A week ago I committed to doing the 3 Hr race at Blores Hill, Heyfield. I knew I didn't really have 6 hours of riding in my legs, and also it was just getting too difficult to get sorted for a night away with the dogs and riding for 6 hours.
I hadn't raced or ridden at Blores Hill before but had heard it was fun, relatively flat, with some rocky stuff up the top end or the course. My race plan consisted of:
- Get to the event
- Don't take it seriously - just have fun
- Ride for 3 hours
And guess what? I did all 3, and managed a 2nd place!!
It started well when a 10 mth old staffy-baby greeted me at registration. I had to make a few gear adjustments while warming up, and I must have done something right because I had no problems throughout the day. I lined up at the back of the pack for race start - chatting away to a familiar face who now has a name - Amber - and not checking out the competition AT ALL. I was there for fun.
I passed a few riders in the first 5 mins then rounded a bend in the fire trail, only to find a former fire work colleague from Bendigo standing on the side of the track in Parks Victoria uniform. I hadn't seen Cliff for 6 years since I'd left Bendigo, so of course I had to stop and chat. Cliff commented that obviously I had backed it off a notch from when he knew me, seeing as I was stopping mid-race to chat for 5 mins. The last rider passed me, so I thought I should probably get going again.
I thoroughly enjoyed the technical rock garden at the top end of the course - lots of rocks to climb on, to ride over, and to descend on. I gave the 'A' line descent a shot on my 2nd lap and nailed it - so much smoother than the 'B' line, though you needed guts to do it. The pump section was great fun, and the marshalls told me to stop laughing each time I came through working it. After this section there was lots of easy pedalling with gently climbs.
Transitioning for my 3rd lap I stopped to chat to my good friend Jane. Yabba yabba and off I went. It was at the 2 hour mark that my glutes began to burn - not just burning while pedalling, but REALLY burning while descending the technical stuff. Obviously they haven't had to hold me upright in that position with that much demand for a very long time. Too long. Throughout the race I passed and was by old racing friends - many I hadn't seen for some time. It was fantastic. I came across Cliff again, stopped for another chat, then rolled on.
Final lap and my glutes and triceps were burning worse than I have ever felt. But I still rode the technical climb and descent, and had a huge smile at the top of the rocky climb. During the race I had no thoughts on where I was placed - I actually thought I was 6th out of 8. Amanda filled me in at the end that I had placed 2nd!! Still can't believe it....all I could say was 'But I stopped and chatted all race!'. Maybe that was the key....to have fun.
Thanks to all my racing friends (and Cliff) for a great day out. And thanks to my Scalpel for never letting me down.
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