Those are the questions all athlete’s ask themselves when training racing and having that quiet moment in your head but for some reason the answer is always just get out there and get on with it.
So the last month or so has been a tough experience from all points of view with not feeling great physically or mentally but I’ve gone out there and left it all behind on the course which surely can only make me stronger.
Cotswolds Classic
So where are we going?
Cirencester Community college
How hard will it be?
68miles 3000m of climbing and it’s raining very very very hard so the answer is EXTREMELY
Can I do this?
Impossible to answer until the day but was very keen to find out as in the previous Sportive I’ve taken part in I was the first person home so was a little keen to do the same as was inspired by Tom Boonen’s effort the day before in the Paris Roubaix.
So at 8am we left and the rain came down heavier and heavier but it was a gentle start which was nice considering the climbs ahead of us but very quickly I’ve found myself on the front doing all the work into the headwinds but was a little surprised to say the least to find myself alone with two others after 10miles but hey ho at least I knew what to expect, pain lots of it.
So to be honest I felt quite good in my head so just thought let’s get on with until the first climb when my legs decided they were cold and not very happy but somehow manage to stay at the front and drop one of my companions and as we hit the top of this 12% 3km climb I once again took flight and set a fast pace trying to get rid of my riding partner as wanted to test myself over the distance alone.
I was quite happy to end after 3hr 20mins all alone and a long way ahead so the answer is YES I can.
Next up was Dalby BmbS
Where
World cup course in Yorkshire
Hard
Oh Yeah very muddy steep technical and my new favourite UK course.
Can I do this?
Well what can I that was so so hard that I can’t really remember what happened in the race as it seemed like a blur but seemed to get stronger as the race wore on and come the end was catching everyone in front of me and the sense of achievement I had that day justified all my efforts and time away from friends and family on cold lonely days.
End result 19th which doesn’t sound amazing but everything is going in the right direction and I’m getting faster stronger and more importantly I’m getting to the finish everytime I start out.
So yeah I really really can.
Where?
Catton Hall Derbyshire
How hard?
My legs still hurt as I was doing this one as a pair with team mate Chaz (Charles Newton Mason) so every lap is a flat out sprint from cold.
Can I do this?
Having a team mate there racing with you makes you push harder as it’s not just your race you could ruin their race as well so you have to do every lap as hard as you can do.
So we start with a short run and if you have ever tried to run in cycling shoes you know that we all run like ducks but it’s fun and I was keen to do a good first lap so went out hard and found myself in the top 5 or 6 as we worked around the 10km course which was very soft under wheel after so much recent rain but it’s a fairly flat course with about a maximum height gain of 40-50m so climbs are short and tough which suits me well.
At the end of the lap I was in a strong little group made up of 4 riders but this quickly split and we went onto the first climb and a few seconds gap grew between us and unfortunately I was at the back but like I said this venue so focussed on getting on with my race and pulled back the gap and pulled the guys back and went after the riders ahead of me before handing over to Chaz who rode brilliantly considering he has also been not at his best recently but will improve and has alot of potential in racing and we ended up in 12th at the end of the event which was a great result and I’m very happy with overall.
So again I can do this and now the question is how far I can push myself and what can we achieve as a team.
So thank you everyone who makes this team possible
Chloe
Alex
Andy C
Chaz
Bikefood
Edmunds Cycles
Wildoo clothing
Fullbeam lights
We wouldn’t be Derailed without you
So the last month or so has been a tough experience from all points of view with not feeling great physically or mentally but I’ve gone out there and left it all behind on the course which surely can only make me stronger.
Cotswolds Classic
So where are we going?
Cirencester Community college
How hard will it be?
68miles 3000m of climbing and it’s raining very very very hard so the answer is EXTREMELY
Can I do this?
Impossible to answer until the day but was very keen to find out as in the previous Sportive I’ve taken part in I was the first person home so was a little keen to do the same as was inspired by Tom Boonen’s effort the day before in the Paris Roubaix.
So at 8am we left and the rain came down heavier and heavier but it was a gentle start which was nice considering the climbs ahead of us but very quickly I’ve found myself on the front doing all the work into the headwinds but was a little surprised to say the least to find myself alone with two others after 10miles but hey ho at least I knew what to expect, pain lots of it.
So to be honest I felt quite good in my head so just thought let’s get on with until the first climb when my legs decided they were cold and not very happy but somehow manage to stay at the front and drop one of my companions and as we hit the top of this 12% 3km climb I once again took flight and set a fast pace trying to get rid of my riding partner as wanted to test myself over the distance alone.
I was quite happy to end after 3hr 20mins all alone and a long way ahead so the answer is YES I can.
Next up was Dalby BmbS
Where
World cup course in Yorkshire
Hard
Oh Yeah very muddy steep technical and my new favourite UK course.
Can I do this?
Well what can I that was so so hard that I can’t really remember what happened in the race as it seemed like a blur but seemed to get stronger as the race wore on and come the end was catching everyone in front of me and the sense of achievement I had that day justified all my efforts and time away from friends and family on cold lonely days.
End result 19th which doesn’t sound amazing but everything is going in the right direction and I’m getting faster stronger and more importantly I’m getting to the finish everytime I start out.
So yeah I really really can.
Where?
Catton Hall Derbyshire
How hard?
My legs still hurt as I was doing this one as a pair with team mate Chaz (Charles Newton Mason) so every lap is a flat out sprint from cold.
Can I do this?
Having a team mate there racing with you makes you push harder as it’s not just your race you could ruin their race as well so you have to do every lap as hard as you can do.
So we start with a short run and if you have ever tried to run in cycling shoes you know that we all run like ducks but it’s fun and I was keen to do a good first lap so went out hard and found myself in the top 5 or 6 as we worked around the 10km course which was very soft under wheel after so much recent rain but it’s a fairly flat course with about a maximum height gain of 40-50m so climbs are short and tough which suits me well.
At the end of the lap I was in a strong little group made up of 4 riders but this quickly split and we went onto the first climb and a few seconds gap grew between us and unfortunately I was at the back but like I said this venue so focussed on getting on with my race and pulled back the gap and pulled the guys back and went after the riders ahead of me before handing over to Chaz who rode brilliantly considering he has also been not at his best recently but will improve and has alot of potential in racing and we ended up in 12th at the end of the event which was a great result and I’m very happy with overall.
So again I can do this and now the question is how far I can push myself and what can we achieve as a team.
So thank you everyone who makes this team possible
Chloe
Alex
Andy C
Chaz
Bikefood
Edmunds Cycles
Wildoo clothing
Fullbeam lights
We wouldn’t be Derailed without you
