JABR Endurance Mountain Bike Race, Squamish BC

[StephenU]

First, I'd like to say well done to all the triathletes who raced the Apple!!  I would have loved to have been there to cheer on friends ripping up the course!  To me it is not a surprise how fast Ian raced as I mountain bike with him all the time and know how great of an athlete he is!  Way to show them tri-geeks!! 

The last Hell of a Series (Test of Metal Inc) endurance mountain bike race was held this weekend in Squamish.  Matt, Jen and, I made the trip down on thursday evening so we could have a look at the technical parts of the course on Friday.  Big Payoff there!!!  We 'sessioned' various bits and pieces of the course and just had a good general view of the area so we were familiar with the race so it was not blind on race day.  We rode 3 areas until we mastered them and during our pre-ride, rode very slowly and leisurely careful not to stress any of our systems. 
Jonas and Rob from Rossland would join us on Saturday morning for the race and a mini-BPR mountain bike reunion.

After a 20 minute warmup on the pavement and fire road near the start we lined up and let the fun begin..  The course was amazing, with everything from long extended fire road climbs, twisty bermed downhills, amazing single track, and technical, rocky descents.

I had a plan of staying around BP for the fire road sections so I could ensure a strong finish with no fade.  Well, my new-found BP  number and plan was tossed out the window very early as it was a complete hammer-fest up the first fire road climb.  I always get sucked into the action!  Jonas, Rob, and I quickly set a torrid pace up the road chasing a small group of pro-elites.  Again, my 29er HT was magic.  I was able to stand on the pedals with a locked out fork and MASH my way up the road with around 50 cadence! High Heart Rate, but very controlled resp rate with a low cadence..  before long, we had joined and/or passed many of the Pro/Elite men who went out super fast.  Oh, another big benefit of the HT 29er is having 2 water-bottle cages.  I can ride 3 hours at race pace on two big bottles so a stupid camel back is not required..  Camel backs are STUPID and Lame!!! 
Jonas and I always seem to ride near each other and today was no different.  I think we feed off one another and as a result end up going really fast as a result. 
I was able to ride the whole course super clean, even all the techincal parts.  This made me very happy!  Although I had one slip-up on a loose small power climb, it nearly cost me a lot of time!!  I was with Jonas and a group of 4 or five more including Rob.  I had to absolutely bury myself near 190 HR to catch back onto the group on a long double-track traverse.  I knew that if I was dropped it would cost me minutes.  Road biking helps in this situation as I know how to put myself in the "cave" when needed..   Once i caught back on, I was able to recover just like in Road Racing..
On the second fire road climb of the day, Jonas and I picked off Pro/Elite after Pro/Elite on the climb!!  This course really suited us!!!  I continued to MASH my way up the mountain, 50 Cadence, super controlled breathing..  This is the ticket!
Sadly, Jonas would crash and suffer a mechanical and flat only 3 km's from the finish.  He was a few seconds ahead of me on the last single-track section and would have won his category.
I was able to manage a 2nd place in my age-group, and 14th overall among all male racers.  Average HR of 173 for 2:18 of racing.  I was able to ride above BP for the whole day!!   I know a bit about what happened to Matt and Jen, but their reports are coming I am sure!
Quail Out.

[IanC]

Steve, that is a wicked result!  Congratulations.  The couple weeks of returning to putting in the LSD training has paid off! 
It sounds like it was a fun race!  Oh well, you can't race everything, I guess.  Good to hear that the bike is back together again.
Ian

[Andrew]

It really is a fantastic result, and great to hear you rolling by some of the "elite" riders who paced poorly. I think Ian's comment that the return to structural conditioning paid off, but probably the biggest difference between this race and Nationals was your level of recovery and preparation for the course itself.

The importance of an EASY but focused pre-ride for events like this can not be overstated. Understanding how to best find a line through the technical sections, and having the confidence to roll through them is the best time-saving skill you can develop. Going down to Squamish the day before, with enough time to see the course and relax was also a great plan.

As for the LBP heart rate plan...it is important for all our athletes to remember that in high intensity sports like MTB, trail-running, Sprint/Olympic Triathlon, that the HR is only one Biomarker to use a feedback on the physiology during the race. And, that this number only represents how fast the heart is beating, NOT how effective it is at delivering blood to the periphery.

Lets use some real numbers to make a point:
During an LBP test, you may reach a Balance Point at HR=150, with a stroke volume of 120ml/beat. This would give you a cardiac output (HR x SV) of 18litres/minute. Now, you go into a race without the same slow, methodical step test, but still demand LBP equivalent power or more on the first climb out of the start, which requires 18 litres/minute of cardiac output. But, your vascular system is having trouble getting all that blood back to the heart efficiently for recirculation, so the heart is forced to pump faster on a smaller volume of blood. SO, with only 100ml of stroke volume, you now need to have a HR of 180 to get the same cardiac output as you did during your test.

Same LBP Wattage, same Cardiac Output, totally different HR. This does not mean you should throw your HR monitor away. You must just realize there is a limit to the information it gives you under these high stress situations, and use that information wisely. In fact, in this particular event, the HR data might be better observed AFTER the event, to use it to understand where the limiter and compensator is.

For the Quail, this might be the cardiac system's ability to reach larger stroke volumes, forcing him to compensate with a higher HR. Great news if true, because we know there are some specific training ideas that can increase stroke volume. And some of them do NOT require all out efforts. In fact, it may be that the very high efforts in events like the Crits this year actually decrease the SV in Quail's case, as he is forced to compensate with the high HR< not allowing the heart to fully expand with each effort. This theory would also explain why his performance tends to drop after a series of races with little time for recovery between events, as there is no way for the cardiac system to recover from the added work of compensating for the small stroke volume.

Just a theory...so we develop a training plan for September with very focused work on stroke volume, and retest again in October to see if we are on the right track. Very important to note that without having his HR data form the race, we never would have made this suggestion. But also good to note, that had he used HR to guide intensity, he never would have met his potential in this particular event.

For those racing more controlled events...Ironman, and marathon etc., you will be able to use the HR as a more reliable biomarker, but important also to watch Resp Rate and perceived exertion as the event continues.

[Matt]

My race went not quite as smoothly as the Quails race!  However I did accomplish my main goal, which was not to cramp.

I finished 8th in my category, but flatted twice, and had to run my bike down the last fire road downhill, and across the finish line.  That did not feel good on the legs!!

Aside from technical difficulties, I felt great during the race.  Here are some changes that I made from my previous race:
Nutrition - I had a much larger meal the evening before the race, and a larger pre-race meal than I usually do.  I also used Hammer Anti Fatigue Caps (thanks Jen!!) both before the pre ride, and before the race.  I used Eload Heat Formula, and Hammer Gels during the race - no protein.  Near the end of the race, on the last downhill, I felt that I was at risk to cramp, so I took 4 Eload Zone Caps over about a half hour.
Cadence - I used a much higher cadence on the climbs than I have in the past.
HR - I road at LBP minus 1 or 2 beats for the first half, and LBP plus 5-7 for the second half. 

Despite recovering on the downhills, my legs felt more like cramping by the end of long technical downhills where it felt like my legs were pretty static, but the muscles were engaged from standing and manoeuvring my bike.

The pre ride with the Quail and Jen was a big help too.  I road all the most technical sections smoothly.

All in all, the course was amazing!  Long climbs, burmed single track downhill with little launches, fast and flowy single track, technical single track with roots, rocks, and drops.  Super fun! 

Next year – tubeless tires!

M

[Andrew]

WOW...that report sets a standard for nutrition preparation. What a shame you could not put it to the final test by hammering the final road section. Bad luck with the flats. As you say, next eyar should be tubeless for sure.

Well done on a good finish despite the obstacles, and very good control of HR early. Did it feel like you were really holding back, or was the intensity appropriate?

[Matt]

It did feel like I was holding back (although I didn't really get a warm up in, and the first 10 minutes felt hard even at a lower HR).  It felt like I could ride at LBP plus 5-7 pretty comfortably (there was enough time to recover on the DH), but I didn't want to cramp early.  I was riding short durations at LBP plus 5, then finding a wheel, and letting my HR drop to just below balance point for a while, then leaving that group to get another wheel.  After the first flat I tried to sustain the higher HR for the rest of the climbs (to try and catch Jen - but she was way too fast!!).
I felt really good after the race - not too cooked and no cramping like I have had in the past.  I think I could definitely sustain a higher intensity without adjusting for potential cramping.

[Schulzy]

Congrats to all the BPR members who ripped it up this weekend at the Apple triathlon! I can’t wait to cheer everyone on at Ironman!!!!
I also raced the JABR this past weekend.  I haven’t raced in several weeks aside from the crit and thought it was time to test things out! My main goals included having fun, dial my nutrition and rip it up in the technical sections. I wasn’t feeling necessarily optimistic about my performance after testing with Chris on wed and feeling rather unwell later that night and the next day. I spent most of thurs lying down at home. I had a free entry to the race so I had nothing to lose by enjoying a fun weekend of riding. The pre-ride on Friday with the Quail and Horn was awesome. I felt great and was recovered from my wed/thurs plague of sorts!  We practiced our technical skills down a few rock face/drops, ‘A’ Frames and log rides on some of the wicked Squamish trails. We offered each other some great tips and recommendations with regards to the fastest and smoothest lines.
Race time: 2:40, avg hr: 160 (max 173)
I started the race rather conservatively (hr 155-161) on the first fire road climb. I wasn’t too worried about any bottle necks in the trails as there were long fire road climbs in between each section. My legs felt great and I was riding technically well down the first 2 descents.  I increased my pace at the 1 hr mark and started passing tons of people who cheered me on as I cruised on by.  I continued to feel really good as my HR climbed to 168-170 on the climbs. At around 1.5 hrs into the race I ran into a tree at high speed with my hip along a relatively easy part of the trail (ridiculous mistake that I can’t really explain – perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention). I will spare you the moaning and groaning details but my leg and hip felt so weird that I thought there was something seriously wrong!  I soon kept riding, stopped worrying and was back into race mode very quickly. I continued to feel great for the rest of the race and continued to pass people and ride technically well. I dialed the nutrition and didn’t experience any metabolic challenges. I also paid attention to my breathing for the first time ever during a race after Chris provided me with some valuable info last week. I previously assumed that my breathing was completely fine as it’s never bothered me or felt uncomfortable. I noticed that when my HR was at 168 I was panting like crazy and consciously tried to slow down my breathing. I surprisingly was somewhat successful, which in turn decreased my HR by a few beats.  I can’t wait to get on the Spiro this fall/winter!
 I crossed the finish line feeling great aside from a little pain in my hip. I am wondering if I was perhaps a little too conservative with my pacing during the first hour because I felt so great at the finish.... perhaps I should have picked up the pace at the 30 min mark instead of an hour?? Nevetheless, It was a great weekend of racing and riding with teammates! I can't wait for some team mtn bike training weekends before BCBR 2011!   
Jen   

[Andrew]

Great report and race Jen...

I am proud of you for tackling the metabolic issues and trying out both a conservative pacing strategy, and the new breathing techniques. All of these factors contributed to your great performance, and it is always difficult to know whether a different tactic would have been beneficial or detrimental. So, take it for what it was, and conservative start, with an excellent end result.

You have been offered a visit with an Endocrinology expert in Vancouver, who happens to be an old school friend of mine. So, if you are ready for a three day vacation at the Royal Columbian, where they will admit you, starve you, poke you, prod your pancreas and check your adrenals...then let me know, and I will set it up. Time to get to the bottom of this thing...then get you ready for BCBR 2011!!!

I LOVE the energy from the entire BPR team this week. Truly inspiring.

Sean McEvoy and I will be riding out towards Apex on the back road to Yellow Lake, planning to leave at 8:45 from the A-frame Ski Shack/Tim Hortons near the bridge over the canal at the North end of Penticton. Wear your BPR gear, and ride with us if you want to cheer the crew over the summit at Yellow Lake.