Training Log Archive: revy

Event: Mind Over Mountain
 

Even though the drive is a bit long for me these days I like to do at least one Momar a year. First year that it is being held in Squamish meant no ferry ride (good) but also no paddle (bad). Given the quantity of singletrack in the area I was expecting a fun race though and I was not disapointed.

We started on foot in Alice Lake. A few minutes before the start we were given a map with the first 6 CPs on it but weren't allowed to look at it until the gun went off. We could get the CPs in any order we wanted. As the gun went off I quickly determined that either a loop in one direction or the other would work and I just randomly picked one and took off. As luck would have it the direction I picked meant that the first CP I hit was 2 meters into the lake and required getting your feet wet. Doh! I hooked up with Justin Mark and we paced off each other to CP 6, then headed up the trail climbing to the top of the mountain (at which point we were now alone). Justin took a wrong turn but later caught up. After CP 5 we started seeing teams coming down in the other direction and of course you start calculating in your mind who is further ahead - us or them. The remainder of the CPs were easy to find with a bit of bushwhacking to cut distance off longer switchbacks. We made it to the TA in 1st place which was great to hear.

I didn't hold out much hope in keeping up with Justin on the bike as he is an excellent cyclist. I heard Gary and Todd showing up at the TA as I left. The first section was a nice easy climb up a gravel road and then doubletrack trail. Next came a short hike a bike - I could still see Justin however that was the last I would see of him - then some easy singletrack. At CP 8 Gary and Todd caught and passed me. A few Km on a logging road and then a bit of a climb led to the next CP which was marked a bit off on the map - see urthbuoy's log for more ranting:) -instead of being on the logging road it was 20 m down the next trail. The next section was some sweet technical downhill singletrack. I can't say I rode it all cleanly - I skipped the 10m long log that was 5m up in the air. I saw Jamin checking into CP 10 as I was leaving. Next came more climbing and then a Squamish classic - Powerhouse Plunge. I can't say I enjoyed the top section that much. Way too rooty. Jamin finally caught me halfway down and I let him go by. We both pulled into the next TA together though as he stopped a couple timies to look at his map.

The next trek was a marked loop up Mt Crumpit up a trail called stairway to heaven. It was certainly steep. Jamin took off right away and dropped me which was a bit demoralizing. I tried to keep a steady pace and every once in a while I could see him ahead. Then I lost sight of him before reaching the next CP. Soon after the next CP I heard another racer catching up to me (at this point I was thinking "not another person passing me" ) Luckily it turned out to be Jamin who had missed some of the flagging and done some extra climbing. We ran back to the TA together.

A short ride brought us to the rappel where we saw Gary and Todd leaving (so at this point I was maybe 10 minutes behind them). The rap was short and sweet. Then biked down to the TA where we got a city map and clues for our last 4 CPs. Instead of taking my time and figuring them all out properly I tried to work on them while running. Not the best idea. I figured three of them out with no problem. One clue invoved some math to determine an address and I tried to save time by taking some short cuts in my head instead of doing the equation long hand. To compound the problem my wrong answers (yes I calculated two different wrong answers) were both close enough that they could be right. But that also meant that I saw way more of Squamish than I should have. kind of embarrasing actually - my urban nav time is one of the longest of any racer. Luckily only one solo passed me while I was racking up the miles and Jamin had his own problems with the clues and also went off in the wrong direction but worse than me.

So in the end 4th overall and 3rd in my category. Fun race course. Good riding to keep everyone happy. Other than the finish I was quite happy with my performance - especially in retrospect when I looked at the splits. I rarely race from the front at these races. The teams in double kayaks are always ahead of me off the start but no kayaking in this race. Racing from the front does mean that if you do see other racers they are probably passing you which sucks. I felt solid on the bike although I think the climbing legs need some more work. The second trek was tough but it looks like my time was pretty good compared to the field. It seems my running this spring has payed off. I was also happy with my nutrition and hydration. My math skills while fatigued and racing need work though...

Easy to stretch out the legs.

up crowbar to the lookout

Down crowbar

Around the river flats with the dog. Legs are a bit sore from softball last night (imagine that). I guess sprinting around the bases and after fly balls can do that.

C • Striiiiiiiiiike! 2

Up to the top of the old ski jump. I'd never actually been up there to explore - pretty interesting actually.

Running down - took the long way down from the parking lot.

Columbia River

On call. My leg is feeling much better even though I really haven't rested it and yesterday's ride was more intense than planned. Strange but I am not complaining.