Hm, maybe it's called Karma, coincidence, luck or the spirit of Whaka Forest ... in 7hrs I made it ... to the letter E ... for those that know, the only trail in Whaka's network with an E is .. tataaaaaa ... EXIT TRAIL. How convenient at the end of a 7hr ride. Thanks for A Da M and Sarah PC for keeping me company at the beginning and rippin up Corners, I only had to do it twice that day...the A-Z mission will continue...
Moonride - 12hr Solo
Firstly - Murray Flemming, the organiser, kindly donated my race fee to limbs4all. Thanks for that Murray!
moonride...I never really enjoyed those 12hr MTB races in teams - don't get me wrong, I enjoy the team situation, I just don't like this caning it for 25min and then resting for 2hrs and then trying to cane it again and rest again...I just DON'T go fast and always find it frustrating and don't enjoy this riding/resting format. SO - I did wonder if I would enjoy a 12hr solo more than a team race.
And the answer is yes!
With all this training for Canada I knew I was fit enough, the question was how I'd deal with riding an 8km loop for 12hrs, round and round and round in circles...
It turned out to be easier than I thought - at the end of the day it's like an Ironman, you don't look at the whole 12hrs ahead of you, you just break it down into laps and your next stop, rehydration, refuelling and all that shabang. Jamie Campbell and Sarah PC were my supporters and kept me going during the day - Jamie's got heaps of experience in going long and doing nutter things like a double Ironman, so he was perfect support and kept me on my no-doze and knew when I had to do what - thanks big time Jamie!
I really enjoyed the ride and was stoked that I managed to pace myself - Yoda shall be proud! I kept my lap times consistent, even the first few night laps. I slowed down later on and finally bonked on my 21st lap, that one and the 22nd were quite hard. I just got into a real low, the legs were still fine (-ish, as fine as can be after 10hrs of riding) but mentally I just hit the wall. Man was I grumpy! Anyway, Jamie made me ride 21/22 without a break and then stop for one last re-fuel - Coke and sour lollies aaaaaa - and I was all good for my last lap. Knowing it was the last lap helped!
Lessons learned?
You know how they always say, never try anything you haven't tested in your training, on race day? Bullshit. I rode with new shoes, never worn before, had new mudtyres on my ride, never ridden those before, and I hadn't done any night riding for over a year - borrowed those wiiiicked Ay-Up lights from Dave Joy at Bike Vegas and chucked them onto my helmet the night before the race. Never took them for a spin beforehand. And I loved my shoes, tyres, lights and the nightriding. There ya go.
Em's Powerbars (hmmmmm Chocolate Oat explosion, yuuuuum) are awesome for a ride like that - broke it into eatable pieces and just chucked them into my back pocket, no wrapping needed as they don't stick to the jersey or crumble appart. Chooooice.
Keep salt handy and put it into your drinks when you feel a cramp coming.
Die Gailtalerin, my ride, rules.
No-doze rules.
Chocolate rules.
Coke and lollies rule big time. See the pattern? Check out the last pic, that's me on a super-sugar-high...
Don't fluff around as long as I did in the evening part when getting changed and eating 'dinner'. It can cost you a placing.
Bring on next year!
Your legs are looking good Kat!
ReplyDeleteTraining paying off keep it up!
And remember the money or lack of if you don't finish!