XTerra Vernon 2011

[IanC]

I raced the inaugural Xterra in Vernon over the weekend at Ellison Provincial Park.  It was a very well organized event on a great course.  The field was not huge as there were only about 30 competitors for the duathlon and triathlon events.  Even so, there was some good competition with Calvin Zaryski, multiple amateur age grouper world champion and Danelle Kabush, part of the LunaChix race team.  She has podiumed as a pro at World Xterra and is also the sister to World Cup Mtn Bike Racer Geoff Kabush.
The swim was a two lap affair with a beach run of a hundred meters or so between laps.  The water was 16-17oC.  After you got over the initial shock, it was a nice temperature for racing.  After the first hundred meters of bumping, things spread out and a young up and coming triathlete, Rebecca Staynor went off the front.  For the first lap, Calvin was on my feet, and then the second lap was my turn to slap his feet.  We came out of the water to transition together for 2nd and 3rd.  Danelle came out of the water just a little behind us.  Warren Ellis also did this race, but swimming is not his strong suit and he probably swam twice as far as he needed to!  Scott Harrhy was in a kayak helping out with the swim leg.  Thanks!
My transition was not very quick, and I was onto the bike about 20 seconds behind Cal and together with Danelle.  There was a climb from the lake up to the trails and once we got into the switchback trail system, I never saw Cal again and had dropped Danelle.  The bike course was a super fun and flowy course with a few rocky sections that the fast riders could race, but beginner mountain bikers could still ride.  I was riding by myself for the most part, trying to catch a glimpse of Cal and trying not to get caught by the Madman, Warren!  I rode at a fast, steady tempo, but didn’t want to burn myself out for the difficult run ahead.
The start of the run climbed way up from the lake to the mtn bike area again and included one steep hiking section.  It was a 2 lap run with some steep climbing and some switchback descents with a total distance of about 12km.  It was really hard!  Once again, I was running by myself without a good idea of where my competitors were.  The only choice was to go as hard as possible.
Cal finished first overall, I was second overall by about 7 minutes and first in my category, Danelle was third and Warren finished fourth.  Majo was at the finish line providing her physio services, thanks!  It was an excellent race with good swag and draw prizes and I encourage everyone to give this one a go next year.
Here is a link to Danelle’s race report:  http://teamlunachix.com/proteam/racereports_entry/xterra_vernon_race_report

[Andrew]

Great report Ian.

I agree that the venue for Xterra Vernon is truly one of the best sites compared to many on the Xterra circuit. Clear water, great trails, and great facilities. I wish I could have been in town for this one, but family commitments had me chasing my brother under the midnight sun in Whitehorse.

Danelle must be working on her swim skills to be that close to you out of the water, as this has never been her strong suit. And it sounds like Cal is in good form as always. So, the question as always is, what are you going to work on between now and Whistler? Was it swim technique, or swim fitness? Was it bike handling, coordination, breathing or leg strength? Was it running efficiency or coordination?

We will have lots of time to make plans during our week at BCBR, and improve some of our technical riding skills. And by the time we get to Whistler in September, lets see if we can keep the Calgary crew a little closer!

[IanC]

There are a few things I want to work on after BCBR is finished.
 
I definitely need to work on my swim to bike transition.  It was really slow, Cal and I came out of the water together, but he went out of transition at least 15 seconds ahead of me.

If we had gone out together on the bike, maybe I could have stuck with him a bit better.  The results are up now and he had a smoking fast bike time.  I am pretty happy with my bike portion overall, and spending time on the bike over the next couple months will only improve that section of the race.

After BCBR, I need to spend more time running.  The run course had some steep sections to climb and descend and my quads were getting very fatigued and not recovering very fast on the runnable sections.  Hopefully, some time under the coaches watchful eyes will correct my bad habits.

I am quite happy with my swim.  I have spent a fair bit of time with Chris at the pool over the last year and my swim stroke and efficiency have improved measurably.  Last year, I would not have been exiting the water with Cal.

So, some more running and triathlon specific training over the next couple months and we will rock Whistler and then Hawaii!

Results are here: http://www.xterraokanagan.com/results

[kiwichris]

Can't wait to turn you into the tri-geek you are at heart wookie!!!
Your swimming has improved a great deal with the hard work over the winter, now we will turn that into speed in the lake. Your biking is always strong, and you have the running caliber needed to run with the big boys!!! Look out Cal in whistler!!

Has been a pleasure Ian - look forward to the next 10 weeks!!!

Chris

[Andrew]

Cal always beats me out of transition, even if I have a small head start...he is a master of T1 and T2. Danelle had a solid race, and it will be fun to see them racing in Canmore in August. Warren has expressed an interest in going, and Ginny and I have already booked our place to stay. Hope to see a few BPR crew there to join in the fun. The lake is a bit cool there, but certainly swimmable. The riding is on part of the course used for MTB Nationals, so is a good challenge, that will be perfect for the 29ers. The run is really fun on some of the lower MTB trails, with banked corners and switchbacks. Should be a good warm-up for Whistler.