- Ralph Waldo Emerson
 |
| Can't let extra metal get in the way.... |
My fantastic and
inspirational coach, Kate Potter from A Quality Ride Coaching, sent
me this quote a few months ago. It feels very appropriate now that nearly a year has passed since
my crash and, with my biggest challenge so far just around
the corner, I want to celebrate just how far I have come.
To mark the 1 year anniversary of my accident, I am racing 12 hour
solo at Bontrager 24:12 – in just 6 days time.
Final training is going
well. Plenty of resting, mixed in with some riding, some hill reps
and a sneaky bit of racing.
I hadn't planned on
racing at Mountain Mayhem this year – I was supposed to be
providing pit support for friends from the Tunnel Hill Trolls – but
one of their riders broke her hand 4 days before so I offered to help
out by doing a few laps. Well, I'm sure the stories of the 'muddiest
ever Mayhem' (read my friend Lou's blog for more details!) have
reached most corners of the world by now so those 'few laps' turned
out to be just 2, very long laps! Despite a lot of walking, pushing,
slogging, sliding and pedalling through bogs I got plenty of sleep
and a physio session with Duncan from Midas Physio this week has
meant that my legs are now feeling pretty sprightly and ready to go
for next weekend.
Other than working,
this week will be spent getting all my kit clean and ready, sorting
out the bikes, packing everything up and relaxing! On Friday morning
I'll be heading down with my friend and fellow solo racer Jo to meet
up with the Mountain Trax team and get everything set up. The team
are staying in some self-catering accommodation off site so a hot
shower and good night's sleep should be guaranteed. Nice to have a little bit of
luxury – which will be good if the weather isn't so pleasant!
My only goal for this
race is to finish – proving a point to any of the health
professionals who thought I might not race again. Whatever the
outcome I have a bottle of champagne ready to enjoy when it's all
over!
Don't forget – if you
can spare a bit of cash for a good cause, I'm raising money for
Wiltshire Air Ambulance who airlifted my when I had my cash.
Donations can be made on my JustGiving page. Thanks for your support!
Thanks as always to
Mountain Trax, Kate and Ian at AQR Coaching, Duncan at Midas Physio
and my family and friends for their ongoing support.