2008 Karapoti Classic (50km)

Race report from the 2008 Karapoti Classic (50km). Report written March 2008.

My first time racing the 50km Karapoti Classic went pretty well - got off to a good start through the gorge and even climbed most of the warmup climb. Had to dismount the bike on the techy warm-up climb downhill section because there was a rider down with first aid being administered. Deadwood was pretty unmemorable, but I pushed/rode up it.

Then the Rock Garden, which I'd sessioned sections of about a month earlier so I knew I could ride some of it. Unfortunately I couldn't remember my lines and slowed down to scope out the first major drop/techy section. Turns out loss of momentum is bad in the Rock Garden, especially when there's a big rock in front of your wheel which catapults you onto the ground! My left thigh got a good hit (and is now swollen and bruised as a result), as did my helmet which luckily protected my face from hitting the rocks aswell. After a bit of help up by the guys around me, my confidence was a bit dented so I decided to walk most of the Rock Garden.

Then came the Devil's Staircase, which was the worst part of the race for me. I struggled with pushing my bike up the first half or so (taking mini-steps with my now rather sore left leg) and was being passed left, right, and centre . About half-way up, I remembered I'd done a bike-carry training session up the Tip Track and decided to throw my bike on my back. That made climbing a bit easier, but it was still no walk in the park. My calves had been pretty stiff the past couple of days from walking around town in my work shoes (yes, heels are impractical!) and were cramping up pretty badly aswell.

Finally, the top of the Devil's Staircase came, and from there, my race got a lot better. Big Ring Boulevard was as fun I as I remembered it from my pre-ride late last year, and Dopers came up sooner than I remembered. I rode all of Dopers except two corners, and passed quite a few people along the way who were pushing, getting a few nice encouraging comments along the way - thanks guys!

And then it was mostly down! Yay! The clay descent down Dopers was getting a bit greasy from the rain by the time I made it down there so I made a conscious effort not to use my brakes too much. Passed a few guys on the downhill too, which was pretty cool!

Through the gorge in big ring. I glanced at my watch and realised that if I wanted to get my sub-4, I better pedal HARD. So I did. Got to the road section and put my head down, got into my biggest gear, head down low, PEDAL PEDAL PEDAL! (I was grateful for all the training I'd done on the road at that point). Crossed the river (which was waist deep at the point I tried to cross). Up the other side, back on the bike and to the finish. A glance up at the event clock showed it was 4:49:46 when I crossed. Sweet!Because I was in the last wave, I made the assumption that the clock started with the Pro-elites at 10, so I subtracted 50 minutes and it looked like I made my Sub-4 (with 14 seconds to spare!).

An hour or so later, I went over to the timing caravan to double check my time. Was stoked that my official time was 3:57:55. And when I got home and checked the results, I also found out I came 5th in Senior Women. Cool! So yeah. That was my first Karapoti. I started training late September last year, with my lovely friend Lisa Morgan volunteering to write my programme for me. Thanks Lisa! Lisa had a great race also, with a podium placing in pro-elite women, and only a minute behind the person in 4th!

I'm still undecided whether I'll be back, but if I do, I'll be working on my bike-carry techniques, and also incorporate some running and upperbody work-outs into my training. I definitely felt like Devils Staircase was where I lost most of my time. But for now, pretty stoked with my Sub-4 in my first Karapoti!