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I have a new level of respect for the "roadies" at the pointy end of the field after that. It is a brutal event. There wasn't any part of me that wasn't aching as I crossed the finish line. Surprisingly the legs hurt least of all. The outsides of my feet were killing me from the constant weighting of pedals (you don't have to do too much of that on a road bike) and the wrists weren't in real good shape either.

Team: Slow N' Reckless
Who are we?: A group of mates riding for fun

Background:

Early in the new year I posted a forum topic on training advice (http://nobmob.com/node/45423). Very kind NoBMobbers gave me some great articles and advice. My plan was for a 7 week training programme with the goal of a sub 3hr finish at CP. This was going to be a tall order given I'd only ridden twice since November 2013.

I came into my first race of the season with low expectations but a great opportunity to get some racing in my legs and have a weekend away with my family. I had 2 months off following surgery and have been back on the bike for 5 weeks.

Category was actually "super" masters, but it's not on the drop down list.

I had upped my training a bit in the lead up to this event and had set twin objectives of knocking 10 minutes off last year's time and finishing in the top 20 of the increasingly competitive over 50's category.

However, this year's visit to Canberra was a bit of a "hit and run" effort due to other commitments. Got down there late Friday and after shovelling some food and kicking back for an hour or so, it was almost midnight. Not much zzz time before a 5.00 am alarm.

What a great day.
I thought I'd use this blog entry to explain a bit more of the 'unseen' stuff that goes on up at the front end, to help people not racing up there quite how stressful it is, and also what a fine line it is.
I hear a lot of 'he nearly beat you / he was close' etc. Let me try to explain (within the context of this race) what it actually means to 'be in contention'...

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To stay upright you've got to keep moving.“
- Albert Einstein

Last year at Capital Punishment I came 8th in my category. I was only 3 minutes off a podium place. After training pretty intensely for the last few months I knew I was faster than last year, so was hopeful of at least a top 10 again, maybe even top 5 place in my category. My result today was actually 5 minutes faster than last year, but I only placed 14th in my category. So it seems that the faster I get, the faster everyone else is getting! I guess it's a good thing that our sport is getting more popular, people are training more seriously and competition is increasing.

Welcome back! If you are reading this – then I think it means you liked the last one, or you just want to pick further holes in what I am saying!

I hope all of you have had a good time in Feb and have completed some solid training based on some of the guidelines I shared?

Some seated, big gear, hill reps? Perhaps some steady state threshold intervals? Maybe even some longer rides at a little bit harder than you might normally have gone? Just slightly above “constant chatter” levels of discomfort?

2014 Absa Cape Epic - The Journey Continues

Another month has gone by, and we are only one month away from our biggest challenge to date - 2014 Absa Cape Epic.

For all our supporters, have a read to what we have been upto over the last month, whilst you have been enjoying your summer holidays

- 5am Starts, long weekends on the bike
- Threshold Tests, Intervals, Hill Repeats
- Work, Family and NO alcohol
- Sessions that just have to happen - no matter what the weather
- Some of the more special places that riding a MTB takes you