Timaru 12 hour MTB race 2012

It has been a long time between races, so going into the Timaru 12 hour MTB race I was interested to see how my fitness would stack up against the likes of Milan Brodina who I coach and know is going really well at the moment. Besides this I was just fizzing at spending some time on the bike.

I started conservatively and quickly settled into a steady pace lapping through in around 5^th place. After an hour I was feeling good so started pushing the laps a little harder and I started moving through the field into 2^nd. I was riding well and could not believe how much fun I was having. It was great to be back on the bike.

At around the 3.5 hour mark I like so many others in the field suffered a puncher. The sharp rocks over the top section of the course were shredding tiers all over the place. A quick change soon turned into a long one when I cross-treaded my CO2 pump and jammed up. Not being able to get it un-jammed I resorted to begging others for their pump, which soon paid off with a fellow competitor stopping to lend me his pump. Back on track I had only lost 1 placing.

 The weather was perfect throughout the day with it being warm and overcast with a slight breeze. As the day wore on the hills started to feel steeper and longer, while the razor sharp rocks out on the course were still playing havoc with tires. I noticed a slow leak in my front tire that would get progressively softer over two laps. I had to make a quick stop every couple of laps to top it up with air. After repeating this process for a couple of hours the leak was getting worse and I was forced to stop to change it in the pits. Luckily Nick Taylor was in the pits and he did a quick change for me while I stocked up on some food.

With 2 hours to go Nick was reporting back to me that I was pulling slightly faster laps than 2^nd place. I keep working on closing the gap but the legs were feeling the day’s activity. With about 26 min until the race finish I got the call from Nick that I was on the same number of laps as 2^nd place and that he had called it a day like most of the other riders, as it was starting to get dark and a final lap in that time would likely be completed within the cut off time. If I could do one last lap and get back in under the 12 hour cut off I would move into 2^nd place. It was worth a try.

So with everything I had left in the tank I took off for one last lap. With the light fading fast all I could do through some of the tree covered sections that were now pitch dark was hold on and hope my bike knew the way over the obstacles. Red lining it all the way to the finish I narrowly missed the cut off by about 2 min so my final lap did not count. Oh well, it was worth a try!

So with 223 official kilometres under the belt I finished up in 3^rd place in the men’s solo section. More than happy with my days work. 

Grand Canyon adventure

Ever since I first hiked the Grand Canyon 8 years ago I had always wanted to run the Kaibab – Bright Angel loop in a day. The 28.5 km loop starts at the South rim drops 2300 m via the steep Kaibab trail down to the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon before climbing back up to the South rim via the Bright Angel trail.

Every year over 250 people are rescued from the Grand Canyon and there are a number of warning signs advising against making the trip in one day. With this in mind we made sure we carried enough water for the full trip so we did not have to rely on the sometimes dry water sources on route. We also planned to leave early in the morning to take advantage of the cooler part of the day and avoid the 35°C+ temps that the mid afternoon serves up.

All geared up my wife and I hit the trail at 6am ready to tackle the Grand Canyon. 

The descent down to the mighty Colorado River came and went very smoothly and we started up the climb to the top with legs feeling a little battered but feeling good. 

As we climbed the sun really started to heat up and the red dust that coated us started to become apparent as the sweat glands started to work. 

In the final 8km the climbing started to get serious and the trail was flooded with day hikers heading both up and down. With the feet really starting to feel the hammering they had taken we pushed on steadily to the top and finished comfortably in 6 hours 40 min.

Dunedin Winter Multisport Series RACE 1

Last weekend was the first race of the Dunedin Winter Multisport Series. The race was based at Whare Flat and consisted of a 3km off road run - 10km MTB and final 3km run. Check out this You tube video of the race

After a fast start on some very muddy tracks I took the lead. With my new Salomon Speed Cross 2 making short work of slippery conditions. On to the MTB I was racing next to Norman Dunroy over the opening stages. The MTB consisted of a lot of slippery roots, mud holes and obstacles which was a great test for my Giant XTC-1 29er. In these tight conditions the 29er excelled and by the end of the ride I was out of sight of 2nd place. Into the final run I managed to hold a good pace only running 1 minute slower than the first 3km run and by the end I had built up a 5 minute buffer over 2nd place Norman Dunroy.


It was great to get out and stretch the legs after a lack of racing recently.

Giant XTC-1 29er

I have had my new Giant XTC-1 29er for 2 weeks now and am loving it. At first I was skeptical of the 29er but now after putting it through its paces I am sold. I think that for multisport and marathon MTBing where the majority of riding is done on open trails and gravel roads the 29er is in its element. Even in tight single track where I had been told the 29er is disadvantaged compared to a 26, I feel that the 29er holds it own here as well. With my first race on the 29er being this weekend I look forward to giving it the real test.

Update

Well what a busy few months it has been.

I finally handed in my masters thesis which was the culmination of 2 years work investigating repeated high intensity training compared to endurance training and the changes in blood volume that they stimulate. Now that this is away getting marked I am working on getting it published in a research journal as well as seeking funding to go to Liverpool to present my findings at the European Collage of Sport Science conference in July http://www.ecss-congress.eu/2011/.

On the racing front I have just finished the Coast to Coast as part of a team with Grant Sime. We had a great weekend away and finished 7^th in the men’s teams. I managed to paddle the 6^th fastest time down the river which I was pleased with given I put a large hole in the side of my Sission Evolution Omega and had to stop a couple of time to empty the water out.

There is now 9 weeks until the national marathon kayak champs in Wellington. All going well I plan to be on the start line there to give the 28km loop course + portages a good nudge. The transition from multisport to K1 paddling has been an exciting one so far and the nationals will be a good indicator of where I am at. At the end of May there will also be a chance to try my hand in a few sprint competitions which I am really looking forward to.

So now as I wait to receive the results of my thesis I am busy coaching a number of athletes through Exponential Performance Coaching, working at university teaching undergrad labs as well as doing work for Bikenz with the national track squad.

First training session of summer

Some days down in Dunedin it is starting to feel like summer. This is a short video I made of a training session I did in the Dunedin sun a few weekends ago.
30km bike out to Taieri mouth and then a bit of a run along the Millennium track. All in all a good day out.

Braemar Gut Buster 12 Hr Adventure Race

While the rest of NZ was hunkered down to protect themselves from the storm the size of Australia that was on its way we were on our way towards Mt Cook for the Braemar Gut Buster.
I was teaming up with my supervisor Dr Jim Cotter and as well as racing we were there to over see a group of students taking on the challenge as part of the Multisport practical paper offered at the PE School.
With the 1st kayak being canceled and only three teams getting out on the trekking course before it closed it turned into a big mountain bike through A LOT of snow. With all of the changes out on the course through out the day no body knew where they were placed in the field. We finished the day up in second place.
For the official race report check out the link below
http://www.sportzhub.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10741