Rubber Side Down: XTerra Canmore Race Report

XTerra Canmore was my "A" race for the year.... but in the weeks prior to race day, I was having a hard time feeling "settled" about the event. After racing in Maui last year, I knew that coming back here would make me nervous - of course I want to repeat at Maui! But would I get a spot, can I improve again by leaps and bounds to make the qualifier? And we had a busy summer planned out, some back country hiking, lots of mountain biking, time with the kids, time with friends, work is busy and overly stressful, family pressures.... would it all come together? It took until the Wednesday before the race to feel like I had a good headspace for this race.

Boy, would I need it!

The weather forecast conspired against us: cold and rain in the forecast. And the drive to Canmore on Sunday morning left me questioning just how much of the bike course I would have to walk, as it was thumping down rain. I made some decisions and some promises to myself: above all else, be safe, and, of course, have fun!

I was racing with The Husband and a good friend Erin W. The Husband has done an amazing job learning to swim over the past two years, and this is his first solo triathlon - big time shout-out and congrats to him on this event! We had just enough time to prepare T1 and T2, walk through the race meeting and get on the bus.

There were several Spin Sisters racing both the Sprint and Competition course, so we chatted and warmed up before the swim. I did the warmup that I had planned, felt confident in the water, felt ready to go.

Unfortunately, my swim just wasn't up to par today. I cannot make sense of the why's and how's, but along the way my swim was just slow. I could feel how slow it was and tried to focus on technique, on breathing, I tried lots of tricks to get moving. Total swim time was 33min - about 2 min slower than last year. Grr.
2014 Swim: 33:46
2013 Swim: 31:42

My T1 was much improved over last year - my new HUUB wetsuit is awesome, easy to take off, I love it. I was smoothly and quickly on my way.
2014 T1: 4:12
2013 T1: 6:11

Surviving the wet trails - rubber side down!

Once on the bike, I knew that I had 2km of uphill pavement to ride before starting the climb at the Canmore Nordic Centre. I needed to stay steady and focused, settle into the bike, and not burn any matches before I even got started. My legs were feeling zippy, and I was gaining on some of the crowd ahead of me. And when I got to the Nordic Centre, I continued to pass people. As each of them fell back, I did a mental systems-check: I'm not usually in the passing lane, so I did a conscious check of my body with each rider and discovered I was in fine form so pressed onwards. The climb up to the Laundry Chutes was over faster than I remembered, and we were coming down some slippery, rooty, rocky single track. There were riders all over the place; in fact, all day long, riders were slipping and sliding across trails. I exhaled and rolled forward. I know the lines to ride, I know where the tricky parts show up and can be prepared, my experience with this course was to my benefit today, it was a safe and FUN ride! I leap-frogged with fellow Spin Sister Liz (who was part of an all-female team) for most of the first lap, but pulled ahead for lap 2. Lap 2 was even more fun, as I continued to pass people and confidently rode the trails. It was the perfect ride for those conditions, I kept the rubber side down and left my legs in good shape for the run.

"Race Face" starting lap 2

Total bike time: 2:08 - an improvement of 3 minutes over last year and done on a slippery course!
2014 Bike: 2:08:05
2013 Bike: 2:11:39








T2 was almost quick and smooth - but I forgot to grab the mandatory bear spray canister off my bike so had to go back for it.  Oops.
2014 T2: 1:05
2013 T2: 1:30

I promised myself that this run course was going to hurt, that if it didn't hurt I wasn't running hard enough and to get it in gear.
And let me tell you, it hurt. I kept my feet moving at a "run" motion for almost 7.5km. There was a hill, oh Lord there's a hill. It needed a short walk break. Erin W sassed me as she ran past, so I put it in gear. And I saw a woman about .5km behind me, she looked roughly my age and dammit, I wasn't going to let her pass me. So at the 8.5km mark, I turned it up another notch. I don't exactly remember the trail, the people, or the scenery. I simply ran. My legs hurt. Oh look, The Finish Line. I made it. It was a blur, I tried not to cry, and I tried not to fall over. I'm so glad both The Husband and Erin were at the Finish area, they propped me up and gave me a hug. I love racing with "my people." Total run time: 1:15.
2014 Run: 1:15:04
2013 Run: 1:16:

Crossing the Finish Line

Overall time:
2014: 4:02:08
2013: 4:09:38
That means I shaved 7 minutes off my time from last year on a slick course.  Holy smokes!

Is it enough to return to Maui? Maybe - I placed 4th, I am super proud of my effort, I know that my legs are empty and that I raced hard.  One of our very pregnant friends Laura commented on my "race face" - so focused and concentrated. She's right, I was in the moment, racing hard, and, honestly enjoying every second of it. What an incredible high! Maui would be amazing, and if I'm offered a roll-down spot, of course I will take it. Time will tell. In the meantime, I am very pleased with my race, and ready to hits the trails with some friends for a few more rides this season. Happy trails!

XTerra Victoria: time to go off-road!

Pre-Race
XTerra Victoria is no doubt on of the most beautiful courses I have raced: luscious forest, soft loamy soil (with some big rocks for good measure), warm lake, challenging course.  And Race Director Monique is amazing, she hosts a first-class race - way to go! I didn't take a supporting race crew (AKA The Family) with me to this event, so no pics in this post, sorry to disappoint, you will just have to take my word for it, this course is a beauty!

I chose this race for a couple of reasons: it's approx 6 weeks prior to XTerra Canmore so it will help me to gauge fitness and readiness, and it's also a Maui qualifier, so you never know what can happen on race day!

I arrived in Victoria on Thursday, having driven from Calgary all day and taken the ferry crossing, one of my favourite relaxation exercises.  My goal for the next two days was to check out the course, prep and rest for race day.

On Friday I headed out to Durrance Lake, approx 25 min north of the city. I had studied the maps before hand, but wasn't prepared for the knotted mass of trails in the area! After a few mis-starts, I was finally on a trail, no wait, maybe it was the trail that I just passed, yes, keep rolling.... you get the picture. On race-day it was much better marked with chalk arrows.  The course was rooty and loamy with big rocks that, as Mel McQuaid pointed out, are meant to roll up and over. Seriously? It looks like a rock wall! Of course, she's right, that's why I paid good money for my front fork. I mastered a couple of the lines that she highlighted, it came in handy on race day, thanks Mel! Two laps of the course were plenty - not enough to know all the drops and tricks, but enough to wear me out for one day.

I returned to the lake on Saturday to check out the run course - love it, more on this later - and swim in the lake. There was chatter about the lake being too warm for wetsuits, so I hopped in with just my bathing suit.  It was perfect!

Race Day
I woke up nervous. It was raining, so I worried about a slippery course, and I just couldn't settle.  So I tried to methodical things: finish packing the truck, tidy the condo, attempt to enjoy my breakfast (ha!), drive out to the lake. For some reason, I thought the race started at 9am.  As I was casually pumping my wheels, a fellow racer pointed out that transition was closing in 10 min.  10 min! I headed to Transition immediately, where I learned that the race was starting in 25 min! EEK! I never make these rookie mistakes!

The Swim:
LOVE LOVE LOVE my new Huub Wetsuit. It fits well, no arm restriction, easy to strip off.... and due to the rain, the water had cooled off so it was a wetsuit-legal race. I jumped into the mix of the swim, maybe I started a bit too quick, I had to pull back on pace at the first buoy, but the winter and spring coached swim lessons rang in my head (yes, Ed, I can hear your voice inside my head, kinda spooky and inspiring at the same time): smooth your stroke, work on the front end of your stroke. I stayed with the pack most of the way around the first lap, but could feel my breath getting ragged, so I opted to stay smooth and aim for efficiency. The second lap was better, still had lots of people around me, and I didn't lose much ground.
I think the 1500m course may have been a bit short, as my swim time clocked in at 21:54.

T1:
OMG - my wetsuit is amazing! It came off my arms in the first try!  Quick to put on helmet, sunglasses, socks and shoes - I didn't spend much time here, not much to report.

The Bike:
The initial climb is a long fire-road, approx. 10 min of climbing, with a couple of loose sections in it, entirely rideable, it's about having the fitness to ride it well without burning out the legs for the technical sections that follow. I ended up behind a 25-year old male rider, whose adrenalin was running high so that he exaggerated every move, which meant he bailed off his bike on the smallest of features and had one endo that was quite spectacular.  This translated into me putting down my foot more frequently than I had planned and ignited my mental "oh shit" factor.  I knew that I had to drop him so that I could continue to ride MY race, not his. Finally, towards the end of the first lap, it opened up enough for him to give me space to pass, I didn't see him again all race and I was able to ride more smoothly and confidently. The second lap was quieter and faster: I knew I had lost time behind the other rider, I knew that the fireroad on the second lap was slow, but I persevered and my Garmin tells me I had a negative split by almost 12 min on the 2nd lap. The goal of today's bike was simply a vehicle to get me to the run.
Bike time: 2:10:55.

T2:
In and out, remember to have quick feet to start the run. Go!

The Run:
The first one km of the run course snakes thru the thick forest, it's pretty flat but has lots of roots so you need to pay attention. I tried to gain momentum, keep the feet moving quickly, the legs didn't feel burnt out from the bike so I opened up a bit more than usual. The massive hill from 2-3.5km is also known as The Beast. Yes, I needed to slow to a walk, the pitch was steeper than most staircases! But I was able to get the legs moving again at the top fairly easily. The downhill of the run was tricky, very technical with loose soil, lots of big rocks and drops, but very fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the run on this race, even lap two when I was getting oh so tired. Lap 2 went well, again, I kept reminding myself to open up the legs and push forward a little bit faster, and I'm pleased that I had the mojo to keep going.
Run time: 1:12:39

On hitting the Finish Line:
Overall, pleased with my effort. It was a tough course, I am un-used to riding West Coast trails, and I had a solid run.  It wasn't my best race, in fact I'm almost ready to declare it "average," but there are a couple of things that I learned:
- use the bike as a way to transport you to the run, then go push your pace a bit.
- the focus on running early in my season makes running in a race much more enjoyable and while I'm still working on speedy trail running, trail running at the end of the race is fun.
- I can mentally identify when I need to stop riding someone else's race and take action to get myself back on track.
Finished 5th in my AG, 57 out of 62 racers.
Total time: 3:48:49

What's next? Back into training, will have some fun riding in Revy later in July and again in Fernie in August, all to prep for XTerra Canmore on August 17.

Happy Trails!

The Triple-Header

Race season is here!

I had a great 2013 season: I raced well, improved my mountain biking skills and strength, held steady on my running and swimming, raced well, qualified for XTerra Worlds, and had a top-shelf race in Maui.  I knew it would be tough to repeat such a great goal-achieving year, so when planning out my season for 2014, I tried to make choices that would be measurable and specific to improving my skills as an athlete. I also had to spend energy recovering from a string of illness in February/March/April, and somehow in all of that chaos I had to fit in full-time work and family.

Here's how I decided to kick off my 2014 season: a triple-header of races, three race in three weeks.

The First Event
For the past three years, one of my goals has been to "run a faster 10km." I have been hovering around the 55min mark for several years, it's been on my list of things-to-improve, but bigger goals have taken priority. So I spent most of the winter and early spring focusing on how to run faster.  The answer, of course, is to do more speed work.  And with our crazy weather this year, I did a large chunk of it on the dreadmill.

On June 1, I got to test out the hard work on the dreadmill at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon Festival, where The Husband and I signed up for the 10k.  His job was to keep me motivated throughout the event, keep me on-pace when I slacked off, and enjoy his day.  I was prepped and ready, I had a mental dream-goal, a realistic stretch-goal in mind, and had thought through all the details for race day.  I did not, however, plan for the Friday before the race: my eldest daughter loves to mountain bike with me, so we headed out for a casual ride at COP Eastlands. Naturally, I fell on a feature that I ride every day without blinking, and instantly cracked my left knee against the frame of my bike.  Ouch.  I limped home, put some ice on the knee, and went to bed.  I tentatively did the tune-up workout on Saturday, put more ice on my knee, and watched as it turned purple, green and yellow.  On Sunday I downed some Tylenol, and boldly stepped into the chute beside the 50min pace bunny.

GO!

Away we went! The first couple of km's were fast, tough work weaving and dodging people who don't understand how to seed themselves in the starting corral, but we found a rhythm.  And The Husband was right beside me, assuring me that I was evenly paced, pace was on-target, relax your shoulders, keep going.  He did his job very well! My knee really only bothered me on the mild uphill slopes on the unpasses, which is annoying but otherwise, I held strong and steady. The race was well organized, the route was well-marked (although somewhat less than scenic), and we kept running.

I'm happy to report that we crossed the line at 53:09, a new PB, putting me 14th in my AG (out of 232 women 40-44)! The smile in the photos say it all.

10k PB smiles with The Husband

Of course, now I want to go faster.....


The Second Event
One week later, I toed the line at the Spin Sisters Iron Maiden Mountain Bike XC race held at the Canmore Nordic Centre.  Let's set the record straight: I don't race much of the AB cup series events, and this was a big event for the provincial points grab. It was also a qualifier for AB Summer Games, and there were lots of people aiming for spots.  There were 239 racers at the event, who says XC is dead - ha!  So there were lots of FAST people waiting to race in the sun.  Also, during the pre-ride, I noticed that I could best the Novice category times from 2013 without being at race-pace, so I decided to move up to the Sport category (something they let female riders to do encourage participation). The Sport category added an extra loop of the course that contained a lot of uphill riding and some fun technical sections.  And as Coach Jack pointed out, I wasn't "race ready" for mtn bike racing since I had been focusing so hard on the 10km. It's important to remember these things when I tell you: I got my ass handed to me on this race course.  Yep, those young women sprinted uphill when the starter's whistle sounded, and kudos to Ramona H., Fiona M., and Gloria S. (fellow Spin Sisters) for chasing them down. The leaders were finished 2 laps of the 3-loop course a solid 18min before I crossed the line, certainly in last place (but only 2 min back of the next closest competitor). Congrats to the racers that day, they showed sportsmanship, grit, strength, and good fun.  I focused on a smooth ride, worked on some technical sections, and generally had fun while trying not to barf from exertion.  Fun times.

Ready to race Sport women cateogry with Gloria S. and Ramona H. 

The Third Event
One week after Iron Maiden, The Husband and I stepped up at the Canmore Nordic Center to race the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series event. The race course was fun - lots of single track, crazy amounts of climbing, good post-race food, but the organization pre-race needs some improvement.  I showed up on race day uncertain which category I was running: the distances between Sport/Enduro kept changing, and my status in either category also kept changing.  They also didn't post the race route until the day prior, which makes it tough to plan.  I was a bit frustrated because I couldn't make a race-plan based on a course or distance that would mentally help me measure out my effort.  Again, it helps to keep Coach Jack's words in my head, "Use this race as a tune-up for XTerra Victoria, make it a tough run but don't shred your legs." Upon arrival and check-in on race-day, I confirmed that I would be running the 12km Enduro course.  Not quite what the Coach ordered, but I set out determined to run hard and steady.  The first 2km out of the stadium were uphill, quickly finding some singletrack.  In some ways, it's good that there was a crowd of people, it forced me to temper my effort while waiting for a space in the trail to pass; I didn't burn out on the first uphill.  The Enduro course had a 2nd loop, so when the Sport runners kept moving forward, I found some relative peace as I looped around (uphill!) for the longer run.  There were still plenty of runners in my line of sight, there were 4 women and we kept leapfrogging each other.  Oddly enough, I seemed to pull ahead on the climbs, and they would catch me on the descents (note to self: I need to learn better technique for trail running, esp downhill, I think this is where I lost a lot of time!). On the final climb, The Long Road to Ruin, I managed to shake them loose, and held strong as I ran uphill to the finish line.  I will post the finished time, it will look silly next to the Scotiabank 10k time, but keep in mind this was a very hilly trail run.  I finished in 1:30:09, good for 11th in my AG (out of 20 women 40-49).  I'm proud of my effort on this run: steady, consistent, uphill running.  A good day for me on the trails.

Where is this all leading?

Next event is XTerra Victoria on July 6th, followed by XTerra Canmore on Aug 17th.  See you at the start line!

XTerra Canmore Race Report 2013

This is the fourth time that I’ve participated in this event; I’ve done the Sport distance and the Full distance, I’ve raced it in Whistler and in Canmore.  When Furious Three canceled, I picked XTerra Canmore as the focus for my season.  Organizer Tony Smith of Grizzly Mountain Events hosts a world-class event, with great sponsors, amazing competitors, and a lot of fun.  Thanks for the great efforts Tony!

I had a couple of goals for this race:

-       FUN – I love my mountain bike!  And with 2 other Spin Sisters racing, I was in good company.

-       Demonstrate bike power – I worked hard at the technical and strength elements of cycling, I’d like to see them translate into action on race day.

-       Improve my trail running – be stronger, longer. 

My overall goal was to finish happy, strong, and feel like I’ve given my best effort for my “A” race of the season.  

Here’s how it all went down…

The dawn arrived early in Calgary: 5am wakeup call, time to get the kids out of bed and breakfast for me, I need to be in Canmore by 7 to set up my gear.  The weather looked good – clear skies, not too chilly (although the clear skies would soon disappear!).  I arrived with lots of time to spare, set up my gear, and began to wait.  Yes, I had some nerves, but I saw lots of familiar faces, so managed to distract myself with conversations. 

XTerra Canmore swim at Quarry Lake

Last week I participated in The Grizzly Ultra SwimChallenge, held at Quarry Lake.  I entered the event as a trial-run of the XTerra swim, to get some open water experience, and to work out any kinks.  The Swim Challenge highlighted a couple of things: I need to work on my sighting, because swimming back and forth across the lake (instead of straight forward) is a waste of energy and time; and, stripping my wetsuit takes too much time, it gets stuck on my wrists.  I didn’t “race” the Swim Challenge, I was satisfied with the 35 minutes it took to swim 1500m.  The day before XTerra I dunked into Quarry Lake again, one lap instead of three, and felt like I swam smoother and stronger – and straighter!

Spin Sisters Cindy & Laura at swim start - this girl knows how to have fun while racing!

On race day I was determined.  I lined up mid-way through the pack, gave Spin Sister Laura a hug, and dove into the water.  The first lap went fast – it felt fast, I stayed in touch with the pack, yet out of troubled water – and I managed to trot around the pylon to start the second lap.  The second lap was smooth, it felt like liquid, and I was starting to pass people who may have started too fast.  At the start of lap three I glanced at my Garmin, wow! I was making GOOD time, somewhere around the 20 min mark for 2 laps is a good pace for me.  My arm wasn’t a bother either; since breaking it in May 2012, swimming has been a balance between pain and speed, so I was pleased that my arm was rolling along nicely. Lap three was smooth, I was starting to get tired, but I was still passing people, still in the mix.  I could tell that my sighting was accurate, and my strokes were smooth. I exited the water with a smile, that swim felt good. 

Lap 1 - looking strong

In the mix, strong, smooth strokes, swimming straight

Swim Time:  31:42 – nice improvement, smooth swimming!

(previous swim time:  35:22)

T1

My wetsuit has become a nightmare.  I cannot get my hands free of this black body condom and it’s frustrating as hell.  Perhaps it doesn’t fit very well (since it also feels like I carry half the lake with me when I swim, I suspect this is the case)? Perhaps I had some adrenalin pumping (I was fresh out of the lake after a fast swim)? Whatever the reason, it felt like I was wearing a straight jacket.  As I trotted towards the bike racks, Laura passed me and tried to give it a tug – no luck.  I kept on struggling, finally wrenched one hand free one hand, pulled loose the other.  The legs came off clean, no struggles.  Helmet, glasses, socks, shoes, hydration – GO!

Wetsuit FINALLY off, exit T1

T1 time:  6:11 – no improvement, looking at past comments, I had the same issues (yes, I double checked, it's exactly the same time. Bizarre.).

(previous T1 time: 6:11)

The Bike

Finishing Bike Lap 1.  Here comes the rain. 

The paved road from Quarry Lake to the Canmore Nordic Centre was a great place to start taking a few sips of Ultima, spin the legs and get the breathing under control.  In spite of my wetsuit nightmare, I managed to stay in touch with a number of riders as we went up the road – and Laura came spinning past in a blue and green blur, way to rock the bike lady!  The course was held in tandem with the Canmore Road Triathlon, some of those cyclists were also making their way through to their run course – so the staging area near T2 was a bit congested.  I kept on spinning, up the hills, up the double track, up and up.  A quick trip down the Laundry Chutes – still need to figure out the first drop/turn combo, I played it safe and walked this small section. I could see some other ladies ahead of me on the climbs, I wasn’t making up any time on them, but they weren’t leaving me behind either.  I pressed on with an even effort, the trail was tacky, a bit slick on some roots, not too bad.  It was fun towards the Meadow, the descent and flow of the course along this section is one of my favourite parts of CNC.  I was starting to pass a few people who were getting hung up on roots, I felt grateful that I had ridden the course so many times in training, I had already picked out the lines that I could ride, I felt confident on my Santa Cruz.  I played leap frog with a CSR rider from Prince George, down the Coal Chutes, I heard Laura whoop it up on the Coal Chutes, good boost of energy for me, then up the dreaded Georgetown Climb.  I didn’t want to burn out my legs on the first lap, so kept the effort in check – and the women ahead of me were getting closer.  As a point of personal pride, the lead women and pro women didn’t lap me on the bike course – always a confidence booster in my book!

Lap 2 started with a drizzle – uh-oh – and it continued to rain harder and harder as I pushed forward.  I passed the women that I had been dogging all day on some of the climbing out of the CNC, and managed to keep the rain out of my eyes.  By now it was raining HARD, the trails were becoming muck, the roots were greasy.  I trusted my bike, slowed a bit on some downhill sections, and pressed forward.  By the time I hit the Coal Chutes the second time around, I was a muddy, yucky, oozing mess.  And I bailed.  Totally wiped out.  The gunk from the coal chute was all over my bike, my legs, clumped in my shoes – yuck.  After a quick systems check, I determined that I was whole, and biked up the Georgetown Climb.  Overall, my bike felt confident, maybe not as fast as I would have liked, but I didn’t need to push the bike uphill, I had a solid technical ride, and I could tell that the interval training and on-course training paid off. My lap times were almost dead even (not counting the ride on the road), so even with the rain, my effort was well-paced, the training paid off. 

Bike time: 2:11:39.  Nice improvement!

(previous bike time: 2:21:34)

T2

Where did everyone go? Transition was quiet – no announcer, no racers, no crowd… just my family and a few other on-lookers.  Kinda spooky. 

Rack bike, change shoes, grab hat and gel – run.

T2 time:  1:30 – can’t explain the extra minute, maybe user error or inconsistency pressing the lap button in transition.

(previous T2 time: :35)

The Run

As it turns out, it was raining so hard that race organizer Tony Smith moved the crowd inside for the awards and prizes.  As the person outside in the rain, I must have been acclimated, because it wasn’t until the wind picked up that I noticed the weather was downright unpleasant. 

Lap 1 on run course

At the beginning of the run, I was able to see 4 or 5 people on the course in front of me, perhaps on their second lap, maybe on their first.  I was determined to slowly reel them in.  I focused on keeping my effort as even as possible, maintain a steady forward motion.  There was really only one hill that needed to be walked (on both laps), and I’m happy to report that I passed a couple of people.  The lead women in my age category passed me at the end of my first lap, congrats to the great competitors in the field today.  For the balance of my run I focused on steady running, up and down the undulating course.  I could feel the steady state aerobic hill training kick in, could feel the burn in my legs but knew that I had the training to keep rolling.  

Running strong to the finish

I emerged from the trees, ran solid up the last 500m to the finish area, where I could see my family waiting.  The girls were excited to run across the line with me, Kate was so thrilled to be running beside me, she was giggling the whole way.  It was a thrill to run across with them – finished with a smile! 

Run time:  1:16:36. All the hills work paid off – nice improvement!

(previous run time: 1:24:33)

Overall, I’m pleased with the PB on this course.  I took approx. 20 minutes off of last year’s time, but more importantly, I’m happy with the way I executed the race: strong segments, good technical ability, solid training, good nutrition plan. 

Thanks to my family for the support along the way. 

Thanks to Coach Jack for creating a path to make me stronger. 

Total time: 4:09:38. Almost 20 min improvement – nice!

(previous total time:  4:28:05)

Next up? fun ride with friends at Rossland's Seven Summits and Banff GranFondo - stay tuned!