One year ago I was in hospital and was honestly starting to believe that I would never race again. I can't describe how much it means to me to be able to line up again and have zero doubts on whether my heart would play up again. I've been fortunate enough to have so much support over the years and I'm finally in a position where, with some time and focused training, I will finally be able to perform to the best of my abilities.
My plan was simple. Start fast, get some breathing room, then settle into my desired power zones for the rest of the race. What I didn't expect was an 8 hour battle, pushing well above my desired levels (both perceived and based on recent lactate testing) before finally consolidating 2nd place in the last two hours. Add to that the consistent rain, cold temperatures and constantly evolving trail conditions, and you get the idea that it was a brutal race from start to finish.
I was hurting from the 4 hour mark. My legs were flat and a silly wee crash where I unceremoniously punched a tree left me struggling to hold the bars for the rest of the race. Fortunately I haven't broken anything, but my wrist will be strapped up for the next week. This race was certainly a test for my mental strength as I was digging extremely deep just to finish. To finish in 2nd place in testing conditions was a great outcome and a nice result after the months of focus. Certainly having my parents there pushing food into my mouth every lap helped keep up the consistency and allowed me to have no stops through out the race.
Now for a bit of humour to finish things off... for those of you who are multisporters, you'll know that when nature calls we don't stop to let things happen... that's especially true when you've been fighting for position for 8 hours and you aren't prepared to let things go now... possibly that's why the guy suddenly dropped off? It certainly allowed me to know that I had a lot of chaffing in the land down under!
My plan was simple. Start fast, get some breathing room, then settle into my desired power zones for the rest of the race. What I didn't expect was an 8 hour battle, pushing well above my desired levels (both perceived and based on recent lactate testing) before finally consolidating 2nd place in the last two hours. Add to that the consistent rain, cold temperatures and constantly evolving trail conditions, and you get the idea that it was a brutal race from start to finish.
I was hurting from the 4 hour mark. My legs were flat and a silly wee crash where I unceremoniously punched a tree left me struggling to hold the bars for the rest of the race. Fortunately I haven't broken anything, but my wrist will be strapped up for the next week. This race was certainly a test for my mental strength as I was digging extremely deep just to finish. To finish in 2nd place in testing conditions was a great outcome and a nice result after the months of focus. Certainly having my parents there pushing food into my mouth every lap helped keep up the consistency and allowed me to have no stops through out the race.
Now for a bit of humour to finish things off... for those of you who are multisporters, you'll know that when nature calls we don't stop to let things happen... that's especially true when you've been fighting for position for 8 hours and you aren't prepared to let things go now... possibly that's why the guy suddenly dropped off? It certainly allowed me to know that I had a lot of chaffing in the land down under!
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