SO I had been quite excited about the Epic this year. It was to be my first Epic, and despite only having three weeks of solid training behind me, I had come to the conclusion that my shiny happy enthusiasm would get me through, as opposed to my usually glaringly obvious cynicism.
So...we rocked up, registered, and got ready for a day of pain, hoping that the course wouldn't be so epic that we would be out there for greater than five hours, as my longest training rides in the lead up to this were four, and I knew I could probably wangle another hour but that's about it.
Part 1.
BAM! The gun goes off. Despite telling me that fast starts 'hurt to much' and that she wasn't going to do it this time (yeah, yeah, like we believe that one!) Naomi Hansen was off the front of the women's crew, with the rest of us interspersed throughout the fireroad for the super fast 5km start. We hit a climb and I was with Nicky Fisher, but I spun up and didn't look behind me to see where she was. Jenni King rode up and I was with her, feeling comfortable until a HUBBARD who was off track pulled into the singletrack wedged between us! I don't think this would have been a race changer, however by the time I had yelled 'track', 'on your right' etc about forty times, she was a whole bunch more riders ahead.
The reason for this is because the slower riders were set off before us at staggered intervals, meaning that the whole race was spent pinging my bell (yes, I raced with a bell) and yelling track. I was very good at it. I think this year at the national series I will have no problems feeling meek and yelling track, I had that much experience at the Epic!
Following the singletrack, we hit the road, and just motored through what seemed like hundreds of people, turning off the road onto a loose fireroad climb, the line of people stretched further than you could see. Luckily, most of them had good trail etiquette and were out of the way for you to pass. Unfortunately some people did not have the same capacity, which was repeated on a few annoying incidences throughout the day!
Part 2.
We hit the road, and we're driving it in the high 30km/hr, get a quick feed and motor along. This is where I get proposed to and where people offer me encouragement as Katrin and Jodie. Ended up working several people, at least the average speed was high for this section! Alas, then we turned up a huge climb, the first huge climb. Which despite it's hugeness, was a great climb! People getting in the way was minimal and had a pretty clear run till near the top where there was a lot of looseness and some walking. Feedzone two was at the top.
The trail undulated across the top of the range, not very fast, super rocky. Those who came with dentures may have left without them. Lots of rocky pinch climbs, many which I conquered while others walked. I was in a good place!
However, at about the 33km mark I managed to get some twitchy legs...cramp? When do I ever cramp?
We ping down a super sketchy rough descent into some singletrack where I am stuck behind some painfully slow riders, who don't want to yield even though they're struggling with the trail. Eventually, after about 10min of riding so slowly I am trackstanding at times, one comes off and I say 'coming through' and storm up a rock garden beside them. Hooray! Life's not that bad afterall...
Out into the open, the cramps are returning, to both legs, as we hit the last feedzone.
A huge grassy climb which claimed a few victims walking greeted us. It seemed to go on forever. When we got to what we thought was the top, we were greeted with a thoroughly unrideable several kilometre ascent, which was also barely walkable. This is bringing the average speed down down down, and though I feel like the half marathon would have definitely been the wiser choice at this stage, I grit my teeth and trudge up the stupid hill, managing to overtake a few people on foot, so soul-sapping was this ascent.
The down side to this trudging up was that it was insanely fatiguing, you're at 90% of MHR walking slowly up this ridiculous hill!
To the top, and it flattens, then peaks again. Everyone's off again.
Eventually we get to the 'real' top, and shoot straight down the other side, like a cannonball. This cannonball hit a rock and careered into a rock wall, but dusted myself off and scurried down the hill. Who's the hubbard now?
Part 3.
So close, yet so far away. The last 20km of this race were pretty harrowing. Some kind-of fun singletrack, costant cramping meaning I am riding singletrack out of the saddle, bolt upright with my feet whichever way they were in when I stood up to avoid the cramps which were pulsating through both my quads. This is not a very efficient way to ride singletrack, in case you were wondering.
We follow this with a myriad of open grassy paddocks, which is about as fun at this stage in the race as having teeth extracted. I am obviously dehydrated by now, but I push on, knowing that there should be a water tent I can stop at quickly soon. One more shitty loose hill, it was confirmed the boys didn't ride this one too, so it's totally ok that I pushed up this sandpit-on-an-angle.
The last 10km of singletrack, beneath the shade of the trees, was welcome. I had a gel and felt like I was hammering, with the crampy sensation receding I could actually ride properly! It was muchos fun, the best part when a kid at a marshalling point yelled out "two and a half k's to go!" I could have stopped and hugged him. But I just kept on riding...just wanting to be home with a cool beer in my hand and my bum off a saddle and onto some terra firma!
Pinning out of the singletrack and onto the final fireroad, I drove it home, finishing third behind Jenni King and Naomi. Nicki was in fourth, not too sure how far behind me she was, always keeping me on edge (especially in those dark, crampy moments!). My Garmin says my 'ride time' was 4hr30, but I am sure it's not facoring in the crash and a few other 'not moving' occasions. I was a fair way off King, who is seemingly always amazingly strong, and a few minutes behind Naomi, specialist in long-distance pain.
What can I say? Maybe I was a little overzealous about the race...Despite feeling strong for a lot of the race (except for the cramps), endurance racing always seems to have you walking home on your lips. And eating the food supplies of several african villiages in the hours and day after the event.
Tailwind promotions did a great job, and the Peppers Spicers Resort was a perfect location for the event. All in all, I am pretty happy with the race. There are always variables that you think 'what if?' but that's endurance racing, shit happens: you crash, you flat, have mechanicals and cramp. It's pretty rare you can have a 'perfect' run. I think managing yourself well through adversity is the real prize of getting through tough races like these! Oh, and the beer at the end.