Training tip: Never race 3x weeks after Xmas

I was fully pumped, had trained hard and was ready to smash out an angry 100km's for the Alpine Assault ... back on Dec 12th. So when the race was rescheduled for Jan 16th I thought I'd just pick up where I left off. As it turns out I had plenty of time to ponder a great deal of 'What if ... ' scenarios as I plodded along the 100km of steep, rocky alpine trail. What if I hadn't drunk so much fine wine and icy cold beer over the Xmas Xtravaganza ? What if I had got out of bed a few more times to train instead of sleeping in ? What if I didn't have those extra helpings of Grannys famous Xmas pudding ? I learn't a valuable lesson as I dragged my weakened body up the 10km hill out of Mt Beauty ... either don't race or don't stuff your face (an obvious lesson I know). I thought the first part of the race was awesome. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as we made our way across the top of Australia from Falls Creek towards Mt Nelse (1871m) If it wasn't the high altitude that took my breath away it was the view. It was drop dead stunning. Picture perfect Kodak moments in every direction. I was feeling great at this point, the bike was humming along nicely and I was taking on the right amounts of food and water. The highlight of the race is the long downhill run into the Valley. It's an old, unused goat track covered in rocks, sticks, logs and given the recent rain .... heaps of long grass to obscure one's view of the trail. Throw in a couple of boulder gardens and it makes the 25km decent very very interesting. The Yeti was happy to gobble it all up and I managed to pass a few of slower riders (or the more sensible riders) and those forced to the side with punctures. By the end my 'ear to ear' grin was replaced with an 'ear to ear' grimmace as every part of my body ached. The multiple creek crossings were a welcomed relief but the long, slow grind up to the road I could have lived without. By now the temperature was on the rise and when I rolled into the Mt Beauty check point (75km) I was feeling the effects of my piss poor preperation. This is where I boarded the pain train. Rolling out of the transition I felt OK but within minutes the track turned upwards and I started to deteriorate. The 10km uphill was just that. 10km worth of up. I spent most of it off the bike and walking. And walking. And walking. I walked so much I got a blister on my ankle. It was hot too. 39 deg hot. Finally the trail turned left and into the bush for a balls out decent back down to Mt Beauty. But the finish line was 7km away with another trip up the hill (only half way this time) before we snaked our way back through Big Hill MTB Park and into the finish. After 7hr and 41 mins there was no fanfare. The presentations were over, the crew had disapeared and I dare say the winners were already home and resting.

I finshed 8th in Masters but alas I was the last one. That said, I did beat the 12 others who DNF'd.

I did the same race last year and was an hour faster (WTF?).

Understandably the result reflected the input and I was foolish enough to believe a 'strong training base' would be enough to get me through the day. All up it was a great weekend. Tommy and I drove down with PS and with 8 hours of drive time it made for plenty of laughs, too many piss stops (we're all in Masters) and endless bike banter. We over nighted in Albury on the Sunday night and managed to squeeze in a recovery ride up and over Nail Can Hill in the morning before we hit the Hume for the return journey.

Back next year ? For farking sure ....