Weekend in the box

Friday morning, we had tradies coming for renovations so their was no time for the full FatBuster. A quick blast out to Westleigh and 4 laps of Quarter Sessions Rd, and then back within the hour. Not bad for a 30km jolt, I felt strong and ready for the 3 ring circus the next day.
Saturday morning, I link up with Steve and we're headed for Wingello. Once arriving I go through the usual routine of registration, get ready and a little warm up ride, and it was at that point I started to think the legs were a little flat. This would be a 50km sprint, and right from the start it was on, but unfortunately I was off. From the very first incline, the legs felt like jello. I was making up some ground on the descents and the single track but for the most part I was eating the dust of passing cyclists as I struggled to find some power in the legs. My goals quickly evaporated and I reset to "If I can just ride the wall I will be happy", which I did, accompanied by the praise of the riders I passed walking up that lovely "little" pinch. From there it was just a matter of enjoy the ride.
Coming in 5th out of 5 much stronger TORC riders, I vowed this would not happen again and determined to re-double my training efforts to try and bridge the gap in time for the doctor Congrats to the Three Amigos on Ibis', Steve, Tony and Pete and especially to Josh in his first MTB race and so the next morning....
I love spending my Sunday mornings in the box, in fact this report had to be cut short because I am still trying to catch my breath since returning from Marayla. There are no pictures to go with this rant because my camera is still out there somewhere trying to pedal it’s way home. After completing a 50k MTB race on Saturday, I wasn’t sure how the legs would cope, but heading up the other side of the gorge I was holding on in reasonable fashion so I thought what the hell, I might as well keep going. A re-shuffle at the top left me way to close to the front and as we wheeled into Dural, it was time to pull what I hoped would be the shortest turn in history next to Steve Knight who annihilated me yesterday at Wingello. We thought we were cruising along quite nicely, and no sooner had I said to Steve, “This is a good pace”, then I heard the mighty rush of rubber against asphalt, and the attack came with such ferocity, it was just a blur of red, white and blue, as the top guns put down the hammer.
I long stream of shattered riders stretched out on front of me and I was making sure not even my grandmother got left behind. A stroke of luck for me when three guys with their heads down missed a turn. Drastic, chased them for a bit to try and call them back to no avail, but atleast now I had someone to ride with, and so it was back to Galston, with Drastic and I working together through the picturesque countryside. We picked up John B and David back through the gorge and although the legs were aching a bit I still felt happy with the effort and pushed hard back to the coffee shop to finish closer to the A’s than the B’s.
So it has only taken me 2 years to figure out that 150km a week (and that would be a big week) is never gonna cut it. It’s only 3 weeks till the Angry Doctor raises it’s ugly head, I had better go for another ride!
This week, recovery Monday, Boundary Riders Tuesday, Quarry Rd Wednesday, Recovery Thursday, Fat Buster Friday and planning Akuna bay on Saturday and Mangrove Mountain on Sunday.
Rsult for 3 Ring Circus (one to forget, check out the Yellow loop, completely tanked!)
105(o'all) 28(cat) Mike Israel 15:21.9(21) 1:19:01.6 (16) 1:04:27.9 (28) 2:38:51.4

TORC CC Round #5 ? Ourimbah 9th Aug 2009

This report begins a few days out from the race, with some intense riding through the week, I wasn't sure if I would make it as I felt so fatigued on Friday night. I was in bed early and didn?t ride Saturday hoping that 36 hours recovery would see me right. Even climbing the stairs Saturday night, the quads were still burning so it was with great relief that I bounced out of bed Sunday morning feeling fully recovered and ready to race.
The drive up to Ourimbah is always relaxing and included the mandatory stop for coffee in Wyong before heading out to the track. Simon, Greg, Binnsy, Farkas and Larri were already there, it was great to see a strong contingent from TORC.
On the start line we heard we would be bypassing burnt forest and roller coaster to lead straight into magic carpet, graveyard and then a new section before Missing Link. Farkas quipped that perhaps the rider standing next to him on the start line was The Missing Link and maybe he was right.
The start gun went off and so did the field. It was a packed field in B Grade with some new younger faces (and younger legs!) that clearly wouldn?t be blowing up despite the frantic pace on the first lap. We blasted through Jurassic then onto the Graveyard and into the new section of track which is pretty good, a little bumpy but quite challenging and enjoyable. It was then into the looong Meadows...one of the toughest climbs I have ever ridden on a mountain bike. Going over the top I was passed by a guy on a single speed 29er. Obviously he was insanely fit, or perhaps just insane. I let them go in order to find my own pace and ensure I had enough in the legs to ride hard to the finish.

Having lost sight of Farkas after the first lap, I noticed Binnsy was creeping up on me reducing the gap to around 20 seconds in places, so the challenge was definitely on. Ride smooth and fast to maintain the gap and extend the gap on any downhill or flat sections was the plan. Going into the third lap, I seemed to find some extra speed after jettisoning my camelback and I managed to keep Binnsy at bay to cross the line, with Farkas a few minutes ahead and Simy coming in 4th behind Binnsy.
Special mention to James "Chops" who turned up for A grade after taking out third place at the 12 hour the previous day. It would be the only time I get to pass James and it gave me a new definition of what it must be like to feel real fatigue.
If you ride a mountain bike and haven?t gotten to one of these races yet, you must give it a go. The track is awesome, you get to race against your mates and the intense workout you get over 1 -2 hours is fantastic. Just three rounds left for the year
Thanks again to CCOMTB for running a great event.