Pedal 2 Pedal travelled to the last in the Southern XC Series at Checkedon. I have been working hard on my endurance ready for my 12 hour solo next week and have not raced a cross-country race since June.
I was feeling strong and enjoyed my practise lap. Arriving back in time to see Fred take 5th place in the under nines and Ollie take 11th in the under 11’s. Well done boys! Head over to Pedal2Pedal for their write up.
As I have done no technical training for a couple of months I stuck with the B line even though I knew this would cost me time.
It was soon time to grid and I lined up on the front line with four other elite girls. When the whistle went I got squeezed and was not fast enough to react and lost my position. I have always found grass energy sapping and today was no exception the short grass loop to spread out the feel was exhausting I went into the single track struggling to stay with the group.
The singletrack was made up from lots of rooty corners and long fast straights I enjoyed the twisty tight singletrack and on the long straights pushed as hard as I could. My heart rate was averaging around 162 which is low, compare to what I know I can handle but I just couldn’t push any harder.
After the first lap the rain was really starting to come down making the roots slippy, I had to slow down on some of the root sections as I had quite hard tyres which did not grip as well, I had decided to keep them harder to stop the possibility of getting a puncture but now doubted this decision!
I worked hard for the next four laps catching glimpses of the other girls as the singletrack traversed through the wood.
After five laps I had consistently kept my lap times around 19 minutes which I am pleased with. I was frustrated that I lost the rest of the field and need to work on my speed ready for next year.
I surprisingly took third place which I was happy with but disappointed not to be able to close the gap.
Thank you so much to Bike Fixers, Steve has kept my Silverback in tip top condition. Thank you to Grip Grab and Dog Tag for supporting me and the rest of Pedal 2 Pedal.
