Training Log Archive: Vaala

The start area was quite full by the time we arrived but we managed to find a good spot by the 3:30-4:00 sign. In retrospect it was a bit far back as we spent the entire length of Colombo Street either passing people or riding alone. Still passing people all the way up Dyers which was not what I was imagining. So nice to see supporters out to cheer us (thank you!!)!

Somewhere just before Kennedy's someone's race number came off their helmet and stuck itself to our tyre so once we got to the top of the hill we had to stop and pull it off. Didn't really lose any time but was frustrating. The conditions got cold, a bit windy and very misty with super low vis along the tops. We were mostly by ourselves on the way down the Basdrat where there seemed to be carnage in the form of so many people with punctures the whole way down.

Hit the flats at some serious speed with a tail wind. And then the real hard work began. Had a bunch of about 6 of us to start I think which took a while to get itself organised while we spent a lot of time out the front. Finally the bunch got working and that was quite exciting having never been in a bunch before. Our bunch slowly grew as we caught more people. Were slowly closing in on the bunch ahead as we made it to Little River.

I totally expected the bunch to drop us big time on the climb up to Hilltop but we were out near the front and passing the bunch in front too! Unfortunately the climb was really starting to kill my back and the pain wasn't so good by the top. M was really racing hard too which made it a bit tough. Flew past Riki which was very surprising. He looked like he was suffering. Various other riders were lying around on the side of the road clearly suffering cramp. But then M's lack of sleep caught up on him and he started to feel a bit bad and slowed right down. I was afraid he was going to make us stop and I thought if we had to stop my back would seize up too much to continue so I pushed really hard to keep him going. On the steep climbs (of which there are so many along this stretch!!) my back was really unhappy but I kept trying to push.

The wind got super ridiculous...scary crosswinds that tried to blow us off course. It was pretty rough. My legs had nothing left for the last couple of climbs but M seemed to have recovered a tiny bit by then so we did eventually make it up them. My arms and wrist were also in pain by the descent so I was worried I was going to have trouble hanging on but the excitement of passing people going down Long Bays Rd (and, quite frankly, a bit of terror at the speed) sort of distracted me from the pain! It was pretty windy on the descent so our weight probably helped us be able to go faster and stay in control.

Anyways, that was a long writeup to basically say it was incredibly tough (the winning time this year was a lot slower than last year despite a stronger field so it wasn't just us!) but I was pretty proud of our achievement especially with us both struggling to sleep lately and my back being sore. I have wanted to do this race for years but especially after my crash I thought I would never get a chance so although it sounds lame it was a pretty emotional experience to finish this race, especially being able to do it with M. Plus we made the podium! First (and only :-P) tandem!

C • Story 3

My lower back is pretty sore and kept me awake during the night. M had to help me out of bed this morning :-(
Trying not to panic. But hopefully Viv's magic touch has made it better...hopefully! It definitely felt a bit better after that and I can now stand up properly.

With Lara. Some crazy strong wind up at the start just below the Sugar Loaf. We headed up first then round the back of the Sugar Loaf where I managed to fall over. It was pretty ridiculously slippery back there. Didn't think much about it at the time but by the time we were heading down the Harry Ell my lower back was really starting to hurt. Then I managed to fall over going uphill (!) and that got my wrist hurting really bad. There may have been some tears at this point. We could have easily picked up the 40 pointer on the lower track but by this point I'd lost any drive and Lara wasn't convinced we had time so it ended up meaning we had a nice leisurely stroll back up the hill for the last couple of controls, complete with trying to do them without getting out our headlights.

Far too cold and wet for any of that outside nonsense. Still feeling a bit crappy too so even got M to pick me up after work. We waved energetically at Tane on the way home but he snobbed us so we were sad :-(

I hope it's not this cold tomorrow night!

C • Whoops 7

Feeling a lot better today so went for a little cruise in the valley dressed up in all my warm winter stuff. I didn't even get too hot which is a bit depressing.