The 3 Ring Circus, Wingello State Forest, NSW (21-22 July)

I've heard a lot about this race and after racing the Highland Fling last year I wanted to get back in the area for another taste of native forest and beautiful fern gullies. Its called the 3 ring circus because the course layout loops back to staging twice and forms 3 laps. Basically there are a wide range of freaks that enter making the entire event a lot of fun.

I managed some preparation for this however didn't get on my bike in the two weeks preceding the race. I went on a family holiday in the tropics and had to bring myself to running to maintain the fitness. I don't mind running middle distances but it really doesn't compare to hitting up the trails on my bike. So with one short jog and 3x 10km runs under my belt I loaded up the car with my mate Pete Stott and headed to the Southern Highlands.

One of my runs - Palm Cove 4x hill effort

After spending some days in the tropics the weather that greeted us came as a shock. 8 degrees max, 30km/h southerly winds and drizzle with already wet ground. Brrrrrrr.

I lined up at the start about 8 rows back, with about 50 riders in front of me and about 400 behind. I had no idea what my legs were going to do, decided that the first 10km of wide open fire trail would probably be definitive as to how the rest of the race was going to go.

As expected my legs lacked that punchy feel they normally have when fresh, I held on to the bunch down the faster sections but it was difficult with constant rain and mud being splattered in my face from the bike in front. I guess you can either chose to wear glasses and see for the first 5mins but be blinded for the rest of the race. Or go without and cry tears of mud for the entire race (and a few hours after) but at least you get to see the track every now and then. I went with the latter.

The first 2 hours went ok, the energy gels were making me feel sick so I stuck to water and Endura mix. My drive train nearly gave up a couple of times but managed to self clean and came good again. But the final lap (18kms) was a massive struggle for me, my thighs felt close to cramping and I basically felt like I was going backwards. I held on and survived to finish the 52km course in 2hrs 44mins. 

The scenery was awesome as expected and riding over misty farm roads with rolling green pastures provided me with a fleeting happy place before turning the corner into a head wind of rain and mud. There didn't seem to be enough single track, but I will probably say that even if the course has 90% single track. I'll be back next year with more pedalling kilometres in the legs and hopefully a dry race.

My thoughts on using running as cross training for an MTB race:

Pros

- I had none of the usual niggles of pain in the knees, hips or lower back

- aerobic capacity was strong and I never ran out of breath

- a little weight loss has to be good for climbing

- no tight hamstrings, pre, during or after the race

Cons (maybe due to not riding rather then using running as training)

- leg strength suffered

- legs speed was lacking

- thighs felt like cramping for the first time ever

- zero strength in final 60mins

I'm going for a ride.

Chow for Now