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Reminding myself how far I’ve come...

7th Oct 2014

It’s been 5 weeks since my last Xterra race (Denmark)- and I must say I’ve enjoyed having a break from travelling, getting some decent training done at home, and just catching up with life, family & friends a bit!

Mum- at home in Dorset for all the family birthdays!

It’s also been a good chance to enter some local races to tune my sharpness- and also cos I love racing, but there’s only so many international trips you can do in one season! Makes a nice change being able to drive somewhere on the morning, race hard and be home in time for lunch ;)

So I’ve just finished two double race weekends back to back- final preparation for Xterra World Champs on Maui in 3 weeks’ time!

Stretching out before the start of Poole Harbour swim (I'm front left)

Last weekend Simon and I headed down to Dorset to sell my Time Trial bike. Chances are I won’t be racing on road/non-drafting events in the near future, so the money will mean I don’t need to worry about working now till after the Worlds.

It also turned out to be perfect timing for the HumanRace Poole Harbour swim- which a couple of friends were doing. I need every opportunity to practise sea swimming before Maui- chances are rare living in Reading! I entered the longest distance- 3k- as it was the best value for money (can’t escape my northern upbringing!) To my surprise I won my Age group and finished 6th lady overall- this never happens in a pure swim race, being up at the front of the field :-) It was a great day for TVT as Joel finished 3rd athlete overall and Sharkie 11th. I still have some improvement to go to stay on their feet, but getting closer ;)

Representing Mountain Trax- who've been looking after me & my bikes for years!

Then it was back home for the Gorrick Autumn Classic MTB race on the Sunday. Previous seasons I’d never been confident enough to enter the ‘Expert’ (highest) category- despite the fact that higher category = more laps = better value for money! (That men get more laps than women I won’t go into here… still some catching up to do in the cycling world on male/female equality!)
This was the second time I’ve entered Expert, but first time I actually felt like I belonged there. I am still learning how to race the MTB and not just ride a constant effort like a road time trial! I was super happy to finish on the podium in 2nd place – a massive improvement on my 11th place at the same venue earlier this year.

Showing the boys the way- Medway Offroad Duathlon

Back to another week’s training, and then it was straight into a second double race weekend!

Saturday I was looking forward to going head-to-head with coach Jez in the Medway Offroad Duathlon (well, more likely watch him disappear into the distance on the run and hope for some scary drop-offs on the bike where I could gain back time! ;)) Sadly he was injured in the end, and I wasn’t seriously expecting anything too technical/scary in this beginner friendly event! I was the only lady on the start line- which is a shame for womens’ racing, but meant no pressure. Just try and show some blokes how Offroad is done ;) And I very nearly made the mens’ podium- only 18 seconds off 3rd place, against some credible GB Age-Group athletes. It’s still an ambition of mine to win a race outright or at least make the top 3… one day! Still, it was an enjoyable day out- a well organised and friendly event which I would recommend- hopefully it will return next year and more women will be inspired to give it a go.

On my way to first MTB race win :-D

On Sunday I had a nice lie in before the 11am start at Banjo Cycles XC Rampage (MTB race) Legs were feeling surprisingly good but I wasn’t sure the course suited me- absolutely pan flat and very twisty/technical. Where are my climbs?! It was going to be a lot more about skill than fitness! All I could do was go hard from the start, and hammer every straight to get a gap before entering any of the singletrack. It seemed to work as I led from the start and never looked back. My first MTB race win!

Media at Xterra Denmark. There will be lots more in Maui!!

So everything is looking good ahead of Maui- the last 2 weekends made me realise that actually I have improved, and I should be confident I am capable of some pretty darn good results! I had got used to racing nothing but Xterra Pro all season, being soundly beaten week in week out- and forgetting that I’m constantly measuring myself against the best girls in the world. Hopefully I’m getting closer to measuring up!

But in the meantime it has been good to go back to the grass roots- racing the type of events I used to do and remind myself how much progress I have made even this one year. 12 months ago I would never have expected to be on the podium in swim races, winning MTB races, or chicking (almost) all the men in a duathlon…!