Hardwood Hills Fall 8 hour

How I felt at the end.


I came into this race a bit low. Fighting a cold, knees causing major pain and at one point not on my NRS1. The last problem was resolved Friday. Did the normal morning routine, food etc. Got to the venue just after 8 giving lots of prep time.

The weather was perfect but I was still trying to get my motivation up. Running into a bunch of friends did help alot and finally decided to put an effort in. My plan for this race was to be in the top 20 coming through the first lap. First lap was 29:01. This made the rooty section halfway through he course a breeze with no real chances of anyone getting stalled up. 2nd lap I went into the pace I would keep for the whole race. Andrew House caught up with me near the end of that lap. I knew I wouldn't keep pace with this guy. Andrew and I did our first solo's together 3 years ago. You will see him on a pro road team in the next couple years.

Lap 3 Jeremy was with me. This was in a way what I wanted. He let me control the pace which is defiantly what I wanted. Things were good till we got into the 4th lap. Half way through there were a few riders stopped and one down. I called out to make sure they were ok and lost my focus for a tenth of a second. BAMM, I hit something that stopped me dead. Launched over the bars and hit the ground flat on my back. Its been 25 years probably since I've had the wind knocked out of me. All I know is that it hurt alot. Jeremy checked me and went. I stayed staring at the sky for a couple minutes to regain focus.

Got back on the bike and tried to get back in my rhythm. Lost about 3 minutes that lap but things went down hill from there. Because of the hit my back was starting to seize up and had sharp pains everytime I hit roots or rough sections. The bike also started to feel really loose in the front end. Lap 7 was the deciding lap for me. I was out. Breathing hurt alot and I was starting to not trust the bike.

Hit the pits and got of my bike. Things changed quickly. Mom told me I was in third. Shit, Ok I can push another lap to see. Gord Keen got me an ice pack for my back held on with electrical tape and my hr strap. Changed out the front wheel and I was off. No motivation, RIDE MAD, the focus change got me back in it. At this point I was about 14 minutes behind Jeremy. Not sure if the bike was any better but I didn't care. Was back to 34 minute laps and slowly gained back time on him.

It was a little to late though. I pushed as hard as I could and was able to take about a minute of Jeremy every lap but the 5:30pm time was coming up quick. I was trying to calculate lap times to see if I could squeeze another lap in. At 5:26 I would still be good to go. I could pull a 34. I sprinted towards to transition tent to see 7:27:08 race time. Missed my 14th lap by 1 minute. I'm done. 3rd place. Happy with that considering I was not in the mood to even ride on Friday night.

The body end results, I felt my knees the whole time and they are going to get a well deserved rest. This cold that snuck up on me. My throat is so raw right now that I'll be living on throat lozenges for the next couple days. The crash, my left side mid back is so dam sore right now. I'll be using the hot tub a few times today. Breathing hurts and I don't want to twist at all. I have physio tomorrow so I'll have Dr. Bill take a look at it.

The vibe at the race was awesome. Alot of friends ended up kicking ass at this race. Welcome back Heather. Her first race back and Heather Stanely is already back up on the podium in 2nd place.

The mixed tag team division was tough. Congratulation to Brendan and his team mate from Sport Swap in 1st. Chris Bruckner and his teammate in 2nd. Chris was pulling triple laps. Good luck during the cross season.

The crew from Barrie Cycling Club with another podium finish. I don't think there is a race that they are not up there. Don Gain pulled the fastest lap of the day at 25:45.
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The boys from MountainView Cycling Club, These kids are going to be major threats for as long as their riding.

One of the women that kept me motivated on the course. Thanks Jenn.

Great job Brent. Now if only there was a run right after the race? Have to yell at Speedy about you having to race on a Kona.

Had a chance to talk to Andrew Parry and Tristen Smit before and after the race. Congrats guys with an awesome performance at the World 24 hour Solo. Thanks for the chat on course Dave. Hope the body heals and you'll be back out solo next year. Matt Wynen had a great race to muscling that SS 29r.

Today will be a recovery ride on the road bike. No bumps then some time in the hot tub. I have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to both my MOM and AUNT for doing support for me again. Thanks for pushing me to get back on the bike. Thanks to Gord and Judy Keen for getting my bike swtiched up quickly and for that amazing ice pack. MMM Ice.

And I'm spent. This was a race of personal demons for me. Lots of tough times but the end result was worth it. Full race report tomorrow. Right now its time for food and bed.

later

Bike is ready. Huge thanks to Dave of Georgian Cycle for getting the wheel fixed in time. Took off some stress. The knees well can't change them. As for this cold thing. The throat is not to bad. Feels like I have cotton batten on the top of my mouth and its hard to swallow. That and always dry throat. Hopefully its better in the morning.

This is the first time I haven't been excited about a race. I wish it was another week away but can't change time. More later. Report on Sunday.

back to some ice!!

3 strikes? Knees are still questionable, haven't heard from Dave yet about my wheel and I just woke up with a sore throat and backed up sinius. Load up on Cold FX and vitamin C today. Keep icing my knees and start into the Advil and keep my fingers crossed about the bike. What else can I do.

Getting a little concerned. Bike is not ready. Having issues with the rear wheel and of course since nothing is standard on a Mavic Crossmax hoping the parts will be in in time. Worst case is running my xt wheel and that leaves me with no back up bike. Not that the bike should be an issue for anything else BUT you never know.

The second problem. The knees are not getting better, had a massage tonight and tore apart the I.T. bands. Laser is going at them, ice etc. I also have a physical job which means no rest for them at work either. Advil will be my best friend for this race. I'm off the bike till the race. I know that there will be no permanent damage done and the biggest cure is rest, then rebuilding all stabilizers.

What I have is basically called runners knee. Over use is the main cause. I'm also dealing major muscle imbalance which throws the patella of track when I bend my knee. The result is inflammation and a ton of clicking and popping. I know I will be sore on Sunday. I see Dr. Cameron on the Monday after the race. Will start making the plan for recovery then. All back to that dam adventure race and the trail run. Aww well live, learn, don't do it again next season.

later