Life at 3000m

Upon my return to Australia the pre Worlds organisation starting taking place. I was given the option to attend an additional 2 week training camp at the AIS in Canberra which would have a group of us based in the altitude house and getting stuck into some pretty intense training and testing leading into the World Championships.

After some negotiation and organisation with work I was lucky enough to be released from my duties at school to be part of the training camp! I feel extremely fortunate to have a very supportive Principal, and understanding staff, parents and students who are backing me 100% on my World Championships campaign!

Our huge line up of bikes, both road and mtb that get to live in the lab down stairs.

Upon arrival at the AIS we were briefed on the objectives for the camp and how the first week would pan out. Basically the camp is doubling as 'training' for us as athletes and it is also a unique opportunity for the scientists to gain valuable data and research on a group of elite level mtb athletes leading into a home World Championships.

The gals after our first testing session on the course.

We are living in a house which has 4 bedrooms, a bathroom and communal kitchen, all of these areas are regulated to simulate 3000 metres of altitude. We have filled all beds in the house, our group consists of are 5 girls and 6 guys. They would normally start you off a lower altiude say 1500m and generally get up to around 2000m, but for us they have decided to chuck us straight into 3000m for the entire 2 weeks! To gain the full benefits we need to spend between 12 and 14 hours at altiude each day, so that is typically made up with a game of poker before bed, a nice long sleep, and breakfast in the morning. All our training is done either down in the lab through testing or out on the course and local road rides.

One of our regular evening poker sessions, a great way to wind down while at 3000m!

The theory of living at altitude is to increase the production of red blood cells. It is the red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body, so in effect if there are more of them, more oxygen can be distributed at a more rapid rate which is particularly handy when you get really puffed during intense exercise!!

During our first week here, we are going through a very intense 4 day training block. Day 1 involves lab testing where we are hooked up to a machine that measures our Vo2 Max. This is a lab test where you see how long you can ride for while the gearing on the bike continually gets harder every 3 minutes. Once your cadence, or revolutions per minute, fall below 70 the test is over. It is quite uncomfortable as you have to breath through a mouth piece and and every 3 minutes they take your blood to test your lactate levels.

One of the boys completing his Vo2 Max test with the scientists recording all the essential data, ahhhh pain!

Straight after this test we do an 'exhaustion test'. A hard gear is selected based on the outcome of your Vo2 test and basically you ride until the cadence falls below 70rpm and by this point you are well and truly EXHAUSTED, my personal best was 9 and a half minutes!!

After lab testing we head out in the afternoon and do 'paceline' training which is basically a small version of a road race, where we roll through turns at pace, each taking a turn on the front of the group

Out for our afternoon training session, a great way to work up an appetite for another visit to the AIS dining hall!

The Coach came off at 55km an hour and it was not pretty, fortunately he survived with just a couple of broken fingers...... amazing!

Day 2 Is a little more fun but certainly no easier, it is on course testing. We ride out to Stromlo, the race site, and do timed 'splits' (timied sections of the course). These splits are done on the main climb which for us women is up to 9 min and the descent which takes just over 4 min. The first lap we go as hard as we possibly can then get a 5 min break, then we do 2 consecutive laps at race pace (a speed that we can maintain for the entire race).

Testing at the course, doing the weigh in before our timed efforts, and making use of the shelter conveniently placed on the track!

Hmmmmm... now how did that come to get there? Must have been during that spectacular and embarassing crash on course today!

After we have done these two days we start the cycle for the second time, and repeat it all over again for the next 2 days! It is an amazing environment to train in, I am amoungst a group of elite athletes who are all trying to get themselves in the best possible shape before what for most of us will be our biggest race to date. We are all trying our best to increase our home course advantage.

It is a highly competitive environment, our daily results/times are posted in the kitchen for all to see, they are talked about, compared, analysed and commended. You always seem to dig deep and push yourself to find that extra bit of energy and effort when you know your results are being recorded and will be up for all to see! Needless to say we are looking forward to a well earned recovery day at the end of the intensity block.

The much needed coffee shop ride, yay!

Here at the AIS we have everything at our fingertips to help us progress and train as elite athletes; physios, scientists recording all our data, massage, plunge pools for recovery and of course the AIS dining hall serving up fantastic healthy meals with no dishes or cleaning up to do!

The girls braving the cold of the plunge pool, at a chilly 12 degrees!

Gracie enjoying her 3 minutes of spa before she has to brave the plunge pool.

In the recovery centre we do hot/cold this varies but will generally consist of 3 minutes of hot then 3 minutes of cold and is repeated untill you have clocked up a minimum of 7 minutes cold in total. The cold water works at lowering your core body temperature, and the variation in temperature increases blood flow and helps repair damaged and fatigued muscles.

Bigger Fish to Fry

Since my last blog entry I raced the last Canadian World Cup at Bromont, it was 'interesting' conditions, ended pouring with rain part way into the race which turned the course into another mud battle, seems to be a common theme with these Canadian races! Anyhow, my result was an improvement on my forst world cup race, coming in at 34th, so was happy with the race, nothing went wrong, just got to keep working on getting quicker!!

From Bromont I started the trek home to Australia which again was 'interesting' I had connecting flights from Quebec to Vancouver which is where my international flight departed for Sydney. Getting to Vancouver was quite a mission! My connecting flight to Toronto was set back because they were observing 'tornado'watch and had ceased all operations for 3 hours. So our plane landed and we waited the 3 hours to get to a gate and then disembark. I made it to the gate for my connecting flight to Vancouver only to find out that they had already filled the flight with people who had been bumped off other flights that were behind. As a result I arrived in Vancouver at 2am and had well and truly missed the international flight to Sydney, the next flight would run at midnight the following evening!

I did have a stroke of good luck, I got chatting to an elderly couple, Hugh and Wilma, who very kindly offered me a bed for the night/day and to drop me back at the airport that evening to get my flight home!

Hugh and Wilma were wonderful, they took me home gave me a bed, breakfast, took me on a tour of Vancover and also took me out for dinner! It was a huge random act of kindness!

To finish this last Canadian episode off, whicle I was waiting for my connection to Sydney got a call from Neil Ross the National Coach to say that I had made selection for the National Team, and that I would be racing the World Championships in Canberra in less than a months time! It was great getting this news to travel home with, kind of made going back to winter, no daylight and a week of work more bearable!

So the goal for my Canadian trip had been fulfilled, I had made selection and I would now get the opportunity to don the green and gold and repesent my country in a sport that I love.