To be so focused on a single race or event does not do justice to the journey of getting to the start line.
12 months ago I did the road trip from Brisbane to Canberra to compete in the Scott 24 hour mtb race. I ended up with a very respectable result. This gave me a ticket to race at the 2010 24 hours of Adrenaline World Championships last week.
I signed up & paid for my entry 9 months in advance! Now, time to get training!
This blog does not show how darn busy I have been racing, training, living, adventure racing, working... or maybe it does by the lack of entries. Maybe this photo shows the real truth?
My race plan was very simple. Pedal my bike as efficiently as possible. Because my little bit of fitness was not going to carry me around otherwise.
I had a few other objectives. Finish the race totally smashed. Finish in one piece because I am getting married in 2 weeks. Finish the race with integrity. NO regrets.
I Flicked 2 x gels to riders that were out of steam. I did a bush mechanics fix on a broken spoke for a woman stuck on the corner of the B line. I pushed a rider around the last bit of sealed track for about 500 metres into transition who had broken his chain.
The photo below is the second best 24 hour solo chick in her age group in the world. Both people in this photo are good friends & riding buddies too!
In the early hours of the morning (no idea what time) I was smashed. My lower back was totaled, the back of my left leg was so darn painful it lost all power & desire to pedal. Both my arse cheeks has lost the skin off them too. I had to lay face down on a camp stretcher. As soon as the pain killers kicked in I fell asleep.
About 2 hours later I woke up. Took my shoes off & called it a day. My awesome pit manager & life partner said to me "Im sorry I let you down"
A little voice spoke up in my head. OK so it shouted at me...
... "WTF dog! how are you going to carry that guilt around? Knowing that by not pedaling your bike & by not finishing this race that your woman feels she has let you down!?!"
That is all it took to get me to put my shoes back on & smash out another 4 & final laps (about 75kms) taking me just past the 24 hour time mark. Finishing up with what I personally feel as a very respectable 17 laps.
I was also very fortunate to have some mechanical assistance in my pit. Jimmy, Pommy & Shannon. Shannon, Koiled Bikes, was a very busy man with a dozen bikes. He is the only person I trust to wrench on my bikes.
Time for the drive home
Until next time....What would Nelson Mandela say...?
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
dog
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
dog
