2018 is done: delights, dilemmas and that darn DNF!

My 2018 goals were to peak for the Worlds and Europeans (and medal) and become a better mountain biker with more flow. So, here's how it went...

Delights

2018 has been FAB-U-LUS! Mainly because of two game-changing decisions I made.

The first was to work with Jenny Copnall to help me with my biking. She's a former pro mountain biker and her results CV is enviable; as are her coaching qualifications. I have got a ridiculous amount from her - too much to list. Alongside a great training programme, the thing that has helped me the most was to introduce regular timed flat out rides at Cyclopark and Bedgebury. Initial times at Cyclopark were 28 mins; that's now down to 24:30. Bedgebury was a 42 mins; now a 36:22 (and an all-important Strava QOM!). Seeing 'data doesn't lie' improvements are incredibly motivating and definitely shut my chimp up. 

No single thing made me faster, rather it's been a combination of lots of things: I got fitter and stronger, more confident, tried riding with my Bootylicious not glued to the saddle, rode with better riders (and tried to copy things), changed my definition of a long ride from 2 hours to 3-5 hours and rode my MTB a lot more. Then later in the year, there was the 'Harry met Claire' effect. Which leads nicely to the second game-changing decision.

I decided to contact Harry Molloy to help with my riding technique. Jenny and I thought working regularly with a local coach on local trails might help. And boy, has it! Harry's been brilliant. I've nicknamed him 'the miracle-worker.' He instantly sorted my suspect cornering technique - I can finally die happy!! We've also done a lot on line-choices, staying tall on the bars, pumping and most recently getting up and over obstacles with techniques slightly more sophisticated than my 'hit it and hope for the best.' I'm loving the progress we are making. It's definitely a Harry Ever After!

So, I

did peak for the Worlds in Denmark. I came second - to someone better than me. I also

peaked for the Europeans in Ibiza, but more on that later... And I am definitely

a better mountain biker with more flow.

Dilemmas

Bizarrely, running concurrently with finding myself in the form on my life, has been my desire to end my passionate love affair with triathlon. A real moment for me was when I got an apologetic email from the Hadleigh off-road triathlon organisers to say the swim part was cancelled due to blue-green algae, making it just a bike-run. I was over the moon! It hit me that after 10 years of trying, the reality is I just don't find the swim part of triathlon enjoyable. I much prefer racing off-road duathlons and mountain bike races.

After much 'dilemma-ring' I've decided triathlon and I need 'a break'. And similar to Friends' Ross and Rachel's "We were on a break!" I haven't hung around in seeing what else is out there.  I've got lots of exciting non-triathlon races pencilled in for 2019. Also, for ages I've wanted to take up BMXing - so I have; with Jamie. I'm the oldest in my group by about 40 years but I don't care. In fact, it's now my favourite night of the week and I actually found myself counting how many sleeps until the next session!

That darn DNF!

For the Europeans in Ibiza I was really excited to race the off-road duathlon as I was in the form of my life. I came off the first run with a 2 min 9 sec lead on the next girl in my age group. This was up to 2 min 26 after a fast T1. Time to have some fun on the bike. What could possibly go wrong? 

As soon

as I got on the bike, I knew my rear tyre was soft. I road a bit and stopped to

check it. It was soft but not flat so I carried on to see if I could get away

with it. I got up the first big 10-minute climb but it was really sketchy, so I pulled

over to re-inflate the tyre and the valve just flew off. There was nothing I could do - my race was over! Time for a long,

lonely walk back to transition. 

It wasn't really the way I wanted to end a pretty perfect season. But DNFs are part and parcel of racing. Sometimes it's your turn to be unlucky. 

There's plenty more races, so roll on 2019!