Guest blog written by Jordan Pearson
They say you always learn something from every race, I certainly learnt a lot from this one!
Rather than focus this on my training leading up to the event, how sickness stopped me from competing at the Mcleans 10hr, or even how my race went lap by lap, I'm going to focus on the lessons learnt, and the lessons reinforced. Results are available publicly but at the end of the day, having fun is more important than a result, and I did get a fun few hours on the bike!
- It doesn't matter whether you're in a team or competing solo, ALWAYS carry a spare tube! It was unbelievable how many people were running at least half of the course due to a puncture. The slight weight saving from not carrying anything certainly isn't going to save you more time than you lose from a puncture.
- You don't always need a support crew. I've always gone into events with the assumption that I needed a support crew to help give me bottles or food. This was my first long race with no support crew and while I didn't finish, that was due to other factors, not having to stop for a few seconds to grab bottles and food.
- Sunscreen. Pretty self explanatory really. A few more seconds stopped would prevent far more discomfort later.
- Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition. Just when you think you've got it dialed, you'll experience new conditions and require a different plan. This was my first warm race (well warm for NZ anyway) and my body certainly didn't cope with the nutrition plan I've used in previous races. After a few hours the salt build up on my jersey indicated the issues to come... After an hour of on and off vomiting while riding, I decided to stop and ask for advice. The overwhelming answer was to continue and try and work out what had gone wrong. After one lap of feeling great again everything started to go downhill again though and it became apparent I had fried my body beyond recovery.
The biggest bonus of the whole experience was my new bike handled everything incredibly with not a single mechanical. It's certainly showing itself to be a very capable machine in a variety of conditions.
While it's obviously disappointing to have had to pull out, the Timaru course is great fun (even when throwing up). The support through out the day from Neil and a few of the other riders was awesome, and some of the advice Johnny was giving me despite his day also ending short will definitely be beneficial in the future.
Next year!
