So it's said to be the end of the racing season, but for me this is when the fun starts- trying out new things without worrying about a major race and eating cheat food twice a week now :)
But while I’m having fun, this is also where the hard work is put in for next season including long base work and gym which I started in the past two weeks. I thought it would be easy haha, but I’m learning a lot and trying to figure out what works best for me in terms of workouts, recovery, diet etc.
Things are looking good lately, with my nomination for Sport Personality of the Year at the Gauteng Sports Awards, I just renewed my contract with the Kargo Pro MTB Team for another year, and this past Friday I did something slightly different with Absa where I was on a panel for the "Analytics in Sport" discussion - very exciting.
On Saturday I was faced with the Nissan Trailseeker #4 at Hakahana. Since the World Championships I haven’t had a chance to ride more than 50km, I had a lot of catching up to do at Varsity and with the new gym work my body was a bit sore.
I was happy that the distance was shortened, but doubting myself and how well I had recovered, I started slightly to the back of the group- I didn’t push forward as usual, just to see how it goes. Surprisingly, 5km in, the race felt amazing and I knew I had to fight back.
At the 20km mark I caught up to Stuart Marais who was in 3rd and then later we were joined by another 4 riders to form a group of 6. I was feeling strong, but then at 40km my legs left the party properly (not this again)…If only I had recovered more. But I still finished in a great 8th place and with the training I had I was happy with the result.
I'm working hard for next season and I'm very privileged to have everyone’s support and a great team from the High Performance Center to guide me. I'm really looking forward to my last few races this year and especially next season.
But while I’m having fun, this is also where the hard work is put in for next season including long base work and gym which I started in the past two weeks. I thought it would be easy haha, but I’m learning a lot and trying to figure out what works best for me in terms of workouts, recovery, diet etc.
Things are looking good lately, with my nomination for Sport Personality of the Year at the Gauteng Sports Awards, I just renewed my contract with the Kargo Pro MTB Team for another year, and this past Friday I did something slightly different with Absa where I was on a panel for the "Analytics in Sport" discussion - very exciting.
On Saturday I was faced with the Nissan Trailseeker #4 at Hakahana. Since the World Championships I haven’t had a chance to ride more than 50km, I had a lot of catching up to do at Varsity and with the new gym work my body was a bit sore.
I was happy that the distance was shortened, but doubting myself and how well I had recovered, I started slightly to the back of the group- I didn’t push forward as usual, just to see how it goes. Surprisingly, 5km in, the race felt amazing and I knew I had to fight back.
At the 20km mark I caught up to Stuart Marais who was in 3rd and then later we were joined by another 4 riders to form a group of 6. I was feeling strong, but then at 40km my legs left the party properly (not this again)…If only I had recovered more. But I still finished in a great 8th place and with the training I had I was happy with the result.
I'm working hard for next season and I'm very privileged to have everyone’s support and a great team from the High Performance Center to guide me. I'm really looking forward to my last few races this year and especially next season.