by hattenburrow | Apr 30, 2014 | Racing
After dislocating my elbow five weeks ago I have only been out on proper single track a couple of times. I have had to re build some of my confidence and realise that my elbow is not just going to pop out of joint again!
So today was my first race of the season and my first race in the Expert Category, The Southern Cross Country Series at Crow hill. Arriving at Crow Hill near Ringwood in the New Forest the rain seemed to have cleared, but it was evident from the drive in, that the ground had been saturated making the conditions less than ideal!
My practise lap didn’t go great. I felt tired and my nerves were really affecting my performance. The course was roughly a 5 mile lap of undulating single track with two cart track sections linking the forest trail together. The course was interesting, twisting and turning through the trees, but the saturated ground did not make for easy riding! In places the puddles on the course had turned to bogs and it was hard to tell what was muddy puddle and what was tree route! There were some technical sections where the ground was off camber which, with so many tyre tracks made it hard to find a good line through the mud resulting in everyone sticking within the tracks of the person in front of them.
I got back after my practise lap with 10 minutes until my race started at 10, not the best of rests !After a quick banana, change of top and loo stop and I was on the starting line.
We were gridded in categories and then all sent off together, I did not get a good start ! The start was open field which narrowed quickly onto single track due to my hesitation I didn’t attack to get a good place going into the single track which left me behind people who I could of been riding in front of.
After a little while I had overtaken a couple of riders. I couldn’t see the two girls in my category though which was a bit disheartening, but worked hard on closing the gap. I felt nervous because of my elbow and especially through the thick mud sometimes it was hard to tell the ground from the tree roots so I never felt like I could go totally flat out.
Overall this race was not the best start to the season! My lap times were slow and my confidence was not great which made me lose focus on riding. On reflection I could have ridden more aggressively but at the time was riding defensively to protect my arm, which in the circumstances I had decided was the best thing to do. I went to collect points and achieved that, so mission accomplished.
Drawing from the experience I was able to gauge where my fitness level and race readiness are and more importantly that my elbow was not an issue. Over the next few weeks I hope that my confidence will return and that the courses get dryer!
Total time: 02:24:08
Position: 3rd
1st lap: 00:42:31
2nd lap: 00:46:31
3rd lap: 00:55:06
by | Apr 27, 2014 | Racing
I am a great believer in what Benjamin Franklin said;
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Today was my first race of the season (race report to come) so as usual planning for my race day started on Wednesday when my bike went in to have a cheeky service with Geared Up Cycles and after a thorough clean was ready for racing.
Then it was my turn.
I packed my kit on Saturday making sure I had a practise lap kit, race kit and change of clothes. With the weather forecast I had a feeling it could be muddy so packed a second set of everything just in case it was needed!
I made sure all my bike tools, helmet, gloves, glasses and shoes were in the car.
A few other essentials to pack are a black bin liner for wet kit, loo roll because the race organisers seem to never buy enough and baby wipes so you can wipe off the mud before changing into your clothes to travel home, these are also great for getting the grime off your bike between practise lap and the race!
If I’m driving down on the morning of a race I always pack as much in the car on the Saturday before hand this leaves less to be forgotten in the morning.
My top tips for race day nutrition;
- Eat a good breakfast something like porridge and a egg or protein shake
- Malt loaf with a thin layer of butter is a good energising snack to add with a banana for 45 mins before you race
- If you don’t like malt loaf, peanut butter is high energy goodness in a jar, I love it. Spread it on toast or if this is all too stodgy try Nairns Oat cakes for a lighter alternative
- Stick to the same brand of gels during a race, I find SIS, Zip Vit and High Five gels are all good they are less sweet and sticky than some other brands
- Bounce Balls make great snacks for straight after there easy to eat, high in protein and quick
- After eating lots of gels I find fresh fruit seems to help my body feel normal again after a race
- Eat a decent healthy meal within one hour of finishing a race it helps your body get over what you just put it through
by hattenburrow | Oct 16, 2013 | Racing
In October last year, inspired by the Olympics and my first ever mountain bike race I started training and working towards my first season. I worked hard over the winter to go from fairly fit to race fit attending cyclo cross training in Southampton and putting in hours at the gym and on the trails.
The season started in March and my plan was to compete in my ‘local’ Eastern region series ‘Mud Sweat and Gears’ and to do as many Southern national races as I could. My aim was to finish within the top three in the sport category and move up to expert for my second season in 2014.
My first races were hard and the competition was tougher than I was expecting! As the season progressed I got stronger and fitter and started to really feel the difference the training was making to my performance. This encouraged me to train harder and when I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to have a V02 max test the results reflected my training. I took the data away and worked hard to improve with the help of the training plan set out for me.
As well as racing I decided, mid season, to take on The Prudential Ride London which was a 100 mile sportive around London and Surrey for the Junior Diabetic Research Foundation. This, it would turn out would be the ultimate test of my stamina. With very little training on road Martyn (my boyfriend) and I completed our 100 miles in a respectable 6 hours 28 minutes. This however was to put my racing on the back foot, picking up a knee/hip injury. I had to stop racing and training for August and most of September. With physio I managed to get back on my bike and be fit enough to race the last Mud Sweat and Gears at Hadleigh, it was a tough course and although fit to ride it was evident I was not fit to race! However having the opportunity to ride the Olympic course was a huge privilege and I felt a great sense of achievement when I had finished. This was certainly one of my favourite courses and although I found it scary at times I enjoyed pushing myself so far out of my comfort zone.
I have had an amazing year and feel I have come so far. Going from being a relatively fit person who may go to the gym once or twice a week and do something active on the weekend, to someone who trains 4 times a week whatever the weather is a huge lifestyle change but I’ m hooked on seeing how far I can go. I am dedicated to cycling and committed to pushing my cycling forward and looking forward to my next challenge.
This year has come with so many ups like having my parents at my first race cheering me on, winning my first race on Fathers day, finishing the Ride London alongside Martyn and competing on the Olympic course are all moments I will never forget.
The downs have been, a couple of silly crashes and hurting my hip, but that’s life!
So the score this year I have had 1 win, 3 seconds, 3 thirds, 1 fourth and a fifth. Overall I came second in the Mud Sweat and Gears series and Fifth overall in the country behind Mel (EHF Racing) by 5 points!
Over the winter ready for next season I am looking to improve on my endurance. I will focus on building my endurance based training both on and off road as well as keeping up the threshold and sprint work from my training plan. I will incorporate two pilates and one strength and conditioning session every two weeks to build my core strength and keep my hips where they should be!
I believe I have developed a lot over the year in my riding ability and fitness and aim to improve on this and build on it over the winter ready for going up into the expert category for 2014.
Things I have learnt this year;
- Falling off hurts
- Racing is as much a mental game as a physical
- You can never do enough technical training
- Having a team of people around is important
- Racing is expensive!
- Training with people who are better than you pushes your riding
- Nutrition is key
Thank you for all the support from my family and especially my boyfriend Martyn who has been their for the highs and lows.
Thank you also to WyndyMilla, it has been a pleasure to meet and train with such a great bunch!
Roll on the 2014 season!
I am currently looking for new sponsors and products to test please get in touch: h.attenburrow@gmail.com
by hattenburrow | Oct 1, 2013 | Racing
MSG Round 6 Hadleigh
The weekend started in not the most ideal situation, 5 hours on the m25 because of a serious accident, meant we arrived at Hadleigh, for what was meant to be my day of getting used to the course, with 15 minutes until it closed! Luckily I was allowed to ride the course. James and Dave from WyndyMilla were both still there so i got to go round with them which was helpful, as they new all the lines already! Feeling some what frazzled from the journey I wasn’t in the best place to start practicing the Olympic course! This became evident very quickly when I fell off at Deans Drop. After that I new my head was not in ‘the game’ so to speak and decided to just ride as much as i could, but wait until tomorrow before the race to try a few more ‘a’ lines. It all seemed very tough and although i usually feel okay with technical this was by far the most technical course i had come across so far and I felt very nervous and not sure what to expect come race day.
The alarm sounded and after a not so peaceful nights sleep i dragged myself out of bed and prepared for what was to come. Arriving at the course i felt more prepared but still nervous. Another practice lap left me feeling confident i could ride the ‘b’ lines and the ‘a’ lines i had chosen. I had very little time between the end of my practice lap and the race as, i had to hike back up a hill to reclaim my water bottle so it was a quick stretch before gridding commenced.
My race didn’ t get off to the best of starts being gridded far left as we all turned up the hill i got squeezed into a bad position, but fought my way back, only to then loose my waterbottle on the first downhill through the trees. Making the decision i would need it, i jumped off and claimed it. However this put me in a bad position going into the technical Deans Drop which i had to run to get round people, not ideal!
The next obstacles seemed to pass in a blur until i reached leap of faith the first and only ‘a’ line i had decided to take. I committed at the top and made it cleanly to the bottom. Sadly my water bottle did not follow suit and yet again had jumped off the bike! This time i left it. In my head i now felt i had to slow to preserve myself for the four laps in this dusty heat. After two laps i really felt thirsty and had a headache so made the decision i would pick my water bottle up on my third lap.
So with rather shaky legs i made it back round to leap of faith and reclaimed my water bottle from the marshal at the top. By this time any hope of a podium finish had left me, a little bit like my water bottle had!
I was happy to have achieved a time under 1 hour 40 and was even happier that my knee had been mostly great all the way round.
I came in 5th place which is not where i wanted to be, but I felt a great sense of achievement finishing this course which had been mentally and physically demanding all weekend.
Things to take away from Hadleigh:
- Falling on rocks hurts
- Confidence grows with practice
- Water is essential, fit a new bottle cage
- Imagining singletrack is lined with pillows actually works (thanks James)
- Racing is as much a mental game as a physical one
Overall the Mud Sweat and Gears series has been my favourite the courses have all been different and my riding over the year has improved so much! I finished the series in second position overall in my category which i feel is a great achievement for myfirst year racing!
by hattenburrow | Sep 15, 2013 | Racing
This is where it all began last year as a total beginner i took on Langdon Hills in the National series, a huge shock to the system as i felt i was semi decent on a bike until i sore the speed and power of the other girls and realised some serious training was needed if i was going to make something of racing!
So a year on it was with excitement and frustration that i entered the Mud Sweat and Gears round 7 at Langdon Hills, excited to go back and see how dramatically my riding had improved but frustrated as a month out with a knee/hip injury meant i was not in the best shape and feeling anxious about whether i could finish the course.
Leaving home at 6 i had lots of time to think about the course and i felt i could remember enough to not need to ride it, to save my knee for the race.
I arrived as the sun came out and felt good about my decision to go out steady and to just finish the race to collect the points 
even if i came last all i needed was a couple of points this would keep Mel (EHFRacing) and Jenny (Fareham Wheelers) from over taking me in the Sport category ranking.
We lined up on the start line and were told we had to do four laps, i was only expecting three but during warm up had not had any issues with my knee so put the thought to the back of my mind and focused on the race ahead.
We went off in a mass start with all the other women’s categories which was an advantage as it kept as bunched up the first hill and allowed me to settle into third place out of the five riders in my category. On the first section of downhill single track a crash out me into second position and i pushed hard hoping to loose Vanessa (Arrow Cycles) and put some distance between us, which i did however being a bit out of shape the push i had, had to give meant i didn’t have enough to shake her completely and she caught me up and over took. I was determined not to loose her so pushed on sitting on her back wheel looking for somewhere to over take. I new after the next section of downhill there was a long flat section where i could potentially get ahead, unfortunately when we got to this section i pushed hard and my knee started to hurt which immediately sent alarm bells ringing, this wasn’t the plan i had set out with i was meant to be finishing the course not charging off on the first lap! With three and a bit to go and knowing there was a large hill to come i had to ease off completely and watch Vanessa disappear.
After a moment of feeling annoyed i decided to just enjoy myself, i had to push through the pain, as the physio had told me im not doing any damage its a case of pain management i pushed as mush as i could and then eased off this tactic seemed to work and i was soon on my last lap feeling good and with only a small amount of pain to contend with, crossing the finish line i felt great for achieving what i set out to and really happy that my knee seemed to be better than it had been. I cooled down and put some ice on my knee. I had decided to tape it and really feel this helped support it.
I came third overall which was a brilliant result and one i had not expected, this puts my total points at 560 placing me in fourth position, which considering i missed all races in August i am quite pleased with!
by hattenburrow | Jul 16, 2013 | Racing
Today was round five of the Mud Sweat and Gears Eastern Series. I had not raced since round four which was a month ago, so I was nervous going in as I felt under pressure to get a good result in order to keep my top three national ranking position.
The was however my first race for my new team WyndyMilla which I was really excited about and a little nervous feeling I needed to put in a good result for them as well as myself.
The day started early leaving home at 6.30 in order to make it to the Secret Nuclear Bunker location in Essex in time to ride the course and warm up.
We arrived at 8 and the temperature was already 18 degrees, it was certainly going to be a hot race. On riding the course I decided to take the B line on the second technical section as I didn’t feel confident about the A line. On reflection I think this was the right move to make, however on another day I’m pretty sure I would have been able to ride this. This has prompted me to work on my technique for steep drops which involve cornering. Luckily on speaking to the other girls in my category we had all made the same decision not to take the A line, which meant no one had a time advantage. Lucky me!
The course was 4 miles of flowing sections of wooded single track mixed in with gruelling, energy zapping tracks alongside farm field. I found theses hard purely because of the heat. I found myself being overtaken by Jenny (FW CC) on one of these sections and I found it hard to stick with her as her 29” wheels seemed to roll over the bumps a lot easier than my 26”.
I found myself in third position fighting to pull back second in my second lap. I gave it everything I had but couldn’t seem to close the gap and regain second place, which was disappointing.
By my third lap the heat was really draining and I felt like my legs were tiring quickly. I gave one final push in the fourth lapping but knew my lap time had dropped off. I felt the two girls in front of me had a real advantage both having carbon fibre frame bikes.
I finished in third position picking up 45 points towards my ranking, which was good but not great.
I used my new Garmin for the first time to track my race and found the data really useful (see here – link) however I had not set it up to be able to see my heart rate and feel this meant I was going on how I felt instead of how my heart rate was which I think potentially made me not push as hard consistently as I can. I will be setting it up properly next time. 
Stats: My Maximum Heart Rate was 186 and my Average 169.
