Convict Highs and Lows

I’ve been riding / training pretty consistently for the last few months, but not as seriously as I have in the past. And with most of my rides being pretty short, I wasn’t very confident about the Convict 68. But after pre-riding the course a week before the race I felt OK, and decided to give it a go. I figured I should be able to average a bit over 19km/h and ride it in about 3.5 hours - so I had a goal.

Into the start chute early, I was planning to start with the second wave, when a couple of mates started calling for me to join them in the first wave. At first I said no, but they talked me into it. So off I went, at the back of wave one, and the pace was high. It was quickly apparent I was punching above my weight in this group so after 5 mins or so I dropped off the back. At the river crossing some of the fast guys from wave 2 caught up, and I settled in with them. I still felt like the pace was a bit fast, but I stuck with them.

Onto Jack's Track climb. At the risk of sounding weird, I have to say I was looking forward to this climb. But about half way up the first steep bit I started feeling bad. Really bad - like I had no energy at all. Negativity started to set in as my mind searched for a reason - I didn’t eat enough, shouldn’t have had a coffee so early, hadn’t warmed up enough… eventually I snapped out of it and reminded myself that it’s just another climb, so I settled in and started feeling a bit better.

Along the Womerah range was nice, but I still wasn’t feeling right. I was fluctuating between riding well at a decent pace and enjoying myself, then feeling really crap. No energy. By the time we hit the descent I had thoughts of pulling out of the race, something I’ve never done.

A brief stop for water, across the bridge and I had to decide - turn right and push on, or left and go home. My thoughts were interrupted by a course marshall who looked at my race plate, held up her arm and yelled “RIGHT”! So right it was, and onto Sheppard’s Gully Climb. Into a low gear, I decided to just spin away up the hill, not worry about my speed, and get my head back in the right space. Passing a few of the 100km back markers helped boost my confidence, and by the top of the climb I was in a much better place.

I really enjoyed the GNR section. I rode most of it pretty smoothly, just had to walk a couple of small sections. I had to pick my way through quite a few 100km back markers, but the banter was friendly. I’m a bit of a talker during races - I tend to make friends out on the course, and I try to be super-polite when I’m asking to get past someone. So good vibes all round. My legs were threatening to cramp, but I just kept standing up on the pedals when I could, varying my cadence and managing it.

At the second water station I stopped for 30 seconds to top up, then onto 8-mile track. This was a good section of the race for me. I wasn’t going very fast, but by the time I hit the descent I was feeling great and passed a couple of people.

At the bottom of 8-mile I knew it was a (roughly) 10km flat ride to the finish, and I rode the first couple of kms solo. My legs were pretty trashed, and as I joined the road to St Albans I felt myself slowing down. Then along came @thepedalingdonkey, although I didn’t know who he was at the time, as we’d never met. We worked together really well for a few kms, and this gave me a real lift - our pace was solid and I felt a wave of energy spurring me on. Or maybe the caffeine shot I had on GNR was just kicking in? Either way, I looked at the time and realised 3:30 was within my sights.

Eventually @thepedalingdonkey told me to go on ahead, so I pushed hard to the finish line crossing in 3:31.

Despite my negative thoughts in the early stages, this was a great event - a wonderful race through spectacular countryside. I’ll be back next year (my last year in Masters), but will definitely do a few longer rides in the lead up, to make it even more enjoyable.

Huge congrats to @tristania on another excellent result, and @beetle, who absolutely smashed the 68km. An incredible ride and sprint finish for the win by @doc, and another very solid ride by @blades_utd. And thanks to @thepedalingdonkey for giving me a boost when I needed it. I felt guilty leaving you behind, but really pleased to see you finished well under 3:30!