Since the SEA
Games last December, the past few months have been about building up the basic
blocks again. Back to the reality of a full-time job as a banker whilst
juggling training on the bike and everything else in between.
January saw me
racing the IP at the Aus track nationals, which was a bit of disaster. Lesson
#1 – never fly in on the morning of a mid-day race. February was the Tour of
East Gippsland, which again, didn’t turn out to plan with 2 faulty bikes.
Lesson #2 – no matter what, always check your bike(s) before leaving home! Despite
the setbacks, the past couple of months has been about training and learning –
trying new methods, seeing what works and what doesn’t, understanding my body
better and fitting the jigsaw pieces of training together to become a better,
stronger cyclist. Fast forward to March.
My third
edition of the Mansfield Crit/Mt Buller road race weekend. This race brings
back memories. 2012 saw me absolutely devastated in tears – I had bonked so
badly with 3ks to go that just keeping the bike upright was an absolute
struggle, and almost the entire field rode past. 2013, I came back with even
more determination, and surprised myself making it onto the podium of B Grade
women. Despite being in the midst of a
heavy strength-training block, things were looking on an upward trajectory this
year with training times faster than race times the year before.
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| Managed a little smile just before the top (Photo courtesy of Cycling Victoria and Jo Upton Photography) |
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| Enjoying the last of the summer a fortnight ago with Jacob |
The weekend
kicked off with a Saturday afternoon criterium in the middle of Mansfield. A
T-shaped course with right-hand turns - a tricky little course. With only 11
starters, the first couple of laps were pretty non-eventful. A couple of
mini-attacks were quickly shut down – a break on a course like that can mean
the end of a race. I found myself yo-yoing back and forth through the field –my
legs had no zip whatsoever and I was really struggling. The next big attack by
Lizzie Williams a third of the way through was the major break – with Lauretta
Hanson, Shannon Malseed and Verita Stewart joining her. I saw it coming, but
somehow, had absolutely nothing to respond. I spent the next few laps chasing
to no avail. It was soon the 4 in front, myself hanging in the middle, and a
couple of girls further behind. Race over. I finished off the race for good
measures rolling into 5th place. Lauretta Hanson sprinted to a
convincing win, followed closely by Lizzie Williams and Shannon Malseed
wrapping up the podium. That evening, my throat was absolutely killing – and I
was downing whatever mouthwash I could find. Uh oh..not a good sign.
We were greeted
by a chilly 10 degree morning, a huge contrast to the 30 degree weather a
fortnight ago. A good pre-race spin-out to get the legs warmed up before I hit
the start line. 26 out of the 31 entrants lined the field of Women’s A Grade –
a relatively big field this year. With a number of big teams in Bicycle
Superstore, Total Rush and Bike-bug dominating the field, the race was fairly
controlled from Mansfield to the Mirrimbah tollgate, the base of the 16km
climb. Any attacks were immediately shut down ensuring that no one got a head
start on the climb.
Once we hit the
base, the mad scramble began, and I managed to make the first selection of 18
riders. The girls were riding at a good steady tempo, but my legs were starting
to give way. We weren’t going that quick, but something just didn’t feel right.
I glanced down at my Garmin – power numbers were way less than threshold, but
like the day before, I had absolutely nothing. I yo-yoed off the back a couple
of times, digging hard each time to get back on. I was certainly well
fueled-up, but had no energy whatsoever. Within 3ks, I soon popped off the
back. My race was over. I spotted Emma Scott a few metres up the road, and
paced her the rest of the way. The groups of men that kept going past were good
motivation to keep going. I eventually finished the race, a little over 6
minutes down from the winner Lizzie Williams.
I was obviously
a little disappointed with the results, but there was nothing much more I could
do with the illness that had hit me – which turned out to be a bad flu bug I
had picked up from a couple of sick colleagues at work. A year ago I would have
totally stressed over the lost of form and non-performance at a race, but over
time, I have learnt to better manage situations like these, and view the
weekend from a different perspective. The flu was unfortunate, but nonetheless,
I had a good weekend away and enjoyed the racing. Thanks to Cycling Victoria,
Mansfield Cycling Club, volunteers and friends for the support. It’s back to
the training blocks for now - looking forward to the road season ahead!
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| Let's ride!! |
