ps's blog

Three years since my last marathon race so I went with the 68k option. In hindsight it was the right choice for my current form.

Other than a couple of days in NZ in February I had only ridden the MTB once in the last year so went for a recce 4 weeks ago. I was that bad on the GNR section that I came back the following week and rode it twice searching for a bit more rhythm through the rough stuff.

In late August I was sitting down after dinner checking my email and up popped a mail from Ground Effect. It went like this:

"Hi Paul

The Heaphy Track is a multi-day backcountry ride with no equal in New Zealand - 78 outrageous kilometres of benched singletrack snaking its way across the top of the South Island. A three year trial commenced in 2011, allowing seasonal (winter) access for mountain bikes. This appears to have gone sweetly but we will need to see that confirmed by the authorities later in the year.

I have done one race now in Wellington and it was a very tight track with a course that went straight up, then straight back down. I have also been for a walk around Mt Wellington and its got some steep bits and a few fairly technical sections which is why they have used that track for world cup races. I know there is one other MTB park in Wellington itself and at least one 15k up the road in Lower Hut.

About 3 weeks ago I had just had 2 weeks off the bike and wasn't feeling that motivated to train. Then I went for a casual ride one saturday and enjoyed it so decided it was still possible to do my first sub 5 hour dirtworks/convict race. Reality struck the next day when I got dropped by the slower C grade bunch out at west head.
So I did what any disorganised person would, some serious last minute cramming and I got to the start line thinking 4:45 was a possibility.

We did the Mont last year in an open team and went OK so after getting on the podium at the Scott in Masters Dicko and I decided to put a masters entry in. A forced change in sponsor had Dicko searching for a replacement. Lupine Lights stepped up and kitted us out for the event. A huge thanks to Bill and the team at Lupine here in Australia, your support is appreciated.

Its been two years since my only Capital Punishment race so was happy to go back down to Canberra for another go.

After the fling it took about half a day to move fully into holiday mode as I didn't have any more races scheduled for 2012. Then an email or two arrived containing the usual combination of Dicko and Ant's enthusiasm about one last race for the year.

Preparing for these events when you have a family and work commitments is always a balancing act. Last year I was able to follow a proper training plan for the first time in the weeks leading into this event and had a really enjoyable race as I cruised through in a bit under 6 hours.

The phone call went like this:
(me) What day can I pick up the bike?
(Rob Booker) You cant, Specialised haven't sent the shock back yet. Were you riding this weekend?
(me) Yes. Im coming 2nd in the series.
Then before I had time to think about NOT riding in the last round and state champs.
(Rob Booker) Your a large aren't you? You can ride the test bike.
(me) OK, that should be good.

This race was the end of a 4 week block of racing. I had done OK in the race last year so had been looking forward to it. In the week leading up to the race I had been really tired so just concentrated on doing the minimum amount of training for a taper week.
I travelled down with Dicko and after registration and a quick chat with Steve 01 we did a short warmup and waited on the startline for the briefing. It was pretty cold and damp so I chose to leave my clear glasses behind. Later I would pay for that decision a few times.