by hattenburrow | Sep 8, 2014 | Racing
Yesterday I travelled to Shouldham Warren in Norfolk. This was a new course for the Mud Sweat and Gears series and I was excited about trying it out.
I had not been very well in the run up to the race and had doubts about competing on Sunday but decided as I had made my way half way across the country I should go and give it a go!
We arrived at the course at 8am in perfect time for practise, before the start at 10am.
The course started with a long gentle climb which turned on to a single track which led into the first bomb hole. It then opened up again on to cart track before turning once again into the forest single track. The course was very similar to Thetford in this way and also Dunwich where I have done training, in the sense that it had long sections of single track linked together by open cart tracks.
The course was relatively flat and I knew it would be a fast paced race which would suit my competition. It was quite sandy and loose in places, but because of the fast conditions I decided to stay with hard tyres and loose a little grip over soft tyres which would be harder to push. This worked well and during the race I felt happy and able to carry my speed and only had a few little slips which didn’t effect my race.
My start was not great there was too many riders on the start line and it was hard to get going when we were so tightly packed but I made my way up the hill in touch with the lead riders.
On the first lap we went straight up missing the first bomb hole this is meant to spread out the riders but it didn’t work very well in my favour getting stuck behind riders I needed to get in front of, I waited for the next opportunity to pass and took it. I now had to work hard to catch the others, this is always hard when there is no sight of any one in front but I kept pushing on and soon started to catch up and pass other riders which gave me a boost.
Half way through my third lap I caught sight of Alex Nichol from CCN she seemed quite far away but I pushed on and by the end of the third lap I was on her wheel as we went out into our fourth lap on the hill I took the opportunity to pass. 
Determined to stay in front I kept focused and pushed as hard as I could and soon when I looked back she was gone. I knew that I had to keep the gap because if she caught me on a long cart track with a 29er she would have the advantage but every time I looked round there was no one there. Coming up the last sandy straight I gave it one last big push over the finish line pleased with my progress and glad that I had raced.
Overall in my category I came third and was fifth girl back out of 19. A great result considering how I was feeling.
I was 14 mins behind Laura Sampson who came first. It took me 1 hour 36 mins to complete the 18 mile course with an average heart rate of 177bpm and max of 186bpm. Garmin data here.
Lap 1: 23.20
Lap 2: 24.37
Lap 3: 24.17
Lap 4: 24.06
Thank you to Velo Virtuoso, Bounce and Lake for your continued support. Big thanks to my Mum who acted as driver, support and chief photographer for the day!
by hattenburrow | Aug 20, 2014 | Racing
National cross country series round five, Cannock chase.
I made my way to Staffordshire on Saturday for the last of the national series at Cannock chase. I arrived in time for mid day practise and headed out on the course with Jenny who I had met there. The course started with an open field section before heading down a cart track and back up into single track. Unlike most other course I had come across this one seemed to have. A lot of downhill at the beginning. Which was great but left me concerned as to what was to follow!
The first A/B line feature was a drop off which I decided to take the B line on as I still am not totally confident on my new bike. We turned the corner into the forest to be met with a queue of riders, this is usually a sign something good/technical is coming up, and Cannock did not disappoint, a rock garden appeared between the trees which looked manageable, we stood and watched as it claimed a few victims who fell hard. I decided the 15 seconds extra the B line would take each lap was worth it other coming off and spending a couple of minutes composing myself so took the B line and we carried on to the next A line a drop between a narrow tree gap this was easily rollable and was also the start of the course making its way back up hill on a trail which is part of the trail centre is was brilliant fun and included a wood section which was very similar to QE Park with large roots and a lot of off camber riding which spat you out onto a fire road briefly before winding back up through the trees. This climb seemed never ending and the small bit of reliefs that did come from a downhill section was short lived as turning out into the fire road the course once again climbed up! This to me was the most challenging section because the ground was loose stones which seemed to sap my energy even in practise this was tough, I didn’t let myself get worried about what racing it would be like I just looked for the hard packed areas and watched my line ready for tomorrow. The next section was again part of the trail centre and was a brilliant set of berms, sadly we were riding up them instead of down them which wasn’t so fun! 1km to go, and to me the best 1km tight roots single track leading to a bomb hole drop which was slightly on a bend making it a little more interesting sent you flying up the bank on the other side and headed up and back into the arena.
Back at the tent we got changed and went to the rock garden to watch the open and sport category’s race, it was carnage! We met the trail builders who were beaming at how technically challenging their rock garden was, it claimed two collar bones and a nose over the course if Saturday confirming in my head that the B line was the better option, even though I felt sure I could ride the A line having ridden things like it in Scotland.
Saturday evening the wind picked up and the rained moved in, luckily by 09.00 on Sunday it had gone and made way for bright sunshine and blue skies making racing conditions pretty good.
At 10.45 I stood on the start line of my last national race in the Expert category feeling very proud of what I had achieved the year had not been ideal, with a dislocated arm meaning I missed two months racing as well as valuable training time, but that didn’t matter now, I was here fit and ready to give it he’ll one last time.
The start was fast and as I expected I found myself battling to stay with the lead riders, not having quite as much speed as they did. I worked hard and started to pull back riders, but found the climbs so tough my heart rate reached 189 and I new I needed to bring it down to last four laps of this demanding course so I eased off a little and took a gel for an added boost. My first lap felt slow and I left the arena on my second lap after 30 mins knowing I had to work hard to bring back the others. I watched the time and made assessments at different points in the course as to how fast it was compared to my previous lap, coming into the arena I was 4 mins up on my last lap and felt good as I left the arena and started my fire road decent I saw Jenny she was not far ahead so I kept pushing trying to close the gap.
The next lap and a half went by quickly as I kept my head down and kept pushing forward as I came back in on my fourth lap I could now see Helen too and pushed hard to catch her, I lost her on the fire road but was motivated by knowing she wasn’t far ahead! A silly slip coming into the forest cost me time and I had to wait at the bottom of the rack garden as three elite girls charged down it all costing me time but instead of panicking (like normal) I kept calm and worked hard coming back into the arena I had given 110% I crossed the finish line only four second behind Helen which I was very happy about.
Lap times:
1st Lap: 28.50
2nd Lap: 27.16
3rd Lap: 26.59
4th Lap: 28.26
by | Jul 15, 2014 | Racing
On Saturday I travelled with Jenny from Mountain Tracks to round four of the National series at Sherwood Pines in Nottingham.
During the day Saturday I ran a cycling event at Surrey Sports Park which incorporated mountain bike coaching, GoRide races and an event village, this was a brilliant event but not the best race preparation as it meant Jenny and I arrived in Nottingham very late.
After putting the tent up it wasn’t long before I was asleep only to be rudely woken up by the torrential rain!
The morning brought cloud but at least it wasn’t raining. We went out and practised the course, it was a good course with lots of twisty singletrack sections through the forest linked by cart track and open fields, feeling happy about swapping my wide handle bar for something a little narrower I felt confident in the trees working the bike around the corners.
There was only one technical section, a log which you had to drop off onto an off camber log with a drop off the end, we didn’t get to ride this at practise but from looking at it looked manageable.
The course was quite short and was going to be a fast paced race. I knew I needed to have a good warm up so started warming up early.
It wasn’t long before gridding started and we charged off I got into the front couple of riders for a while, I felt good so pushed on trying to stick with the group, as we came out of the single track and onto the cart track I was over taken by a couple of riders, Jenny included and tried to stick with them, I managed to do this until the end of the first lap when we entered the arena but the grass field portion of the course seems to sap energy out of my legs and I had to slow to take a gel, the technical section went well dropping off the logs happily which spurred me into my second lap.
Frustratingly nearing the end of my third lap my legs felt tired and with two laps to go I dropped off the pace to try and recover, but the damage was already done. Jemima and I kept swapping positions me leading through the singletrack and her powering past me on the cart tracks only for me to catch her again in the singletrack and over take.
In my fourth lap I picked the pace up again and was planning to get ahead of Jemima and stay ahead this time! Sadly that didn’t happen after I had to stop on the technical feature to let the lead elite girls through, however I think getting pushed off the course for a Olympian to go through is not so bad!
However this meant I had lost Jemima and didn’t have the energy to catch her up. I finished feeling totally exhausted I had given everything I could but it hadn’t been enough today, I made some mistakes that cost me time and will be able to take this into my next race and learn from those.
My average heart rate was 176 and my max was 185, I worked hard but need to work on my oxygen efficiency which means working at lower intensities for longer periods of time.
I came 11th overall 13 minutes behind Hollie Bettles who won the race. It took me 1 hour 45 mins to finish the 17 miles.
From this race I have taken some positives, I do love racing! After my last race I felt deflated and had fallen out of love with it but this race confirmed that I do enjoy it and that it is about having the right mental attitude as much as it is about having the right physical preparation.
I need to work on my pacing and stamina and plan to do this over the coming months.
Lap Times:
| 00:17:31 |
00:21:26 |
00:21:48 |
00:22:00 |
00:22:20 |
|
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!
