Ridgeline Rampage Race Report

Posted on by

Ridgeline Rampage Race Report – or- My First Mountain Bike Race.

This was an afternoon race so the normal get up early routine wasn’t there. I did get up to mee to  to meet my TNT athletes to get them set up on their run workout. My legs were feeling a bit heavy from yesterday’s strength session. Since this was my first race of the season and only 4 weeks into bike training, I did the session knowing I might be a bit sore.

Once home from the TNT workout, I started to get my bike gear around. A quick clean of the bike I then loaded up the car and made my way up the highway to Castle Rock. Check-in /Registration opened at 11am and I got there a little after and picked up my race number, 420, which got a lot of comments.

bike 420 ready to roll

I met up with the fellow WMBA members racing and chatting with some guys that I know. The nerves were definitely there – more from the riding aspect of the race over the racing aspect!

Temps were near 80, it was a bit windy. I hung out in the shade until it was time to get a quick warm-up in. My brief warm-up was just on the streets in the neighborhood around the park. I got to the line up when the men’s pro half-marathon was starting. The women’s XC race went off at 1:15. Each lap was a windy/twisty figure 8.

The start was a gradual climb and boy did my legs feel it. It was a pretty short stretch to spread out before hitting the single track. Conventional wisdom for this kind of race says start at the front and really fast so you don’t get behind the slower riders. As my warm-up was inadequate and my legs a bit heavy, that initial climb hurt and I found myself towards the back. This, as expected, got me behind a few slower climbers and let’s just say it was a cluster. Not a great start.

My plan was to ride the first lap to get more comfortable on the course and then ride the 2nd lap even faster (if I could). A lot of the first lap was finding my legs, navigating some of the slower men who started ahead of the women. I was glad I pre-rode the course a couple weeks ago. And very glad I signed up for the cross-country sport race and not the half-marathon! I leap-frogged another WMBA member, Heidi a bit of the first lap. Grateful she was behind me on one of the big descents and encouraged me through it. I was not very aggressive today being my first race and slowed to let a lot of people pass.

Happy I made it through the first lap in one piece, I started in on the second lap with a bit more separation from other riders. Unfortunately I knew a lot of this separation was because I was towards the back of the group. I swapped a water bottle at the aid station before heading back into the single track. I caught up to Heidi at the start of the first climb (I had let her zip past me towards the end of the first lap). My legs were finally warmed up, but on the longer steep stuff they definitely felt the effort I was demanding of them! This lap, however, was marked by all the half marathon pros and strong age groupers zipping past. For the most part the trail was wide and I was able to let people pass. One of my athletes, Steven Thompson of FLiBye Racing, came in a pack of 3. He gave me a nice pat on the back (a little push?) as he zoomed on by.

I was riding not too far from some others in my age group, but my lack of experience on a mountain bike didn’t let me keep the lead. The one “bad” experience in the race was when I was basically holding up a few riders on a descent. This was a sandy section with relatively narrow trail and a drop-off. I had let a few guys go past, but another was caught up behind me when it got a bit more narrow (and steep off the side). He was cool with it and understood it wasn’t safe to make a pass, especially if I wasn’t super comfortable. From the back a few guys (and a woman) started yelling, but he yelled back in my defense. That I greatly appreciated. Probably less than 30s later it was safe for me to pull over a bit (I didn’t stop) and let them by. A couple gave me words of encouragement. The woman wasn’t too happy and yelled in a not so friendly tone, “please let me pass.” At least she said please?? I wanted to yell back “I had been letting people pass me all day and you are no different, and I get over when I feel it is safe to do so.” She went by and unfortunately I let that moment get to me (and I know I shouldn’t have!) probably because of two reasons: 1) I know am a relative novice on the mountain bike with tons of room for improvement in descending skills. 2) I was getting fatigued – not only does mountain bike racing take a lot of physical strength, it takes a lot of mental concentration, which compounds the fatigue.

There wasn’t too much left on the course after this, maybe a mile or two, so I just had to fight my way to the end. At this point I’m definitely exhausted, but really glad I made it through the course in one piece! I popped through the finish chute in 2:21:36. Three ladies in my class finished less than a minute ahead of me, which I believe was due to skills, not fitness. At the chute I saw Kerri of WMBA already changed out of her kit (she killed the course in 1:50) – wow. I basically finished my 2 laps in the time it took a lot of people to do three. Lots of room for improvement here!!

Afterwards we caught up with all the WMBA gang, chatted with Steven who maybe took 3rd (the results were messed up for his class) and Craig of BV/SoCo Velo, and Sarah who ran a 25k race in the morning and then came up to help with the race event staff! I hung around for the awards, as some WMBA gals got some hardware (that was made of cardboard).

The Data:

My heart rate was up there! Way different than ironman or marathon racing!


Wrap up:

  • I made it through my first mountain bike race with very little overall mountain biking experience.
  • 99% of the riders were super friendly and supportive on the course.
  • My nutrition/hydration worked because I didn’t cramp up or bonk.
  • The WMBA gals are an awesome group with which to be involved
  • Do not let other racers affect your race (other than pushing you a little harder to catch them!)
  • The pros and fast age groupers really fly – they are motivating to watch.

Here’s a link to more photos.
I’ll post another report on my nutrition soon…

The Latest Experiment

Posted on by

Now that the LA marathon is done, it’s time to test the waters in mountain bike racing. But this year, I’m trying something different with my training… I’m adding a more structured strength training program to my routine. I’ve always had some strength (core, some hip strength) in my plan, but not a specific structured program during my main season. Not to mention women over 35 should definitely include some regular strength program to help maintain lean muscle mass.

I should also throw in that my coach has given me a bit of a challenge. A couple weeks ago, I did a field test (the CTS 2x8min) on the trainer. My average power of the two efforts was 210 watts. He wants to see if I can get to 250w in about 6 months. That is a HUGE goal that’s going to take a lot of work to get even close.

Now enter MotionX… This is a new “movement” studio that opened up here in Colorado Springs. They provide a wide variety of movement and strength programs, but what I like about them is that they understand the needs of the athlete. It’s not just about lifting weight and doing exercises to get strong, but to make sure the movement is done properly. The big picture tells us that to be a better triathlete, cyclist, swimmer, runner, insert name of your sport here, your body needs to know how to move. So I’ve started to work with Gina of MotionX on a custom strength program, and will also incorporate their yoga classes for recovery. Gina will look at what I need, what my weaknesses are, and work with me so I can become a better athlete. I will blog my experience and progress here.

trying to get strong like Gina!

This is fun, right?

My first two sessions were actually this week. We start with Dynamic Warm-ups (work on movement patterns!) and then progress to the strength part. The first few weeks will be a learning curve for me and my body! Let’s just say I am a bit sore! I’m getting to know the TRX a bit, and I also had a lesson in the deadlift.

trying to get good form.

Jessi Stensland of MovementU doing a deadlift. Maybe one day I'll look like her!

To add even more data to the program, I got a DXA scan this afternoon. The scan gives me a reasonably accurate measure of my lean body and fat mass in addition to my bone density (family history of bone density issues so this is a good thing.) I’ve had a few of these before in the last couple years, so I can see the trend. My bone density isn’t the best in my low back,  but my overall density is good. My body fat percentage is 19.9%. A couple years ago it was 20.9%, and that 2% drop I attribute to metabolic efficiency training.

So keep watching as I work to get even stronger!

NEO Athlete News!

Posted on by

It’s been a while since I’ve posted – after I got back from the LA marathon, I had the opportunity to go to Hawaii as the Team In Training Rocky Mountain Chapter triathlon coach for the Lavaman triathlon.

Rocky Mtn Triathletes getting ready to race Lavaman

Part of the Lavaman run course

So here’s what’s happening now:

So welcome to the new Team members and congratulations to those already racing!

And if you would like to become a member of Team NEO, just drop me a note. I’ve got a few more athlete spots left for 2012…get the personal attention you deserve!

 

Friday Feast – LA Marathon Nutrition Report

Posted on by

Yesterday’s post was about my training for the LA Marathon. Today I’ll talk about how I fueled myself at the LA marathon.

Race day fueling actually starts before the race. You want to make sure you are eating enough to keep your energy up and glycogen stores topped off, but not too much that will tax your system. And also not too much as your training volume is likely reduced. I don’t carbo-load specifically, but I won’t turn down a few extra carbs here and there. During race week, especially the closer you get to race day, it’s important to stick with foods you know that will agree with you. Because I was staying with my grandparents, I had a relatively (pun intended) easy time of finding foods, especially since about three weeks before my visit, my grandmother asked what I want to have to eat.

My pre-race meal is almost always salmon, brown rice, and a few vegetables. That night it was carrots and green beans – nothing too fibrous. There is also always dessert at my grandparent’s house, so we had an apple cake.

I woke up around 3:35am on race morning. My race day fueling looked like this:

  • 4:15am – banana
  • 6:00am – packet of peanut butter
  • 6:45am – GenerationUCAN chocolate + cran-raspberry
  • Total pre-race calories: ~650

Race start: 7:30ish (I crossed the start line at 7:38am)
My plan was at 1:15 and 2:30 into the race consume 1 packet of the cran-raspberry that I had premixed in a fuel belt. It was a 2 bottle belt, which worked perfectly. I was a little hungry about an hour into the race, so I started sipping on the UCAN then and finished the first bottle around the 1:15 mark as planned. My pace was looking on target to be finished shortly after 4 hours so my timing was good. To give me a bit of a burst towards the end of the race I had espresso Hammer gels. I took the first one at about 3:00 and the next about 3:35-40. From the aid stations I only took water. I also took  2-3 Hammer endurolytes every 30 minutes.

  • Total calories consumed during the race: ~400 (~100 cal/hour rate).
  • Total calories burned during the race: ~2400.

I really like the UCAN because it keeps my blood sugar stable and gives a steady flow of energy. It is also easy on the stomach. I’ve also been using Hammer products for quite some time and liked the punch of caffeine the espresso gives for the final “burst.” of energy. But for this I cut way back on caffeine consumed starting about 10 days before the race.

Did this plan work? Yes!

My 10k splits for the race were as follows:
10k – 1:01:32
20k – 2:00:08
30k- 3:01:19 (there was a pit stop during this split)
40k- 3:58:04
and I ran the last mile at slightly under an 8min/mile pace…

My energy and therefore pacing was consistent and I achieved the elusive negative split. Here’s my Garmin data.

Immediately after the race I grabbed a banana from a volunteer and then had a packet of chocolate UCAN on the drive home. The chocolate contains protein and makes an awesome recovery drink. Also, because it stabilizes the blood sugar, while I do get hungry, I don’t go on a feeding frenzy. If you want to give the UCAN a try, go to http://generationucan.com/shop.html and use coupon code UCANTRIND for 10% off your order. (that’s a standing code so use it as often as you want!)

What race day fueling questions do you have?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LA Marathon Race Report

Posted on by

Last weekend I ran the LA marathon. If you want the nitty-grtty of my trip, you can find it on my personal blog. But here’s the condensed training version.

all smiles after the 2012 LA Marathon

First, I incorporated a run/walk at a 4:30/0:30 ratio. There are two reasons I did this.

  1. I wanted to try it from a coach perspective
  2. My training window was rather short coming off Ironman Arizona in late November. It took me most of the month of December to recover so I had less than 12 weeks to really prepare for the race. The run/walk would allow me to get in longer runs without taxing the body quite so much.

My training primarily consisted of easy runs, hill repeat sessions, and long runs. I ran 3-4 days per week.  As we got closer to the race, the long runs incorporated faster than planned race-pace intervals. My longest training run was 16 miles, 2 weeks before the race. In runs about 90 minutes or longer I used a the run/walk. I also rode about twice a week and also did some swimming a couple times a week. I made sure to get in some good yoga sessions in the final weeks before the race. One thing I could have done was gotten regular massage. I relied on my foam roller instead.

My run volume (in hours) looked like this:

My weekly run mileage didn’t get above 30 miles (the final bar includes the race.) The empty week is a recovery week after I ran a  half marathon.

Here’s my performance management chart, which includes swim, bike, and run workouts. It shows consistency and gradual increase in training load.

On race day I stuck to the intervals during the entire race, except for the final mile, as I felt really good. So even at the beginning, only four minutes and 30 seconds into the race, I stopped to walk. It was a brisk walk, but a walk. This strategy worked for me and I will use it in future marathons. Also, in my training I did these hip strengthening exercises before every run, and I highly recommend them. My form felt good the entire race. Aside from the burning quads, which I think is inevitable, and a few tight spots that weren’t any surprise, I felt strong. It is so nice to hit mile 20 and know the final 10k is not going to be a death march. The last mile was my fastest and I ended up with negative splits and a PR.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post with my race nutrition report.

 

Join the Team NEO HITS Squad! Train with a group for the Ft. Collins HITS Triathlon Series. Local here in Colorado Springs or join the Virtual Team! Training includes full training plan, clinics, and more! Learn more here or fill out this form for more information.