Last race of my season is in the books, but for me it ended a couple of hours to early.
I really looked forward to Challenge Henley-on-Thames since I finished in Copenhagen in middle of august. It was quite strange feeling in these weeks between the two races, I never really felt tired from Copenhagen but also never really felt fresh. I did not do much training more or less just one race with a little short intensity stuff before to get activated, then raced Challenge Walchsee and with two weeks between Challenge Walchsee and Henley that time was spent with resting.
Susa an I drove to England. When it is possible we always try to drive to the races, because you are able to bring all the stuff you need and are not limited to a suitcase or a bikebox.
The English countryside is beautiful, and that was in surroundings like in the English TV-series Barneby that we were going to race.
The race began for us at 6:30 that Sunday. It was going to be a sunny day. But that also meant that there were clear sky during the night witch pulled the temperature down to a rather chilly 5 degrees.
Off we went in the Thames on part of the rowing leg for the rowing regatta in henley, best know for its battles between Oxford and Cambridge university.
We could see nothing other than the caps of the other athletes because of fog, witch made it a very different experience, but a very cool one.
I came out of the water as number 10 and all was good, even though that I had lost some meters to a couple of guys that I have hanged on to for most of the swim.
Transition was good, but took its time – after all you do want to get an extra shirt on when you know that you are getting out on your bike being wet in 5-6 degrees.
I did actually not feel that bad. It was cold but not in a way that you could not handle it. And I am still in the belief that the temperature did not course the problems I experienced next.
I was not feeling strong on the bike, and guys that I would normally be able to ride with were passing me in what felt like double speed. The bike leg was challenging but very nice. 4 loops with 2 climbs on each loop. Not nasty steep climbs, more like long annoying once, the ones where you feel that you should be able to be faster but simply are not.
But like I said not really steep. Therefore I was wondering what was happening n the end from second loop when I hardly did not get to that top of one of the climbs in my lowest gear. I did get to the top though, rode on for a couple of minutes and then I puked, got back on my bike rolled a little on got off and puked again. That was the end of my day.
I´ve never had a DNF before, exept one time in the danish championships where I broke my back wheel and had the option to ride the last 50k´s on the pullys or to wait to get picked up after the last competitor came past. But this was the fist time that my body was not playing along.
I don´t know where it came from. Did not eat any strange stuff in the days before, even drank bottled water because I did not like the chloral taste in the normal water. Maybe it was just a sign from my body to say stop.
Well I did stop, and now the off season is coming up witch also not is to bad. More on that to come...
Take care
Hans
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