Midland XC Round 2

This was a race i did last weekend.
It was at a place called Hanchurch and the course was fast and flowing around a rolling woodland area. And i loved it. Coach got my tyre selection perfect with the panaracer fire xc pro on the front and i had so much grip. I started off well and was in the front group of the womens race along with Jenn (team mate) and Annie Last (Halfords) I made a few mistakes on a rooty section which saw these two get away but i rode myself into the race and tried to keep my pace as high as possible all the way. Unfortunately i was nearing the end of my 4th lap when my pedal broke. The spring had snapped and so there was no way of clipping in. I had to make my way back as quick as possible to pit where coach could quickly whip a pedal off his bike and put it on mine. Then i carried on with the race on my last lap giving it everything to try make up any time id lost. I felt like i rode better as the race went, i still think the initial start effort can effect me on my second lap and then i seem to ride back into it. Interval work should sort this out!

I finished 2nd in the end behind jenn as Annie Last pulled out after the 4th lap as she had been ill and didnt want to risk making anything worse. Again i just loved my taurine that little bit more as it was riding so well and by the end of it i was definately looking forward to the challenge of mountain mayhem, which meant some quality time on the mtb.

Weekends Away Racing

On the 23rd of May i headed up to Scotland to do 2 town centre Crit races in Castle Douglad and Dumfries. There was orginally wmeant to be a separate womens races but this was in the end encorporated into the 3rd/4th cat mens race on both days. I felt this was going to be to my advantage as it mean the pace would be high. Both races were fast and enjoyable. The 1st crit in Castle Douglas was abit sketchy and it was hard holding my own round the corners against the men. I finished 1st woman tho lapping all the other women about 3 times.
In Dumfries the crit course was so fun. It had a cobble up hill and twisty down hill. The race was fast and furious. I settled into a group and stayed there for the duration of the race and the pace was high. i loved every minute of it. I even won the bunch sprint in my group taking 1st woman again and 11th over. I was very pleased, and came away from that weekend with £100 in my back pocket :).

The weekend after i headed down to wales for the National Points series race and for the National Marathon Champs. The sun was blazing so i hot weekend of mtbing was in store. Unfortunately my race on the saturday was disappointing, but i know what i have to work on now and im determind to shine in these National events. The marathon was of similar fortune. it was my first 100k race and i was not expecting anything but was so determind to push myself to the limit in this race. It was 4 long 22k laps and i was riding strong for my 1st marathon when i crashed hard and landed straight on my neck. I was in so much pain that the marshalls feared i had broken my collar bone, so they made me lie there for around 20 minutes. I was lying there watching all the places id made ride away from me. I wanted to carry on but they werent letting me. So jumped on my bike and rode off determined i didnt need the first aid that they had sent for. It felt like the longest descent ever to get back to the feed, where i fell about in tears. I was in so much pain from my neck and my left leg and arm had taken alot of the impact and were so sore. I knew i wouldnt be able to drag myself round the last 22k in this state. and felt disappointed another race was left unfinished. ive come away from the weekend every bruised and stiff. Luckily tho my taurine landed on the soft ground and came off better out of the 2 of us, i had feared id put a big hole in it but this wasnt the case :0.
Next weekend is my birthday so a rest from racing. Then i have som e more mtb racing and my 1st 24 hour mtb race mountain mayhem. Luckily im doing it in team of 4, and im quite excited for the event :). Ill keep you posted.
Annie x