by hattenburrow | Jun 16, 2015 | Racing
Yesterday was my first six hour endurance race, The Merida Summer Monkey, run by Gorrick.
I was quite nervous and not sure what to expect as I lined up with Karen ready for the mass start. I had in mind than I wanted to get a good position going into the singletrack. I got a good start passing other riders and going into the singletrack in a good position.
We were not allowed to pre ride the course which was something I wasn’t used to so I took the singletrack steadily to make sure I was ready for what was coming up!
The course was fantastic made up of twisty singletrack with lots of roots to tackle linked together by fire road, it seemed most of the climbs were fire road too which made them easier, but the chance of being overtaken was increased.
The weather was over cast and there were spots of rain at times, riding for such a long time I was glad for the shelter from the sun, it would of been a lot harder had the sun been out!
I had a plan for my nutrition which was too keep fuelling every 30 minutes, this worked really well I spent the first 3 hours eating real food (malt loaf and bananas) and then moved to energy gels this combination worked well and I felt strong through most of the six hours. I kept my bike bag fully stocked with jelly babies and munched them in between.
As I came into my second lap I had made good time, completing it in 44 minutes, but wondered whether I could sustain this pace. I decide to keep pushing and eating, keeping an eye on my heart rate. I had decided that as long as I stayed aerobic for the majority of the time I would be able to keep going.
The first 3 hours were good fun and I enjoyed learning the course, unlike a cross country course which are short and easy to remember this long circuit kept catching me out as to how much was left to go!
Hours 4 and 5 were hard I spent a long time without seeing any riders and when I would it would be passing them or them passing me too fast for me to stay with them! Having done most of my training alone I am used to my own company luckily. I always find it interesting the places your mind drifts to when you’re in that zone where your feet keep turning and the bike eats up the ground and yet your mind is in a totally different place.
Coming into the pit I was relieved to find out this would be my last lap as my body was starting to feel tired, I ate my remaining jelly babies and pushed on. Half way through the lap was a sharp right hand bend which had caused me no problems for the 7 previous laps but being tired a lapse in concentration sent me sliding along the bank, I didn’t hurt myself but it made me panic I felt sure that I was going to be over taken and after having worked so hard for the last 5 hours and stayed in the lead the last thing I wanted was to blow it now!
I pushed on composing myself, it was just after this I decided I wouldn’t have an energy gel because I was so close to the finish…. This was potentially the wrong move.
Just as I was approaching the last singletrack drop and hard uphill part, a girl came hurtling past me I shouted to find out what category she was in and thought she said 6 hour solo, my body filled with dread and suddenly my legs seemed to have been sapped of energy, I gave it everything I had left to stay with her and although I couldn’t over take her I did manage to stay with her, just about!
I finished the race really happy with my achievement but slightly annoyed at being pipped at the post with so little of the lap to complete. It was then that I found out she was in the 4 hour category solo so I had kept my win.
It wasn’t until podium that I found out I was the only girl in my category so had been competing with girls in other category’s but this didn’t matter, I had worked hard for 6 hours given it everything I could and had consistent lap times.
I came 2nd girl overall for the 6 hour race completing 8 laps which was a total of 56 miles in 6 hours 7 minutes.
A huge thank you to all my supporters including Silverback, Grip Grab, Bike Fixers Portsmouth and Dog Tag.
Lap times:
Lap 1: 44.56
Lap 2: 46.30
Lap 3: 46.27
Lap 4: 46.40
Lap 5: 45.12
Lap 6: 45.35
Lap 7: 47.17
Lap 8: 44.59
by hattenburrow | May 18, 2015 | Racing
This weekend I travelled to Wales for the third round of the British Cycling Cross Country Series. Arriving at the venue on Saturday it was clear there was going to be some good climbs ahead! I set off on my practise lap eager to get in a couple of practises, as the course turned out of the arena you were it with the first climb the first section was a bit muddy this crossed a fire road where it then opened out and started to climb more steeply after the second bend my body was ready for some down! The next section was good fun singletrack weaving through the trees to an A/B line. I felt good so went for the A line it was steep and twisty but as long as you looked ahead and kept the bike moving it was manageable, I made a note to come back and practise it again!
After this came an open fire road and then more climbing! After the second climb came my favourite section a fast descent through the trees with some technical roots and steep off camber sections. The next part included obstacles such as a stream crossing, log jump and a little more climbing!
I felt happy with the course and went and chilled out with Vanessa from Arrow Cycles.
Race day came quickly and I was soon being called into grinding in between Mel and Vanessa on the back row. I got a good start as the riders in front piled into the tight grassy bend I followed Vanessa on the outside, thanks Nessie! I pushed hard on my first climb but as always found this first explosive start left me with a bit of an energy debt which I needed to pay back and climbing this monster hill was not helping me do so!
The singletrack came as a relief and I worked hard to catch the rest of my category with a few riders in sight I kept pushing on, my first two laps seemed to go in a daze, I worked hard to catch and pass Emma and new I needed to get enough distance between us on the climbs as she was fast coming downhill. On the third lap in the final section a girl in the expert category crashed badly in front of me and after moving her bike out of the trail and looking at her knee I decided I had to help her to a Marshall, a few riders including Emma passed me and said they would go get help, thanks to those who did! Heulwen who had crashed and I made our way gingerly down the trail using my bike to support us both until a Marshall came running towards us, I left Heulwen and got back on a little cold but glad she was now in good hands and could get some proper first aid. I carried on but new my next lap would be hard as I felt like my body needed to warm up again!
Overall there were lots of positives from my race, my climbing improved as I went on, where I sometimes find steep off camber turns hard and enjoyed the challenge and felt faster in technical areas.
Also my nutrition was a lot better than usual I managed to eat more pre and post-race and benefited from this.
Thank you Emma for talking to the marshal’s and exchanging places!
Thank you to Bike Fixers for keeping my Silverback Syncra 2 in tip top condition. Thanks also to Grip Grab, Dog Tag and Arrow Cycles for once again adopting me!
Lap times:
Lap 1: 00:25:56
Lap 2: 00:24:43
Lap 3: 00:26:32
Lap 4: 00:26:28
by hattenburrow | May 12, 2015 | Racing
Southern XC Series Round 3 Wasing
After a not so successful round last time I was feeling a little apprehensive about my next race. After spending three hours working on my manuals on Saturday with Scott form Fit in No Time I felt a lot more confident and went out to practice the course on Sunday feeling more confident in my technical ability.
The course was a mix of singletrack and fire road with technical bits dotted through the trees. The first technical A/B line I decide on the B line not too convinced in my ability to manual for the double log drop. There was then a sharp left hand bend to a fire road climb which I found tough but manageable. After the climb the course worked its way back into the woods and soon the next technical feature was in sight this was a series of log steps, after watching someone roll over them I had a go and found, as with most technical ground, keeping momentum was the key to success! I had another go to make sure I was entirely happy and found a slightly better line straight down the middle which felt a bit smoother.
The next A/B/C line which had been heavily featured on social media and was interesting to say the least! I decided the B line was the best option and had two goes to make absolutely certain I was happy.
The rest of the course made its way through the forest with a couple more A/B lines to choose from. I enjoyed the course and felt happy. Lining up on the start I got a good start leaving the arena in 4th place, the first climb was hard on me as it always takes me a while to kick into gear!
I was at the back of the field and got over taken by a few riders, I worked hard to pull them back and by my third lap had overtaken four people (not in my category) my plan was to keep consistent lap times which I accomplished.
I had a slight dilemma on my third lap when I reached for a gel to find they were all gone! They must have dropped out around the course. I had a little bit of a panic but new that all I could do was keep going and just drink more of my High Five 4:1.
Lap times:
Lap 1: 22.24
Lap 2: 22.37
Lap 3: 22.42
Lap 4: 23.14
Lap 5: 23.35
I finished happy with my progress finishing only 12 mins behind Cat Ross which is a huge improvement on two weeks ago! It would have been interesting to see if I had been able to have another gel whether that would of made the difference in my final lap times however, my lap times are a lot more consistent than usual which is one of my targets, so overall my best race so far this year and looking forward to Nationals next week!
Thank you to Southern XC for putting on great courses. Thanks to Karen and Fred for picking me up and cheering me on, well done to Fred who came second in his race Karen who came sixth in hers and Edith who started her first race. Great progress all round for the Pedal 2 Pedal team
Thanks to Grip Grab, Bike Fixers and Dog Tag for your support.
by hattenburrow | Apr 27, 2015 | Racing
Today was the Southern Cross Country series at Crow Hill, in the New Forest. This was my third race in 3 weeks. So feeling a little tired and having done nothing all week due to a swollen ankle, preparations were not their best.
I had been unsure all week if I should race and finally decided on Thursday that as the race was only an hour away it was worth a shot and hopefully I would gain some more points towards my ranking.
Arriving at Crow Hill I felt relaxed (unusual for me on race day) as I had taken the pressure off by saying just go along and ride.
Practise went well and my ankle felt alright and as long as I clipped out gently, it didn’t cause too much agro. The course at Crow Hill is great, relatively flat with twisty sections in the forest, tied together with fire road. It was rather slippy in places and a few tree roots were already starting to lose their bark and reveal white flesh which was being polished under so many people taking the same line!
I finished my practise lap in time to see Fred, who I coach and who now races for Pedal 2 Pedal, ride home to take third place in the under nines race. After watching his podium, feeling very proud of his achievements I went off to warm up.
Arriving on the start line I still felt calm, which was a nice change from my normal nervous feeling!
The race started on an incline and I got a great start, unlike last week in the Nationals and left the arena in fourth position. This huge burst of energy cost me though and as I recovered in the single track and the path opened up I was over taken by a couple of riders but kept pressing on. A silly mistake on a corner in my first lap ended my grip on the group and cost me greatly in time.
I pushed on and felt okay during my second lap, even enjoying it to a certain extent. I hadn’t managed to take on as much water or food as I would usually, but as I was taking it slightly more gently than usual I thought I’d be okay. This was not to be the case and as I pulled up the hill ready for my third lap I knew my pace had dropped to a crawl! I pushed on the pedals but my legs had nothing left in them. My heart rate had dropped to around 166bpm so I knew I had loads more to give, but my strength had been sucked away and my tired legs felt heavy.
Someone once told me that when things are tough, all you can keep doing is the right thing, so today that’s what I did. I kept turning the pedals and pushed as much as I could making the most of the downhills to recover and altering my cadence to ease the pressure on my legs and ankle which was now starting to feel a bit sore.
Coming into my fourth lap knowing I had two more to go was hard work. When you have lost touch with other riders it makes it ten times more difficult to push on because you have nothing in your sights to push on to!
As I was coming back round to cross the arena Cat Ross (Specialized Ruslip) over took me, I felt a wave of disappointment at being lapped as well as a tiny bit of relief at not having to do a fifth lap.
Every race I learn something different. Today I learnt that a big sprint start will cost me dearly in energy so to make sure I am fuelling well.
Thank you to Bike Fixers for making sure my bike was in tip top condition, Grip Grab for keeping me warm (I needed my leg warmers today) and Dog Tag for your support with Pedal 2 pedal.
by hattenburrow | Apr 21, 2015 | Racing
It doesn’t get easier you just get faster!
This quote rings true each time I turn up to a race, it never gets easier I just hurt more efficiently!
Practise at Plymouth on Saturday with Nessie (Arrow Cycles) was far from ideal, after hearing about how ‘knarly’ the course was going to be I wasn’t quite expecting what I was faced with! The course was full of rocks (a rare sight on the trails in the south east of England where I live) loose sandy turf and roots (roots I can deal with). I had watched people come down the first ‘A’ line and thought yeah I can do that! Well from the top I changed my mind and decided to come back to it…
Round the corner and over some gravel humps came the third ‘A’ line where the options where three tree stumps then to jump off the end of a large slab of rock, to ride along a plank and off the side of a rock or a rock followed by three tree logs, I went for this option and got over it, more by luck than technique so went back for a second go, this did not go as well! A lack of momentum sent me flying ending in a rather painful left leg as I couldn’t unclip. I got straight up and did it again to not let any negative demons put a proverbial road block in the way! This time I made it over although wasn’t feeling 100% confident but I managed it.
The rest of the course practise went okay although with a confidence dent each ‘A’ seemed more impossible than the last!
Race day.
After a good night’s sleep I felt more positive about racing. I knew what I wanted to achieve and felt happy with my objectives for my first elite national race.
Arriving at the venue my nerves were bubbling under the surface and I tried to distract myself whilst warming up. Time seemed to speed by and soon we were gridding, the man over the loudspeaker announced that on the grid of 30 elite riders 25 had UCI International ranking! I felt very proud to be on the grid with so much talent, and slightly nervous about how I could compete…
The gun went off and the field sprinted away, a crash at the first technical area meant a bit of a pile up which I ran round and down the B line to stay out of the way. I continued on reaching the first climb still in touch with the rest of the girls, I passed a few riders and kept pushing on the climb which was dusty and energy sapping, I couldn’t imagine being able to climb in five times, by the time I got to the top my mouth was dry and I felt like all the water had been drained from my body.
The first lap was hard work, the B lines seemed easier than on practise and I enjoyed the descents especially cottage carnage.
My second lap felt easier and I was thinking about trying an A line to make up some time, that was, until I saw a girl walking along the track with her rear mech swinging in the breeze! My new plan of attack was finish and have a clean race with no more injures for me or the bike. By the end of my second lap I was really feeling a sharp pain in my left ankle when I had to apply a lot of pressure through the pedal.
On my third lap Annie Last passed me just before the first big climb, it was inspiring to watch her make her way up it so quickly! Note to self, practise climbing!
Every lap my confidence grew and I became quicker down the B lines as can be seen from my lap times.
Lap times:
Lap 1 22.37
Lap 2 25.13
Lap 3 25.41
Lap 4 25.26
Overall Newnham Park was a fantastic course one which I would love to ride again as it was so far out of my comfort zone, it pushed me technically and mentally as the descents were as taxing as the climbs.
I have come away feeling determined to improve my technical ability and improve my 22nd position from my first elite national race.
Thank you to Bike Fixers for making sure my Silverback was fully prepared for Plymouth it worked well and I was lucky with no mechanicals! Thanks to Grip Grab for making sure when I did come off that my hands stayed unscathed great gloves cheers guys! A massive thank you also to Arrow Cycles who adopted me yet again helping with bottles and making sure I made it to the start line and supplied ice creams at the finish! J
by hattenburrow | Apr 15, 2015 | Racing
Sunday was my first XCO(Cross-Country Olympic setyle) race this season and I was really excited about racing the Mud Sweat and Gears series as the races are always really well organised and there is always lots of people to cheer you on!
My Mum Had also decided to try her first ever cross country race which added to the excitement.
We arrived at Henham Park at 7.50, collected our number boards and headed out on the practise lap. Mum had never been on ‘singletrack’ so I had to coach her down a few parts, but I was very proud of the way she handled some of the steeper descents and also obstacles such as logs which she roll over with ease. Well done Mum!
The course was a mixture of fire roads and twisty singletrack through the trees. It was fun and not technical but had one ‘A’ ‘B’ line, where I actually think the off camber ‘B’ line was, in ways harder than the straight down ‘A’ line.
After course practise we had a short amount of time so I went off to warm up, during this time I accidentally managed to ride into a tape barrier which was lying on the floor, which pulled me off my bike quite harshly leaving my left side felt rather battered and bruised. Not the best start!
We gridded just before 10. As I stood on the start line my mind was full of thoughts about the race and the training I had put in over the winter, had it been enough? We stood on the start for a good 10 mins whilst everyone was gridded and my muscles became cold.
As I sprinted off the line I got a pretty good start and was happy with my place going into the first bend. Power endurance has never been my strong point and I soon felt like I had to slow down to recover.
Getting cold had really affected me as my first lap felt like my warm up and it wasn’t until my second and third laps when I felt I was starting to gain on the leading group.
On my second lap I passed Mum just after the only ‘A’ ‘B’ line in the course and she said she had a tumble, but seemed in high spirits so I carried on but felt a bit concerned if she had hurt herself badly.
My the last lap I was feeling really good and crossed the line feeling like I could of done another lap even though I had been working at the top end of what I’m capable of, I felt like I had more to give. I wad relived to see Mum had finished and was smiling!
I finished fourth which I am pleased with and after analysing my results from last year can see that my fitness and pace have improved.
My next race is the Nationals in Plymouth which is going to be my first ever Nationals at elite level. I know this is going to be a tough challenge and feel very excited about the opportunity to race alongside some of the best riders in the country!
Thanks to Bike Fixers for keeping my bike in tip top condition, to Dog Tag for supporting my Pedal 2 Pedal racing team, to Grip Grab for the best gloves and over shoes and Silverback for my awesome bike!
