This month has been the start of my serious build up phase going towards Nationals, where the focus is getting in lots of miles on the bike to create a solid base to build my form and strength on for the coming season. As with every year in October I race in 3 hard endurance events, these are great because they are at just the right time of year in relation to the phase of training I am at, also they tend to be on the same course each year so it's really positive to be able to see how you are progressing from year to year.
Motu 160
This is a race of 65km on the MTB (gravel roads) then 95km on the road bike. This event wouldn't be so hard if it wasn't for the weather we seem to get dealt EVERY year, and this year was no exception, with heavy rain and even more extreme winds literally blowing people off their bikes.
I went okay in this race, didn't ride the time I was hoping to in the MTB but I was happy with how the road bike section went. I finished 5th in the Open Mens group.
Whaka 100
Another great race this year. My legs were still acclimatised to the heat of USA so I didn't start quite as fast as I should of, this left me playing catch up for the rest of the race, slowly passing people as the race went on. Finishing in 4th place overall, I was very happy with how the race went. Also, beat my previous best time by over 20 minutes.
K2
By the time K2 came around my body was pretty tired, after 3 weeks of long training without rest (I had done 15hrs of riding in the 5 days before this race), I was looking forward to finishing so I could get some much needed recovery in the following week.
However that was only in the back of my mind. I have finished the K2 in second place in the 19-22 age group twice, so this year I was determined to go one step further, and I am pleased to say I accomplished that target as well as setting my best time by 15 minutes.
So overall this month has gone well and things are on track!
