Bright Enduro – Oct 2009

This was a fun race with a local describing the course as ‘mentally tough’. The single track on the whole was tight with a lot of short sharp dips and climbs though bomb holes. The 30 d plus heat and the constant short sharp burst required to ride the single track made for a challenging race. I finished 5th in the 40 to 49 group and one lap down on 1st and 2nd. So this was 9 laps, 107k at an average of 17.3 kph. Full results are on the Alpine Cycles Club site.

Getting it all wrong
I went out way too fast for the first 2 laps, blew in the 30 plus heat in the middle of the race, and the lap times went pear shaped from there. I then spent most of laps 5 & 6 trying not hurl or curl up in lactic ball at the side of the course. The pace and heart rate was way to high for the first couple of laps.

Next time follow a plan...
So if I'd gone slower and steadier at the start I think I could have managed a much better result. At least a 4th and perhaps even a 3rd. Dam it! Have a look at how steady 4th place road.
What I should be have aiming for was an average speed of 18.2 kph. At this speed I'd have been able to complete 9 laps in the 6 hours and then been able to get out for a tenth lap. I'm going to have to work a lot more on the head space side of things.