A New Year`s Update.

I haven`t posted on here for a while, not because I`ve not been racing, but simply because I have`t actually finished a race in a while.  It`s been frustrating.  After the Hilly Fields Supacross,
 I was feeling optimistic.  So I did the next eastern cross race the next weekend, at Davy Down. I had the flu jab the day before so I feeling a bit rubbish, but I was slowly but surely picking off riders after a very slow start - then PING, I look behind me to see my jockey wheel fly off into the adjacent river.  Race over, I still got 50 minutes quality training in though and a bent rear chainstay - I thought mech hangers were meant to fail before the frame!?

Next up was the first Thetford Winter Series, it was cold, it was wet, it was muddy. I knew after my warm up this wasn`t going to be good - I had an entire week out the week before doing an internship at law firm in Dublin, this certainly didn`t help. We fragmented pretty quickly and myself and another rider built up a gap pretty quickly, but I wasn`t warming up, in fact I was getting colder, it was grim and just wasn`t fun. So I decided that I`d sit up and pull out (I wasn`t the only one!) at the end of the lap. By this time I was very cold and showing signs of hypothermia, so Dad got me home asap!

I decided not to race at the puncture stricken round 2 at Thetford, and instead get some quality training in - I did a power test the friday before heading down to Surrey for round 2 of the Brass Monkey series, my numbers looked good in the test and I was feeling strong, not racing the previous fortnight at Thetofrd was a good idea.  Plus I prefer the courses at Brass Monkey races, usually pretty fun and quite weatherproof!  

I started a bit too quickly, so I backed off a bit, and settled into a more sustainable pace, I then pushed on a bit, catching up a team-mate and I continued to push on, feeling pretty strong, but riding really slowly - I just had no flow in the singletrack.  Then bam, full lock cramp.  No warning, no twinges, nothing. I'd knew I had damaged my gastrocnemius, so I pulled after the 2nd lap, good job I did, I`d torn the muscle (nothing major though) and took a week out to let heal, it`s still not right but the bruising has gone now at least.  Just shows that I need to do more racing, to get the conditioning I need to avoid cramping. 

I`ve now been ill for most of the Christmas Holidays, which has been far from ideal, I took part in the annual runners v riders race on boxing day, but I was obviously still ill, I did finish though and we cyclists did win!  I took a trip down to Bedgebury on new year`s eve with some team-mates and friends, I was getting better, but I was definitely still ill.  Conditions were dire, but I re-found my `flow`, which was important.  Hopefully, I can find some good health and get some solid training in before the build phase starts.

2013 also brings a new season where I look to get 2nd cat on the road,  and a few wins on the mtb.  Whilst getting into university (avoiding clearing) my I add!