Day Night Thriller 2012

Pizza for dinner the night before a race always seems like a good idea at the time.  I'm sure I wasn't the only one delivering a pizza baby the next morning though. With that out of the way I could get organised for a morning of supporting my friends racing, before I lined up at the start of the 3 hour race.

I'd driven down to Taupo from Hamilton the night before, bedding down in a pretty luxurious motel suite at De Brett's with the rad and amazing Cathy and her equally rad just-home-from-travelling sister Roslyn.  I woke early after a very comfortable night's sleep in a warm cosy bed and ate some breakfast before packing up. Cathy and Roslyn were still asleep, with no sign of them emerging any time soon.  I stuck to my plan, assuming they had their own plan sorted for the morning.

My highly organised friends Megan and Michelle had picked up my race pack the night before, so all I had to do was drive down to Spa Park and find our HQ for the day.  Lisa (Cowbell Coaching) and Kim (Kim Hurst Racing Inc.) had driven up from Wellington with Ricky Pincott from Muds Cycles as mechanical support and somehow convinced her parents it was a great idea for them to come up too and bring their big caravan for us to hang out at.  We unloaded our gear into the awning and started getting set for the day.

The 12 and 6 hour races started together on the big grass hill and took in a quick lap of the tent village before heading out onto the tracks for the first of many laps.  My first job was to make a run down to the water cart to fill bottles for the girls to refill with later on.  Megan and Michelle both had hydration packs, so were set for the first 3 hours or so of racing.  Each time they came in, I'd ask: "what do you need?" in amongst comments like, "you're doing so well, your lap times are great!"  It was true, both Megan and Michelle were doing very well.  It just confirmed my suspicion that I wouldn't have been able to hang with them for 6 hours.  Oh, and Cathy somehow made it there on time and was getting amongst it too, with Roslyn feeding her and shouting encouragement.

Megan was the picture of consistency, with lap times slowly increasing, but her composure remaining the same.  Michelle started to suffer with soreness and just couldn't get comfortable on the bike.  Hardly a surprise for someone small who was squashed by a large race horse not all that long ago.  The disappointment and frustration was written all over her face, and she would later retire from the race, unable to continue and barely able to stand comfortably.

I had to remember to get myself ready for the 3 hour race too.  A quick dash to the portaloos, a quick change into my riding kit (Full Metal) and a quick warm up ride around the grass hills.  We were lined up on the grass and would head straight into the track, skipping any form of start loop.  There weren't many 3 hour racers at all.  I felt like a bit of a fraud amongst what looked like a bunch of newbies.  I knew I was in the right place, with minimal riding under my belt after struggling with rehabbing a back injury, I felt like I was at 90% on a good day with very little fitness (and no endurance).

The final climb into the tent village

I took off from the line at the sort of pace I'd go for a 1 hour race.  Okay, I can do this for a while, but I'm going to have to slow down soon. I was having fun, hooning down the big grass downhill, pinning it through the big right-hander to enter the sandy track at the bottom.  I probably freaked a few people out by passing them there, but it was just Such Good Fun!

I felt pretty good on my first lap at that fast pace, and wondered how long it would take before I popped.  The final climb up to the tent village was a killer and I knew that would become a strategic walk later on.

Coasting into the downhill

I ate and drank through the tent village and tried to settle my pace a little as I headed out for lap 2.  It was great to have so much support from people all through the village - calling out as I passed each tent, and of course there was plenty of noise as I passed HQ each lap, with at least 7 solo racers based there for the day.

Lap 3, my legs started to wane.  And my resolve to push through it was gone.  That's because there was nothing more I could give.  My tank was already emptying out.  I tried to eat and drink a bit more, realising that because I'd been so hard out with my effort (not really, but hard for me!), I'd not felt all that great trying to eat during my first two laps.  Slowing down a bit helped me control my breathing and eat some more.

I slowed a bit more through lap 4, partly fatigue, partly due to traffic.  It was difficult getting past people on the climbs and all I could do was jump onto the back of the queue and crawl past.  I seemed to time it pretty good, getting to the top of the hill just in front of a bunch of people and getting a clear run to the bottom most times.

There were a couple of really good bits on that downhill.  One section I would pre-jump into a little dip and pump through the transition to get the most speed I could.  I loved hearing the clatter of the rider behind me fade, as I took off downhill without even pedalling.

On my 5th lap the wheels fell off my wagon.  I hit the wall and crawled up the hills.  My legs were dead, my body was tired and I'd ridden my ass off.  But by the end of the lap, I'd only been riding for 2 hours.  Oh dear.  I stopped for a bit longer for more food and a gel, hoping that would help me through the next lap.  The temperature had dropped and it was starting to drizzle.  I chucked on a vest to help keep me warm.
I'd caught up to Megan, so we took off together on a gel buzz, which for me lasted all of about 3 minutes.  That was enough to get to the bottom of the first climb where I literally bumped into Andrew (he was a picture of composure, me a wobbling mess) going into the last hour of his 12 hour solo aboard his singlespeed.

I felt pretty wasted and had no power in my legs; the climbs were so long and the flats now felt like uphills.  I was stilling ripping the downhills, but my legs no longer wanted to pump and I was having trouble concentrating.  Rolling back into the tent village was deflating.  My body had finished, but the race was still on.  I had enough time to try to squeeze in one last lap if I could get around in 26 minutes.  Given my current state, that was very unlikely.  Then I realised that I had stopped having fun on that last lap and any further effort wouldn't mean anything to me.

As I rolled through the remainder of the tent village to pass over the timing mat, I kept contemplating things.  Was I happy with what I'd done?  Did I have any more to give?  It weighed heavily on me and I felt like I was somehow obliged to keep going and do one more lap.  But why?  I decided I wanted to stop and looked for a place to pull off the course.  Then, there she was. Smiling as always, Megan was moving off the course too.  I congratulated her on an awesome race, keeping up a consistent effort for the 6 hours.  We laughed  high-fived and our day was done.

I felt relieved, lighter, and happy*.  I'd just done a 3 hour race on zero preparation.  I had survived, I'd had fun.  I was ready for hot food and clean clothes.  Some hot salty chips did a great job of reviving me while I waited for prizegiving to see if I would be lucky enough to win a spot prize.  I'd already picked up a Pedros cleaning kit (well, Michelle had picked it up for me while I was riding - thanks!), but was keen for some more.  To my surprise I was called up in third place in the 3 Hour Solo Women category.  I was happy with that!  So, I got a little bit of metalwork and an armful of prizes to take home.  Job well done.

Thanks to Megan and Michelle for encouraging me to get out and ride. You two are the best!

* Upon reflection now, several months later... I do regret not churning out that last lap.  I'd have completely died out there, but I would have finished properly.  Next time.