River Raid MTB XC Race 2015 @ Devon (Alberta Cup) #2

Sunday May 31st, I finished 34th out of 35 in Sport Results. It took me 1 hour & 17 minutes. It was two laps and a total of 19 km's long. The total Elevation gain was 1,381 feet. My average heart rate was 173 bpm and max was 191 bpm. Check out my Garmin data Here. The result is the same, a last place as the one behind me was a DNF. As I sit here writing this I wonder to my self how the heck do I move up in the sport men field. I ask am I mad with this result and the answer is no, and why is that? because on the same course and conditions as last year I was six minutes faster in this years race. That is an improvement. This was also a B race for me. Alberta Bicycle Association is making the MTB XC races shorter and want them to run no longer than 1.5 hours making them a 70 minute sprint, I am not built for that kind of race, as I am like a big diesel engine meant to ride for longer. The course was a lot of fun with lots of climbing, technical riding and open double track. I could not make it up one tight technical switch back climb and I could not make it down the long technical descent so both these sections I ran. A well known elite racer Matt H came out and raced, very cool to see him there today. My former RVC team mate Sheldon S and his son came out to watch and cheer at the race. The temperature was 22 deg C. A huge thanks to Evan W, Stew H all the volunteers for Devon Bicycle Association for putting on the race.





 Pic by Nancy St-H



Approaching the finish line. Pic by Nancy St-H
 

Corporate Challenge 2015 MTB XC Race @ Terwillegar Park

Saturday May 30th, I did the technical single track course and finished 3rd out of 13. It was four laps long and 15 km's in total. It took me 46 minutes. My Average heart rate was 177 bpm and max was 195 bpm. The total elevation gain was 768 feet. Check out my garmin data Here. With my warm up I road 20 km's today. I got bottled up at the start and did not get to the spot I was hoping for in the single track. I did mange to catch up to a couple racers and pass them. I also got backed up on a few spots because when I was lapping racers and I said to your right they just stayed on the single track so I had to pass when we hit a corner or open spot. (They might not have known racer educate and that is fine) I had a sprint finish to the line and I was one second from catching him. This type of short race is like a sprint and that is not my specialty as I am more of a marathon guy. On my team was Teresa M and she did the 14km non technical course and she finished in 36 minutes and raced really well. She has a back ground in triathlons. The third member on the team was Pat M who did the 7km non technical course and he won it in a time of 17 minutes, Way to go! Pat has a back ground in XC ski racing and running races 10kms to half marathons. Our team Melcor won the silver medal. It is based on the size of your company. There were a lot of race team members from various clubs, including a couple elite racers and I saw some former racers that used to race a high level. The temperature was 9 deg C. Thank you Mike B and the team at Cooperate Challenge for putting on the race & all the volunteers to make this happen.

Me trying my best at the finish line in a sprint finish. Missed out by one second!
 

 

 

 

Trying hard at the finish line.

 

 

 

Silver lining - Teresa M, Me & Pat M.

 





Royal River Valley Rumble 4 MTB XC Race 2015 @ Sun Ridge Ski Hill (Alberta Cup) #1

Sunday May 24th, I finished 27th out of 32 in Sport Men Results It was three laps long and 18 km's in total. It took me 1hr 28mins. My Average heart rate was 174 bpm and max was 195 bpm. The total elevation gain was 1,565 feet. Check out my garmin data Here. After about thirty seconds into the race as we climbed up the ski hill I knew that it was not my day. My legs felt like they were filled with cement and my body was tired feeling. Shortly after that I had lost contact with the group. Then It pretty much was a solo ride for me. I just could not get my body to respond. I Have not done well in any of my races here. This was a B race on my list. I Know I had trained really hard in the weeks leading up to this race and this week was a recovery week for me. I am happy I did not quit and instead pushed on as hard and as fast as I could and there was a part where I beat an Elite racer up a long climb. I don't want this post to sound negative, I just thought I could have been a lot faster. This year the course was in reverse compared to years past, so it made for some really challenging climbs. The temperature was 27 deg C. Thank you Mike B, Steve M, Karen M, Mark R, Kurt M, Geoff  I and Hardcore Bikes for putting on the race & all the volunteers for their efforts and they also cheered loud.






Pic by https://www.flickr.com/photos/sangudo/



Pic by https://www.flickr.com/photos/sangudo/

Fat Tire MTB XC Race 2015 #2 @ Terwillegar Park

Tuesday May 19th, I finished second last place in the A group and it was four laps. It was 17 kms long and it took me 1 hour 1minute. My average heart rate was 171 bpm and Max 192 bpm. Total elevation gain was 1,041 feet. Check out my Garmin data Here. It was 21 deg C and not a single cloud in the sky. I had a really slow start as per usual and I even had a good warm up tonight. On lap three and four I seemed to find my grove even though at the start of the race my legs felt pretty sore from last week of training. I learnt that I can dig deep even when my legs are hurting like that. I had passed a racer on lap one and then late on that lap he passed me. I clawed my way back to catch him on the climb on lap four and then I passed him and held on. I only had got lapped by one elite racer Mike S and I was happy because usually a couple lap me. The course was really fast and flowy with a lot of climbing and I like that. Thanks to the guys @ Kokanee Redbike Race Team for putting on the race.

Fat Tire MTB XC Race 2015 #1 @ Terwillegar Park

Tuesday May 5th, I finished third last place in the A group and it was four laps. It was 16 kms long and it took me 1 hour. My average heart rate was 171 bpm and Max 192 bpm. Total elevation gain was 1,073 feet. Check out my Garmin data Here. It was 9 deg C and there was a wind that had a hint of winter in it still. I had a really slow start to the race tonight as I was a bit late getting out tonight and not able to get in a warm up. For almost two laps I was just ahead of Karen M who was doing the B group and I was surprised I stayed ahead as she is a really strong racer and is great in the technical parts. I picked some really good lines on the decents on my last lap. The course was really fun and it had a good long climb to start out with. Thanks to the guys @ Kokanee Redbike Race Team for putting on the race.

May 2015 Training

Wed 27th, MTB group ride United Cycle to Mill Creek Ravine for 2hrs (Zone's 1-4). Average heart rate =123 Max =181, Elevation gain 1,112 feet. Km's 20

Sat 23rd, MTB pre lap Royal River Valley Rumble 4 Sun Ridge Ski Hill for 1hr 30mins Average heart rate =156 Max =193, Elevation gain 1,184 feet. Km's 10

Sun 17th, MTB Inter Club ride UC to Terwillegar for 3hrs 30mins (Threshold 40mins) Average heart rate =149 Max =196, Elevation gain 2,254 feet. Km's 45

Sat 16th, Road ride Wye School to Fort Saskatchewan for 3hrs (Zone 1/2) Average heart rate =117 Max =159, Elevation gain 1,155 feet. Km's 68

Thurs 14th, MTB Redbike group ride to Mill Creek Ravine for 2hrs 27mins. Average heart rate =155 Max =186, Elevation gain 1,621 feet. Km's 28

Sun 10th, Road ride @ Colchester Hall for 3hrs (Zone's 1-4) Average heart rate =128 Max =175, Elevation gain 971 feet. Km's 75

Sat 9th, Road group ride @ Wye School to Northern Bear Golf for 3hrs 34mins, Average heart rate =151 Max =195, Elevation gain 1,411 feet. Km's 100

Sun 3rd, Road ride Beaumont to Colchester Hall for 2hrs 34mins (Zone 2/3) Average heart rate =142 Max =177, Elevation gain 866 feet. Km's 70