That was a sticky tacky race by the time we started at 3ish. The usual story for me getting passed on the ups and then passing the same guys on the downs. A full mud bonty Xmud on the front really helped. Loads of suffering was had on my behalf.
Not the most flowey of courses, will be interesting to see what they do with it for the national.
This isn’t a throwing my toys out of the pram thing. Just a sensible decision. On lap 2 today the former last past person came past me and I thought “I really should make an effort to keep up, but can’t be arsed” in addition to an inexplicable power loss in my legs, of which the result was an average power over two laps at “tempo”.
Im 51, missing out on time with my kids and time spent at home. My wife spends all her time ferrying them about because im training for that ^^. It isn’t adding up.
Nobody said it would be easy fella... it's hard and there's not only dedication, but there's natural talent to throw in the mix too... but if it's not ticking the boxes for you currently then there's no shame in saying "nah, i'm out"...It's hard at times as 'being a racer' almost defines you as a person, personality, human and taking yourself out of that can leave just as big a hole as being a racer not performing as well as you want... It can be a hard decision to call it a day... so give it a couple of days thought... see what you can learn from it... then maybe make a decision.
I learned this weekend that i'm the opposite to you/most people. Chatting with a few others they were saying how Sat was brilliant this weekend as no practice/travelling etc... I was sitting at home on Sat pulling my hair out with frustration and bordeom.... other people live for the relaxation, the gardening/diy whatever, me, i'm the opposite to that and the race meetings ARE my relaxation and happy place, whether racing or spannering or just driving up and down the M4, it's what completes me..
@muddylegs did you see the state of the kids course! Myself and multiple other parents were having to aid in mud clearance as it was building up to the point wheels would not turn.
I was out in race 1 and the surface was slippery and sticky already. Must have been down right nasty for the later races.
Got 15th in open, up 1 place from round 1. Failed to make the cutoff for the fourth lap by a small amount though I was secretly relieved about that! Wet roots are my nemesis so I was pleasantly surprised with how the race went. I was not crazy enough to hit the A line though. That landing looked nasty.
@nixie I watched a YouTube video this morning of the kids race and that looked proper sticky. Fantastic enthusiasm from all those kids and parents 😁.
26th from 44th for me which i was happy ish with. After the third lap I was done and just hanging in there for the next 2 laps to follow.
That A line was just bloody awkward imo, I rolled it everytime 😂
Nobody said it would be easy fella…
I know, I've been doing it for 10 years. I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.
other people live for the relaxation, the gardening/diy whatever
I'd really like to understand from you or others, how you fit all this in around a disruptive training schedule, something I'm clearly failing to do on the basis the kids activities and life in general have colluded to squeeze out my own time. It wouldn't be so bad but with lap times that clearly put me firmly in last place, where's the pleasure in training for months on end only to come over the line whilst everyones packing their kit away to leave? I could have had a lovely multi-hour ride with a Coffee stop and still got some stuff done at home yesterday, yet didnt. See what I mean?
Please read with an upbeat tone. I'm not whinging, just pointing out some facts of life really.
I’d really like to understand from you or others, how you fit all this in around a disruptive training schedule, something I’m clearly failing to do on the basis the kids activities and life in general have colluded to squeeze out my own time. It wouldn’t be so bad but with lap times that clearly put me firmly in last place, where’s the pleasure in training for months on end only to come over the line whilst everyones packing their kit away to leave? I could have had a lovely multi-hour ride with a Coffee stop and still got some stuff done at home yesterday, yet didnt. See what I mean?
Well i don't race for the same reasons as you mate, my circumstances are pretty rare that i race with/around the boy. Yesterday there were me and 6 of his mates racing, ok so i set off an hour before them, but the pre-race banter was there with them and the post race laughs, as well as riding together in practice (together being a loose term). I'm also in the position that i've semi-accepted my place in the racing world and I race not to be last, as well as pushing my tech skills... The training, riding, etc doesn't even come into my thoughts, if it did, i wouldn't eat how i do, i'd train, fast, eat better etc.
I guess Enduros are different in the context that it's not you against everyone, until the timing comes out, you're in a group of like minded racers, laughing, joking etc for 10 mins as you walk/ride up, then on your own for 1min as you do your stage, laughing at the bottom about how you crashed or hit a tree (as did both me and stevextc yesterday).
Son No.1 and I have had a couple of outings recently, over Easter weekend we went down to Builth Wells for the opening round of the MTB Marathon series, as he's just turned 11 we went for the Sunday half marathon, after a skills and trail rider session for him on the Saturday.
As ever the half is a pretty loose description coming in at 47km and over 1100m of climbing it's more like a 2/3rds, anyway we set off at a steady pace sat in the pack to stop him thrashing himself to death on the tarmac lead-out, he then proceeded to ride past pretty much everyone in front of him on the first climb and from then on I let him set the pace, as ever his descending is fast as you like (he hit 53kph at one point) and we rattled off the distance in just over 3 hours, he crossed the line to come home 22nd out of 121 finishers and just 40mins behind the first rider home.
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Yesterday we both went to the first round of the Welsh XC series at Llandegla, it was the same course as the last event there pre-covid, which translates into a bit of a rise followed by some descending and then one stupidly steep, up to 27% & long climb that levels out a bit and then climbs again to the Red finish so a rather taxing 165m of elevation per lap which killed me in the end and I ended up dragging my carcass round to 20th placed Vet.
[img] 
[/img]
Junior faired rather better (as usual) again on a hilly course where their main climb was the blue finish from the skills area to the café in reverse with a good dose of single track and some jumps he got a good start and ended up taking 6th place in the U12 in a very strong field and 1st placed first year U12 too. Welsh Cycling also ran a skills / junior kick-start style challenge.
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Woke up on Thursday cursing thath I had missed the entry for Southern XC.
Having seen some videos from the kids race which I understand is a different track, looked like a sticky mess.
Rather releived I didn't go as I've got no 29er mud tyre. My 2.6 Icons would have been ill suited I think.
Kids was a different track yes and was worse than the main track (in race 1 conditions anyway).
I’d really like to understand from you or others, how you fit all this in around a disruptive training schedule, something I’m clearly failing to do on the basis the kids activities and life in general have colluded to squeeze out my own time. It wouldn’t be so bad but with lap times that clearly put me firmly in last place, where’s the pleasure in training for months on end only to come over the line whilst everyones packing their kit away to leave? I could have had a lovely multi-hour ride with a Coffee stop and still got some stuff done at home yesterday, yet didnt. See what I mean?
I don't race xc to win or even be competitive - I don't train any more than just my usual regular rides.
Fully expect to go into every xc race as fastest last place 😉.
For me racing is a way of forcing me out on the bike and a general aim to ride for over winter but not a challenge to be competitive. The local series which I'm signed up for again, I came 2nd to last in the first 2 missed the third and last in last race in 2022 - but I was 1st to sign back up for all four races this year.....
I’d really like to understand from you or others, how you fit all this in around a disruptive training schedule, something I’m clearly failing to do on the basis the kids activities and life in general have colluded to squeeze out my own time.
You know the story of my previous encounters with training and impact on normal life, its massive and lets be honest selfish so there's no way I could keep that level going for more than the year I did it for, not without probably ending divorced.
I'm racing XC this year mainly because the eldest is racing XC and we go along together, I'm no where near competitive, but I've had decent results in Vets this year, a top 10, a top 20 and 25th in the 3 ranking races I've done plus a reasonable outing in the Marathon following the child at his pace. I don't train specifically, I just ride my bike during the week, I like beer and crap food. Results aren't the driver, having fun at the race and getting heckled / abused by an 11yr old who is going to be far better than I ever was is the best part - yesterday on every lap him and his mates were shouting "Whip it" over one of the hips / table tops on the course which I'm basically incapable of when blowing out of my arse, but he finds it hilarious.
Yeah at the end of the year I'll have points on the board, I'll have been heckled at every single race, I won't come last and we'll have fun.
@kryton57, I get you. Been there, done that, tried to 'just carry on' and almost put myself in an early grave. Every week a race takes place I look at the results, see who is racing and winning and wonder how the f@#k do they manage all it takes to race with family life? Back in 2011-2013 was the end of my elite racing days, my two children arrived, I finally started to have a career; I could no longer do what I wanted to do (or what I used to do). Believe me i tried and it ended up with me on anti-depressants, sleeping in a separate bedroom, pulling out of every race I entered in fury at myself...generally in a very bad place. The pivotal moment came when I stopped focusing on trying to beat everyone I used to beat and turned to a new page. I spent a fair bit of time just riding with no power meter and no structure. After a bit of personal reflection a few key points dawned on me a) I like training and wanted to continue training, but self-guided, b) I didn't need a goal/key race, and c) training was commuting on the bike (lucky me). With the exception of c), I am where I am now. Looking at my results they are spiky, but this is something I have accepted as my family comes first. With a new job I squeeze in 45-60min training on the turbo in the evenings (pre work training is not possible because of family) and a couple of 2hr rides at the weekend.
The above may not be useful, but I certainly feel like your feelings towards racing after Sunday were a similar position to where I was at crisis point. The above is my story (abbreviated). From what you have written, you’ve lost all sense of fun and enjoyment from riding. The only advice I will give now is stop. Take some time off the bike and get back on the bike when you want to, Sunday 30th sounds good; lets ride bikes, eat cake and talk shit then?
@Steve_b77 - awesome efforts and results for you and junior, well done!
So, thanks for the replies. I've been reflecting a lot today and come up with a little plan before I call it all off. I only have :
a) London Beastway Wednesday evenings as training / fun grass roots events - with Junior now starting 10 mins behind me so a fun carrot to chase.
b) The Southern XC on 21st
c) My 100 miles per day charity ride on 2-4th June, with B&B's and the odd beer & much chatting
I have a meeting with my coach so I'm going to opt to enter Sport at the Southern XC within which I should be mid pack according to historic results which bring me into the mix of fun again without hanging off the back, but also the earlier start 9:30 instead of 15:00 - will give me half my day back. The rest'll be fun stuff. Then after the charity ride having eaten and ridden my way through some fantastic countryside with great company I can sit down and having a proper think about this.
Ernie, all of this basically gives me the chance to do what you said - forget the PM and ride my bike.
As an aside whilst arranging the call tomorrow, my coach offered "maybe its the flat loading program" which I forgot we changed to six weeks ago which is different to the normal 3-4weeks training 1 week rest we are all used to - maybe I'm just tired? He's going to analyse my data & notes before we talk tomorrow with more questions to see. I'd forgotten this change in training process to be fair, oops.
I just had a flash back to your "credible roadie" thread there- where all those years ago it turned out you'd done intervals on the way to a TT or something 🤣
My advice is sack off the coach, buy Friel's 'Cyclists Training Bible' and 'Fast After 50' and enjoy the process of reflecting then writing and following your OWN plan that fits around the life you WANT to lead, not the one you think you ought to do be an Athlete.
Training to me is therapy. People probably see me getting excited about silly 'meaningless' power goals or laugh at the lengths I go in a race report to contextualise an event I've done so I don't feel disappointed in a 'below average' result and scoff and think it's ridiculous. But to me it's the whole point.
I was told (when I was 18 and broke my hip and pelvis and nearly died from MRSA) that I would need a hip replacement by the age of 40. Cycling is why that hasn't had to happen. I race because just turning up is a massive achievement V where I should be right now.
What would be different if you are in the top three v the last three? Not a lot. Same venue, same day, same faces, same banter, same food, same journey, same everything. If you want to be a racer- go be a racer. Race the Cat you want, not the one you think will impress others- look at how hard PRO cyclists have to work to get people to care about their result on a given day. Now times that by a million. Thats how hard it is to make anyone care about what 'we' do 🤣
BBC more or less told us years ago that every minute spent cycling adds an equal minute of life expectancy but to coin a Peter Attia phrase- it's probably even more beneficial in terms of added 'Health Span'. So scrap the guilt and enjoy the process- you will literally get every hour you spend riding back one day in spades 😃
Me too!!
Thanks Crosshairs that’s an invaluable post.
I do want to find out whether a change in process has killed me off or whether it’s still the whole thing I need to back off.
I think reverting to plan A for 6 weeks followed by a social weekend doing something for others gives me a multi facited perception of things. I quite like the steve_b77 training plan including the supporting Jnr element.
Do you get up in the morning, see the sun and dry and think "yay, can't wait to get the bike out"
Or
Is it a bit of a chore?
If every ride is ‘amazing’ Weeksy then none of them truly are 😉
You need a few slogs to appreciate the good ones. Rarely do I feel worse for having gone out but sometimes a ride is just a chance to listen to podcasts or wallow in my own thoughts.
If every ride is ‘amazing’ Weeksy then none of them truly are
Well yes. But I'm not seeing that he's enjoying anything. Which is the reverse but clearly worse. Not only is he not enjoying the racing, the riding but he's drowning in guilt at the same time which makes it harder to enjoy. He's then got the coaching pressure, the HR pressure, power pressure and training pressure to fit in there too.
He needs to get back to just enjoying the riding, the fun of a nice berm, a nice front wheel popped off a root, I nice little roller jump, or a root Fest cleaned. Just seeing the birds, the clouds.
Rather than head down and "I'm shit at this, this is too hard, mt training isn't working, I should be with the family, I'm still shit, he's pulling away"
That’s not entirely true.
mt training isn’t working, I should be with the family
This bit was true on Sunday.
I’m not seeing that he’s enjoying anything
Not true, Tuesday 15th & 17th I had some awesome very enjoyable sessions at Woburn in the sun, each a total of 90 min rides during a visit to Centerparcs. I’ve had some great rides in the local forest and on the local roads over the last few months, some photos of which I posted. You know I very much enjoyed FOD this winter.
As I alluded to in my first post on the subject, I need to find a way to make this fit in with “life”. Some reflection today reveals it could just be the Winter - short days and miserable weather followed by a list of chores which have been put off for a while. Works a bit stressful too.
I’m very much looking forward to summer rides though, many with the kids including Jnrs first road club ride on 6th May. Might also take him to Afan Lodge and rent him a FS.
You know I very much enjoyed FOD this winter.
It certainly seemed that way... and it's what i was alluding to. If you enjoy certain rides/types/something, then focus on those...not on the riding you seem to not enjoy. I sincerely hope it is just a winter hangover for you, it'd be a shame for you to lose the riding plot..
Lots of good wise words on this thread 🙂 . Everyone has bad days, but you need to get training/work/life balance right or it's a miserable slog to nowhere.
Seriously, and I speak as an older athlete who recognises the value of rest, you need to have a hard word with your coach about his rationale for mucking around with your training, and why he thinks flat loading is a good idea. It rarely is
What people wear for racing XC? I've been trying to figure out why those that wear skin suits for racing CX in the winter revert to jersey & shorts for summer XC racing.
There's some fashion mental gymnastics in my set up - and bear in mind I'm pissing about in Open, not fighting for podiums in the higher events like some...
shoes - to acheive my comfy/most powerful pedalling position (verified moderately scientifically on the watt-bike), and also comortable for tech/descending; I need my cleats in quite a rearward position. This has meant I'm in more "trail" shoes rather than a full xc slipper style shoe, which hurts my calf/achillies.
And I cant face combining said shoe, with lycra shorts (or a skin suit) in public where there will be photo evidence. So its close fitting, but still loose, shorts for me.*
Club top, which is either a pretty tight short sleeve, or a more relaxed fit long sleeve in the colder months.
*muddy winter races, I've tried trousers too. keeps the water out of the shoes/socks for which I am more than happy to pay the weight penalty but can get warm (duh). And you are obviously committed unlike leg warmers which I guess you could drop to your ankles if you needed to.
I currently wear whatever is comfortable, not too baggy and lightish. Older set of Morvelo rise and descend shorts over le col bibs with a morvelo short sleeve T recently. This weekend I was also rocking shin guards as the day before I ripped the back of my right calf to shreds on the pedal pins when my chain snapped :?. Flat's and flat shoes all the way (though this weekend trying to walk let alone run on the mud was interesting). When the club kit shop opens will probably get a club top and switch to that. Not going to bother with club bibs as baggies will be staying.
The London Beastway series starts tonight. After some unexplained fatigue I'm going for the experience to see if my legs can remain above Z2 after an easy 7 days, which may morph into 10 days deepening on tonight's outcome. I'll be lining up at the back so as not to get in the way.
Jnr now U14 starts 10 mins behind me for a 50 mins race, I wonder if I can lap him like an evil Dad.... 😀
Remember to enjoy yourself!
I did. Had a great time coming 6th of 10 GC'vs with 2 DNF's with 249w NP at 72.5Kg for 56 mins. 45 seconds away from 5th. Hard work and I've definitely lost power but also found myself backing off on some sections - I think this is many years of Marathon / 12hr riding in my head wants me to back of to sub threshold on the climbs, whereas obvs for XCO I need to change down and power up them.
Things to put into effect next week, but yeah sunny, dry and enjoyable grass roots fun.
Well done @Kryton57 😀
Is the ‘lost’ power not just because of the nature of short course XC? It’s incredibly hard to keep a good average power when you also have to coast a lot. Or are you comparing v similar races in the past?
I know when I’m trying to do long intervals out in the roads that it’s so frustrating to have one junction undo the past 8 miles of riding as 3 watts suddenly vanish off your average in a moment 🤣
I sometime run ‘no-zero’ averaging to better reflect the effort I’m actually putting through the pedals but interestingly, it’s usually very close to NP so I stopped bothering and just use that instead.
I run non zero power on my HU also, it showed average 277w “on” power which over the duration was about 43mins on the gas, that’s 3.8wkg average.
I lost power after my x 3 viral chest infections over 8 weeks Oct to Dec ‘22, the. Recently I’ve had the fatigue issue caused - I think - after a throat infection moved to my ear which seems to be a slow recovery*, but as shown here I appear to be coming out of it. A few more days easy efforts are prescribed before next weeks race, it’s a 9 week series.
This isn’t my forte, and I’ve trained for 4 years previous for long endurance so am coming back to the format.
Just pleased to enjoy a race and finish it tbh. I should also add that Jnr finished 2nd in Youth for his first race of the year.
*There is some conjecture that this could have been the new Covid strain which causes a lasting fatigue, although I tested negative using the original test kits from ‘21
Nice. Sounds like a good race. Well done to junior as well.
Cool, all sounds positive to me 😃
Well done jnr too 💪🏻🎉
Anybody race at the national xc at the Matterley basin over the weekend?
The course conditions at the 9am races sunday morning were challenging to say the least. However this worked in my favour as alot of guys didn't race and I managed 9th in the grand vets. Bl@@dy over the moon with that, especially as I had very low expectations.
Glad you enjoyed it @Kryton57 !
I saw Jack C's R2 strava- "2hrs cleaning" sounds rather less dry than R1..
Son No.1 and I took the long trip down to Rhonda for the 2nd round of the Welsh XC series at Dare Valley Bike Park this weekend, we went down on Saturday afternoon as it's a 3.5 hour drive, which turned into over 4 hours due to the road works on the A470 over the Brecons, but its a nice drive with cracking scenery.
[img] 
[/img]
While I set up camp he went off with a group of mates and spent a couple of hours doing practice laps on his course and the U14 one and then bombing round the pump track.
[img] 
[/img]
On Sunday he went in the U12 race in the morning and it was one for the climbers with a big climb up the fire road (haul road for the up-lift) cutting onto the grass and the some woody single track and a fast as you like descent on the bike park trails, he absolutely loved it and rode really well to take 7th place and 1st placed first year.
[img] 
[/img]
In the afternoon I went in the vets race and it was an absolute pig of a nearly 9 minute (for me) climb, cutting off an on the up-lift road onto the draggiest grass in the world and in & out of the woods until you were at the very top of the bike park where the fun began with a some techy woody single tack, a couple of little stream crossings and super fast flowing blue graded bike park descents all the way to the bottom, despite the suffering I managed to drag my sorry carcass round to 12th placed Vet, so can't complain.
[img] 
[/img]
Next up is the first round of the Manchester MidWeek series, which will hopefully be a lot less hilly.
So who was out racing today?
I did the Southern XC reading open race. Slightly better finish again in 12th (oddly said 11th immediately after the finish). Had a really good 3 lap battle (then chat at the end) with 13th place. We traded position a good number of times before I managed to put some slower riders between us just before a single-track section. Very much enjoyed the course despite the lack of elevation change, well other than the choppy field edges.
I won't be able to make race 4 so now looking for some other closeish events to enter.
I was there but I wouldn't call it racing. Suffering some unknown power loss currently so the best I can do is ride around at the back.
There's a lot of people at that event that need to learn some manners. The amount of putting people in trees and launching from behind down the inside of corners without warning was ridiculous today, not to mention that "get out of the ****ing way" isn't how the rules are played - yes you Mr White shirt. We've all got jobs to go to tomorrow and bike parts aren't getting any cheaper.
Maybe @Adam_Buckland a note of instruction / strong reminder from the comms is need for the June round.
I did the Cannock Spring Classic (fun category). First race since 2019 (when I crashed on nearly the same course). Great weather and the trails were mostly dry. Really enjoyed it. Partly went along to support my friend's kids but glad I made the effort to race too.
Lined up in the back half at the start as I expected to be one of the slower ones. However, I was overtaking people (.. or getting stuck) for the first two laps. Did B lines on lap 1 and subsequently the main A (nearly stacked the first time- looking forward to the photo of that!). Wore HRM and rode a nice even pace. Finished 8th I think.
It was the first time pushing hard with my new Procaliber. Fork (Recon Gold), which had seemed fine on Cannock reds at gentle pace was blowing through the whole travel a little easily. Otherwise it was good. I'll upgrade fork eventually.
I have entered National XC R5 (again at Cannock) in July. Hoping to do a few others too.
I had a cracking at the southern xc. Should I have raced? Probably not with my current asthma challenges. But I hoped to enjoy the riding and weather. I managed a front row grid which was nice and saved my race tbh, I couldn't maintain the pace through the start field and slid back to 10th ish and spent the next 1-2 laps trying to recover. In the end I pulled myself back to a sprint finish for 6th, which I won. No part of me is disappointed, I absolutely tore my legs off today and feel battered from it. I'm really hoping for some good health and training now. The course was typical Checkendon, tight corners, hard to pass and soo dam slippy!
Great work to everyone who got out there and raced.
Congratulations on your top ten finish @ernie. I was holding 9th for most of my race but was out sprinted on the last few metres by two stronger guys I had been trying to fend off for the last couple of laps. I was slightly stronger than them in the single track but really struggled to keep a decent pace on the open bits around the fields. There seemed to be alot of sprint finishing going on.
Never raced there before and enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to.
And it was sunny and dry. Hurrah!!
