Discussion: X Adventure

For an unfit old bloke who has no ankle ligaments AND didn't have a good day, I would have thought being only 15 min behind the 2nd-5th veteran pack over three hours of racing was not too bad.

Funny you should say that Fletch, I was quite gob-smacked to notice the same thing when I looked at the results last night - I think if I'd been riding just once a week I'd have been over 5mins faster, and if I'd felt better on the run a couple of minutes there. That would put me 7mins or so behind blokes who still prioritise their training over other things - they certainly are racking up at least daily proper sessions.

Interestingly, very few athletes carried food / fluids on the run - too worried about quick transitions. I think they rode relatively poorly from being under fueled in many cases. I had my waist belt and drank 750ml of electrolyte, ate a bar, and had some gel. That likely assisted me in not having to walk bits of the bike!

You're actually in your most consistent (as in consecutive months without entire months off, as well as time/distance) block of running since 2011! If you got a few more bike km's in consistently, I think you'd make some significant gains on both bike and run (and be able to enjoy longer stuff more rather than just feeling like survival).

Did you have a Fletch bike that required maintenance on course?

My bike only ever needed significant maintenance on course once. The crank fell off repeatedly in it's first outing in 2007. Losing my bike in a river isn't a maintenance issue. And my last Caffeinated race, Andre made me borrow a bike and I destroyed that. But it wasn't mine, so it doesn't count.

Or - maybe I was implying that if Tooms got a few extra hours on the bike each week, his cardiorespiratory endurance would improve, which would help his running...

tRicky - fortunately my front brake didn't need maintenance on course although (despite the rust) it somehow managed to work itself loose and rattle worryingly from about the 8k mark onwards! By 12kish I was confident to use it again without causing a dangerous failure or brake lock-up.

Fletch - yep, you're right. I'll more safely gain fitness from a couple of rides a week that have hills or enough pace than by adding more running in. Although I *should* try and stick to 2 regular runs a week too.