Race Day

After a very cold and sleepless night camping in sub zero temperatures I woke at 5.45 not feeling well, not great when only several hours later I would be embarking on a gruelling 80km MTB race ... Over the next 2 hours I proceeded to throw up a number of times and make several urgent visits to the toilet. Yes, I had eaten something which hadn't agreed with me in a rather serious way. Bugger!

After buying a new bike and numerous bits of gear, taking riding courses, and training for the past few weeks, I wasn't about to pull out and thankfully by the start time things had settled down. Anyway, this shot at around 7am shows the drivers leaving camp, they had to drive back down the road to Hanmer, the race starting at 8.30. We then had a cold wait for the race to start at 8.30.

It was an awesome day. Fine, cold, and no wind - perfect riding conditions. My aim, given how I was feeling was simply to finish the race.

To cut a long story short, the first part of the race didn't go that well. I was close to vomiting all the way up Ward Pass and along Isolated Flat. But then I got into the eating routine I had devised. Start eating after 60 minutes and then eat every 30 minutes. Your body can apparently only store 90 minutes of energy/glycogen, and it takes 30 minutes to process carbohydrate, so this is a recommended routine. I worked perfectly for me. The further I went the better I felt and by the 60K point, where I had come close to failing last year, I was feeling great. So great in fact that I steamed past a number of other competitors and was accelerating up hills. It was exhilarating.

And the Pièce de résistance? My finishing time, 3hrs and 53 minutes, nearly 45minutes better than last year. Man, was I thrilled. And I wasn't completely buggered, although I admit I did collapse on finishing and wasn?t sure whether to cry or laugh as I was still on a huge high from finishing. KD who had finished in 3.30 was having a massage at the time, and so I did the same - $10 for 10 minutes and boy did it work a treat on some stiff and sore back muscles.

Then back to our rented holiday home with the 2 other families we were up with, and a few wines and beers and a BBQ on a lovely sunny evening on the front lawn. Simply bliss.

And then, I collapsed in bed, complete with clothes on. Slept like a log! ;-)