Training Log Archive: nmulder

0900 - Drove down for the Moratuwa MTB Race in Heilbron (only 1h40 drive).

On the start line realised that there weren't any pro racers there, so was looking for a good placing. Start went off smoothly, and I settled down at the back of the lead bunch. Most of the guys started dropping off quickly and by 5km there were only 3 of us (Benedict Schneider & Danie Steyn). At 6km we hit a big hill (unfortunately the only 1 of the day) and I found myself in front by the top of it. Although I hadn't wanted to push the pace until later, I decided to take advantage and opened up a 1 min gap, hoping they wouldn't chase me down. At about the 20km mark though, we had a district road section where Danie put in a strong interval to close most of the gap, pulling Benedict with him. We had a strong headwind, so I let the gap go. After riding at a reduced speed together and passing the finish area to start the 2nd lap of the figure-8 route, Danie paid the price by blowing at about 40km. Benedict then started surging and eventually broke me on the 3rd one at about 44km. At 55km I was about 2 minutes behind, but then started catching again when we hit the final 10km section, all of which was lawnmover tracks. I hadn't expected this, so I had to dig very deep as our average speed plummeted from 27km/hr to well under 20. At the end I'd closed the gap to about 1m15, before the lead quad bike made a wrong turn, giving Benedict an additional 400m to ride. It would have been unlikely for me to have closed the gap in the last 4km, so we cycled into the finish leisurely and let him cross the line first.

So Overall 2nd as well as 2nd Sub-Vet, improving on my best ever previous of 4th two years ago in Nigel. Could still feel Epic in my legs, will need another few weeks to recover. Otherwise, am thrilled with the result, which came with R400 prize money.

Av 23.8 Mx 47.9

C • going pro 3

0800 - Junior training at Voortrekker Monument. Put out the training controls (about 5km) then shadowed some of the juniors over the course.

0730 - Got my bike back from service at Summit Cycles. A good ride out to Kromdraai Rd on Potgieter. Back via Muldersdrift dirt road and Potgieter. Nice and quiet. Av 26.2 Mx 61.0 (on Potgieter opposite Builder's Warehouse - tail wind).

1515 - Team training on Emmarentia with Mac. 10 long laps. Ryno and Susan on our wave.

0645 - Short training run to get back into things. Might be over this cold finally.

1300 - Less focus on shoulders, which are doing well, and more on core and hammies / glutes.

How can I have an AP Ranking score of over 100 if I've never had an individual race score that high?

C • Standardising 3

1200 - Still a bit sick so my Bio took pity on me. Not too hard a session.