The Duo Classic 50km

Hamish and I raced the Duo Classic and it was another eventful and memorable race. Hamish turned up 10 minutes before the start and was a little frazzled , fumbling to get a water bottle cage on his bike only to find the bottle was incorrectly positioned and would hit the frame. The course was a 25km loop so we setup a feed station to restock supplies on the way around for the second lap. To his credit Hamish had warned me that he was under prepared for this race, both in training and bike prep so I was ready for a little chaos. I also set out with my own agenda to help Hamish pace as he very rarely races anything over 2hrs long. I carried 2 litres of a water in my camel back and had a drink bottle with an Endura electrolyte mix and two Endura gel shots for when it started to hurt.

On the charge on the 2nd lap, before the engine blew up.

The race started and it was only 10 seconds into it and there was already a guy cart wheeling down the gravel. His chain must have slipped while out the saddle because he went down hard. I thought about stopping to assist like many others I'm sure, but the guy basically crashed straight into the first aid tent so I knew he would get plenty of attention. We started very slowly in the effort to gauge our fitness and approached the first 25km with a negative pace, ie riding well within our limits in the effort to finish as strong if not faster. The theory went well, we spoke a lot about how are legs were feeling and 10mins into it Hamish started to build some serious pace as he warmed up. My challenge was to rein him in so we could finish strong and with some punch in our pedals. Keep it in check Hamish.

Our goal was to pass at least one other team at every fire trail which meant we fell out of the negative pace occasionally but I was feeling really strong and as we went passed team after team I was actually getting excited at how this might end. Everything about the first lap was clean, our bikes were running smooth, our lines were smooth and we had over taken about 30 riders.

At the feed station I swapped to a fresh bottle of Endura, had a squeeze of our home grown honey, a quick sip of Coke and then I filled Hamish's camel back with the contents of one of his bottles, turned out to be Endura mix as well. This is where the patch work quilt started to unravel. Hamish was left with no pure water, only Endura mix and a couple of gel shots. We pressed on and at the 30km mark we caught another group of riders. It was business time and we both knew it, I gave Hamish my wheel and we started to stomp out some strong pace. We caught and over took the entire group of about 10 riders, Hamish said "I love committing to overtaking before I've already committed!". Meaning as soon as he gets a glimpse of the rider in front he starts calling for the over take. I was starting to hurt, but only my left leg, which was strange. We held on to our positions until the 40km mark, there was only 4km of climbing then a massive descent down into the finish. Then I heard Hamish cough, but it was more then a cough, there might have been something in it, and then a few minutes later he blew a head gasket. Our pace dropped off, the teams that had fought earlier started passing us and one by one we fell back down the standings. Hamish pushed on and never gave up, he found the limit then went passed it by a long way. On the finishing straight a few more teams were about to go passed so Hamish was out of the saddle holding on. After crossing the line in 20th place he threw himself on the ground and proceeded to throw up for about 5 mins straight, heaving and contorting like a dying Kangaroo after being hit by a car. A guy came over and asked if we needed assistance but I turned it down knowing what he had just put himself through. I thought to myself, thats what 110% looks like, when Hamish is fit and puts in a similar effort there won't be many people left standing next to him, that is my warning.

Another great race down and we move into the final two XCO rounds and the kick off of the 2013 3hr series. Turns out I'm on holidays until the 18th of Feb so with a little spare time and some cool temps (20 degrees) I'm off for a ride.

Ride on.

The Year Two Thousand and Thirteen

I'm not one for dwelling on the past, it always seems like there isn't enough time for planning the next adventure let alone spending hours on what has been and gone. So I'm not going to recap on 2012 only to say that it was another great year, and more and more everyday, it is starting to feel like the older I get, the better it gets.

Where are we at?

My personal life is amazing with the birth of Eleanor on the 4th Jan, I could not have dreamed of how my lovely wife has developed into the mother and partner that she is today. But I did know from the day I met Cathy that we would make beautiful babies. My son Callum is super inquisitive and is starting to question the world at every opportunity. On walks, Callum will always venture off the path and and is not afraid to walk straight into the bush or paddock, through the long grass and over any logs or hurdles he meets along the way. I can't wait to see what he has installed for us.

Professionally my career is a little stagnant but with a little training and focus I should be able zig-zag through the organisation and spark things up a bit in 2013. The people and pay are good i just need some more challenges this year.

When it comes to Fun and Fitness, I'm killing it at the moment. I can't believe its taken me this long to learn how to look after myself, I'm eating great foods, like grass fed beef, free range eggs, succulent tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini and herbs from our own garden. The whole family is getting enough sleep at the moment, its interrupted but we get the hours in at the end of the day. I using my time for fitness much more efficiently then I have ever done before. I still only get 3 - 6 hours a week to spend on fitness but I'm fitter, lighter and stronger then I have ever been. I've dropped those skin folds and I'm down to 78kg, nearly 10kg lighter compared to when I first started this blog. I did pick up the Paleo diet for a couple of months to get the weight loss started but I'm back to a more balanced diet that includes some bread and grains however only when I need them. I hit this website every couple of days, it has some great advice on staying healthy and happy in todays world.

www.marksdailyapple.com

The growing family will call for careful time management but I'm off to a good start for 2013 and poised for the exciting year ahead.

I'm doing a 50km pre season race this weekend, its a fun, fund raiser and a bit different as you have to race as a pair and stay together for the entire race. I'll be racing with Hamish so it promises to be a hoot.

http://duoclassic.com/

Until next time,
Ride on!

Our beautiful daughter Eleanor

1 week old today