Kelowna MTB Toonie Race

[StephenU]

Quail Checking in..

I have not been racing since BC Bike race as I have felt burnt out from a long road and mtb racing season.  Almost two months of just fun mtb rides with friends on wicked trails in Kelowna, Salmon Arm, and other places around BC.  It's been great riding, only thinking about what trails we are going to shred going down... (exclusively on my Cannondale RX 120 Trail Bike!!!)

Matt informed me yesterday that one of our sponsors, Fresh Air, was hosting the last weekly Toonie Race in Smith Creek.  We decided to head out after work!  At first we said, oh, we are only going to slow ride to the top, have fun coming down, and enjoy a Burger/Beer, then ride home..  Well, Horn and Quail decided to hammer as we were standing on the start line..  Peter W. was riding his non race RX 120, but I think he unleashed a little as well untill he flatted.. (I saw him not far behind me on one of the switch backs)

What I found was that with little or no intensity in the last month and a half, I have lost some high end power or punch but my cardiac and respiratory system are feeling ok!  Avg HR of 175 with controlled, if not fast breathing. (sore lungs after)
On the fireroad start, I  could not close a gap that normally would be no problem for me and Matt even commented to me he was surprised by my lack of power in that situation.  The Horn had a great ride and hopefully he can comment!!  It was great to fire up the competitive engine and blow out the carbon against the Kelowna local's!
I have been meaning to visit Chris to step test but I have been drawn out repeatedly for mtb rides and other fun rides.  Chris, I have not forgotten!  After seeing what I am lacking right now, I am super motived to see the real #'s on a graph real soon.

Quail out...

[Matt]

Much like the Quail, I wasn’t planning on hammering, but as soon as we lined up, that plan went out the window!  It was fun to line up with Peter and the Quail again.

I have been riding moderately since BCBR and have felt recovered, however this week I have done a couple respiratory training sessions on the Spiro, and I was concerned about how I would do during a hard effort. 

With that in mind, my plan was to go out hard until I exploded!  I was expecting my respiratory system to fatigue - usually my breathing becomes shallow, restricted, and I can feel the muscles surrounding my upper chest fatigue, and then everything else comes unravelled. 

I started off hard - pretty much an all out sprint right at the gun.  Two very strong Fresh Air riders pulled away, and I was able to reel one in right away, but the other rider got to the top 30 seconds before me.  I kept it pinned and waited to die, but I’m happy to report I made it all the way up in pretty good shape.  My respiratory rate was high, and my breathing was out of control, but I was still able to breathe and I kept my HR pretty consistent at 168, which is about LBP plus 10 for me.  I also didn’t cramp, which was great!  I have been working on ways to reduce muscle tension on both the uphill and downhill, and that helped as well.  The result I was happiest with was that I was able to ride all out and not melt down.  It was only for 42 minutes total, but still an improvement.

I passed the lead rider on the downhill, but Aart Van Kooy caught and passed me quickly.  Aart is an amazingly skilled rider, and it was fun to follow his lines on the way down.  Just staying with him feels like an accomplishment! 

I finished in 2nd behind Aart at 41:55

My legs feel good today, but it feels like I smoked a whole pack of cigarettes last night!  I think I’ll be taking a few days to let my completely cooked respiratory system recover. 

Thank you to Fresh Air for hosting last night – Owen was cooking up a storm, and there were a ton of Fresh Air Jerseys out on course.  Even Mike was out racing with his young family in tow.

Thanks for reading,
M

[PeterW]

Well, I got suckered into this too. The plan was to ride out, "RIDE" to the top, then burn down for beer and Burgers. However, when I met the quail, fully geared up with his 29er race bike, rather than the RZ120's we've been shredding on all august, I knew there was no hope of sticking to the "plan."

I have been super burned out since the BCBR/Fondo, and have been focusing on trying to take it easy, and spend time recovering, while still keeping bike coordination up. Riding up to smith I was feeling pretty weak, and decided I should not race, and just ride it easy as planned.

Off the start Jesse and seth hammered, and pacelined up the fire road. I attempted to stand and hammer, but my legs HURT. so I sat down and took it easyish, and let about a dozen people pass me before going into the singletrack. I rode here for the first 10 minutes... until quail and horn were far out of sight. I got too anxious being back there, so I decided to "experiment" with some higher intensity. I slowly ramped it up, passing people one by one, until the top of the climb where I got back into about 20sec reach of quail and aart, with horn just ahead. The second corner on the descent, I flatted. Hike a bike.

During my "experiment" my HR was consistently 180. during a toonie race like that, I would have expected hr to be 175ish, with spikes into 180. Oddly, although above BP HR, I felt I was still clearing lactate at this HR... However, I felt weak, and like my legs were maxed out. My breathing was controlled. I was riding a squishy, 6 pound-heavier than my race bike- bike, But I don't think it would affect biomarkers that much.

I step test tomorrow with Chris, and I'm hoping to see some more positive numbers than I've been seeing since BCBR. Although I know that hammering in the toonie race may not have been the best thing for my recovery, I was really interested in seeing my physiological response to it. I was also itching to put out some real effort after a month of easy pedaling.

[Andrew]

GREAT REPORTS boys.

Certainly nice to hear that the focus on recovery has not diminished tue desire to race hard. Hoping I can find that same kind of fire tomorrow in Whistler, as I call on the skills you have taught me this year.

Matt, the recovery from Spiro this week is impressive. And Peter, the control of the situation above LBP is a very good sign. Quail...impressive racing as always!

[GinnySellars]

The quote of the summer "Much like the Quail, I wasn’t planning on hammering"

Thanks for posting boys. It's fun to hear you shredding in a Toonie Race.