N-Duro #4 - 19 August 2007
Wow - where do I begin? The unusual plan of attack… the wet and mud… the super low pressure I ran quite unintentionally… the sugar and caffeine fuelled drive home… the pain all through my body this morning??? So many choices it’s like a blog buffet!
I think I’ll start by saying this: I’m very, very tired. And very, very happy about it.
Saturday
I’d heard there had been a fair bit of rain for a while, and it rained much of the drive up and over night so decided it was finally time to put the Medusa’s on on Saturday morning. If I was going to be running them in the race I needed to know how they rode and reacted, and it was an opportunity to find out whether the trails really did warrant muds. Since I was changing tyres I also decided to convert back to tubeless (which involved a quick trip to Rotorua Cycles to drill out the rim hole since it was a new rim since I was last tubeless - the guys were great - gave me the tools I needed and chatted to me while I got the job done).
I headed out to ride the last 3rd of the race with Shane and KC - I chose this section as it wasn’t too far out from the carpark and included some of the trails I don’t know so well but could be covered in an hour. As soon as we hit the first bumps I knew I had too much pressure so dropped some out after a few minutes. After slipping on a few roots I decided to drop a bit more out and while I no longer had any problems with roots I knew I’d gone a bit far when I could feel the rim hitting the bumps… woops! Easy to fix - added pressure back at the motel.
So, fun ride over, happy with the muds and the trails, bike cleaned and prepped, Lisa fed, bring on race day!
Sunday
Sunday dawned cool but clear. As with the last race, I cut the warm up short and got to the start early where Jude (who wasn’t racing) had saved me a spot. As the minutes ticked by I focused on the plan - to go out as hard as I could saving nothing. In fact, if I blew up I would see it as a positive that I’d pushed to my limits. When the gun went I went for it. I lead the women for the first minute by which time I was nearing my max heart rate and felt the need to throw up, which stayed with me for the next 15 minutes - most of the way up the first climb. I wasn’t sure at the time, but upon reflection I think this inhibited my ability to really work the legs and once again I felt like I didn’t give it my best up the first climb. I’d really felt I was going to take it to that hill this time and I’m disappointed with that part of my race.
Next up we were in to 3 pieces of singletrack, the first of which always poses problems for many riders. I was so far back in the field I had no choice but to sit behind and lose more time. I would have loved a clean run here as the Medusa’s were doing the job well. By the time we headed in to the next trail things had cleared a bit but I was still held up. Single track is my forte and where I usually make up a bit of time but it was several minutes before I had clear track to ride and then just a few more until the main junction area where we headed back on to 4wd.
This section had a bit of undulating 4wd and it was when I realised I’d lost a bit of air from my rear tyre - not something that is conducive to good rolling on gravel road, but I treated it as an opportunity to have to push a bit harder and dig a bit deeper. Heading up the climb I was definitely feeling it but wanted to keep pushing. I told myself if I reached a point where I really couldn’t go on that I would opt out at the nearest exit and roll home. It was a mind trick and enabled me to keep digging instead of feeling like I had to hold back for what was left to race.
Heading up the last climb to the start of Hot X Buns I was really digging deep but unlike in the past where I’ve succumbed and backed off, I forced myself to just keep pushing. I was doing something I hadn’t done in a race since summer which is mentally checking in to make sure I’m giving it everything. I was starting to feel it on the pinches but had a long downhill coming up to recover on (sort of). Once through HXB and BRN2 it was back to climbing on Lion Trail. Somewhere near the top I hit the 2 hour mark and felt as if I was going cross eyed. This was good - I think! The final 3rd of the course was mostly undulating with a couple of consistent climbs I rode a lot faster during nationals, some techy pinches I was determined to clean despite the fact I didn’t have much left in the legs, and of course finished off down one of my favourite trails that means you always finish on a high.
I was starting to break. My strategy moved from pushing it at all times to pushing it on the climbs and trying to recover on the rest. I think it was more a struggle to focus mentally. The only parts of the course I seemed able to focus on were those I knew had the potential to really hurt. At around 2.5 hours I went a bit numb mentally and was preparing to crawl the last few k’s. I didn’t have much left but was nearly home and was through the worst of it. I was sure I’d lost the ability to speak, had definitely lost the ability to think, and by the time I crossed the finish line standing was a struggle and I was pretty convinced I was fluent in a few languages not recognised in any country with a flag (dribble was one of them).
After regaining the will to move I gave the bike a clean, had a shower and waited for prizegiving while eating a sandwhich the size of an atoll. There was a bit of confusion in the results and they still show me in 4th but apparently one of the boys somehow snuck in to our results. Sonia took it out (she also told me a story about blowing up in a marathon recently but I’m a bit vague on the details or even which one of her was doing the talking), ‘Posh Spice’ Kavanagh who has placed in all the short course races took 2nd and I somehow crawled across the line in 3rd.
Reflections
On the drive home I wasn’t sure if I’d really pushed hard enough. Could I have done more in the sections towards the end where I’d let off? I don’t know. Usually I know where I could have gone harder so I think I can take that as a sign I really couldn’t have given it much more. I don’t know if the cold I had recently affected me, and I’m also a bit perturbed about the nausea at the start - it’s not the first time it’s happened in Rotorua (sulphur perhaps? Maybe I should have asked the young boy who literally was throwing up on the first climb). And how much time and energy was lost due to the self-deflating rear tyre? I think, some. I wasn’t particularly fussed about it yesterday, but I’ve entered a state of being happy with my placing too, simply because I’ve been racing the series for 3 years and have never placed before. I’ve raced better in the past but missed out on top 3. At least I’ve got that under my belt now!
I’d kind of planned to guage my efforts on how I felt during the drive home. But whilst I felt tired and my speech was a bit slurred early on (talking on the phone, not to myself!) I remained awake and alert. On reflection I think it may have had more to do with a couple of doses of caffeine, something I seldom have these days, and a pretty high intake of sugar (mmmm, finger buns…).
Certainly the mental and physical state I woke up in this morning suggest I managed to waste myself pretty well. It’s still bloody raining but they say it will clear later so I’m hoping I can get outside to spin the legs in the fresh air.
Next up: The local series begins! PNP race 1 next Sunday just down the road at Makara Peak. Give me a few days and I’ll be ready to race again - at least no travel for a while.
