The last couple of months have been inching closer to ‘normal’ life again, and with this came the return of a few races. I kicked off my MTB season (in August) at a Southern XC TT event, we would start at 15s intervals and race for 1hr around the course- BIG kudos to the guys at Eventrex for getting this little series of events going, all within the gov guidelines. I had a solid race and was feeling super strong until the last 4 mins where I managed to snap my chain (grrrr!!) that felt like the longest run to the finish. The next round was in the New forest, a course that is very familiar to me having raced there multiple times in the past (I also competed in my first ever MTB race here in 2015). I ended up with a DNF after an entire race fighting against myself mentally, eventually throwing in the towel. Where I am never proud of a DNF some days knowing when to call it quits can be a strength, after a grueling week on the bike and struggling with motivation all week this race just felt like mental torture! Bad luck comes in threes they say? Well at the last event I got a rear flat. But its not all negatives and I definitely won't be dwelling on this one as I inflated my tyre quickly and put in a massive effort to regain time lost, despite the puncture this ended up being one of my best races, my mental game was on form and I felt like I had that punch out of each corner. Spot me fixing my flat in the southern xc official video (see bottom of page for button link).
Managed to squeeze in a summer CX race too this September! In simple terms it was very much like a crit race but on football fields, aka fast, dry and flat. I knew the course wouldn't play to my strengths but at this rate I will take any race I can get!! I battled with a teammate for most of the race but in the last few laps I couldn't cling on any longer and dropped off their tail, I was super pleased to finish 2nd knowing that I'd ridden as hard as I could and stayed with my teammate way longer than I had expected to. Getting back to racing really made me understand how much I had actually missed it without even realising it. Learning to push my body and mind to the limits again will take time and determination but by doing these small local events it has sparked motivation and given me that boost of encouragement to keep pushing forward. Thanks for readinggg! Amy :) x
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