by hattenburrow | May 24, 2016 | Biking Adventures, Training
On Sunday I took on my first Scott marathon of the season. Michelle and I travelled together to Rhayader in mid-Wales on Saturday in the pouring rain hoping that the sun would shine on the race day!
The morning brought dry cloudy weather, as we lined up in the mass start the sun was trying to come out but dark clouds loomed above us so I decided to take my waterproof, just in case.
I always find mass starts challenging and yet again as we pulled off Michelle easily seemed to slip through gaps between riders whilst I struggled to find my own gaps! I had to push harder than I would usually push at the start of a long race to get back to Michelle and then set into a steady rhythm up the last road climb before the fun stuff!
After the descent the course turned onto fire road, as I turned to my side, I expected to see Michelle but she wasn’t there, looking back I couldn’t see her and thought she must have got caught up so I gradually made my way up the hill expecting her to catch up.
The course was very wet and muddy with huge puddles and a lot of slip sliding around on the grassy descents. I enjoyed the challenge this presented as the steeper decents were made more technical and pushed my skill level where if they had been dry they would have not been an issue. The course was packed with good climbs but the most challenging and best climb was a steep rocky climb that seemed to have a lot of people walking on it, I started the climb behind a guy but once he wheel spun and moved out of the way I was free to pick my own line through the walkers, this was a rather nice feeling to be slowly edging past lots of people, by the time I got to the top my heart rate was sky high but I felt a massive sense of achievement for beating the hill climb.
I was going well fuelling wise I started with dates at 45 mins then another 45 mins later had salted peanuts then when I reached the first feed station I had a banana, handful of nuts and got my water topped up. It was at this time that a crack of thunder rumbled through the skies and the heavens opened, not just drizzle a torrential downpour started for what seemed like ages, I was glad to have packed my waterproof! It was tough going in the wet and cold every time I went up hill I got too hot followed by freezing on the downs. I tried to keep drinking small sips but my water bottles were so caked with mud I ended up with more than just a drink.
After the course split and the half marathon went one way there was another long road climb, it was on this climb where I heard the sound of my name being called! Looking round Michelle had caught up. It was great to ride with other people again after being on my own for around 43km.
This next part of the course was the worst after a fire road climb the single-track became almost un-rideable due to massive puddles and so much thick mud that my tyres wouldn’t go round. We ended up walking lots of this section slowing down meant getting cold so I ate some more dates to try and get some extra energy. It was a short while after we left the single-track back on a wider path that Michelle fell off and sliced her knee on something, we still don’t know exactly what!
This meant a walk back to the marshal point and a long 45 min wait for the paramedic, after they washed out her wound they decided she shouldn’t ride on it so I finished the course on my own.
Michelle was okay luckily but had to have three stitches.
Although I didn’t complete the full 75km I am super happy with this result I kept a consistent pace fuelled well and felt in a good place, I didn’t feel tired at the end which I feel is a good indication I had more in the tank. I will be back to finish this race next year! For now onwards and upwards towards the Alps…
by hattenburrow | Apr 24, 2016 | Film & Photo, Training
I started racing cross-country mountain biking four years ago, after being inspired by the Olympics to get out and give it a go.
last year I decided to try a new challenge and turned my attention to endurance racing. This is a very different type of riding which is as much about mental strength and physical.
Here is a little video about the transition. Please subscribe to my channel and follow my blog for more updates on training towards my next challenge.
The Trans Alp.
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by hattenburrow | Apr 22, 2016 | Inspiration, Racing
At the weekend I travelled to Henham in Suffolk for my first cross country race of the season. I have not been feeling great for the last few weeks, my body and mind have felt tired and I have found things have been getting on top of me in all aspects of my life.
Training between 6 and 12 hours a week, working full time and running your own business does not leave a lot of recovery time, and I think I have now officially burnt out!
I have been ignoring the ‘warning’ signs that this was coming. I have been really tired even though getting plenty of sleep. I had a few little colds, not felt like training and training was certainly not going how I wanted it too and to top it all I felt mega emotional!
This all caught up with me at Henham. I did a practice lap and after the great inspiring session with Steve Manser the day before I felt confident on the course.
My start was not great I missed my pedal and everyone else shot off. Where I can usually recover from moments like this, this time my head was telling my body it was game over and my legs were in complete agreement.
I finished my first lap knowing that the first lap I usually find hard, but this was different. When I pushed down on the pedals I had no power, I felt like I was going backwards, after another lap I decided that I should listen to my body and stop.
I have never pulled out of a race and this was such a hard thing to do I kept wondering whether I made the right choice, was I just being a wimp?
Looking back on my decision it was the right one. My body needs some recovery time and trying to push it too hard on Sunday was just going to mean I would need more time off.
My plan now is a training free four days when I can concentrate on letting my body recover fully.
It has been a steep learning curve for me, I have been training so hard spending every spare moment I have on the bike, working on my endurance doing 5 hour rides and dedicating my time to becoming the best mountain biker I can be. So it is really frustrating when you get to the start of a race not feeling your best and not able to perform in the way you feel you should.
What I have learnt from this is to look out for the signs of overtraining and workout a way with my coach that I can focus on training for the Trans Alp in the most efficient way possible.
Part of my challenge is I am always pushing myself, which isn’t a bad thing, but part of that is I am not very good at saying no and take on too much.
Anyway in every situation there is a chance to learn and improve. I am now on my last recovery day feeling a lot happier and rested.
I look forward to what tomorrow brings….
by hattenburrow | Mar 24, 2016 | Racing
On Sunday 20th March around 700 mountain bikers descended on this quite coastal country park for the UK’s one and only beach race. Now in its third year this race has grown in popularity year on year with 2016 being its biggest and best so far!
Battle on the Beach is run by A Cycling who also organise the UK’s only stage race Epic Cymru. The idea of a beach race came from the Dutch & Belgian races, although these are nearly all beach the Battle on the Beach packs in 6km of beach racing on a 15km course.
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The start line. Photo thanks to Anthony Pease @Pease971
The 3 lap, 45km course has remained fairly similar since it started with a few tweaks here and there. The battle starts on soft sand at the top of the beach, while the DJ pumps out motivational music and gets the riders ready for what’s to come with riders jostling for positions close to the front. The soft sand start is hard work with so many people in a compact space picking your bike up is pretty impossible so when the gun goes off its about pushing as hard as you can whilst watching out for other people’s pedals and flying wheels of those who have picked their bikes up!
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Photo thanks to Anthony Pease
Once on the hard packed sand cyclocross skills come in handy as you launch yourself onto your bike and charge out to catch a group moving fast, the key to the beach is to get in a bunch and work together to make the 6km beach stretch less taxing on your legs.
Lungs bursting, once you reach the MOD turn off the beach it’s another run in the sand up the hill to the dunes. From this point on its single and double track until you reach the beach once more.
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Photo thanks to Anthony Pease
The double track through the dunes is soft sand in places and the best advice is to keep looking forward and let the bike slide beneath you. It is hard going through these dunes with lots of lumps and bumps overtaking can come with the penalty of a puncture as the scrub land to the side is littered with thorns and twigs.
The singletrack sections are brilliant! Through tress with some hard sandy climbs and great loose descents which make you push harder just to come round and have another go!
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Photo thanks to Anthony Pease
The air is full of excitement at Battle on the Beach with lots of spectators cheering you on and other riders always giving their support. It is a fantastic race for riders who are looking to test their speed and endurance and also those who just want to do something different with friends. It is organised very well with sign on the day before and a well-marked course.
This year Karen Brouwer was back to defend her 2014 open title. The Dutch rider left the rest of the field in her wake finishing in an eye watering 1 hour 49 minutes showing that the women are as fast as the men!
The men’s open was a hard fought battle between Richard Jansen the Dutch beach racing champion and fellow Dutch rider Bram Imming the race was fought right up to the line with Richard Jansan taking the win by a second, finishing in 1 hour 35 minutes and 8 seconds.
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Photo thanks to Anthony Pease
For the first time the day race was accompanied by a night race. Battle in the Dark took place on the Saturday evening and was a shorter loop of the main course taken on in time trial style.
Overall I am really happy with my result (16th) it was my first race of the season and with a new bike I just went out to see what was possible. There are things I need to improve on my overall my stamina has improved so much which makes all those winter miles worth the effort!
My top tips for beach racing are:
- On a mountain bike turn your forks off
- Practice running and jumping on your bike before you arrive at the race
- Practice carrying your bike, great upper body work out and a lot quicker than pushing it through sand
- Get into a bunch on the beach to make life easier but don’t sit in a slow group push on to the next faster riders
Thank you Anthony Pease for the brilliant images! Check out his stuff here.
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by hattenburrow | Sep 13, 2015 | Racing
It seems a very long time ago that I was lining up at Battle on the Beach for my first race of the season.
I went up to elite this year which was a bit of a baptism of fire! My first nationals were a real eye opener to the speed needed to be competitive in cross-country. Although the race was really hard I learnt a lot from the experience. I went away and worked on my technical skills.
Over the winter I had been doing some longer rides and found these suited me. I have always found the power and pace of cross-country a challenge but this year decided to try endurance racing.
My first six hour solo was tough but showed me that I could turn to endurance racing. I worked hard to improve my endurance building up from 3 hour nonstop rides to 5 hour nonstop rides. These were hard but I enjoyed pushing myself in a new direction and worked hard on my fitness.
The next challenge was a 24 hour race with Martyn where we got an unexpected 3rd place.
After Mountain Meyhem I had my own time of mayhem with buying our first house my training was disrupted. I decided to use this time when I was feeling rather stressed to concentrate on training and getting used to being on my bike for long periods of time and perfecting my nutrition during those rides.
I entered the last round of the Southern XC series and was happy that my training had paid off when I managed 3rd place.
My next priority race was Torq in your Sleep, my first 12 hour solo. I didn’t really know what to expect but I had a plan which I stuck too and that paid off. I learnt so much from this race like make sure you eat little and often so that you don’t get stomach cramp, don’t take the dodgy head torch light out as coming back to change it costs a lot of time (20 mins to be precise).
The next few months I will be working on my endurance and stamina clocking up the miles and building a good base over the winter.
My aim for 2016 is to race the Trans Alp and continue to improve on my endurance results from this year.
Thank you to my coach Mark at Velo coaching for your help with my training.
Thanks to my sponsors Grip Grab and Bike Fixers. Thanks to Silverback for my brilliant Syncra which has kept me competitive all year.
If you would be interested in supporting me in 2016 please contact hannah@peal2pedal.co.uk
