THE second most important race of the year for me. I came into Whistler well prepared, fit and raring to do well in this race. Ten days or so in Kelowna and area did my spirit and fitness well.
Pre-riding the course was so important, as the bike portion was the most technical bike course i have ever ridden. Not technical in the steep difficult descent sort, but technical from a rooty, twisty, rocky undulating sense. The course being only two laps of 9K is deceiving - it was tough and hard. After two days of pre-riding i finally felt so-so about it. I was in fact disappointed that all the effort put into being fit and having a huge aerobic engine was the not focus i needed for this course. Oh well, i am sure being fit helped me in places and made my race easier?
The swim was the usual - it sucked. Enough said. At least i came out of the water feeling good and ready to attack the bike. The only good thing was my new Frequency wetsuit from Nineteen was amazing and felt great.
The bike was tough and i struggled in so many places, but i never crashed - that is a small victory i suppose. I was on my bike, off my bike, dabbing here, there and everywhere. It felt long and was long - 2 hours plus. Even though i was mid pack overall, i was only passed by 3 or 4 riders at most. Looking back on the bike it was fun and i would love to ride in Whistler for a week or so just for shits and giggles.
Onto the billy goat section or more commonly known as the run. It was a test of your ability to stay upright and not roll an ankle. It was more twisty, turny, rocky and rooty than the bike course. There was more elevation change than the bike and it was technically more difficult than the bike. In 10K, i swear there was no more than 500 Metres on flat running, excluding the pavement to the finish. The first 3 or 4 K was an undulating uphill grind. I felt a twinge of a cramp, used my cramp stop and never felt a cramp after that. Started out the run with a woman on a relay team and said to myself "stay close". It was not long before i lost sight of her and just tried to stay focused on the footing and kept plugging one foot in front of the other. At this point i had no illusion of finishing high in my AG, just finishing would be a victory. After getting to the start of the loop in the middle of the run i was moving good, but could not see someone until i was right on top of them. I'd look up and see someone i could not see just seconds before. On the second half of the loop i came up to someone in my AG and was catching the woman relay runner, so i was in good spirits. Passed both of them and kept pushing my pace which seemed to be a good one. In the end, i did all the passing and was never passed on the run. Ended up being a good run given the course.
When i crossed the line and saw 3:42 i was deflated. I thought i was closer to 3 but nope. I also thought i likely finished lower than top 3 in my AG. Turns out i was second and that was enough to get my spot for World's. I was so stoked to have finished this year (given my DNF from last year), i would have been happy even if i did not qualify for Maui. It was a tougher course in my opinion this year and to finish was a victory.
The race was the toughest race i have ever done, okay top 3 for sure. The only way to prepare for this course is to go to Whistler and ride. If you plan to race Xterra Canada - get out to Whistler and ride. Even riding in Canmore is not enough. Not sure about Fernie or other places, but the terrain in Whistler requires some skill to master.
I feel like Wiarton Willie, who just saw his shadow and another six weeks of training. I'll gladly take it!
