Test of Metal 2011

[Matt]

This was my first experience at the Test, and it was an amazing race.  It was really well organized and even the volunteers were ‘jacked up’ being there!  The whole town of Squamish supports the race, and there are spectators lined up along all along the course cheering, taking pictures, offering water etc.  I can’t wait to go back next year! 
It was fun racing with the Quail and PW and a special thanks to Helena for the feed (the feed zone was CRAZY, but it looked fun!).  Stephen and Peter had some wicked results….I can’t wait to see their posts – and Ian rocked his race in Mission as well!

My goals changed a few days before race day as I came down with a pretty severe chest/sinus cold.  I decided that I would use the weekend as a ‘training’ weekend to get some good rides in before BCBR.  With this in mind I pre road the whole 67km course the day before really slowly.  So slow I almost didn’t finish!  I have to admit that I felt terrible and I was worried about completing the race the next day.  Come race day, I actually felt good in the morning and I really don’t think that my cold was much of a factor during the race. 

My plan was to take manage my intensity and not cramp!  This meant riding at BP minus 5-10 and taking 800mg of salts per hour, one bottle of straight water per hour, and 300 calories per hour.  I have also changed my cleat position, seat height, worked on using higher cadence, and have done some plyometrics to address cramping in racing.  In a perfect world, I wouldn’t cramp, and I’d finish the race around 3hrs 30min.  So, of course I cramped.  Repeatedly.  I’m getting better at choosing interesting locations to cramp however.  My most prolonged stay was in the middle of the most technical part of the descent (the Plunge).  While I was sitting on the side of the trail with my bike next to me, and my legs locked up, I got a great view of all the best lines as the local riders shredded it.  Good times.  Oh, and Tamara Ushy has some incriminating photos of me being pushed uphill through the entire feed zone by a volunteer!  I loved that guy!  However, despite cramping, I was able to finish in 3:34. 

I executed my race plan pretty well (until the cramping part!).  I kept my HR where I planned, except for the first 15 minutes when I was hammering as hard as I could, along with other 1000 people! I started with 400mg of salts every 30 minutes, I drank over one bottle of water per hour, and I had 300 calories per hour.  In fact, I drank over 3.5 litres of water during the race.  At 1hr 30min my legs started to feel bad.  I increased my sodium intake – about 400mgs every 15-20 minutes. 

However, the silver lining to this race was that I was able to recover from cramping for the first time, instead of just managing it (this occurred at 2:45).  By the last 25 minutes of the race I was back to feeling almost 100% and was able to ride just above Balance Point for the last 2 kms.

Why exactly I was able to recover is a good question that I wish I had the answer to. I’m sure a bunch of different things were contributing factors.  Each time I cramped I stopped (or crashed), stretched, drank more water and had more salts.  What I did differently the last time was take a bunch more sodium (1000mgs at once), and I started changing my breathing by breathing faster, and with more volume.   From that point on I didn’t take on any more water, salts, or calories.

The following day, Ian, Peter, the Quail and I rode for 4.5 hours in Whistler at a pretty hard pace.  I didn’t cramp at all, which was great!  It was a truly epic ride.  Everyone went down numerous times, but usually at slow speeds.  The Quail managed to crash HARD a couple times!  Amazingly he got up each time and kept going!

It was a great weekend of racing and riding.  I can’t wait for BCBR  (assuming that I get in….).

Thanks for reading,

CramperHorn

[PeterW]

I agree, the Test of Metal is a Legendary Bicycle Meet.
The atmosphere was wicked! there is one section, the rollercoaster, where you come screaming down these crazy fast switch backs, and the whole way it was lined with probably 100 people screaming, and cheering you on. Felt like a world cup! The feed zone was packed with spectators and blow up gorilla's, definitely a motivator!

Leading up to this race I was a little worried. I have been working with the city for the past 4 weeks now, where I carry a backpack blower and a gas-trimmer around all day. I have been finding it VERY hard to recover from rides, and races. Even after a few days off any activity outside work, My legs have felt very dead. So I chose to skip out on the thursday night crit, which was wise.

In the starting chute, lined up with the likes of Max Plaxton, and Kris sneddon, my heart rate was JACKED! 126BPM just standing there!! Through the city the Pace was fast, yet I felt Good! On the pavement when we were climbing with the group my HR was easily 190, but I had to ramp it up to stay near the front! on the first dirt track, I was riding with Ron and the Quail. When we hit the first fire road climb, I was feeling good, so I went with an acceleration from 3 other riders, including leighton poidevan and Roddi Legga. I stayed with this group all the way to the Plunge.

On the 9 Mile hill, I was expecting an endless climb. I set my HR at 177BPM (right at BP), and turned over the cranks. The group I was in stayed tight, and I looked back and could not see Ron, or anyone else! during the loooong climb I focused on very controlled breathing, Standing to pedal every couple minutes to change up some muscle groups, and drinking anytime there was a "flat".

After the climb you rip downhill along a dual track with very loose baby-heads. I was feeling great on my 29er, which rolled over everything, so Recovered very well through here. I still had the Group around me, But knew that the Plunge was beckoning soon, and was expecting the worst. Through the plunge, I rode clean, but fairly slow. I got dropped through here by my group. I had no idea what was around the next corner, or over the next big rock, so I just tried to ride smooth, and not panic, which I find ends up messing my resp control, and confidence on the bike. It ended up being super rough, but Rideable, and I am confident I can cut decent time through here next year.

From here I rode solo through the feed zone the second time, and through the climb through S&M connector. My legs were a little crampy, but I felt strong, and Very controlled, so I felt like I was reeling my group back in. However, after the climb, you descend through some very bumpy, rooty, rocky bouncy single track, which worked me over. This is the frustration of my race. Through this section, I was getting worked, and I slowed down because of it. I did not see my HR through this section, but I know I was going slow! I needed some water, my stomach was getting a bit crampy at this point, and it was enhanced by the bumps... so that cause me to slow down even more. This was maybe 4km from the finish!! AHH, I should have just hammered through it. right near the end, Ronstoppable ellis and another guy passed me, I had to put a foot down as they passed, so could not jump their wheels. 30secs later we dropped onto the pavement, and they were hammering! I tried to TT back to them, but just did not have the legs!

I finished in 18th overall in 2:48. Well under my goal of sub three, within my goal of top 20, and right in the mix with the Pro/elite riders with waaay more experience. I am confident I can be faster next year!

I invite every BP member with knobby tires to race this next year. It is definitely a Canadian legend. Thanks to the Crew out there for the wicked weekend, and To Halyna who has to be my biggest supporter, and generous to help the whole team!

[Andrew]

OK...first of all, great reports from both of you. I am happy to hear Matt's explanation of why he chose to ride the ENTIRE route the day before the event, as I was fully prepared to call him to task on this decision. It is never a bad decision to turn a race into a focused training session, though perhaps a less strenuous pre-ride would have been in order given the recent chest cold. The cramping issue is still up for debate. It is obvious the fluids and electrolytes have not resolved the issue. Though the biomechanics of the new seat height might help in the future, it may take a few more weeks before the neurologic system is ready for these kind of epic challenges on back to back days. I feel it really is a complicated picture of neurologic overlaod combined with the obvious fluid/electrolyte issues. Congrats to Matt for staying positive and taking each challenge in stride. Even more impressive is the overall time with the added stops that you were forced to endure.

Peter, what can I say. Another stellar performance. Given this was your rookie attempt on these trails, it really was a strong showing. Knowing the Plunge and the rooty technical sections will SURELY help in the future, and it may be worth doing some recon. early next season, or later in the summer to help be ready to take that next step up the ranks. I was impressed with your ability to stay focused on the breathing on the long climb, and appreciate the difficulty in holding steady resp rate during the more technically challenging sections. The flat rooty pieces are especially hard given our lack of similar trails here, and takes a special kind of focus to remain smooth and controlled. Certainly something that can be practiced with dedicated focus, and something we can incorporate Spiro Training to help. In fact, I was just working on those skills this week-end in the new trails at Salty with the knowledge that this is one of my biggest areas of weakness.

Great reports, great races, and great attitudes...see you both at BCBR!!!

[GinnySellars]

Great racing boys!! Thanks for the read.

[StephenU]

What a weekend!

This was my second ToM SO i knew what to expect..  I filled Peter in on the details of the start and the expected hammerfest through Squamish streets..  it would play out just as I described to Peter and Horn.

I seeded myselft right after Peter and the Elite field so I would not have to work my way through to the front group as it was going to speed it's way though Squamish.  I wanted to get a good spot on the first dirt parts of the race.  Mission accomplished as Peter and I were able to hang onto the first group..  I yelled @ peter that my HR was 190 and he yelled back, "So is Mine!"  I was able to stick with the first group for about 15 mins untill I had to make a decision to throttle back from my 185HR down to around 180ish.  This would see me come detatched from the group but I knew I had a long race ahead of me.
I settled into my race and rode alone ALOT.  I stood on the pedals and cranked out slow, power cadence when the trail was smooth enough to alow it.  I was somewhere between the front elites and top age groupers behind me.  Halyna would provide me with bottle two of my three bottle feed of eLoad Endurance and Fly.

With a full bottle and the 9 Mile climb ahead, I got into a 4 rider group and we worked together on the fireroad before the climb.  I would settle into a 180HR rythym and was soon joined by Vernon rider, Mat Hewitt.  This was great as we pushed one another up the climb at a very high rate of speed.  We dropped, caught, and passed many riders!!  Mat and I would stay together untill the very top. As Peter described, there is a loose, double track section that is sketchy!  Mat would eventually drop me on this descent.  (I was taking as much risk as I could tolerate)

I would soon be in The Plunge and actually did not know it! This was great because I was riding it super clean and smooth!!  I only came off the bike once on a steep, rocky climb.  Many riders walk this I am sure.  I was pumped as I approached the feed zone for my last eLoad bottle!

Feeling super strong and fluid, I attacked the "crampit woods" section.  Hammering through this last single-track piece, I was intent on getting it to the house in under 3 hours.  Well, it is possible I was pushing it a little bit hard because I crashed super hard only a couple minutes from the end of the trail!  So close!  I went off the bike, hit my head hard, and bruised the whole left side of my body. At first I actually did not know where I was, and I was super disoriented!  30 seconds went by and I hopped on my Trek 29er and started hammering again!  After I got my senses back, I looked at my HR and my HR monitor/GPS was gone!!  It had been torn right off my bike!  I had no idea of my time/HR..  As I got onto the road, I was joined by another rider.  I started ramping it up for a strong road finish.  Well I could not drop this guy and I made a wrong turn right before the finish and he tool advantage of that.  Oh well!!

28th Overall, 1st in my Age Group with a 2:55 time.  Super Happy Quail!!
Due to the HR monitor loss, I am guessing at my average HR but I know it would be likely over my LBP os 170ish.  I was able to ride hard into the 180s for long periods of time.

Limiters today..  I felt like a machine all day other than being able to stay with the lead group on the dirt.  I am sure it is my lack of power on the mountain bike on dirt.  I can ride with those guys all day in the road or smooth trail.  More high end watts needed for the explosivness required on the dirt/gravel climbs.  I would love to be able to access high end wattage for short bursts.  Maybe this is something for me to work on over the winter for next years assault on mountain bike racing.

[Andrew]

The answer to high end power may be in some very limited functional interventions at specific times OR through continued development of specific structures that will allow for better coordination of systems. We certainly don't have a clear answer at the moment for you, but nobody can argue with the HUGE improvements you have made over the past two years, with the prime focus in training still being controlled intensities to develop cardio/resp/peripheral structures.

The plans for 2012 should take into account what we have developed so far, and what limiters remain. Fabulous work Quail!!!

[StephenU]

The Guardian needs to experience "The Test" in 2012!!  I think any mountain bike racer from BC needs to try this (as Peter puts it) bicycle meet at least once!

[Majo]

Test Of Metal 2011
Majo’s report

I don’t know where to start…  Even more this year, my mountain bike races I participate in get me such on a high that I feel, for at least a week after, like a super bouncy ball that goes off the walls and the ground energetically and unpredictably!

Since Nimby, I have been prioritizing on getting more sleep, 8-10 hours per night.  I also favoured riding my knobbies on the roads rather than on the trails as I still felt I needed to give my neuromuscular system more time to recover from the last 2 races (Salty & Nimby).  A full week before the Test Of Metal, I rode 62km on Noname (my Giant Trans X1 with very grippy tires), from East Hill Vernon to Winfield and back, through Commonage and Carr’s Landing roads – I took 3h16.  Otherwise, the week prior the Test was light in bike training with more time spent on doing self-assisted AIS, MFR & STR.  I also made sure I drank a lot of water and ate a lot of carbs and proteins.

The day before the Test I arrived in Squamish early, allowing me to go for a very easy 30 min spin down around the neighbourhood of the race start and in a short bout of a really cool rooty trail – my legs felt strong and my level of mental readiness dialled in.  Then, I opted for a 90 min power nap, a massive carb and protein fiesta dinner, a 30 min AIS, MFR & STR session topping with a smooth 9 hour sleep.  Haaaaaa!  Race day: I slept in until 8:30, managed a 30 min AIS & MFR session (respecting the minimum 2 hour time frame prior to the race start), had my typical breakfast, got to the racing zone by 10:10, did a 30 min warm up (focusing on breathing, varying CAD & gearing, getting my HR up to LBP + 16 but w/o tiring my legs, climbing a 4-5 min hill to get rhythm through a good workload and some speed down to scare me a bit and wake my nervous system up), placed my bike in the 4 hour finish zone in the starting chute and did my dynamic stretching warm up waiting for the GO!  Nerveuse?  Non, pas de temps pour ça!

My race went well.  Really well!  I felt good almost all the way and I spent most of my time catching up with little groups of people.  My riding weakness is to fly down fast the non-technical gravel or log roads filled  with, as Peter would say, baby-heads all over them (LOL).  So in the first one like that I was alone and was riding too much in my comfort zone, and BOOM 5- 6 people caught me BACK – Rrrrrrrrrrrr – damn it!  Not again!  My riding strength was my pace consistency throughout what you would call in the Test technical climbs (nothing comparable to Nimby), the semi and non-technical climbs, the semi and technical downhill.  I started the race confident and comfortable on the road, but yet pushing LPB +16+18.  Again, thanks for the roadies’ indirect coaching throughout the BPR posts as I had quite a bit of fun at bridging gaps, group to group, to make my way ahead in the crowd.  Sometimes, I would pull aside but feel my legs fighting too much, so I would just pull back in for a little longer, until I recovered some power and felt strong to go ahead.  The locals were awesome: they decorated their yards, they boosted pumping music, and they were dancing and shouting encouragements!  Wow!  I even said Hi to a long-time buddy at the WB ski school that I haven’t seen in a couple of years!  The pace set by the long serpentine of riders in the first few trails was cool, but fast enough so nobody would want to pass.  The only slowing down (about 3-4 min complete stop) happened 1 hour in when the first 2-3 big rocks were laying down peacefully ahead on the trail!  

This was my first time doing the Test Of Metal; the trail or road types kept alternating and the overall course was quite winding that I didn’t know too well where I was all the time, but never was I worried about the course length and where and when it would end up:  I just felt as good and powerful as the little pink DURACELL bunny!  My Average HR for the whole race was of 160 (LPB + 8 ) and it maxed out at 173 (highest recorded biking).  So far, I choose my racing pace by how hard I feel I can push without bursting, rather than fixing a HR goal – I look times to times at my watch just to re-assure myself that I am not taking it too easy!  So, I paced the 9 Miles Hill climb as what my legs felt they could take the most for a very long way up ahead, and to my joy, despite it felt very slow, it was faster than most riders I could see in front of me – there was that random guy that zoomed past me, but he was surely one of those speedy that unfortunately flatted earlier.  I got to what I thought was the top of the fire road climb as it started to go down!  All right!  I went faaaaasssttteeerrr – OMG it was full of those PW’s baby-heads – I could hear those guys getting closer and closer behind me…  No way are you going to pass me so easily!  Happily, there come the 9 Miles Bridge with an abrupt left turn and an uphill section again. THANK YOU!  They stayed there behind me!  The Ring Creek Rip that followed wasn’t very technical, it was very straight, it was muddy and it had more of those medium size loose rocks.  But I was good there to pass more fellows and stay away from those others I passed in previous climbs.  Phew!  Now luckily I found a brief quiet flat to remove my glasses before the Plunge, as they were so dirty and somehow non-cleanable.  Anyhow, to my surprise, there was another pack of people to pass in the Plunge.  I witnessed a couple of crashes and had to call out often for more space as many were walking down the Plunge as a stair well.  After all of that climbing please let me enjoy this rock n’ roll descent!

A little technical mistake taking the last corner, exiting the Plunge to the gravel road to the Booster Juice feed station, cost some energy and surely some time but it turned out fine.  I took the corner too tight inside the root and so slid side way – pulling my bike toward me with my cleat still on was enough to cramp hard my right Hamstrings (mostly Semi-Tendinosus & Semi-Membranosus).  And trying to get up as quick as possible annoyed my right Pectineus too.  Ouch!  That hurts!  First full cramps!  But they did not stop me more than that.  I got back on the bike and rolled out of the bush pedalling only with my left leg and pumping my right crampies gently but firmly with my right hand – they calmed down in within 30 seconds.  I wanted to keep a good blood flow through my right leg, so I clicked my foot back on the pedal asap and kept moving, still mostly powering with my left leg.  Darcy was there again ready to run up along the road to give me what I needed.  Through the feed zone I absorbed 7 ecaps, focused on managing accordingly the power that my right and left legs could respectively provide.  And BTW I never realised that it was a gorilla crotch that I was riding under (LOL).  Definitely, the BJ food station felt almost like a party!  By chance the next section (Far Side) was a single track climb that my new group seemed content to climb on the granny gear.  I did not feel I was working hard cardiovascularly on S&M Connector and Endo, but I felt safe to leave some time to my right leg to recover.  I think the easy spinning there contributed to my chain to suck in once at the front while rolling over a log.  My new Rock Shox rear shock felt so much better – feeling more supported and so saving more energy to move forward.

When I got back on Plateau Dr, leading to Smoke Bluffs and Loggers Lane, I had a second wind.  I drafted behind a gal that I kept leapfrogging with and that I guessed was in my Cat.  When I felt I was strong to move away from her I did.  In the last km or two I was still passing people; at one point a man was following me by close and encouraged me to take over again the next couple, but I felt it could just be a bit much for my legs so I made him go ahead – I should of draft behind him though.  Anyhow, my pace still felt fast but that way I knew I had power left in case of an emergency.  And that gal came back in front of me in the last 300 meters, so I hopped behind her, promising myself I would attack asap I would turn the corner to get to the grassy bit, as I knew the finish line was soon after.  And so I did and beat her of less than a second – finally yes, she was in my Cat!

My race nutrition went as follow:  
No camel bag as I could see Darcy twice through the same BJ feed zone.  
Start to BJ1(1h47 min):  875ml of water w 175Kcal of eLoads Heat Endurance / 1 eGel pack (100Kcal) / 2 eDiscs.  
BJ1 to BJ2 (1h52): 900ml of water w 180Kcal of eHeat / 1 eGel (100Kcal) / 3 eDiscs.  
BJ2 to Finish (33min): 7 eCaps / 100ml of Coke (45Kcal) / 250ml of pure water.  
Since I was not sure how long I would take to complete this first time race, my goal was to drink 475ml extra of water w 95Kcal from eHeat and to ingest 2-4 more eGels.  My total consumption of liquid and calories was of 2.125 L and 600Kcal.  But at the end, I ingested exactly what worked for me at the Salty and Nimby (500ml of liquid and 150Kcal per hour).
Total time: 4h12

Very interestingly, I saw my physio 2 days after the Test, and he is convinced that my cramping issues occur less likely because of a physiological imbalance (such as an electrolytes deficit), but instead because of a muscle imbalance, as he sees a repetitive trend when I return to him race after race. He did further testing and his MI and joint misalignment findings correlate well with my symptoms (where I tell him I ache, tighten and cramp during my races).  So, he suggests that if my cramping episodes become more random time to time, I should be revisiting my hydration and nutrients and electrolytes intake during a specific race.

Finally, I may have to say NO when people ask me around if I won the race, but I am very proud of my accomplishments.  As I like stats, here are some numbers that surely make me smile:

158 women were registered to the TOM
42 women DNS
10 women DNF
6th/27 I was in my Cat (35-39) (incl. 3 DNF / excl. 10 DNS)
20th/116 I was overall / non pro women (incl.10 DNF / excl. 42 DNS)
30th/126 I was including the 10 women pro elite
9 women were faster than me by less than 7 minutes
425th/884 I was in total / men & women (incl. 58 DNF / excl. 234 DNS)
So I kicked 299 male butts!

MOST importantly I had a TON of FUN racing and seeing my old friends from the area!  

I think my training goals should remain the same as per working structurally on my respiratory and cardiovascular systems.  My main focus during the TOM was to control my breathing, even when I was near or above LBP and while rolling over technical terrain.

Thanks for reading.  Majo

[Davnel]

Nice stats Majo! You are making some rapid progress with the MTB racing and your stat break down is a cool way to see how competitive you are. I'm glad you all had such a good time.

David

[Andrew]

I sent Majo a private note of congrats, but she deserves the public accolades as well. All who remember her hunched over her MTB all winter at our training sessions would hardly recognize her now, with her new focus on controlled intensity in training, more time for recovery, and a better understanding of how her killer core sessions were actually killing her bike training. Majo really has made tremendous gains this year, and it is always fun to see these improvements in someone so dedicated to the details. RIDE ON MAJO!!!

[Majo]

A public thank you Andrew and David!