Hoza/REDUX
I started taking MODUCARE in the days leading up to the race. Just felt my immunity - because of one or two mouth sores and how much sleep I suddenly needed - was shot to hell (I'd blame it on AIDS except I was tested recently).
- Get your 94.7 results here.
- News:Lange, Schoeman win 94.7 Cycle Challange
- More News:Lange rises to the occasion
I thought something was wrong just based on my mindset. I wasn't really thinking about the race,and Saturday I didn't feel like riding AT ALL, not even to test the gears on my ZIPPS.
I got up on Sunday at about 5:30am and was really tempted to just lie in. When I got up and started getting ready a little voice said in my head: you are going to get it today.
I had the crazy idea to cycle to the race this year, largely thanks to Alex who was also doing the whole damn thing a second time with his wife. I spoke to him a few minutes ago and it turns out they ride to the race on the M1. That way it is 11km. The route I took was about 25km. I got there with about 6 minutes to spare, and en route I felt a bit stale. On some of the small climbs I could tell something wasn't lekker. The weather though was sunny, dry and crisp at 6am.
So when I finally arrived at the start E are almost out of the gates. I had to climb over an awkward fence and hoist my bike over. Glad I made it, but I was right at the back of E, and if I had been a bit more wakker I might have realised the two slow pokes in front of me were going to make it even harder to get through the pack to the front. So when we started here I am stuck behind an oke and his chick, and the road sort of narrows through the start chute, so I couldn't do anything but wait for it to widen again so I could get past.
The graph above shows the entire race. The brown line shows the altitude differential. Notice the long climb in the beginning, and then a long gradual, successive downhill, followed by a long climbing section. The red line is virtually touching the red band for the first fifth, and from there gradually tapers downward until the end of the race. For reference, check out the 2007 94.7 race profile. Notice how consistent the red line is. Also notice it is well away from the 'red band'.
So what happened was I started working hard from the word go, trying to make my way up the length of the E snake. Don't know why, but the guys immediately strung out, and quickly 'holes' started to form. I did jump onto a bunch somewhere along the line, but I didn't fancy that they were very strong so I figured I'd be better on my own. I don't know how wise that was. It was E bunch after all, but then I wasn't firing on all cylinders, and it may have been wiser to cruise and then jump onto the leading 'F' train. I don't really think that way, and was thinking about making up for lost time. Also, we were reeling in the E pack but as you can see from the profile, it is one of the hardest sections to make time, as it has some of the longest and steepest sections on the course.
Coming into Johannesburg CBD I latched onto a nice train from F, and bumped into a rider from D - Zelda I think - who I met on the CycleLab ride. [I would see her again in the last 2 kilometres]. The CBD part was interesting, and after the Mandela Bridge the descents were just nuts. if you factor in some of the potholes and the speeds we were doing (almost 80km/h), people are putting their lives and limbs on the line. I must say this part of the ride I felt better. And at halfway I was looking at posting a 2:35-40 time. At 45km my time was 1:18. But the toughest part of the 94.7 is from the 63km lowpoint, on the long gradual climb to about 83km (yes, 20km of virtually continuous, gradual climbing).
Here I started losing the bunches, and was also not that interested in jumping onto little groups moving by. Here I felt really tired. And for me at the 63km point I'd already ridden 87km! One little highlight was a guy who passed me (so many did) said, Hey, you have a great looking bike. Some black children on the side of the road shouted HOZA HOZA HOZA ('Come come come!).
The two climbs after 83km almost sent my legs into cramps. Just that shows me I wasn't really capable of going much harder, even though I had slowed down, and even though my heart rate was slipping lower and lower.
In the last 2-3km I saw the blonde lady again, which made me realise how much I had slowed up since the CBD. It just shows how one must ride with an AVERAGE speed in mind. Surges are pointless. That said, I also passed the guy who surged on his own in the first 20km. Surges do pay off when you reconnect with a bunch. If you don't ride faster you tend to find weaker riders than yourself behind you, and that can be frustrating.
Anyhoo, I crossed the line in about 2:44. The 94.7 should call itself the 90.3 because that's how far it was, although I was only too happy to have 4km lopped off (I'd already ridden 115km at that point). I was soooooooooo tired at the end, and for good reason. Here are my stats:
Time: 2:44 [2007: 3:00:50]
HR 157 average/169 max [2007: 152/164]
KCal: 2820 [3000+]
Avg speed: 33km/h [30.9km/h]
The toughest part was the cycle home though. I immediately started riding back and here I really suffered. See, I had to climb all the fooken way back again!
On some of those climbs my legs were on the verge of going into spasms. Even worse, the sun was cooking my arms (since I hadn't figured it was so far to Woodmead). I probably should have consulted properly with Alex because he says you just ride back on the M1 and I was riding parallel to it, but of course parallel on some hectic V-shaped climbs. Here's how I burnt the back of my head despite applying a bit of sunblock.
So I improved my time, and I cycled an extra 50km for a total of 140km, but here's why I'm none too chuffed. Alex did a 2:18 and re-rode the 94.7 with his wife, and my brother did a 2:30 (beating me by 14 minutes while at the OFM, 17km longer he beat me by only 6 minutes).
So I'm a bit blue.
I see I also weighed around 84/85kg last year, and I really need to sort out my weight. Number 1 is to watch the SIZE OF MY PORTIONS. Two is to cut out fruit juice and sodas and stick to water. I don't really drink much alcohol.
I hoped to do a 2:40 this year, but given the course was short by 3km and I still went 4 minutes over my goal time - not so great.
In mitigation, my HR is very high. It was even higher than Alex's, which is something that never really happens. Also, I can say with a straight face that I didn't enjoy this race. That's usually a symptom on me not been 100% healthy. 2 weeks ago I had a really big week, and it may have been 1 week too soon. Will have to remember that for next year.
Meanwhile, at the expo Eskom had an intwisting stand demonstrating how much effort a human on a bike needed to light up those efficient bulbs versus the conventional ones. Once you translate energy into human terms, everyone understands. This was a great demo.
This year my bike was fine. Even the POLAR was reading ditance correctly off my ZIPP. The only thing not firing on all cylinders was me. Will rest up and start gradually pulling in more and more runs into my training, and maintain the cycling aspect. My cycling is strong, I think I have just not given myself enough rest in the week before this one, and have had a very stressful time elsewhere which has also had an impact I'm sure. I'm sure there is light at the end of the tunnel though ;-)
Read about my 2007 94.7 experience here.
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