Salty Dog 2011

[Andrew]

Personal race report from the "Guardian"...

Best MTB race of my life.

Never have I felt more in control, confident, and powerful. I knew going into this event that I really had more miles of smart training than most people could imagine, with Spring training camps in J.Tree and Mallorca, followed by a week of technical skills riding in Utah. I really have been leading the life of my dreams, and other than a nagging shoulder injury, have never felt stronger.

I did have a reservations on Saturday, after 5 days of riding, that left me napping on the couch as Maddy read me a collection of Dr. Seuss books earlier in the day. I followed this by a fitful night of sleep, and was pretty sure I was going to suffer through a tried performance in the trails.

With the announcement of a Le Mans start (pre-run around an uneven softball diamond), the general mood of the day took a turn for the worse amongst the 450 participants. Of course, I was totally elated, as it saved me the embarrassment of being relegated to the back of the pack before the first turn of the pedal as was my experience last year.

The field looked like a bike bone yard, with upended bikes strewn across the rocky fields. There was very little ceremony, just Tom yelling at everyone to go, and a mad dash for the pink ribbon, and a scared looking young kid on the first corner. I felt GREAT running, and was looking for my bike amongst the lead 10 athletes. This is where tying a pink ribbon to my upturned bike would have been of great benefit. It was about this time that I realized all upside down bikes all look identical. It felt like half the field were away onto their steeds before my bike made its present known and magically appeared in front of me.

I love my 29er...the single best decision in bike purchasing I have ever made. I had hoped to ride the new Cannondale 29er, but the gurus at Cannondale have deemed me too short, with their smallest frame size on offer being one that would render me a permanent soprano if I ever needed to dismount quickly. With some nice support from some friends and Fresh Air Concept, and a little sweet talking, I was able to get my hands on one of the very few small Trek Superfly 29ers available in North America. And what a ride that has been! It rolls beautifully over the small roots and rocks, and has given me a whole new level of confidence on the descents. I love my 29er.

The race really was uneventful after that. I was incredibly consistent, which was the goal from the start. But able to handle much faster laps than last year, which was a pleasant surprise.
Total laps: 8
Total Time: 5:45:06
Average lap: 43:08
Fastest lap: 41:27
Slowest lap: 44:29

Physiologically, I still need to work on my leg strength and continue to develop the upper intensity respiratory situation under high load. I was GREAT at controlling intensity, but suffered easily when the pace picked up. The double front ring on the Superfly doesn't allow for the wimp in me to back off, and I think this contributed to my faster laps this year, but also will require some more strength in the future on multi-stage events like BCBR.

I didn't have the psychological strength needed to bury myself to complete a 9th lap, which theoretically I had time to complete. It had taken a great deal of effort to meet my goals for the race, and I was mentally and emotionally prepped for only 8 laps. This is where I needed the strength of a team mate to join in the suffering. Our tent was filled with the remnants of riders who had laid it all on the line, and I was very happy to find a seat beside them and hear their stories. And there were some truly heroic efforts in the face of adversity. I missed seeing Manuel and Luke who had ridden so well last year. Luke still recovering from his great result at Ironman Utah, and Manny recovering from an incredible fall at high speed in training, leaving him with a damaged kidney (he is doing well, and safe at home in Edmonton for now).

Special congrats to Majo and Peter Watson who had fabulous races.
A warm welcome to honorary member Downhill Dillan, who toughed it out in his first ever cross country race...hope he comes back for more.

And a special thank-you to:
Scott Harrhy who was ON FIRE as support crew, seeming to always have exactly what I needed each time I came through transition.
Brock, for once again doing the PERFECT pre-race tune-up to ensure everything ran smooth as silk.
And, Helena, Hayley, Simon, Becky, Ginny and an appearance by alumni member Mike Champigny, who all lent hands to support the crew, which made for a GREAT atmosphere. The kiss I got from Maddy on lap #6 really helped keep my energy up.

[PeterW]

Considering a decently rough spring, I am pretty stoked on my Salty experience.
6 weeks of the plague kept me from logging quality hours in late March/early April, then when I was finally set to start training hard, I had a romancing with an F350, that seemed to stall things for another week or so, and caused me to skip out on the first BC cup of the year.

I try not to stress the little things, so I kept my spirits high, and my eye on the goal I laid out last year. 9 laps in sub 6hr. 20mins faster than last year.
I knew that I've had a great winter of mega nordic skis with the BPR crew, that would support me past the 3 hour mark in salty, and that despite only a dozen days on the mtn bike, I was super confident on my Cannondale 29er.

I had a good chat with Andrew the day before, regarding pacing and Nutrition, and I think that this plan was a big factor in my success. I had to sloow down the first four laps, so that I still had "race" in me laps 5-9. I also had to fuel early, and consistently.

I don't want to talk about the Le mans start. That's how I feel about it.

The first lap, I wanted to be in a decent position, but not have to hammer. I maintained my heart rate at balance point, or just below. Fueling was already on my mind, and I took my first Eload gel on the fire road, along with a full bottle of Efly/Eload mix.
Laps 2-4 felt sooo sloooow. I kept my heart rate below BP, and tried to keep the laps at 40mins, which would put at 9 under 6. These laps were all faster than 40min... Each lap I would have a gel on the fire road, 2 Ediscs, and a full bottle, either Efly/Eload, or Efly/Emend.

Laps 5-9 were about keeping the HR steady, and being smooth. No hammering the pumpy uphills, and being super smooth on the downs. My HR was steady around 167, But I was getting major gut rot, and started to get some muscle cramping around lap 7. I started to carry a bottle of pure water as well, which helped my gut a little. I was definitely fatiguing, and probably couldn't have pushed out more time on these laps.

That was pretty much the race. I finished in 6:04:46. 5 mins slower than I wanted, but still 15mins faster than last year, and fast enough to put me in 3rd, behind one of Canada's fastest Pro Riders, and the 30-34 World 24hr Solo champion. Pretty stellar!

If I could change anything... I'd go even slower on the first four laps. I think saving 30secs each lap at the start, would pay off big time in the final laps where I begin to fatigue. The Eload products are great, and a fueling plan made them work how they should. I have never raced a hardtail, but the Cannondale Flash 29er felt faster and smoother than my 4 and 4 full suspension, on every part of the course.

Congrats to everyone who raced, and thanks to all the guys supporting us all day!

[GinnySellars]

Wow Peter. Great report. Great focus. Great insight. You are a brilliant athlete.

[Andrew]

The gut issues you experienced almost certainly reflect the issue of trying to take in "adequate" calories at high intensity. It is simply an inability of the body to absorb that much carbohydrate when the body is in fact shunting blood away from the gut to supply the working muscles. As we have been pushing hard for our athletes to understand, as SOON as you feel the stomach is no longer enjoying the calories you have consumed, it is time to dilute the mixture with large volumes of water. Depending on the water loss from sweat and the caloric intake to that point, the amount of water could be as much as 700-800ml.

Peter made a good decision to switch to water when he did, and likely saved his race.

I agree with his insights into pacing, though I can't understand how he was able to ride sub 40 minutes at an intensity that felt so easy! As a learning exercise, check out the results of the lead rider, in particular the control he demonstrated early in the race, along with the pacing he nailed in his final five laps. His splits did not vary by more than 30 seconds in any of his final 5 laps!!! We have been discussing this for a few years now, and Peter was right. More control in laps 1-4 will allow for the best chance of success in laps 6-9, or 10 as in the case of Wallace.

Fantastic race Peter...truly impressive feat considering your trials and tribulations this Spring. A great example of the power of structural development you accomplished over the past 12 months. It will keep getting better I can assure you.

[Majo]

SD’s Majo’s

What to say?  WOW!  I am stoked with 48:20 faster than last year over 6 laps (5:40:25 vs 6:28:47).  I think I would have had a better start without the Le Mans style start: I should have sneaked in closer to the front line and to its right end…

My training has been hard since the beginning with just being able to incorporate it smoothly with my very changing work schedule and at times very physically demanding work tasks.  Many adjustments have been made by Andrew and Ginny to at one point only having 3-4 hours of riding time per week; but it was so needed.  Since the DH ski season ended and that I have two resistance-training classes in less per week, my bike training volume has picked up again.  

May 7:
Goal? Get very tired / How? Train 6h in race mode @ SD loop (+30m w/u) / Conditions? Very muddy  –  I had to bathe my bike in the creek by lap 4/5 / Glitch? Rear shock broken – so trained my bike "hard tail mode" and was planning at that point to race it that way (long story)

May 8:
20m light MTB on the road

May 9:
Physio app / 35m light elliptical / Vitamins B cocktail injection (from ND) --- are those legal? / 15m traditional stretching

May 10:
45m self-assisted MFR & AIS

May 11:
65m self-assisted MFR & AIS / 30m light recumbent bike, elliptical & rower / 30m traditional stretching

May 12:
Race nutrition planning w Ginny & Andrew – I was so shy to go grocery shopping to prep my plan B (chips, coke, chocolate, gummy bears, croissants) / 60m medium-hard MTB ride w Ginny’s bike that I quickly named “Quicky” / Andrew thought it was a little silly to race my bike as is as I would waste so much energy...

May 13:
Vitamins B cocktail injection / 15m traditional stretching / 60m massage w RMT

May 14:
45m self MFR (am) / 30m self STR (pm) / 60 min self-assisted AIS (eve) / 20m ice pack

May 15:
5:30 breakfast #1 / 6:00 20m self-assisted MFR & AIS / 7:15 10m spiro / 8:00 breakfast #2 / 8:30 10m dynamic stretching / 8:55 25m w/u on the road (varying CAD & INT up to LPB+5 but backing up before getting fatigued) / 9:30 snack i.e. 1 home-made energy pearl (55KCal) / 10:00 race time  

That morning I got up feeling very crappy.  1) I slept not long enough & half deep. 2) I made the mistake of taking one extra anti-inflammatory pill the night before, in an attempt to reduce the neck-upper back flare up I was having, and so I had stomach burns.  I took a couple of anti-acid pills and tried to stay focused on the list of tasks I had to do.

Lap 1:
1:00:19 / super slow with a lot of line ups in the wood sections / had a crash trying to pass someone on a berm --- but it was just a good reminder of what Andrew told me about chilling out on the 1st round & that I was not so familiar w Ginny’s bike (Quicky) / I took 1 home-made energy pearl / 500ml of water w 1 scoop of eLoad / 1 eGel / OMG Quicky is so nervous so I got to hold on tight in the downhill --- my arms & hands were already on fire!

Lap 2:
52:53 / fastest lap ever and already had a pretty good relationship w Quicky  / 1 home-made energy pearl / 500ml of water w 1 scoop of eLoad / 1 eGel / 1 eCap as it was sunny and I tend to sweat quite a bit

Lap 3:
54:46 / consistent at drinking ¾ of my liquid on the fire road & the last ¼ on the last bit of gravel road climbing / 1 home-made energy pearl / 500ml of water w 1 scoop of eLoad / NO eGel / 2 eCaps / my low back started to hurt anytime climbing until the end of the race / I got chased down by Andrew & Dylan in the last downhill section --- we got cheered on by some bystanders --- there was a lot of adrenaline / was thinking of adopting Quicky

Lap 4:
57:27 / felt my hardest lap as I had some nausea & started to feel some Quad fatigue --- perhaps a start of a twinge / 1 home-made energy pearl / 500ml of water w 1 scoop of eLoad / 1 eGel / 2 eCaps / Scott always there at the BPR feed station to pass me my stuff & kindly encouraging me / and a whole fan club was cheering for my name so had a lot of fun coming through as it was so energising & comforting –  thanks to everyone who cared about me  

Lap 5:
58:07 / “give me that coke from plan B bag & any eDiscs available please” / No energy pearl / 500ml of water w 1 scoop of eLoad / No eGel / 2 eDiscs / “1h46m left the scanning lady said… Hmmm!  60 + 46 = 106 and 106/2 makes 2 x 53 minuuuuutes” / started to think of the possibility of a 7th lap --- was so excited w the fact but bummed to have to go around one extra time (was not mentally prepared for that)

Lap 6:
56:52 / 3rd fastest lap and only 8s slower than my avg lap / “more coke please” / No energy pearl / 500ml of water w 1 scoop of eLoad / ½ eGel / 2 eDiscs  / “all right, if you get to the top of the last downhill section at 5:33:xx you go girl for a last lap, even if you get to have the free beer at the finish line” / almost happily I got up there at 5:36:?? putting all efforts to get there as quickly as I could though

I AM very excited with all the outcomes from my training and all the help I got from Ginny and Andrew tactic & training wise.  BTW Quicky is 3lbs lighter than Noname, so that was of a huge help.  Plus, Andrew insisted that I leave the 2L camel bag with the tools at home and that made me another 6lbs lighter (yes that’s right).  And Ginny made me burn about 2lbs of fat with her high bike volume training plan lately.   All of this resulted in a step up of my performance of 08:03 faster in avg per lap from last year (my first 6 hour Enduro)!

My limiters:

1) Neurological system was challenged functionally w a new bike that I rode for 1h in a different trail / a top calibre bike which I never tried before (much more nervous – less forgiving – an inch less travel at the front & rear shock – different shifting system – cage bottle for lefties – different ergonomic forcing a more aerodynamic position)

2) Musculoskeletal system was challenged functionally w the constant fight for my safety on a new bike requiring finer technical skills – my arms & hands were tired at every descent – my hands muscles are still twitching today –  my arms & shoulder are feeling it a bit too

3) Respiratory system was challenged structurally w the constant effort of all other trunk muscles (including Serratus Posterior Inferior) compensating for the weaker Diaphragm muscle (Andrew’s thought) – partly explaining my low back pain when biking for long durations

4) Muscle Imbalances also explaining my low back pain  / physio working on re-aligning my hips / got better in a year I see him as I had no neck, hamstrings, medial & lateral knee pain – ice packs weren’t mandatory at the end of the race so I don’t cease up

That’s it.  I had so much FUN!  But now comes the sad part of accompanying back home my dear new friend Quickie!  Thanks so much Ginny!  Quicky made my day!          
                                  
Thanks all for reading.  
Majo

[W Ellis]

Salty dog is for sure one of those races that I say never again , it takes patience and pacing , 2 things I don't have in my tool box yet . This is how my race on fold.

Le mans start went great just did the run easy thinking how long the day was going to be got to my bike with no problems... ( last week at du champs couldn't find my bike ,not this time)

Lap 1 kept hr at -5 from lbp drink about 250 cal kept breathing around 21-25 bpm ........ 39 min

Lap 2                  Same as lap 1 ( but no le mans run ) so about same lap time ...........36 min

Lap 3.                   Same as 1&2                                                                 ............37 min

Lap 4.                  This is where my plan stared to go wrong in order to climb at easy enough pace
                           I had to fly on the downhill and wast anytime at all ( I was giving that all up climbing ) and at this point it was way way to busy with people . So I still climb at same speed but lost time on the down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                              ..............40 min

Lap 5                    Same as lap 4 (should have stared climbing faster ,but not enough focus) by this point I was getting tired of passing . It takes lots of energy &risk ..............................40 min

Lap 6.                Things go wrong , someone was getting off the trail to let me by and BANG his bike & 200 lb body fell on me in slow motion , by the time I got him and his bike off me and my bike the chain had about 8 bent links , so I ran and rolled for EVER got to the pits ,first tried to fix the flash 29er but no luck so jumped on plan B , Art spare bike ...................................60 min

Lap 7 ......          Things go wrong part 2 climbed very slow lost most motivation after bike broke ,then I hit some poor guy on the downhill crashed very hard broke my helment and hurt my neck very bad ,could have been lot worse.                                  ....................................45 min

Lap 8          This lap was my biggest mistake of the day went out sore ,dizzy , not having any fun at all ,                                                                            .................................... 46 min


Peter w and Andrew both seemed super cool and having FUN out there .......see you boys at Nimby 50

 

[Andrew]

This is my data from my Polar RS800cx. I was really happy with the splits, and in the Polar Protrainer program, it is nice to see how I was able to recover on the downhill sections of each lap. I think that was one of the keys to my success on race day. Allowing time for the HR to drop on the fast non-technical parts, to save energy for the following climbs.

Peripheral limitations didn;t allow me to make the most of my cardiac system towards the end of the race, which I think explains the trend towards dropping HR on the final few laps.