XTERRA Canmore

[Andrew]

What a venue!!! Surrounded by majestic peaks and stunningly clear lakes, lies a town with more bike paths and hiking trails, and close encounters with wildlife than you can imagine. This is Canmore!

Every year we go, the rain dumps down as we cross over the Rockies from the sunny Okanagan. Then, on schedule, the sun comes out on race day and gives us the most spectacular conditions for a race.

The tiny lake near the Nordic Centre was really warm this year, and the trails were in great shape. My bike was in perfect condition due to the arrival of Brock and Cindy on their way home from collecting their daughter in Edmonton. They weren't racing, but made the long drive to support the team, and it was much appreciated.

More of this report later...

So the race went nearly flawlessly...I swam well, despite my Spring shoulder and elbow issues, and was the first solo competitor out of the water, after being dropped by a pack of relay swimmers, some who braved the mountain lake sans insulating wetsuit. I was satisfied, but a little slower than last year, and it felt like the altitude was really forcing my turnover faster, just so I could breathe quicker. This got worse on the run down the carpet to transition, and was to be the unraveling of a perfect race.

I was panting as I shed my wetsuit. I was shattered before I even had my feet in my shoes. By the time I was on my bike climbing to the mtb trails, I was breathing erratically and could NOT bring it under control. I was passed first by Cal who was pushing hard, suffering, but easily gaining ground on me. Then Luke, who had it pinned, but looked in control, even after just completing  7 days of racing at the Transrockies! Then Danelle Kabush, who was actually SINGING a little song as she blew by me on the first steep gravel ascent of the Nordic trails! My legs were not pushing hard, as every ounce of energy was still going to respiratory control. The Little Lion Man cruised by. I actually had enough energy to cheer him on, and kept him within sight for 30 seconds, before another wave of respiratory difficulty hit me. Next was Mike Cabigon, who had made up over 3 minutes on me in the first ten minutes of the ride!

So, I say it was a NEARLY flawless race...I biked under control, and actually enjoyed the more technical sections on my Trek Superfly 29er. I climbed well after each downhill section, but each time I pushed hard, my breathing would become rapid, and I would lose control.

I was never passed after the onslaught of people who blew by me in the opening miles, and I caught a glimpse of Danelle on the long climbs, so I was holding my own, despite the resp difficulties.

The run began smoothly, and I felt strong. I made ground on Danelle, and ran to within 10 meters of catching her, and then the resp problems returned, forcing me into survival mode. I minimized the damage by maintaining cadence and using accessory muscles to manage some resp volume.

I finished a few minutes back from Lion Man and Danelle, but nearly 5 minutes off my goal. And with a huge number of questions...

1) was my swim effort so high that I was never able to recover from the respiratory challenge of the hard effort?
2) has the lack of swim volume affected my core stability and forced me to breathe in altered manner compared to previous seasons?
3) is the resp compromise more a reflection of the inability to buffer the metabolic acidosis created from the bike and run?
4) will some focused work on hypercapniec work with additional hypoxic work help prep for Narionals in three weeks time?

Here is to another round of trial and error.

I hope to see everyone in Whistler for what is bound to be a fantastic event.

[kiwichris]

Great report Andrew! Sounds like an amazing race with the most stunning scenery.

I would have to agree with you in that your lack of swimming volume has changed your respiratory patterns, or you swimming efficiency this year. Were the relay swimmers just too fast to hold their feet? I wonder what could have happened if you had sat in with some other swimmers and shared the work?

I really believe that 3 weeks is sufficient to see some functional benefits to the IHT work, and hypercapnic work with the spiro!! You will be ready to shred at Whistler and fulfill your dream of racing the double and kicking some butt!!

Chris

[Andrew]

To answer Chris' question...yes, the relay swimmers were in a different league than me this year. No way I could have stayed with them. I had the choice of swimming on my own, or holding up to wait for some feet. I did take a few slower strokes to try to find someone to draft off, and in hindsight, an extra 10 seconds of rest on the second lap might have been worth it.

Onto the prep for Whistler...I have already been able to recreate the feeling of respiratory compromise that I felt in Canmore, with some very simple "tests" during a short swim this morning. I did some moderate intervals, followed by "survival" Spiro breathing after each 100m. I have done this similar session on the track in the past, with Joel a few years back, and was able to control both the hypercapnea and hypoxia within 20 seconds, even after 800m of hard track running. But, the challenge of doing Spiro after swimming was an entirely more difficult situation. My brain is being challenged now to figure out whether it is a buffering problem, an oxygenation problem, or something else. It took 90-120 seconds just to get my breathing under control, using a 2l bag. And there was a DEFINITE drive for me to abandon the hypercapnea caused by using the Spiro after the short interval. I did NOT have a pulse oximeter with me, but will repeat this set again in a few days, and check oxygenation. My feeling was similar to the profound drop in O2 I have seen when doing Spiro after a hard set of lunges or jumps, so I predict my sats dropped quickly, and I had a hard time recovering them.

I have either clearly identified a problem with my ability to buffer the metabolic acidosis from swimming, or am opening up a whole new can of worms in terms of finding answers to difficult questions. Either way, the training this week, and the learning that will go along with it should be fun.

[IanC]

I raced the XTerra as well this last weekend.  It was a great race in a beautiful venue.  The trails were in great shape and a good mix of flowy cross country trails with some steep climbs on the bike.
The swim leg was 2 laps of a small lake.  I could not seem to find a good set of feet to follow and ended up swimming by myself off to the side of the pack a fair bit for some reason. I did not really settle into my stroke for most of the swim.  Even so, I came out of the swim in 8th position, about a minute behind Andrew.  This is an improvement over my swimming from last year.
On the mountain bike leg, I felt pretty good for the most part.  It felt like I was going at a good solid pace, but not able to push beyond a certain point.  It may have been the altitude that was making my legs feel a little dead and heavy.  My respiration felt under control and I had a good spin going, but couldn’t push the next gear.  The course had a lot of great single track that was thankfully dry as all the silt and clay must get very slippery when wet.  I ended up with the 5th fastest bike split, moving me up a few positions.
Since the BC Bike Race, I have been doing more running than anything else and my main goal for this race was to have a solid run.  I managed to keep a good cadence and I think I kept my form for most of the run.  It felt pretty solid.  I ended up getting passed in the last kilometer or two by Danelle Kabush and there was no way I was staying with her.  Oh well, I’ve been passed by worse!  My run time was good enough for 6th and I ended up 6th overall and 3rd in my age group.
For not having done nearly as much training as I would have liked over the last several weeks due to a very busy work schedule, this race went quite well.  The altitude did not overly affect me and I had a good run. 
Ian 

[GinnySellars]

It was great to see you racing so strong Ian! I gotta admit, I thought Andrew could catch you on the run the way he went out off the bike. When you came around for your second lap, I realize that you were running SUPER well. Good on ya.

[Andrew]

With Whistler looming, and the chance to qualify for Worlds on the line, I think a focus on functional biking and running will pay the biggest dividends as far as final prep goes. We know you have the fitness to succeed in the longer events given your consistency at BCBR. It is interesting that you had no major issues with the breathing like I faced, so really the only thing left is to focus on that run cadence and coordination for what sounds like a TOUGH run course in Whistler. Add some high end power to your great base in the next two weeks, and be prepared to lay it all on the line for a chance to race at Worlds!! 

I am looking forward to racing again with you, and will be doing some serious prep to help me stay a little closer on the bike...do we have a place to crash on Satuday in Whislter??? Hoping Emma can set us up again!

[kiwichris]

With some continued work on your running form, and hopefully some time to actually train, I can not wait to see you destroy the field in Whistler!!!

Looking forward to having you back in K-Town for the training sessions

Chris