40km uphill… then 40km uphill..
My back started to hurt at the 1 hour mark… Unsure of the conditions of the day, the support on the course, and my own fitness, I had tried to prepare for the worst. But in doing so, I’d packed heavy. I was carrying about thirty pounds of weight in water, nutrition, extra clothes, spare inner tubes, etc. on my back. And I wondered why I was sore.
I got off the bike around 15km in, and adjusted my backpack to take some of the pressure off, but the damage had been done. I wasn’t generating any more power in my legs, and I was getting more fatigued by the minute.
My recollection of the course map meant that at the 40km mark of the 100km+ Kettle Valley Trail “Kettle Metal” ride, it would flatten out. I just needed to get to that point, but at this stage I worried I wouldn’t even make it to the 20k checkpoint.
I pedaled on, my speed at around 10 miles per hour, slower than if I were running. I didn’t care. This was my first real endurance test in a long time. I’ve completed a marathon this year and a sprint triathlon, but I knew that neither of those could prepare me for a cross country trail ride of a distance that I had never even come close to attempting.
Rule #1 – honour yourself by showing up at the starting line prepared to race.
In the past, I’ve been pretty good about pre-race rituals. I try to sleep at a certain time, I eat a certain way, I make few adjustments and don’t try many new things. I’m good with lists and checklists. Bad with improv. So… what did I do this time? We drove up the night before, arriving at 2am for an 8am start. That was unavoidable. But, I also didn’t try the bike out ahead of time. I had seat issues from the start which meant I wasn’t optimized. My water bottle cages didn’t fit properly. And I forgot to change to my road bike pedals so that I could use my cleats instead of running shoes… That’s a lot of mistakes…
Rule #2 – practice everything until it’s routine.
It all boils down to execution. I got a lesson in poor race execution this weekend, and it’s hopefully something I can take with me. Bottom line is that an 8+ hour ride requires planning and execution, and winging it is not only a recipe for failure, but for disaster. I’ll spend the next 2+ weeks establishing my pre-race routine for the half marathon.
Overall though, despite my stiff back and some hard knock lessons, this was an amazing experience and, schedule permitting, I will be back next year to conquer this race with better preparation and stronger execution. This race also inspired me to look at Spartan Races (the race director, Dean, is my old triathlon coach and now runs the Spartan Race in Western Canada). This was about trying something new, and I feel like I have more mountains to climb after this…
For now, I just need more traumeel!
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