It’s On!!

Yep, just like Donkey Kong, it’s on. And by that I mean I am now preparing for my scheduled races for this year. It’s a nice calendar which mainly consists of events I’ve got scores to settle with. It starts out fun with the Cheviot Hills Challenge. Last year I managed to get pretty sick right before the race and down graded to recreational, this year I will be looking to finish in Sport. It’s a great wee race, well run and a great start to the season.

Then after that is the 6hr Blast at McLean’s Island. I did the 12hr last year in a team of 4, this year it looks like I’m going to do the 6 hour in a team of 2 (maybe 3?) but on singlespeeds. That will be interesting. Hopefully my knees will hold up.

From there I might do a new event for me, the Dusky Trail race in Twizel. This is only a maybe at the moment because it’s at Labour Weekend we might flag racing and head to Alex for a holiday with our bikes instead. We shall have to see.

Then another new race, but one I’m pretty excited about. I’m going to be part of a 4 or 5 up team for the Timaru 12hr race on the 31st of October. We’ve come up with an amusing theme, but I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag in case other teams poach our ideas (yes, I’m under this misconceived notion that people read this blog).

Then the big one. The Molesworth Muster. I really want to nail this race this year in under 5hrs. I’m hoping for around the 4.5hr mark, but it is a big ask. And to do it I’ve agreed to keeping a food diary to help me loose the excess weight that a summer lost to arm mending and then a cold wet winter have gifted me. The twist is I’ll be sharing my food diary with my friends so I will be really motivated to eat right. I’ve also been receiving lots of fantastic advice from some very inspiring athletes and I think I know what I need to do. They you shouldn’t try to lose weight and train at the same time, and they’re right, but I’ve never made things easy for myself.

After a rest from the Molesworth I’ll be heading back to the Moa Hunt, for a day of punishing climbing, but with my new super bike I’m looking forward to taking my time down at least half an hour. The next day is the most exciting day of the year, with Pearl Jam playing Christchurch. I cannot wait. I’ll be booking some annual leave to sleep on Monday.

Finally I’ll be back at the Hammerhead if its running. Hopefully I won’t leave any skin behind this time and I’ll handle all the climbing better. I’m so looking forward to these races with my new weapon, I know I’ll enjoy them more and my times will improve.

Just a final note: I highly recommend everyone get out and get the latest issue of Spoke (Issue 33). There are two extremely insightful and well written articles in there by yours truely (aren't I modest?!)