Lynford Race Report

Lynford Clover Weekend

Race Report
10km Trail run- 3rd in Cat, 6th overall in a time of 52.12min

40km Mtb- 10th in Cat, 40th overall (mechanical failure) time of 2h25min

A chaotic start to a great weekend of racing. Friday night was a turn of events for me when my car was broken into with what looked like possibly an attempt to steal it! Not the ideal situation before a weekend of racing! With the lack of sleep clearly showing in my blood shot eyes the morning after, I set off for the race meeting on Saturday morning at 6am which was to be held in Ixopo Kwa-Zulu Natal @ Lynford Primary school.

A bitterly cold morning set as the back drop of the 10km trail run. Certainly conditions fit for trail running. The competing field set at approximately 150 athletes but with the chaos from the previous evening I found myself a little distracted. I set out to warm  up in my regular routine, a light jog followed by some stretches and ABCs. Getting my heart rate to rise steady, aiming to time the end of my warm up with the Start of the race by a few seconds is always a challenge. The key here is to make sure you haven't started burning valuable fuels that you  intend to use for the race, however, obviously making sure you are warm enough so that you prevent injury.

Now standing on the start line next to some eager competitors. Enthusiasm was the order of the day with a comical start. The "gun man" holding a (double barrel shotgun) was "suppose" to shoot a milk carton(sponsored by Clover milk company) out the sky signalling the start of the event. After the famous "on your marks", "get set", "Bang" all that was seen was a floating milk carton without the explosion that was aticipated by all. It set the tone to the race and offered some laughter. After a lot of chatter amongst the front runners we found ourselves asking, "which way"?? A small group of us had taken a wrong turn allowing the  middle of the pack to pass by on the correct route. Now making us the back markers. I spent the next 10min trying to consolidate my efforts to reach the front again. At the end of the race I managed a 6th overall and thoroughly enjoyed the tricky terrain. See my GARMIN file for Stats on my race... http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48894576


The 40km mountain bike race the following day was also a great race with the heat of the day close to 40C it proved to be the biggest challenge. I also suffered a mechanical failure when I bent my front Rotor(disk brake) on a tree stump in the single track. For the rest of the ride I was accompanied by a little mouse, with every rotation of the wheel I heard "SQUEAK", "SQUEAK", for the Stats on this race please see my GARMIN file...
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48894549

Its a science

Its taken me time to learn a few things about sport, specifically endurance sports. Well its all good to get out and push yourself to achieve your goals there are certainly a few more things one needs to consider. For me, its about maintaining a balance whilst applying variety where you can. This variety should be found in the kitchen. Everyday is a new opportunity to experiment with different foods and equip your self with perfomance by fueling your body. Keep it simple, the saying goes," if you can pick it from the ground, pluck it from a tree or if it swims or runs outside and has four legs or two" its good for you, if it comes in a bag or a can stay away from it!

Progression

Race Report

Multi sport

Time Freight series Race #4

5^th of September

Albert Falls Dam

1h37min

“Ring ring, ring ring”, I hear the noise in my subconscious mind, as I open my eyes like a vice on a work shop bench- slow and steady, I start thrusting my arms in an attempt to navigate my alarm clock. Hitting the button – I suddenly remember in an abrupt manner today is race day. Having packed my bag the night before it’s a matter of eating my nutritional breakfast, getting dressed, jumping in my car and bee lining it to the race venue.

I forget about the radio device located in the car and plug into my IPod. I scroll through the list and select a specific type of genre to aid my concentration and thoughts for the race. Even though this is only a Cat 3 race in my calendar of events (5km run, 20km ride, 2.5km run) I still treat it as an important one. Using this to practice for those Cat 1 races (22km run, 56km ride, 7km run) I am more than focused and ready for the task at hand.

I arrive at the venue and scramble to the bike pen (transition area) to find a convenient location for my bike and riding gear. Usually slotting it in close to the entrance or exits of the pen as this makes finding the “needle” in the haystack with over 200 other bikes much easier during the race when my heart rate is high and vision is blurred.

My warm up this time around is longer than I had anticipated. Having completed the first 2.5km lap with some fellow competitors whilst deep in conversation the same questions start to rise, a cat and mouse game between myself and I - have I started using race fuels already, was this warm up too long? Then the answer to self, you have done the training you will be fine. Go and get on with the job!

Its seconds before the gun, I am standing still controlling my breathing, I glance down at my heart rate monitor, its 60bpm over my resting rate sitting at about 110bpm, a good sign, who knows? I feel immortal with the adrenaline rushing through my veins. “Bang” the gun goes and immediately there is a break forming, two groups where I find myself running comfortably in the later. This time relying on my experience I ease into a steady pace and notice a few of the guys up front struggling to hold the pace. One by one they drop off gasping for air. They had done what I set out to avoid and we were yet to reach the first climb of the day. Boosting myself with reassurance that I had made the right move I make a decision to slowly pick up the tempo and surge forward on the first climb of the day to stay in contention with my race. The 5km run over and I find myself back in the transition changing shoes and fixing the protective bike gear on my head, a wise move when reaching speeds of 60km/h.

Now sitting in a top 8 position coming out of the bike transition my aim is too real in other competitors whilst banking on my skill levels on the bike. Using the single track to my advantage and paying tribute to a World champion I remind myself of this saying, “If you not pedaling you should be pumping”. As I look up and glance through the shrub I notice now and again a flash of colour only meaning one thing, im gaining time and pulling back other athletes. The 20km bike course was definitely enjoyable, a well balanced course offering variety and the reason I love to race, to break away from society and be alone in a surreal environment. At the end of it I find myself actually rather disappointed that it has come to an end but never the less I still have a job to do.

Now lying 5^th I head out onto the last 2.5km run http://connect.garmin.com/activity/47682763 where I will try to maintain my position. A good race and satisfaction paused across my face, happy with my new race tactics I cross the line in 1h37min some 12min off the podium position. With lessons learnt and experienced gained I head back to the drawing board to plan and train for my next attack.