My first solo enduro, the idea was to do this one solo to see if I could handle doing the whole series solo, well that wont be happening, I ended up doing 5 laps of a 10klm course in 5 hours, the last lap was a big struggle for me, about half way through I really didnt think I would make the rest of the lap and just basically had the shits with the world, was getting angry with myself and just stuffing things up which made me worse and started getting a bit emotional and feeling like I really should not be doing it, everything I made it up or over in the first lap I just could not do and really had nothing left in me to get up the hills, it was very slow going and alot of stops to get me through.
I knew my laps would be 45-60mins and was given the advice to eat every hour and also have a gel, after the first lap I was feeling pretty good and the laps actually didnt seem to take that long so figured I would be ok for another lap before stopping to have a gel and food, as I passed the finish line to go on to my third lap I still felt pretty good so decided again to push on for another lap and then stop, about half way through this lap I started to feel a bit crap, was hungry and legs were not feeling good at all, I knew I was not drinking enough water but didnt feel thirsty so just kept riding, I pulled in after my third lap and had a power bar and a gel and went on to to my 4th, I felt ok for a while but as soon as I got to a climb my legs just had nothing in them and I was very slow going up.
I finished my last lap just after the 5 hour mark, feeling pretty sore and sorry for myself, I guess you can expect to feel sore after 5 hours of riding but to feel like you have just had a big night out is not right, was not feeling good at all, and as the guys said I obviously did not have enough water through the race and also should have been eating too, very valuable lesson learnt and I will know for the next one.
I think I will pass on the solo entry for the next 3 rounds of the series and team up with another rider. I have alot work to do on my fitness and skills before I attempt another solo enduro.
Overall I enjoyed the race, the course was alot of fun and everyone could obviously see that I was struggling up the hills so were very encouraging which definitely helped especially on the last couple of laps. I also made it through the day crash free which is always a good thing.
I am riding in the 6 hour at Beaconsfield next week in a team of 3 with 2 Croydon Cycleworks riders so should be alot fun. No excuse to not eat and drink there as I will have plenty of time between laps.
I knew my laps would be 45-60mins and was given the advice to eat every hour and also have a gel, after the first lap I was feeling pretty good and the laps actually didnt seem to take that long so figured I would be ok for another lap before stopping to have a gel and food, as I passed the finish line to go on to my third lap I still felt pretty good so decided again to push on for another lap and then stop, about half way through this lap I started to feel a bit crap, was hungry and legs were not feeling good at all, I knew I was not drinking enough water but didnt feel thirsty so just kept riding, I pulled in after my third lap and had a power bar and a gel and went on to to my 4th, I felt ok for a while but as soon as I got to a climb my legs just had nothing in them and I was very slow going up.
I finished my last lap just after the 5 hour mark, feeling pretty sore and sorry for myself, I guess you can expect to feel sore after 5 hours of riding but to feel like you have just had a big night out is not right, was not feeling good at all, and as the guys said I obviously did not have enough water through the race and also should have been eating too, very valuable lesson learnt and I will know for the next one.
I think I will pass on the solo entry for the next 3 rounds of the series and team up with another rider. I have alot work to do on my fitness and skills before I attempt another solo enduro.
Overall I enjoyed the race, the course was alot of fun and everyone could obviously see that I was struggling up the hills so were very encouraging which definitely helped especially on the last couple of laps. I also made it through the day crash free which is always a good thing.
I am riding in the 6 hour at Beaconsfield next week in a team of 3 with 2 Croydon Cycleworks riders so should be alot fun. No excuse to not eat and drink there as I will have plenty of time between laps.
Quote for the day
Eat, drink and be Merry
Quoted by some dude in the bible but more importantly a verse out of a song by Dave Matthews Band, this quote would have come in handy for me today brother taped across my handle bars.
Until next time happy riding
Kat
1 comment:
Great new blog site Kat! Don't be so hard on yourself, after all it's your first time doing it solo at an enduro event. Good work finishing your first crack, next one will be much more fun as a team. Keep up with great photo and journal work.
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