Triathlon Series. My cadence felt great, I was running light on my feet, and I was just ecstatic about the fun trails, with burmmed corners and little zig-zags through the forest. I had to work hard to catch one of the local legends (Heath McCroy), and he gave me a really nice compliment when he tried to drop me on a technical section and realized I was out-running him.

I actually thought I had run myself back into the top 5, but somewhere in the haze of MTB purgatory, I had been passed by a few others that I never saw on the run. It didn't help that the Sprint race runs on the same loop, and that we were catching large groups of runners who had started their race 15-30 minutes ahead of us. So, it was really hard to tell who you were actually racing against. I missed the top 5 by 30 seconds, and had a top 3 swim and run time. So, it is back to the drawing board after Wisconsin.

And if I am going to race BCBR, I am going to need ALL the help I can get from the BPR crew with the MTB skills. Will trade physiologic advice for bike-handling skills and efficiency training!

To answer the question about my own physiologic limiters, I have a pretty good explanation of my MTB problems. My limiter remains my peripheral system, which can be compensated by my fairly strong cardiac and respiratory system on the road, and at lower elevations. When I am in the trails, and am relying on even a greater recruitment of muscle mass, my resp system can not compensate for the relative weakness, which was compounded by racing at altitude, and hence the dramatic difference in performance relative to my TT times or triathlons at lower altitude. Better skills, and more efficient cycling, through the use of Power Cranks and more off-road training. The addition of Spiro and core work will make compensating for any ongoing weakness a bit easier, and will make for a better results at this race next year.